Mathilde Anceaume

Mathilde Anceaume is a wedding and family photographer based in La Chaux-de-Fonds, in the canton of Neuchâtel, who has photographed weddings in French-speaking Switzerland since 2017. Her style is deliberately dark, contrasted and warm, she is the in-house photographer of the rock-themed wedding agency Wed & Rock, and, usefully for couples from abroad, her FAQ says she works in French or English and travels throughout Switzerland and beyond.

Training and background

Her about page sets out her training in detail. She took a baccalauréat with an audiovisual option in June 2004, then studied photography at MJM Paris for 2 years and earned the French CAP photographer's certificate in June 2006, which she notes was the only French state photography diploma at the time. In September 2006 she was admitted to GOBELINS Paris, which she describes as prestigious and selective, studying photography with a focus on image processing for 2 years. She then worked for some years as a retoucher in Paris.

In September 2012 she moved to Switzerland and worked as a photographer, retoucher and graphic designer for a mail-order company. Her daughter was born in 2014. In 2017 she started photographing again for pleasure, photographed a friends' wedding and decided to go independent; in May 2018 she became a full-time independent photographer. In 2021 she moved her studio out of her apartment into a dedicated space in La Chaux-de-Fonds, fitted with sets and backdrops in her own style.

Style

She describes her style as "Moody": contrasted, with rich, warm tones and a sharp sense of shadow and light. She writes that she refused to go down the classic route of pink-and-blue baby photos or all-white wedding pictures, and adds that she loves rock music and it shows. Despite her striking blue hair, she says she can "me fondre dans le décor et disparaître pour capturer des images super spontanées" (blend into the background and disappear to catch very spontaneous images) during weddings.

She is a strong advocate of personalized weddings, encouraging couples to put as much of themselves as possible into the preparations, decoration, running order and entertainment rather than ticking every traditional box.

How she works on the day

Her main promise is speed. Her biggest priority, she writes, is to "travailler vite et bien" (work fast and well) so she takes as little time as possible away from the couple's guests, and the couple photos will never take more than one hour. She notes that most of her couples have never done a photo shoot before, and says she puts them at ease with jokes of admittedly poor quality. She also offers an engagement session before the wedding, as a practice run.

The booking process is clearly described. A couple sends a first email with their names and date. She replies, usually within 2 working days, with her information and package catalog. If the date is free and the couple likes her work and prices, they meet, and after that meeting she sends a contract and a deposit request to secure the date. A few days before the wedding the couple (or their planner) sends her the final schedule.

The Château de Vaulruz blog post shows how she handles a couple who did not want a first look: she took them away during the apéritif for a short, efficient couple session close to the castle, so they could get back to their guests quickly.

Prices and what is included

Her wedding page publishes starting prices:

• Civil, for a small civil wedding: from CHF 1400.
• Mariage, for anything from an elopement to a large wedding: from CHF 2100.

She sends the full package catalog by email and can tailor a quote. Included on top of her hours on the day: a contract, her availability for questions before the wedding, selection and retouching, access to an online gallery for 1 year that can be shared with guests, and a proposed selection and layout for a printed album.

There is no fixed number of images: she delivers all the images she considers successful and tends to shoot a lot so couples have choice for an album. Delivery is by online gallery, with high-resolution and web JPG downloads, favorites lists and the option to hide some images before sharing the link. She commits to delivering within 8 weeks at most. Professional prints are available, from a 10×15 cm print to wooden wall art and a printed book laid out by her.

Language and travel

Her FAQ says she is a Neuchâtel wedding photographer who travels everywhere in Switzerland and can also travel abroad by arrangement. She speaks French or English, and notes she has done many bilingual weddings including languages she did not speak. The site itself is in French.

Weddings on her blog

Her blog includes a September 2021 secular ceremony at Château de Vaulruz in the Gruyère region, with the ceremony in the castle courtyard and the party in the reception room; a heavy metal festival wedding at La Scie in Charmey organized by Wed & Rock, with a live band and food truck; a Peaky Blinders themed wedding; a country-chic wedding at the Auberge du Grand Sommartel in La Sagne; a wedding in canton Vaud; and a wedding at the Porte des Iris at the Domaine de Vullierens. Testimonials come from couples at Le Camp in Vaumarcus, the Auberge de La Ferme Droz-dit-Busset in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Val-de-Ruz and Vaulruz. One couple praises how she turned a rainy day's gray skies into part of the story.

Wed & Rock

She is the only photographer of Wed & Rock, a team of Swiss wedding suppliers founded in 2020 for couples whose taste runs to rock, metal, gothic or geek. Couples planning an unconventional wedding can get a whole team through the agency.

What the site does not settle

The site does not say how many hours the starting packages include (the catalog comes by email), what the deposit amount is, or what travel costs for a wedding outside the Neuchâtel region are.

Who she suits

Mathilde Anceaume suits couples in French-speaking Switzerland who want warm, contrasted, characterful images rather than bright and airy ones, and above all couples planning a personal or offbeat wedding. Her English, published prices and clear process make her easy to book from abroad. Couples who want very light, pastel imagery should look closely at her portfolio first, since her style is intentionally the opposite.