Friend of the Fray: Anthea & Lyndon, Photography & Film
In 2016 in the USA, 2.5 million marriages were registered.
In 2016 in Australia, 118,401 were officially registered.
We’re a massive land-mass of a country, with a smaller population than Texas (not kidding), so it might be easy to think that there are less weddings to go around for everyone in the biz. The interesting thing about the Australian Wedding industry is that although it’s small of stature, it’s big of heart. The wedding photographers of Australia are a small, close-knit community of so many good hearted and talented people. We all stick together, regardless of the competition being fierce.
Included among these few & proud, are Canberra locals, Anthea & Lyndon, who run a business in weddings for photography and film. Chances are, if you’ve been to a wedding (or 24) in Canberra in the past 5 years, you may have seen Anthea & Lyndon’s smiling faces peeking out from behind their DSLR’s. You may have even had a jovial chat with Lyndon about his bowtie/suspender combo by the dessert table at one stage, and walked away thinking, ‘Holy cow… he’s the nicest guy ever.’ Anthea probably lent a tip (or 6) for some useful part of your life that you’re about to embark on, because she’s done her research and she’s happy to spread the love of intel.
This likely happened to you, because that’s just who Anthea & Lyndon are. The wholesome, nicest-ever couple, who hang out at weddings on the weekend.
Since they’re a beloved Friend of the Fray, we sat down with these two cuties and asked them a bit more about their business, their marriage, and their love of our little capital.
Image by Andi O’Day (see, I told you we’re a close-knit community)
How long have you been in the Canberra wedding industry?
5 years
What have you seen change about the industry in the last few years?
There’s been a whole new generation of cinematographers starting to make wedding videos. They’re more creative, emotional and cinematic, and thankfully we’ve said goodbye to the long and boring videos of the past. This has meant that we’ve had a huge increase in couples interested in wedding videos.
What’s the structure of your business now vs when you started?
When we started out, couples were requesting photography more than video. These days most of our weddings are photo + video combos. We love working together to offer both, but couples can still book just one of us for photography only. Whoever isn't booked for the day enjoys spending time with our 3 month baby girl Frances. We’ve had to make some big changes to our workload and hours since she’s arrived, and it’s still a work in progress as we adjust!
What’s a good thing for couples to think about when they’re shopping for a wedding photographer?
It's great if you can see a full set of wedding photos that they've delivered to a past couple. A photographer might have a beautiful Instagram feed, but you want to make sure that you love their full coverage of the day and not just the hero shots.
It's also really important that they're a nice person. Read their Google/Facebook reviews from their past couples to get an idea of what they’re like, and chat to them in person or over the phone if you can.
How much should a couple guide a photographer vs how much should they trust the professional to do their amazing work?
Let your photographer know if you've got a special request that's really important like a specific group combo. We're also happy to share ideas if you've got a portrait location you really like. For the most part though, you've hired a professional because you love their work, and you'll get the best result if you leave it in their very capable hands.
Image by Lauren Campbell
Favourite attribute to find in a client in the lead up to a wedding?
Flexibility. Things change, and sometimes it's the unexpected things that turn out to be the best.
Couples most often worry too much about _____________
Things that are important to other people, but that aren’t important to them. Don’t feel like you need to please everyone.
You wish couples would care more about ____________
The weather. It's not a great idea to have an outdoor ceremony in January in full sun. That won't be enjoyable for you or your guests, especially for babies, elderly and pregnant women. Make your plans to suit the time of year you want to get married. The more comfortable people are, the better time they’ll have!
Timing. It’s best if you can avoid having portraits in the middle of the day as it’s not the most flattering light. Ask the professionals for advice, we’re more than happy to help you work out your timing.
What do you love about living and working Canberra?
We have such a great community of supportive and encouraging people, and it’s a much more relaxed lifestyle than living in a bigger city.
What are you eager to see change in the Canberra wedding market?
We’d love to see businesses and couples take a few more risks, shake things up a bit and do something different!
Favourite thing about a wedding day?
The speeches. It’s when the people you love get the chance to stand in front of your family and friends, and speak about their relationship with you. That’s why we’re so passionate about video, because it means you can listen to their words in a few decades time. You can show your kids or your niece or nephew what their grandparents said on your wedding day.
Are you married? If so, tell us about your own wedding day.
We got married on New Years Eve! We brought in the new year by dancing in the rain with our favourite people. We celebrated by officially joining two families as one, and spent a whole week without tv, wifi or phone reception. We bonded over food fights, watching movies at our outdoor cinema under the stars, camping, and swimming in the ocean.
It was so much more than a wedding, and it reminded us how important it is to spend quality time with the people we love.
If you could do it all over again, you’d be sure to ____________
Stress less about running to a meticulously planned run sheet and just go with the flow!
Image by the awesome Lauren Campbell
