A live wedding artist works while the celebration is under way. When the day ends, the couple or their guests have a painting or a drawing made from the day itself, not something ordered afterwards from photographs. On 5 Star Weddings the live artists are Cheryl Morrice, AYA Illustration and Live Event Artist. They work in three quite different ways, and the useful question is which of those ways suits your wedding.
A painting of the couple and the venue
Cheryl Morrice is a self-taught Scottish artist who paints in oil and watercolour in a loose, painterly style. At a wedding she paints at an easel, and her published live options are tied to the hours she works and the size of the finished piece. A watercolour on A3 archival paper takes four hours and covers the couple and the venue, at £600. An oil on a 16 by 20 inch canvas takes six hours, at £1,200, and is a couple portrait. An oil on an 18 by 24 inch canvas takes eight hours, at £1,500, and covers the couple and the venue.
The painting is delivered in a frame. Prices exclude travel and accommodation, and a booking on the mainland adds £300 for travel from the Outer Hebrides, where she is moving. Her wedding gift options start at £300. For couples who would rather not have a painter at the wedding, she also paints from favourite photographs of the day in her studio.
What you receive is one considered piece with a recognisable hand. The kilted groom in the watercolour above, with the bride and her bouquet, shows how the clothes and the colours are picked out in a few strokes. You can read more in her Edit, and the magazine issue shows her paintings in ten pages.
A montage of the whole day
Lucy McLoughlin, who works as Live Event Artist, is a British-Dutch painter based in Hampshire with more than 25 years of artistic experience. Her montage paintings gather the highlights of a wedding into one work, with the key people, the memorable moments and the decor shown together. The result is a keepsake that tells the story of the day.
A montage is a different commission from a portrait of two people. It suits a wedding with a strong setting, a large wedding party or a day built around several moments, and it asks the couple to think about what they would want to see together on one canvas. Lucy aims to take in the atmosphere and to connect with the couple and their guests before she paints, so that the artwork reflects the feeling of the day.
She works in the United Kingdom and at luxury weddings abroad, and her pricing starts from £1,750. Her magazine issue shows the montages and the guest portraits across eight pages.
Portraits of your guests
The third way is to have the artist draw or paint the people who came. Lucy paints fashion-inspired guest portraits, which a couple can offer as a favour and a thank-you to those attending.
AYA Illustration is built around this idea. Zhanna, who founded it, studied Illustration at Falmouth University and has drawn since childhood. At a wedding she draws portraits of guests by hand during the celebration. Each is an A5 original on watercolour paper, signed and embossed with the artist’s seal. Nothing is made from a template and no piece is repeated.
Guests do not sit for the artist. Zhanna or an assistant takes quick reference photographs without interrupting the day, and the drawings are completed while everyone enjoys the celebration. The finished portraits are shown in a pop-up gallery, where guests return to collect their own. Envelopes or mounts are included in the Platinum package. AYA is based in Devon, and the full-day Signature Suite is £850.
The pop-up gallery does something a single painting cannot. It gives guests something to look at and to talk about while the party goes on, and every guest leaves with an original. The AYA Illustration magazine issue follows the process in ten pages.
Choosing between them
The simplest way to choose is to decide who the artwork is for. If it is for the two of you, a painting of the couple, or of the couple in their venue, is the natural commission, and Cheryl Morrice publishes the prices that make it easy to compare. If it is for the story of the whole day, a montage is the better fit. If it is for your guests, portraits turn the artist into part of the entertainment and send every guest home with something made for them.
The three approaches can also sit together, because the commissions are different in kind. A couple might choose a painting made at the ceremony and a guest portrait service for the evening. Whether a particular artist can do both on the same day is something to ask them directly.
What it costs
All three give a starting point. Cheryl Morrice lists £600 for a live A3 watercolour, £1,200 for a live 16 by 20 inch oil and £1,500 for a live 18 by 24 inch oil, with wedding gift options from £300. Travel and accommodation are extra, and a mainland booking adds £300.
AYA Illustration’s full-day Signature Suite is £850 for a guest list of about 45 to 55, excluding travel and accommodation. Live Event Artist’s pricing starts from £1,750 and is quoted around the event. Because the price depends on how long the artist works, how many portraits are made and where the wedding is, a fair comparison is the price for the same thing: the hours worked, what is delivered and what travel adds.
How the artist fits around the day
A live artist is a guest who is working. Cheryl stands at a portable easel with a palette in one hand, whether in a garden in daylight or in a lit room in the evening, and the finished painting stands on the easel beside her. Lucy spends time with the couple and their guests before she paints, so the picture reflects the feeling of the day. Zhanna or her assistant moves quietly among the guests with a camera, and the portraits are drawn while the party carries on.
None of this needs the couple to stop what they are doing. The artist works around the programme, and the programme should make room for the artist: a place to set up, light to work in and, for portraits, an hour in which guests are free to be photographed. Your planner can build that into the timings.
Questions to ask before you book
Every artist works to their own method, so the questions that matter are practical ones. How many hours will they paint, and at what point in the day? What size and medium is the finished piece, and is a frame or a mount included? Who or what will be in the work, and how is that agreed? How many guest portraits can be made in the time available? What does travel add, and is it included in the quote?
Ask too about the space. A painter needs room for an easel and good light, and a portrait service needs somewhere for a gallery of finished work to stand. Your venue and your planner can help you find the right corner of the room.
Where the artists are based
Cheryl Morrice was born and raised in Fife and is moving to the Isle of Benbecula in the Outer Hebrides, from where she travels to the mainland for weddings. AYA Illustration is based in Devon, and Live Event Artist in Hampshire. Lucy McLoughlin also paints at luxury weddings abroad. Where an artist is based matters less than whether they can travel to your wedding and what the journey adds, so it is worth asking early and before a date is held.
Where it fits in the day
Some artists paint the ceremony itself, so the finished piece shows the moment you said your vows. Others work among your guests during the drinks reception, where a scene arriving on an easel gives people something to gather round. Some capture the first dance and the room at its fullest, and complete the piece before the night ends. Each artist’s profile lists what they offer, and the timing is agreed with them.
Booking a live artist
Live artists work one wedding at a time, so the first step is to check the date. Open the artist you like and use Check your date on their page. If you want to compare them first, the live wedding artists page shows every artist with their work, their kind of commission and a way to read their magazine.
Their listings carry the full record: Cheryl Morrice Fine Art & Commissions, AYA Illustration and Live Event Artist.
The short answer
Choose a painting of the couple if the artwork is for the two of you, a montage if you want the whole day on one canvas, and guest portraits if you want everyone to take something home. Ask each artist how many hours they paint, what is included in the price and what travel adds, and check the date before anything else.
