If you’re reading this, we’re guessing you’re one of our couples. In which case, thanks so much for choosing us (that’s us below, photographing a wedding in London last year) to photograph your day! This blog is aimed at checking in with you (and all our 2026 and 2027 couples). We want to say hello and give you a very quick update. And first of all, to our 2026 couples: the countdown is on! And to our 2027 couples, you have a little longer to wait, but we still cannot wait for your wedding day.
A Quieter Start to the Year
During the first few months of each year, we always make sure we take some time off. Wedding season is always so busy, and though we absolutely love what we do, we do travel a lot, so it’s important to have a little time to recharge the batteries and spend quality time with our family. You may have noticed our social media has been a little quieter and it’s also why you’ve not heard from us in detail yet.
We refer to our work as a family business, and it really is. How lucky are we to do such a creative and exciting job together? We get to do our dream job – and not only that, we feel very lucky to be doing this, together. And even though we don’t shoot every day with one another, we work on each wedding together. That’s in the lead-up to the celebration, in the edit, and across the whole client experience.
But our family business is more than just the two of us. We work from home, where we live with our children and our two new cats (more on them below!). Out of all our photography ventures (again, more on this below), weddings are always our main focus. They are our passion, and this little business in Hull that we have spent so much time building means the world to us and our family. This is more than just our dream job. Making sure that each one of you loves your photos and the moments we capture on your day is incredibly important to us, and truly means so much.
What We Have Been Doing Behind the Scenes
We’ve still been busy behind the scenes, in particular getting ready for all our education events this year. Last week, we delivered a workshop on our approach to documentary wedding photography to 20 photographers in London (pictured below), with photographers travelling from across the UK and Europe to spend the day with us. It still feels pretty surreal and incredibly humbling to have photographers wanting to learn from us. We’re just two photographers from Hull and never expected any of this to happen to us!
Over the past few years though, we’d had the most unbelievable opportunities come our way, including speaking at conferences across Europe, presenting workshops across the UK, and connecting with photographers from across the world. We still have events in Cambridgeshire, Manchester and Italy that we are speaking at this year, but now our own workshop is done, our attention is turning firmly on our wedding season to come, which kicks off properly in late April.
Pre-Wedding Information
We are still tidying up our pre-wedding information, which was due an update for 2026. After this is ready, if you’re getting married this year, we will send it over to you. This will be very, very soon. Also, if you’re getting ready this year you should now all have your payment details in a separate email. Thanks so much to everyone who has already replied to that email. It’s so good to hear how excited you all are to have us photographing your day. We are just as excited to be a part of your celebrations.
Every Wedding Is Different
What we love about our job is that all couples, and therefore their weddings, are all so different. Some have the biggest, most outlandish parties, others the most intimate gatherings, and there really is every kind of wedding in between these two extremes. Over the next two years, we are photographing weddings in Spain, France and Ireland, as well as all over mainland Britain. Each wedding will be unique, and we really cannot wait.
So whatever your plans, we are really looking forward to seeing them all come to fruition. We like to think we are your most low-maintenance wedding supplier, too. We have a very relaxed approach, which means you do not actually have to plan anything specifically for us. We are extremely experienced and have won many awards for the way we photograph weddings, so you can simply focus on planning your day exactly how you want it, while we fit in around everything in the most natural way possible when your day comes.
We do need a few details from you, but as explained below, that will be much nearer your wedding day when we will be in touch to get them. Right now, all we want you to do is relax and forget about us during the planning. Plan your wedding day, your way, and we will fit in around all those plans in the most relaxed way possible. Do not just take our word for it though. Here is a recent review from a 2025 couple that explains exactly how we work better than we ever could:
“We just wanted to say a huge thank you to Hollie and Patrick for photographing our wedding. We are absolutely blown away by the pictures. So many moments were captured that we had no idea were even happening, and they documented the day beautifully. Dabbling in photography myself and having experienced other weddings, it was clear to us that we wanted a documentary-style approach to the imagery. Even so, the photos have far exceeded our expectations, and we are so pleased to have our wedding memories captured in this way.
