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frequently asked questions
booking process
After you enquire with us, we go about finding a mutual time for you to have an initial consultation with us, and recommend you allow approximately 45 minutes of your time with us. We prefer the old fashioned way of meeting in-person where possible, so we invite you to our homey office in Chatswood. However we do offer video and phone consultations to suit availability.
02. We are super busy and can’t devote 45 minutes for an initial consultation, can we still book you?
In some cases this is perfectly fine! You may have a wedding planner that’s hashed out all the specifics for you already, and you know exactly how much coverage you need and just want to ‘Lock it in, Eddy!’ In these scenarios we can get away without a consultation, however we would still love to hop on a quick phone call with you to make sure we’re a great fit for each other.
During your initial consultation with us, we go through the process of helping you put together a rough schedule to ensure that your day is set up for success. We look at the key events, and other elements that you want to incorporate into your wedding, and we advise you on how much time to allow for everything so that you aren’t finding yourselves stressed or rushing through your day. No one wants that on their wedding day!
Due to the way we conduct our initial consultations, once we have a rough schedule hashed out, we can easily work out exactly how much coverage you need! No more, and no less!
In most cases, we usually only meet in person during our initial consultation. Leading up to your wedding we keep in contact with you via email and help you refine your wedding day schedule as the day approaches. If your day has a lot of moving parts that are complicated, or if you feel more comfortable chatting through things before the big day, we then arrange a video chat or have you visit us at our Chatswood office a few weeks before the big day.
Once you’re happy with our quote for your wedding, you can accept it to start the process in your client portal. From there, a 25% deposit and signed wedding contract complete your booking.
We offer flexible payment plans with up to 12 monthly installments. All our payment options are interest free.
If your wedding is unable to go ahead due to serious impact from COVID restriction, your deposit is fully transferable to another date we are available for. There is no penalty of fee for the reschedule.
Deposits are non-refundable.
We totally get it! You’re enquiring with all of your favourite vendors and you want to make sure no one else gets the jump on you before you can make your decision! Due to the high volume of enquiries we get, we do not hold wedding dates until you book in for your initial consultation with us. Once your consultation is on our calendar though, we do place an immediate hold on your wedding date!
Once booked in for your initial consultation, we keep your soft hold on your wedding date until your quote expires. Quotes are active for 21 days, and we touch base with you prior to it expiring to check in.
11. What happens if someone else enquires for our date while we have a soft hold, and are still deciding?
We operate on a first come first served basis to keep things fair for everyone. We immediately let you know that someone else has enquired about your date to keep you in the loop. We also let the other couple know that someone has enquired ahead of them, but let them know that we are tentatively available until you decide to lock in your booking. Due to this policy, we kindly request that you let us know if you wish to not proceed for any reason.
Prior to your quote expiring after 21 days, we reach out and check in with you. If your quote expires after the 21 day period and we haven’t heard anything from you, we assume you’ve gone a different direction and we release the soft hold on your wedding date to the next enquiry.
While we don’t offer discounts on our services, we do work closely with you in order to best tailor a package to suit your budget. That may mean tweaking your coverage slightly or adjusting your deliverables, but we usually find ways in order to meet your budget to the best of our ability without compromising the quality of our services.
If you’re interested in splitting coverage over multiple days (ie; booking a 10-hour package and having 6-hours on one day, and 4-hours on another day), this can be done for a flat fee of $200 per additional day.
If you’d like to split your coverage over one day (ie; booking a 6-hour package and using 3-hours in the morning and 3-hours in the evening), we sadly can not provide this type of split coverage.
We’ve broken down our travel fees into 3 different zones below, anything beyond our normal zone radius’ will require a customised travel fee on a case by case scenario.
Zone 0 – Standard Servicing Area
Metro Sydney extending to Penrith, Northern Beaches, Campbelltown, Camden, Sutherland Shire, and Windsor/Richmond
Zone 1 – $50 p/crew member
Wollongong, Southern Highlands, Lower Hunter Valley (below Newcastle line), Blue mountains (inc Lithgow).
Zone 2 – $100 p/crew member
Kangaroo Valley, Nowra, Jervis Bay, Upper Hunter Valley regions beyond Newcastle.
General
Please allow up to 12-weeks for us to turnaround any wedding photography or videographer. Pre-wedding/Engagement sessions take 4-6 weeks, and any photo booth galleries or audio guestbook files up to 1-week after your wedding.
We are a small, boutique wedding studio. We have a wonderful, incredibly talented, and highly trained group of some of Sydney’s finest videographers and photographers. You can feel comfortable in the knowledge that no matter which of our Senior Associates is shooting your wedding, they will have the same style and standard that we pride ourselves on for every wedding.
