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Chitter Chatter with Claudine Hartzel, award-winning creative wedding photographer

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Claudine Hartzel
Chitter Chatter  is a  series I’m running all about  inspirational women in the wedding industry whom  I greatly admire. These women successfully combine  running their own business with married life and, in a lot of cases, raising a young family.  The ‘Chitter Chatter’  twist is is they have to answer my questions  in just 140 characters or less….

Today I’m chitter chattering  to Claudine Hartzel,  the award-winning London-based wedding photographer and  much-loved Smashing Supplier. Claudine is Jewish herself, and has photographed hundreds of ‘I-Do’s’  (many of them being Jewish weddings) in the UK and beyond. I’m a huge fan of her beautiful reportage photography, and her weddings have graced many a page of Smashing The Glass. Claudine lives in London with her husband (read on for their heart-warming  ‘how we met’ love story!) and their two young daughters.

What was your first job?

Working in the print sales room and bookshop at the Photographers’ Gallery.  It was a massive inspiration to me, from the work that was  exhibited, to the colleagues I worked with.

Tell me more about your career before launching  Claudine Hartzel Photography

I worked as an artist for seven years and, after spending a year  in Amsterdam on a sabbatical, decided I wanted to become a commercial photographer.

What made you start  your photography business?

I really enjoy the pace and emotion all wrapped up in the one  day of a wedding, plus I feel  as if I have the best of all  worlds. As a wedding photographer you shoot still life, fashion and portraiture all in one day!

What inspires you to keep growing and developing your business?

Firstly my family.  Technology moves so fast that you have to use it to your advantage — this is very inspiring and exciting.  My business is a direct reflection of my personality and this is helpful to keep things into perspective personally, and on a business level.

What obstacles have you overcome along the way?

I would not say they were obstacles, but I took a year out to have my second child. This did mean that I had to build up the business again.

Claudine Hartzel
Images by Claudine Hartzel

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Amy & Anthony | Vintage themed Jewish wedding, with Route 66 details, at Hatfield House, Hertfordshire, UK

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Hatfield-House-Wedding
Meet Amy and Anthony who married in the evocative and enchanting Hatfield House, Hertfordshire, where none other than Queen Elizabeth I — England’s most elusive bride – tudored away much of her childhood. I’ve visited this gem north of London and the sense of history is absolutely spell-binding.

Amy chose a vintage vibe — not so vintage that she wore an Elizabethan ruffle – but as far back as the 1920’s where her sweeping gown and ridiculously beautiful beaded caplet stole the show. Pure and utter glamour.

I love this wedding because whilst it has clear direction — Amy knew what colour scheme and look she wanted from the outset – it’s also nostalgic and sentimental, all in the right measure.

Amy and Anthony chose a Route 66 theme throughout their day, an ode to the famous highway where the couple got engaged. How romantic is that? And quite appropriately, their first dance was Chuck Berry’s Get your kicks on Route 66.

…And those sentimental touches — Amy wore her two beloved grandmothers’ jewels — a gorgeous gesture.

Amy and Anthony didn’t use a wedding planner— they organised what they could (please lay your peepers on those sensational bridesmaids multi-wrap, one size fits all dresses by Two Birds) took advice when they should (the inspired churros and shots), and delegated with instruction elsewhere.

Take the flower arrangement, let’s face it flowers are super important but you don’t want to be a Bridezilla obsessing about exactly which colour flower spray goes where, it’s more about choosing the right florist who “gets you”. Give them clear direction and then leave it in their capable green-fingered hands. That’s exactly what Amy did and her seasonal freshly-picked-that-morning flowers were a sensation.

Anyway enough of me waxing lyrical about Amy and Anthony’s day — award-winning photo journalist Paul Rogers will give you thousands of words in a few stunning pictures.

Hatfield House Wedding
how we met

Amy, the Bride: We met on JDate… it does work! We actually grew up on the roads backing onto each other and our families knew each other but we had never actually met.

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Chitter Chatter with Emma Taylor, owner of Paperless Wedding

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Paperless-Wedding
Chitter Chatter  is a  series all about  inspirational women in the wedding industry whom  I greatly admire. These women successfully combine  running their own business with married life and, in a lot of cases, raising a young family.  The ‘Chitter Chatter’  twist is is they have to answer my questions  in just 140 characters or less….

Today I’m chitter chattering  to  Emma Taylor, wife, mother and owner of Paperless Wedding, her  online wedding stationery business. She  took maternity leave in 2012 and never went  back, instead dedicating her  time to raising her  children and growing Paperless Wedding. She lives in East London with her husband, 2 year old daughter, and 11 week old son.

What was your first job?

I worked as a hairdresser’s assistant on a Saturday. Washing hair, sweeping floors making tea. Oh the glamour!

Tell me more about your career before launching  Paperless Wedding

I was Head of Broadcast for a company that delivered TV Ads digitally to TV stations. Now I deliver email invites to guests….

What made you start  Paperless Wedding?

