From stolen glances to cheeky kisses and letting loose on the dance floor, we’re dedicated to capturing every beautiful moment of your love story! Our commitment extends beyond just capturing the obvious highlights; we strive to seize authentic, unnoticed moments that hold true magic – they’re often the best ones!
Here’s our most Frequently Asked Questions:
How does the booking process work?
We've kept it nice and simple. First, you fill out our enquiry form with all the details of your wedding, and we'll send you through an email with all of our package information so you can see what suits you best. Once you've chosen the package you'd love to book, we'll send over a basic questionnaire along with your contract to get everything sorted.
From there, we just need a non-refundable $1000 booking fee to lock your date in, and you're officially one of our couples! Your final payment isn't due until 2 weeks before your wedding date, so you've got plenty of time to look forward to the big day without financial stress creeping in early. We can't wait to get started!
What is your style of photography & videography?
We shoot in a candid, documentary style, which basically means we take a step back and let the real moments unfold in front of us rather than staging everything. The laughs, the happy tears, the little glances between you two when no one's watching, that's the stuff we're always chasing.
That said, we're definitely not just standing in the corner! We'll gently guide the wedding party in a direction that feels natural when it's needed, because we've found that a little direction can go a long way in bringing out those authentic moments rather than getting in the way of them. Above all, we want you and your partner to feel completely comfortable around us, so we'll always do our absolute best to make that happen.
At the end of the day, it's your story we're telling, and our documentary approach means it comes through looking and feeling exactly like you.
How many photos will I receive?
You'll receive 500 to 800 photos, depending on how many hours we're shooting and just how jam-packed your wedding day ends up being! Every wedding is different, so a big day full of a ceremony, formals, a reception and all the little moments in between will naturally land you towards the higher end of that range.
We don't hold back either, we're there capturing everything from the quiet in-between moments to the big dance floor energy, so you get the full story of your day, not just the highlights.
How long until we receive our photos/video?
You won't be waiting around wondering! We'll get a batch of sneak peek photos over to you within 4 days of your wedding, so you can start reliving the day almost straight away.
From there, we usually have your full albums and videos finalised within 4 weeks. That said, we suggest allowing 6-8 weeks as your timeframe, just so we've got a little extra breathing room if we happen to be flat out with other weddings around the same time.
We'd always rather under-promise and deliver early than have you waiting past a date we've given you.
Where are you based?
We're based in Newcastle, NSW, but we happily travel anywhere you need us to be! Travel all over Australia is already included in our packages, so whether your wedding is up the coast, out in the country or interstate, you don't need to worry about extra travel costs cutting into your budget.
Wherever your love story is taking place, we'd love to be there to capture it.
Who will be shooting my wedding?
If you've booked an engagement shoot with us, that same person will typically be the one shooting your wedding too, so you'll already be completely comfortable with each other by the time the big day rolls around!
Over our years in business, we've built up a team of multiple expert shooters at Memento Collective, and no matter who's assigned to your wedding, you'll get to meet them well before the day itself. We never want you walking into your wedding with a stranger behind the camera. You can also check out all of our shooters' beautiful work on our website, so you'll know exactly what to expect from the moment you book.
What happens if it rains on our wedding day?
Don't stress, we've got you! Rain can actually make for some of the most romantic, moody shots you'll ever see, so it's really not the disaster it might feel like in the moment. We always come prepared with a plan B for portraits, whether that's undercover spots, umbrellas, or even leaning right into the rain for a few epic shots you didn't expect to love.
At the end of the day, your wedding is still going ahead and it's still going to be beautifully documented, rain or shine. Some of our favourite images over the years have actually come from a bit of unexpected weather!
How will we receive our photos/videos?
Firstly, we'll send you a handful of sneak peek shots a couple of days after your wedding. 2 to 4 weeks later, you'll receive a link to your online gallery to relive your wedding day.
Regarding your wedding video, this will be delivered online as well! How great is technology!
It will take us the same time frame to complete your film. It will be uploaded and delivered through a personalised online gallery, similar to your photos.
Can I view a full album from start to finish?
Of course you can! We pride ourselves on being as transparent as possible, and we truly believe it's the best way to look after our clients. We actually encourage all of our potential couples to view full albums from any photographer or videographer they're enquiring with, not just us.
Highlight reels are great, but they only ever show you the best few moments. A full gallery shows you the whole story: the quiet in-between moments, the imperfect ones, and how a shooter's skill holds up across an entire wedding day from start to finish. If you'd love to see a full album from us, just get in touch and we'll send one straight over.
