Plenty of couples tell Now 'n Always that they always look awkward in photos. Making sure they don't has been the studio's job since 2010. From its base on Stewart Street in Richmond, its team of photographers and videographers works under a simple promise to the couples who book them: "Made to feel like you".
Those couples seem to agree it delivers. The studio holds a 4.9 rating from 23 reviews on Easy Weddings, where 87 per cent of reviewers gave it five stars and nobody gave it fewer than four, along with a 4.8 from 25 reviews on Google. Easy Weddings describes it as a premium Richmond-based studio with "a stable of award-winning professionals".
The method starts well before the wedding. Every couple meets the team beforehand to work through the timeline, the locations and the family photos, so that nothing comes as a surprise. On the day itself, the photographers and videographers aim to work quietly around the couple.
That ease carries through to the look of the work. The studio shoots across traditional, portrait, black-and-white and contemporary styles, and most couples end up with a mix. Being local helps too: the team says it knows how to get the best out of each venue, "whatever the light or the weather".
Photos and film from one team
The studio publishes its prices up front under the line "Clear prices. No surprises." Photography packages run from Entry at $1,599 for four hours and 400-plus photos, through Lite at $1,999 for six hours and 600-plus photos, to Premium at $2,299 for nine hours and 900-plus photos. Each includes unlimited shooting locations and every image retouched in full resolution, and most couples receive more than the number quoted.
The other half of the business is film, which the studio sees as the keeper of everything a still image misses: voices, speeches, music and the way a room moves on the dance floor. Its film packages use multiple cameras through the ceremony and reception, record vows, speeches and live music properly, and are edited in-house. Couples receive a cinematic highlight film plus documentary live footage, with packages at $1,999, $2,599 and $2,999 for four, six and nine hours. The studio's online archive now holds 53 films.
Couples who book both are quoted for the two together, and extras include drone footage at $299, a luxury wedding album at $499, an extra hour of coverage at $200 and a same-day edit at $699.
For couples still nervous about the camera, there is a pre-wedding session: a relaxed shoot somewhere that means something to them, from the street where they met to a favourite beach or a Yarra Valley vineyard, usually in the hour before sunset. By the wedding day they already know how the team works, and, as the studio puts it, "nobody is wondering what to do with their hands".
Across Victoria, and in couples' own words
The work ranges well beyond the city. The studio covers Melbourne and regional Victoria, including the Yarra Valley, the Mornington Peninsula, Daylesford, the Macedon Ranges and the Great Ocean Road. Its recent stories come from Dromana Estate, Yuulong Estate, Cloudehill Gardens, Warrawong Estate, the Acres of Tooborac and Arundel Farm Estate, and its film archive stretches to Eight Acres in Lakes Entrance.
The reviews return to the same themes. "Affordable, friendly and calm," one couple wrote on Easy Weddings. Several single out photographer Henry, who one reviewer said made the experience "easy and effortless". Another couple, who booked both photos and video, praised Henry and Keith for giving "just the right amount of direction".
The industry has noticed as well. Vogue Ballroom lists the studio in its guide to the best wedding photographers in Melbourne, noting a "relaxed and enjoyable experience" and natural moments captured in a variety of styles. The studio also counts Vines of the Yarra Valley among those to have named it one of the city's best.
For couples planning a wedding, the first step is simple: send a date and venue, and the studio replies within one business day with availability and a quote. Its work can be followed on Instagram at @nownalways_wedding.
All photographs in this article are by Now 'n Always.