When we got married we created our own website and emailed invites with RSVP through the site. People loved it, so here we are!

What inspires you to keep growing and developing your business?

We offer something different, we promote British designers, we give couples the freedom to create, and I love weddings!

What obstacles have you overcome along the way?

Getting used to working alone, lack of funding, balancing motherhood and working from home and never having enough time!

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Rebecca & Daniel | An ‘Autumn in New York’ themed Jewish wedding with Mexican influences, and the bride in a jumpsuit, at Palm Door, Austin, Texas, USA

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Autumn-in-New-York-wedding
… And the bride wore a jumpsuit! Oh yes. I’m so excited to feature a bride wearing such an iconic, sassy, fashion statement. Move over Solange Knowles!

And why not? Rebecca wasn’t having a trad day — after all it was her second wedding to Daniel (more on that later) — and she decided she wanted to wear what she felt most spectacular in. And that was an elegant Alice & Olivia white, wide leg, cut out at the back jumpsuit with beautiful lines and the required bridal magic to make a big entrance.

In the imitable words of Rebecca “I realised that since this is my wedding … I could wear whatever I wanted”. You go girl! This is such a great reminder to all brides out there planning your day — try not to get bogged down in the “should’s” — it is after all your day!

The courage of this couple’s conviction rings strongly throughout. Undaunted by the fact that they couldn’t have the dream Central Park wedding, Rebecca and Daniel simply picked up the idea and brought the New York wedding to Austin, Texas. Complete with a Big Apple in the Fall theme. Check out those flowers, and the autumnal foliage winding round the chuppah!

Unsurprisingly the invitations came with a very creative and modern twist – which is completely STG. They both designed and customised Paperless Post save the date cards and invitations, splicing old photo booth pictures together — gorgeously personal and fun – and emailed them to their guests.. A great tip for saving money as well as adding a classy, individual touch.

There was one family tradition however that they certainly kept up with – Friday night dinner at the Tex Mex. The night before the wedding Rabbi Robbi lead them all in the Tex Mex Shabbat prayers over tortilla chips and margaritas. Upstaged only by Daniel’s uber romantic proposal.

Elissa R Photography captures the day …

Jewish wedding AustinJewish wedding Austin
An ‘Autumn in New York’ themed wedding in Austin, Texas

Rebecca, the Bride: We got married at the Palm Door on Sabine, an event space in downtown Austin. There was no real significance to the space, and since we live in New York we decided to have our wedding there based entirely on the recommendation of my parents who had seen a concert there during SXSW. It ended up being the perfect space though, with a homey but refined feel that really fit in with the entire character of the wedding.

Our general theme was “Autumn in New York.” We live in New York, and it had been a dream of mine in high school to get married in Central Park in the fall. Coming back to Austin for a November wedding, we decided to bring the New York Autumn back to Texas with us. The colour scheme was Autumn colours. We worked with Emily Leach of Bird Dog Wedding
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How much does wedding photography cost – and other such quandaries

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how-much-does-wedding-photography-cost
Image: John Nassari

After several requests from readers for such a piece, I asked the wonderful Anna MacDougall from Bride & Glory to educate us all about indicative pricing for each aspect of your wedding to give you an idea of what to expect budget-wise whilst you’re in the planning stages. I know it ranges hugely but for example, many new brides-to-be have no idea if a professional photographer costs £50 or £5000! 

Anna has put together this really helpful (and very readable!) post on pricing and why services/products cost what they do. She covers every aspect from photography to videography to the ceremony, the venue, catering, transport, wedding cake, hair + make up and more. Over to the lovely Anna…

And today, my Ducks, I shall talk to you about all things wedding budgeting — albeit not in my usual capacity of stressing the importance of setting, prioritising and (mostly) sticking to a budget. Instead, I’m venturing into the rather treacle-y and controversial terrain of trying to provide guide prices for some of the most common wedding suppliers you’ll be ticking off as you move through your wedding to-do list.

The reason why this is such a tricksy and much debated topic is the fact that it is the proverbial example of the ‘how long is a piece of string’ question. You’ll probably have seen a plethora of price guides in wedding magazines and, at the risk of alienating all editors collectively now, you’ll find that a lot of us wedding suppliers aren’t the biggest fans of their breakdowns. Not always but pretty often, they paint an unrealistic picture of average costs to expect, which leaves both you and the supplier feeling frustrated.

I honestly believe that there is no such thing as a representative ‘average cost’. Last year, I worked with one couple who spent £12,000 on their wedding day and another who spent £97,000. They both had the same main elements: ceremony, venue, catering, photographer, hair & make-up artists, florist, cake, DJ, transport — they were just very different in style and cost. Do you see why an average price is about as hard to find as a unicorn?

So rather than average costs, I’ll look at realistic starting points for professional services, and there’s a reason why I emphasise the word professional (and twice, no less).

How much does wedding photography cost
Image: Babb Photo taken from Missy & Yoni’s wedding

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