I hope you enjoy reading through all these blogs I have recently written. They pick out some of my favourite weddings I’ve photographed from the past ten years.

This wedding between Annie and Duncan was held at Manor By The Lake, a fabulous wedding venue located in Cheltenham. Ceremonies can be conducted either outside in the grounds, or in one of the beautiful rooms inside.

This couple were from America and were great fun. I split my time between the girls, who were getting ready in the bridal suite upstairs, and the boys, who enjoyed a few drinks in the infamous Rock Bar, complete with pool table and juke box.

Photographing the boys and the girls always presents such a contrast in terms of the amount of time and effort everyone puts into getting ready. There’s always a little bit of disorganisation with the lads, which adds a fun dimension to the morning! The girls on the other hand are normally cool and relaxed, enjoying numerous glasses of fizz and having a real giggle.

Prior to the big day, I go through the list of shots the bride and groom would like. Some couples are quite specific about the images they want, while others just leave me to get on with it. I recall Annie was quite keen to get a photo of her father seeing her for the first time, and I think the image below sums up the moment perfectly.

Naturally, the ceremony is the focus of the day. I ensure I leave enough time to capture pictures of the room set up prior to guests arriving and then take a few photos of guests mingling. The moment when guests arrive is not something the bride normally sees, so I like to document this moment so she can look back over it in the photos afterwards.

Between the ceremony and the wedding breakfast is the time when we focus on getting the group shots taken and couple shots of the bride and groom. I always do a recky before hand to find nice spots for photos. I don’t give much direction to couples when it comes to photos of just the two of them, I find leaving them to just ‘be’ together creates more honest and natural moments.

I remember that for this wedding I was only booked to stay up until the wedding breakfast. If I am booked to cover the evening as well, it is at this point that I take a small break, leaving the wedding party to eat. This couple received over 300 photos of their wedding. I send all images via WeTransfer within a couple of weeks. I try and turn weddings around quickly as I know how keen couples are to receive their photos. These images really are the mini highlights!