Seventeen years of happy people…
I didn’t plan to become a wedding photographer…
My background is a slightly winding creative one – I started university studying textiles before switching to graphic design and photography, and eventually found myself at weddings with a camera. In hindsight it makes complete sense. Everything I studied was about how things look, feel and connect, and that’s exactly what I’m doing on a wedding day.
The weddings themselves started over summers while I was working as a graphic designer. I’m the kind of person who can’t really sit still, so when a friend handed me a camera and asked me to tag along while he shot a wedding I said yes – mostly out of curiosity, and now … here I am.
What I found was something I didn’t expect: a room full of genuinely happy people, all in one place, on one of the best days of their lives. It was, honestly, a little addictive. Seventeen years later, it still is.
I’m based in Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand, and I spend the summer season shooting weddings at home before heading to Europe and the UK each year from June through September. The work takes me everywhere from vineyard ceremonies in Tuscany to country estates in the English countryside – and I love every bit of it.
Meredith x
The people are the best part
Over the years I’ve noticed my couples tend to share something in common: they’re interesting. Professionals with full lives, strong opinions about what they want, and usually a good story about how they got there.
I love hearing those stories – how they met, what they do, what drives them. The couples who get the most out of working with me are usually the ones who are relaxed enough to just enjoy the day – and trust that I’ve got it covered.
How I work …
My background in design and photography shapes everything – the way I frame a shot, the light I look for, the details I notice that others walk past. The training runs deep, even when it’s invisible.
But the approach on the day itself is the opposite of clinical. It’s warm, unhurried, and built around you feeling comfortable rather than directed. No posing, no interruptions, no moment broken apart to be reconstructed. Just the two of you, exactly as you are.
Most couples tell me afterward that they forgot I was even there. That’s exactly what I’m going for.
A FEW OTHER THINGS
I’ve been shooting weddings for seventeen years and still get genuinely excited the night before. I am based in Hawke’s Bay but I travel well – ask anyone who’s hired me across three time zones.
I drink too much coffee, I have strong opinions about light, and I will absolutely cry at your ceremony if your vows are good.
MEREDITH LORD PHOTOGRAPHY
Relaxed editorial-style wedding photography – New Zealand, UK & Europe