Generally speaking, we don’t find it necessary for you to meet your videographer before your wedding. Our small team of videographers are the best at what they do, from planning and preparation, to artistic direction. You’ll still have the assistance of our office staff who will answer any and all of your questions, and help you every step of the way leading up to your big day.
If you book photography through Pepper June, your initial consultation will be with one of our Senior Associate Photographers.
For weddings where our coverage is more than 6 hours, a crew/vendor meal is required.
We take on a more fun and candid approach, we know the majority of our couples aren’t models and that the other side of the camera isn’t a natural habitat! We give ‘prompts’ over poses so that you can feel like you have something to do together, and these secret prompts that we like to use create beautiful and flattering moments for us to capture of you. While we give you guidance where we’re able to, for other parts of the day where we need to be discreet, we take on a documentary style and put on our best ninja impersonations.
Absolutely! The beauty of our industry is that we are quite small, and so we have many friends that we enjoy working alongside with for our lovely couples! The only thing we recommend to keep in mind here is to make sure that the two companies that you want to book have similar styles and approaches to capturing your day. For example, it might be a bit jarring for you guys as a couple if we are more candid, upbeat and fun in our approach, and then the other company is more editorial style and wants to pose you very still with studio lights! Very different!
We deliver all of your wedding memories online in a secure gallery where your memories will be available to view and share for 12 months. From there you will be able to download your memories in their highest resolution, where photos can be printed in large format, and films are 1080p resolution. You can also opt to download in web resolution for easier sharing online with friends and family, or just send them the link to your gallery!
We need a minimum of 1.5 hours with you and your wedding party. If adding an extra location on, add any extra travel time and another 30 minutes of photo time per additional location.
Golden hour!! Photographers and videographers live for this part of the day, so where possible having your portrait session somewhere in the 2 hours leading up to sunset is ideal.
photography
For us, we deliver however many photos are required to tell the story of your day. But as a super rough guide, in general you can expect roughly around 70 edited photos per hour of coverage.
Unfortunately we do not share RAW photos under any circumstances, but we do supply RAW video footage upon request.
We offer professional prints where we do all printing in-house ourselves! When we deliver your photo gallery, it’s connected to our print store to make order super easy. We also have frames available up to A2 in size, which is perfect for welcome signs on your wedding day!
In our humble opinion, second photographers are worth every penny on your wedding day! However we totally understand that not every wedding budget can stretch that far, nor does every wedding need one. As a general rule, we highly recommend a second photographer for weddings where you have over 100 guests, or if you have any cultural elements to your day like tea ceremonies/hindu ceremonies.
We sure do! Our fine art heirloom albums are handmade in the US, and can be tailored to suit your home decor/taste, or match your wedding theme/colour palette. The options are endless when it comes to linen book cloth, premium leathers, eco leather and velvet.
After we’ve delivered your wedding photos, we start your album design journey by inviting you to our Chatswood office to check out the different materials and colours we have, as well as all the other options available too. Once you’ve picked out your materials, we start designing your album spreads in order to best tell the story of your special day. A wedding album is supposed to feel like you’re reliving the day as you flick through the pages, it’s not just about printing your favourite photos, however we do make sure to incorporate them! There’s two rounds of revisions to make sure you’re happy before we send it all off to be handmade!
videography
Your short cinematic film will be 3-5 minutes, extended cinematic film will be 15+ minutes, whereas your ceremony reception speeches will be delivered in real time.
You sure can! Please note however that drone use is quite regulated in certain parts of Sydney. Depending on your locations, there may be instances where we are legally forbidden to fly. There is no additional cost for drone footage.
While it is possible for you to select your own music, we prefer to choose the music for multiple reasons – the first and foremost being pacing. The song choice literally sets the tone of your entire film. Some songs are great to listen to, but may not be the best choice for a wedding film. We need to use music that builds and has an arc. Oftentimes, the songs we all love lack those crucial elements.
Another important reason we choose the music is because we license all of the music we use. It is illegal to use any song without first purchasing a license. Oftentimes, with mainstream music, this can cost in the thousands, if not tens of thousands of dollars.
Our favourite reason for choosing music is because of a beautiful thing called “Musical Nostalgia”. In short, our brains create insanely strong connections between songs and memories. The first time you watch your wedding film will also most likely be the first time you ever hear the song(s) we used. Hopefully you fall in love with the song(s) we chose, so that every time you listen to it or hear it again, you instantly think of your wedding day. What a cool feeling right?!
Yup.. you sure can! Small changes are made at no cost, but larger changes, such as changing music (which generally requires a full re-edit), may incur a $150 re-edit cost.