Do you edit every image that we receive?
Absolutely! Every image you receive goes through our artistic touch, from enhancements and colour work through to a sprinkle of creative magic that makes your photos truly sing. Years of refining our craft mean we know exactly how to present your memories in the best possible light.
That said, we won't be performing drastic photoshopping. We might smooth out a stray blemish or two, but we're not in the business of reshaping reality. So rest assured, we won't be manipulating images to the point of removing a guest who accidentally wandered into a shot, what you get is a true, polished reflection of how your day actually looked and felt.
Do you deliver every photograph that you take?
The short answer is no. On an average wedding, we will come home with 3,000-5,500 images. A lot of these will be double ups, test shots, shots with bad expressions. Since our main style is candid, sometimes that can yield unflattering images of the guests in front of the lens. We spend hours sorting through all of the images ensuring you get the highest quality possible for your gallery.
We use our professional expertise to decide if an image is suited for your gallery. However, we will not delete photos that we think are deliverable. You will receive all of the images that meet our professional standard. On an average wedding, this is anywhere between 550-1,000 images.
Will you shoot family photos at the wedding?
Most definitely, weddings are all about friends and family coming together to witness two families joining together in the name of love. Capturing family and friends together makes for a timeless piece of history that will last forever.
"The photo wrangler" - if you have a list of family photos you want taken, we have found it is best to give a copy of the list to an extroverted (loud) family member, groomsman and/or bridesmaid. We call this person 'the photo wrangler'. It definitely helps if they know who everyone is so they can round them up quickly!
How many hours do you suggest for wedding day photos?
There are a ton of variables for this question but here is a simple answer based on previous experience. If you are after us to capture you and your partner getting ready, we need 1 to 1.5 hours at each location to ensure we get all of the shots that we need.
At an average wedding where we capture bride & groom prep, we suggest 8 hours to capture everything. The ideal amount of time is 10 hours to ensure all events and plenty of dancing can get captured. Please reach out to us so we can chat about this in further detail.
When should we book our wedding photographer/videographer?
As soon as you've got your date locked in! Popular dates, especially Spring and Autumn weekends, can book out 12 to 18 months in advance, so the earlier you get in touch with us, the better your chances of having us free for your day.
We know it can feel early to be thinking about photographers and videographers before you've even nailed down a venue, but the couples who reach out early are usually the ones who end up with exactly who they wanted on their day. If your date's set, don't wait, we'd love to chat and see if we're free!
Do you offer a second shooter, and when do we need one?
We do, and it's actually included in a lot of our packages! A second shooter is fantastic for weddings with 100+ guests, multiple getting-ready locations, or if you'd love us to capture both of you prepping at once from different angles rather than missing half the moment.
Having two of us there means twice the coverage and none of the "wait, did we get that?" moments. If your day has a few moving parts, chat to us about which package includes a second shooter, or we can always add one on for you.
How can I be sure my images/videos won't be lost?
The last thing you'd ever want after your wedding is to lose your photos and videos, and it's just as important to us as it is to you. That's why we've put multiple safety measures in place from the moment we start shooting.
On the day itself, we use 2 cards at the same time so a duplicate is always being made in real time. Once we're back from your wedding, everything gets backed up to a separate hard drive as well as uploaded to the cloud. It might seem like overkill, but it's exactly this kind of redundancy that lets us sleep easy, and lets you rest assured that your memories are safe with us.
Do you have a payment plan?
Yes, we can absolutely organise to split your payments into three installments rather than asking for it all at once.
We know weddings come with enough costs to juggle, so we're happy to make things a little easier where we can. Just let us know if this would suit you, and we'll sort out a payment plan that works for your timeline.
Are you insured?
Yes, we're fully insured with public liability cover.
If your venue needs proof of this before the big day, just reach out and we'll get that sorted for you straight away.
How far will you travel for my wedding?
We factor travel straight into our pricing from the start, so once we've sent you our price list and you've chosen your package, that's the final price.
No surprise callout fees, no last-minute "oh, that'll be extra" conversations.
We've deliberately chosen not to add any extra surprises to our pricing, because you should be able to enjoy planning your wedding without worrying about hidden costs creeping in.
Do you do destination weddings?
You bet we do! Nothing excites us more than the opportunity to shoot a destination wedding or elopement. There's something so special about capturing a couple who've chosen to run off somewhere beautiful and make it just about the two of you.
If you're thinking of taking your celebrations overseas, please get in touch so we can chat about the finer details, flights, accommodation and how we'd make it all work for your dream location.