Months (maybe even years) of planning come together in one special day for you and your loved one, so of course you will want to preserve and commemorate your wedding day for the years to come. It makes perfect sense that once the day has been decided and the venue has been booked, the next step is often securing the photographer. At the Bodleian for our Ceremony only bookings, we’ve often found that couples have even forsaken booking a florist over a photographer.
This might be testament to how unique and dreamy our venue is, but it goes to show that for couples, recording the date is much more significant than items which might only last for those hours. The beauty of wedding photography is that it can be shared with those who were sadly unable to make it to the wedding, and also be shared for future generations to cherish. We’ve often seen couples decorated the cards & gifts table with couples photography from previous weddings in the family, creating a beautiful and sentimental tapestry.
At the Bodleian we work with plenty of fantastic recommended photographers, one of them being the very lovely Suzy Elizabeth Photography. For this month’s journal entry, we met up with Suzy to discuss what drew her to photography, how she works with camera-shy couples and what she loves about working at the Bodleian! We should also say, that all of the photographs used in this article, have been taken by Suzy in and around the Bodleian site.
Welcome! First of all, please do introduce yourself to our lovely readers.
Hello! I am Suzy, the photographer behind Suzy Elizabeth Photography. I have been photographing weddings for over eight years and have had the most incredible privilege of capturing celebrations at some of the most beautiful venues across Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, the Cotswolds and beyond. My style is relaxed, natural and timeless. I focus on genuine moments rather than heavily posed photographs, and I love telling the story of a wedding day as it unfolds. I want the images to feel just as meaningful and emotional in twenty years as they did on the day itself. The Bodleian Library holds a very special place in my heart, and I am genuinely thrilled to be here.
To start off, what was it about photography that really captured your imagination and made you want to choose it as a career?
Honestly, it was my daughter Sophia who started it all. When she was a baby I could not stop photographing her. We would head up to the woods and I would spend hours capturing her amongst the bluebells or the autumn leaves. That passion quietly grew into something I could not ignore.
What really drew me to weddings specifically was the privilege of being trusted with one of the most important days of someone’s life. Every wedding is completely different, every couple has their own story and I genuinely love getting to know them and capturing their day in a way that reflects exactly who they are. I left a very unfulfilling job in the public sector to do this, and I have
never looked back for a single second. I honestly believe I have the best job in the world.
How far in advance would you recommend couples to start looking for and booking their photographer?
As soon as your venue is secured, your photographer should be next on the list. Popular dates, particularly Fridays and Saturdays between May and September, can book up eighteen to twenty four months in advance. I do book up quickly, and I would hate for a couple to miss out simply because they left it too late.
That said, it is always worth asking even if your wedding is only a few months away. Dates do occasionally become available and I would never want anyone to assume it is too late without checking first.
If a prospective couple was interested in booking you, what might the timeline look like from that initial enquiry right up to the wedding day itself?
It all starts with an enquiry through my website. I check my availability and send over my brochure with everything they need to know. If we feel like a good fit, we will arrange a relaxed video call or meet for a coffee to chat about their plans and answer any questions they have. I love this part. Hearing all about a couple’s wedding plans genuinely makes me happy.
Once they are ready to book, a signed contract and booking fee secure the date. From there I am always on hand in the months leading up to the wedding, whether that is helping with timelines, suggesting portrait locations or simply being a reassuring presence when the planning feels overwhelming. Around six weeks before the wedding we go through all the final details together so
that everything on the day runs beautifully. And on the day itself, my job is simply to blend in, keep things relaxed and capture every part of the celebration naturally.
Quite a lot of people sadly consider themselves camera-shy or not very photogenic. What guidance do you provide for couples who are nervous in front of the camera?
Almost every couple tells me this, so they are absolutely not alone! The first thing I always say is that they do not need to know how to pose. That is entirely my job and I would never expect anyone to just know what to do.
Rather than asking couples to stand stiffly and smile at the camera, I guide them with gentle, natural prompts that encourage them to interact with each other instead. Before they know it they are chatting, laughing and have completely forgotten I am even there. That is exactly where I want them to be. Furthermore, I always recommend an engagement shoot beforehand for couples who feel particularly nervous. By the time the wedding day arrives they are complete pros and genuinely enjoy the portrait session. I have yet to meet a couple who did not enjoy it far more than they expected.
We are seeing more couples enquire about proposal photography at the Bodleian, outside of just the wedding day. What other photography do you offer?
