Why 35mm film is a timeless choice for wedding photography...

We love our digital cameras, but the past year we've fallen back in love with good old fashioned analogue photography. There is something so undeniably special about capturing memories on good old 35mm film. We have always taken the odd roll of film on trips and holidays, but last year we decided to start packing our analogue cameras when we were heading out to weddings. We only shot a few rolls...but we LOVED it.

We used a few different films, some colour and some black & white, all purchased from Analogue Wonderland, and used our Canon 35mm cameras. We dropped all of our rolls off to be developed by Take it Easy Lab in Leeds who are a super cool company. After a few mishaps with previous development companies we found our dream team!

So why is analogue wedding photography so special? Here are our top reasons why we enjoy it so much, and why we want to offer it to our couples in the future...

Holly & Sam - Wyresdale Park

The Nostalgia

Remember being a kid and flipping through old family photo albums or the wedding albums of your relatives? There is something about sitting around, looking at the images in your hand and sharing stories of their own special day? There's a unique nostalgia associated with film that just can't be captured with digital photography. 35mm film photographs have a timeless quality, soft grain and unique tones that only analogue can provide. The images really feel like something out of a movie.

Perfectly Imperfect

One of the beauties of shooting on film is embracing imperfections. Film is forgiving and captures a range of tones that digital sensors sometimes struggle to replicate. The subtle grain and little imperfections add character. Each photo into a piece of art rather than a perfect snapshot. There is often only a few chances to capture the image, so they become a one of a kind. It is exactly these imperfections that often make the most memorable shots.

Charly & Mark - Colehayes Park

The Intimate and Unplugged Feel

Our lives today tend to be so informed by tech and super fast paced. The simplicity of 35mm film brings a refreshing change. Shooting with film encourages a more intimate and unplugged atmosphere. There is no preview on the back of the camera, no rushing to snap the next shot, so we can all focus on capturing the moment. This approach often results in genuine, authentic, reflecting the true spirit of the day. This intentional approach often leads to a carefully curated collection of images that tell a cohesive and beautiful story.

Getting Creative

Film naturally encourages creative thinking. Often it has limitations in place that digital doesn't. The iso is set when you load your roll so there is no quick change to your settings, and each shot is taken mindfully and the colours, tones and grain allow for us to feel creative and really involved with the image making. Plus nothing is more exciting than getting the negatives back!

Abigail & Tom - East Riddlesden Hall

On a personal note

In a world where our phones buzz every 5 minutes and we feel like we spend a lot of time feeling busy, we have made a conscious decision this year to bring more mindfulness to our personal lives. Stripping back the amount of time we spend on screens and embracing quiet creativity. Part of this has led us to run some personal projects on film which we might share more about in another post.

So we got to thinking, if we are doing all of this in our our own lives can we bring a little bit of this to our work too? To keep us feeling creative, mindful and sharing our love of film with our couples. Last year we shot a handful of rolls at a few of the weddings we had as an experiment and we had so much fun! So this year we want to capture more memories on film...starting with our own lives and our upcoming trip to Morocco.

We will be thinking about looking this year at offering 35mm film to our couples in addition to our digital photography packages, so if it is something you think you might be interested in drop us an email and we can chat about it!

In the meantime, have a scroll through and see some of the results from last years wedding analogue adventures...and scroll to the bottom to see our own shots from our cottage retreat in Scotland at the end of the year!