Both your full documentary and highlight film will be sent to you via secure online server, ready for download. Your films will be available for download from the server for 12-months. We highly recommend downloading your films as soon as they are delivered, and backing them up.
Yup! Same day edits are available for any wedding 10-hours or longer with two videographers. Your editor will be editing your film as it is shot throughout the day (which is pretty dang cool!). The cost to add a same day edit is $1500.
You sure can. We’re happy to provide raw unedited footage from the day. There is no cost for RAW footage, but you will need to provide us with a hard drive with at least 200gb of available space prior to your film deliver.
Please note that we do not deliver RAW photos.
Signature packages
If you've been following our directors, Russell Stafford and David Duong over the years via Russell Stafford Photography and We Are Origami, you'll know that their style and reputation precedes them as two of the best wedding photographers in the country. The Directors Signature Collections are for those couple's who couldn't imagine anyone but Russell or David photographing their wedding.
All our Pepper June photographers are curated and developed in-house over many years, honing their craft under the advanced tutelage of Russell & David. They are amongst the best wedding photographers in Sydney. The Pepper June Collections are for couples who want a refined, sophisticated, and fun wedding photography experience in a similar style to our Directors, but at a more affordable price point.
All our Pepper June photographers are curated and developed in-house over many years, honing their craft under the advanced tutelage of Russell & David. They are amongst the best wedding photographers in Sydney. The Pepper June Collections are for couples who want a refined, sophisticated, and fun wedding photography experience in a similar style to our Directors, but at a more affordable price point.
Pending availability, yes, but please note that Russ & Dave's calendars often book out 12+ months in advance, so the earlier you make your decision the more likely they are to be available. The additional cost of the Directors Signature Package will be added to your final invoice.
Russ and Dave both bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to their Signature Collections. While they have a similar friendly, outgoing, and down-to-earth personality, their shooting styles differ somewhat.
Russ blends a documentary, moment-oriented style with a mastery of natural and artificial lighting. He has an eye for grand scenes and impactful portraits.
David's photography style is best described as modern editorial. He has a strong background in film photography which has defined his style throughout the years. He has a keen ability to craft sophisticated imagery with an authentic and intimate approach.
04. Are there any additional inclusions in a Directors Signature Collection over the Pepper June Collection?
Yes. In addition the decades of experience Russell & David bring, all Directors Signature Collections include an additional photographer, as well as two A3 fine art prints.
photobooth
We offer 3, 4 and 5 hour packages to suit any type of event length! We also offer the flexibility to add on additional hours if you want to keep the party going! Additional hours need to be organised prior to the event, and not applicable for on the day extension. Pricing all listed on our website.
We find that having the booth open once you’ve had your official entrance is a great start time! That way guests can make their way straight to their seats and you can start your reception on time. But of course every wedding is different and some people love to have the booth available during cocktail hour! So this one is really up to you guys! And in terms to gauge an end time, 1.5 hours after the dance floor has opened is a good time for the booth to close as most people have had a go by then!
No hidden fees here! Our bump-in and bump-out times are already factored into our package costs. Our attendant usually bumps-in roughly 1.5 hours prior to the start time of your booking to set up, and once your booked hours have ended, they discretely bump out!
We sure do! Our guest book is a cream linen wrapped hard cover with plenty of blank white pages so your guests can stick in their photo strips and write their lovely messages!
Heck yeah! We bring a bunch of fun PVC props and signs along to every event that always bring out about fun banter and silly shenanigans! They consist of signs that have silly slogans, ridiculous moustache, lips, and sunglasses paddle props that are easily sanitised at the end of each event! Due to hygiene reasons we do not have fabric or wearable props.
Uhhh, of course!!!! If you plan to have life size cardboard cut outs of yourselves, or have your own customised props made to add your own touch or flair to the photo booth, then we welcome and invite you to! The more the merrier!!
Our booth is always stocked with pens, glue sticks and fun patterned scrapbooking tape!
You sure do! The week after your wedding, we send you a link to your online gallery where you get a copy of every single photo that the booth took, as well as the digital files of your photo strips!
“Yes please!” For a typical evening wedding reception we are usually onsite from 4pm for bump-in, and then often finishing up close to midnight. So we kindly ask for a vendor meal to be supplied please.
Unlimited!! You get a print! And you get a print! Everybody gets a print!!! Plus an extra one to stick into your guest book of course! We print out as many as you require to ensure that everyone in a session gets to take home a print on the night. Additional prints after your event however are not applicable, and fees would then apply.
Unfortunately we can only set up one backdrop for each event.
Absolutely! The dimensions of our photo strips are 600×1800 pixels if you want to do it yourself, otherwise feel free to send us the digital assets of your stationery so that we can create a custom design for you!