It’s not only the images we want to thank Hollie and Patrick for, but the entire experience. From the moment we first got in touch and had our video call, we knew we were in safe hands. Communication was easy-going throughout, and on the day itself there was no effort required from us at all. Honestly, Hollie and Patrick just blended seamlessly into the day, and we received nothing but positive feedback from our guests about their approach. Thank you both, we truly wouldn’t have wanted any other photographers. We are so pleased with everything and couldn’t recommend them more highly”. Michael and Megan, married in Warwickshire, 2025.
It doesn’t matter if we’re photographing your wedding together or separately, we always work in the same way, putting you and your plans first, while ensuring we capture so many moments for you to look back on.
A Couple of New Additions to the Family
We also recently got two cats, because we clearly decided our life was not busy enough already! You can see our kitten Tiramisu (‘helping’ one of our sons play his X-Box) and our cat Artemis (climbing as high as possible, as bengal cats like to do!) below. They have very quickly made themselves at home and are now convinced they run the place.
We absolutely love cats, and dogs too (Hollie used to be a dog owner and once worked with dogs, too). So if anyone is bringing a dog or any other pet along to your wedding day, please know we cannot wait to meet them. Animals always bring such brilliant moments to a wedding day and we are always very happy to say hello to them too. Just be prepared for your four legged friend to maybe steal the limelight a little!
Our Availability
This is nothing better than getting referrals from our couples, so if you recommend us to anyone now or in the future, a huge thank you. We have limited availability for this year and are getting ever busier for 2027. So if you know someone who is getting married who would love our style and approach to photographing weddings, feel free to recommend us and ask them to get in touch now.
Our Other Photography Pages
We love staying in touch with our couples before and after the wedding day, and many come back to us for photography beyond their weddings. These other ventures let us do just that, whether it is for families, pets, or businesses. You may want to see more of what we photograph away from weddings. Check out our other photography pages below and feel free to give them a follow, if you’d like to.
Family Photography
Hollie has been recognised as one of the world’s top documentary family photographers, winning UK Family Photographer of the Year three times in a row. She travels everywhere, across the UK, and has just today booked a new shoot in Ireland. If you would like beautiful, natural family photography now or in the future, or know someone who would, learn more here: The Wild Child Photographer.
Commercial Photography
Hollie also photographs businesses and events, from small startups to blue-chip companies. Find out more here: Commercial Photography.
Pet Photography
Pets are family too! Hollie’s new venture, Pet Stories By Hollie, captures natural, documentary-style pet portraits, on their own or with their humans. Learn more here: Pet Stories By Hollie.
Follow Our Wedding Instagram
If you are not already following us, most importantly, follow our wedding Instagram here. Please do keep in touch and interact with our stories and posts before and after the wedding. It is always so lovely to see our couples’ names pop up.
Optional Add-Ons
We also offer a range of optional add-ons to make your wedding photography fit exactly what you want. These include analogue film photography, pre-wedding shoots, brief video highlights, upgrades to your packages such as second shooters or later coverage, and album add-ons. More details will be coming very soon.
Meeting Before Your Wedding
When we get back in touch, you will have receive all the details you need from us about photographing your day. Then, as your day gets much closer, we’ll get back in touch with you again to confirm a few things with you. Also, we know some of you are already really looking forward to meeting up with us over a coffee, or via a video or phone call.
For a Zoom or phone call, we usually do this a week or two before the wedding, often in the days leading up to the day. We find this is actually the best time to chat. By this time, you will have finished planning and be concentrating on getting really excited for the celebrations ahead.
If you would rather meet in person, you are very welcome to come and meet us for a coffee near where we live in East Yorkshire. Most of our couples prefer to speak by video call, and that works perfectly for us, as many of our couples are international and it’s not easy for everyone to meet us in person. Video calls really do work just as well.
However, if you would like to meet face to face, we want you to know the option is there. Please do let us know if that is the case so we can make sure we offer some options to suit. Please note, as you would expect, weekends are very busy for us with weddings and (when we’re not shooting weddings) our own family, as are evenings during the week. So, please note this does impact on the times and days of the week we’re available to chat via video or meet in person.
A Final Note On Photographing Weddings In 2026 and 2027
So all in all, for 2026 couples, we will be back in touch very soon. For 2027 couples, we will be back in touch properly in the new year. However, for all of you, if you have any questions at all, at any time, please do let us know and we will get back in touch as soon as possible. We really cannot wait for your day. Hollie and Patrick Mateer