Proposal photography at the Bodleian is such a special and unique thing to capture, and I absolutely love being part of those moments. The venue provides the most extraordinary backdrop for something so intimate and personal.
Alongside weddings I also photograph engagement sessions, pre-wedding shoots and couples portraits. Many couples choose an engagement session specifically because it gives them a chance to become comfortable in front of the camera before the wedding day, and it gives us the opportunity to get to know each other properly beforehand. I always say that the couples who do an
engagement shoot are the most relaxed in front of the camera on their wedding day, and it genuinely shows in their photographs.
What else can you offer couples for their wedding day beyond standard colour digital photographs?
My aim is to give couples far more than just a gallery of digital images. I want them to have beautiful, tangible memories that they can enjoy for years to come.
As part of every wedding package, couples receive a selection of professionally printed fine art prints. There’s something incredibly special about holding your photographs in your hands rather than simply viewing them on a screen, and I love giving my couples a keepsake they can display and treasure from the very beginning.
I also offer luxury fine art wedding albums, handcrafted by one of the UK’s finest album manufacturers. These heirloom-quality albums are designed to tell the story of the day beautifully and are something that can be passed down through generations. To make the process completely stress-free, I personally design every album, carefully selecting and arranging the images to create a
timeless story of the wedding day. Couples simply review the design before it goes to print.
For those who’d like to feel more relaxed in front of the camera before the wedding, I also offer pre wedding and engagement shoots. They’re a wonderful opportunity for us to get to know each other, help couples build confidence, and make the photography on the wedding day feel completely natural.
When the full gallery is ready, I also create a highlights slideshow set to music. It’s one of my favourite parts of the experience, as it allows couples to relive the emotion and excitement of their day in a truly cinematic way alongside the rest of their photographs.
Above all, I want every couple to feel looked after from the moment they enquire until long after their wedding day, creating not just beautiful photographs but an experience they’ll remember just as fondly.
If you could go back in time to when you photographed your first wedding, what advice would you give your past self?
Trust your instincts completely and have confidence in your own style. When you are first starting out it is very easy to look at what everyone else is doing and question yourself. I did it too. But over time I have come to realise that the photographs people connect with most deeply are the ones that genuinely reflect your own way of seeing the world.
Experience gives you a quiet confidence that you simply cannot rush. I now know that staying calm, being present and trusting my eye in the moment consistently produces the most meaningful and beautiful photographs. I wish I had believed that a little sooner.
Where are your favourite places to photograph couples at the Bodleian Libraries?
This is genuinely one of the hardest questions anyone could ask me because I love so many of them equally! The Radcliffe Camera and Radcliffe Square are always a highlight. There is something about that view that gives couples an immediate and unmistakable sense of Oxford that you simply cannot replicate anywhere else.
The Bridge of Sighs is a firm favourite for confetti and portraits alike. The framing it provides is extraordinary. All Souls Gate, the Science Museum steps, the Wren Door and the cobbled streets surrounding the Bodleian all offer something completely different and completely beautiful. And Duke Humphrey’s Library is in a category entirely of its own. Walking into that space with a couple
always feels genuinely otherworldly.
The wonderful thing about the Bodleian and its surroundings is that every season brings something completely different. Winter light, autumn warmth, summer evenings and spring blossom all change the feel entirely. No two visits ever look the same and that is one of the many reasons I never tire of photographing here.
And finally, what is your favourite part of the wedding day?
Without question it is the confetti moment and the couple portraits, and I genuinely cannot choose between them.
The confetti is always pure joy. It is often the very first time the couple walk together as newlyweds while everyone they love celebrates around them, and the happiness in those photographs is completely infectious.
And then the portraits. I love slipping away with a couple for fifteen or twenty minutes during the drinks reception. It is usually one of the only quiet moments they get together during the whole day. A chance to pause, take a breath, look at each other and truly take in what has just happened. Those moments produce some of the most relaxed, genuine and meaningful photographs of the entire day, and they are the ones couples so often tell me are their absolute favourites. At the Bodleian in particular, with all of those extraordinary locations on our doorstep, the portrait session is always something I look forward to enormously.
Thank you Suzy for spending time with us today! If you’re thinking of booking your wedding at the Bodleian Libraries, do take a look at our other recommended suppliers. Likewise, if you want to meet another of our recommended photographers, do take a look at our interview with Nicola & Glen. But the Bodleian Weddings Team wish you all a lovely day and see you next time!
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