Heads up! Some boring occupational health and safety things incoming… Unfortunately our booth can’t be positioned anywhere that exposes it to the elements like wind, direct sunlight and rain. Our backdrop also needs to be against a wall and we require easy access to a power point.
We usually recommend immediately after the bridal party entrance, or after the first course of food has been served.
15. Can the booth be moved to a different location in our venue halfway through our booking? We want it outside for canapes, and then inside for the rest of reception?
Unfortunately this is not something that can be catered for due to the bulky nature of the booth, we would almost be required to completely dismantle the booth in order to set it up in another location.
Head on over to our website and submit an enquiry, make sure you tick that you’re enquiring about our photo booth, and we’ll send you the very easy booking form! All you’ll need to do is: Select the length of package you want to book
Click ‘next and. submit’ so that you can read and sign our contract
Place your 25% deposit to lock in our booth
We send you some questionnaires so that you can:
Pick out your desired backdrop
Choose a photo strip template from our library that we then customise and send mockups for your approval, or upload your own design assets from your wedding stationery and we can help you create a design that is consistent and ties in with everything else on the day.
2 weeks prior to your wedding day, your remaining account balance is due
Enjoy the fun shenanigans with your guests!!
The week after your wedding we send you a digital online gallery with all of the original size photos and digital versions of every photo strip!
pre-weddings / engagements
Not necessary at all! But for those who feel nervous about having their photo taken, it may sound counterintuitive, but we would recommend a pre-wedding session to those people most! This is due to the fact that it’s one less thing to worry about on your actual wedding day as you’ll already know what to expect on the day. Plus they’re super fun and you get some pretty cool photos out of it to use on the big day if we do say so ourselves!
Since we’re usually off capturing beautiful weddings on the weekend, we do our pre-wedding sessions during a weekday.
We recommend having your session at least 12 weeks prior to your wedding at the very latest. But we believe the sooner the better if you plan to use your photos for your wedding website, stationery or signage on the big day!
We usually ask what type of backdrop you guys like, whether it be beaches, parklands or urban city settings, and from there we go about recommending great photo spots for your session!
Our standard session is 1.5 hours long and we schedule to have it finish just after sunset, it’s a fun start to a date night in our opinion!
Everyone is different when it comes to hair and makeup preferences, but we definitely recommend it! Treat yourself! But something that a lot of brides-to-be end up doing is aligning their hair and makeup trial with their wedding day artist on the same day as their pre-wedding session.
audio guest book
You get the phone for the weekend of your wedding, so you’ll need to pick it up from our office in Chatswood, and drop it off on our next business day. Normal pickup days are Thursday, and drop off days are Mondays.
If only we could yell “I’ve got the Power!” like Bruce Almighty… But until we’re plugged into a power socket in the wall, we unfortunately, do not have the power! Our phones are not battery operated and will be required to be plugged in at your venue.
We have a large free standing gold hook that hoists the neon sign up nice and high. We recommend asking your venue for a high cocktail table for the phone to sit on, and our gold shepherd hook is then the perfect height to hover slightly above/beside the phone.
We deliver your digital recordings online so that you can easily listen to all the ‘feels’ and all the spills! Each recording is saved as an individual file so that you can easily save those sentimental messages to go back over, or even remind a friend of a message they left that they mayyyyy or may not remember!
As soon as we get our phone back from you, you can expect your digital library of recordings to be delivered to you within 1-2 weeks after your wedding.
The client is responsible for the phone whilst it is in their possession. If the phone becomes damaged or broken then a $1000 replacement fee will be charged, and if the recordings become lost due to the damage, then Pepper June cannot be held liable.
Choose your package type and design elements! Let us know if you’d like just our phone, or if you’d like to add our neon sign as well, and then choose your preferred colours, neon style and optional stand.
Sign our e-contract. Make sure you read through our terms and conditions of hiring our Audio Guest Book carefully, once you’re happy, simply sign our contract by typing your name into the fields. Our system writes your IP address which is just as legally binding as your handwritten signature.
Pay our hire fee & you’re all booked in!! We require payment in full in order to confirm your booking. If for any reason your require to cancel our services, then 50% of the fee is refundable back to you if cancelling more than 2 weeks prior to your date. Cancellations less than 2 weeks from your hire are non-refundable.
Once your booking is confirmed, we reach out and help you organise a customised greeting message for your guests to hear when they pick up the phone. We also send you a form to fill out which details your exact pickup and drop-off times, and who the best contact is for those logistics (cause we get it, you have a honeymoon to go to after your wedding! Not our office!).
Delivery of your Audio Guest Book. The moment we get the phone back from you, we get to work in putting all your recordings together for delivery. You can expect to receive your Audio Guest Book within 1 – 2 weeks after your wedding.
