Rosie and Ryan

Rosie and Ryan got married in 2018 at the beautiful Stanway House and adjoining barn. Some weddings really stick out in my mind and this is one of those. The weather was glorious and the couple and their guests were ever so friendly and accommodating towards me, which is always appreciated as it’s not always the case.

Rosie got ready at her parent’s house in Cheltenham, before being picked up in a gorgeous car to take her to the church at Stanway. I’ve done a few weddings at this location and it always provides a lovely backdrop.

All of the photographs I take are in colour. If the couple receive any black and white ones it is because they have been adjusted during post production. Some images lend themselves very well to being black and white, which produces a more classic, timeless feel.

As with all my photos, I adopt a very relaxed and informal approach. I find this method produces the best results. Natural, candid shots help to capture the essence of the day much better than images where people are very self conscious they are having their photo taken. My friendly, easy going manner also helps to put people at ease.

The church at Stanway is quite small, and as such the vicar requested I keep my distance and stay towards the back. This position can sometimes work in a photographer’s favour, especially when the couple turn around for an impromptu giggle with their guests!

Rosie and Ryan had gone to a great deal of effort to supply wedding props for their guests to interact with. The frames and polaroids were a real hit with the youngsters, while the stilts went down well with the older generation!

The reception always provides a great deal of subject matter to photograph, and this one was no exception. There was much merriment, and as the sun went and guests headed inside for the first dance, you could feel the party was just getting started.

Rebecca and Gareth

I have photographed many different types of weddings over the ten years working as a professional wedding photographer. All offer something different to the next. All are as individual as the couple. I still very much enjoy capturing this special day for people, and often find myself smiling along with everyone else there.

It’s obviously a given that during the wedding ceremony, it is the bride and groom who take centre stage. However, if there is the opportunity, I also like to capture guests reaction and smaller details such as flowers, rings etc. It all adds to the story.

The wedding breakfast can provide many good photographic opportunities, it really depends on the crowd and the couple, and what, if any entertainment, they have organised. A photo booth always provides good material, as you’ll see in the photos a little further down this blog.

When it comes to taking good photos, be it of a wedding, a family, a baby or a dog, the key is attention to detail. It’s important to notice the little things and to think about how that fits with the composition of the picture. In the image below, I wanted to draw attention to the groom’s ring in the foreground. Keeping the bride in the background provides an interesting narrative.

I was professionally trained in fine art photography at Central St Martins, London. It is extremely useful to have that knowledge behind me. It is also reassuring for couples to know that they are in safe hands when it comes to capturing thoughtfully composed shots.

As I’ve mentioned in other blogs, confetti shots can be tricky. If you’re not careful you can just end up with both the bride and groom’s faces completely obscured by the stuff. These types of photos are usually very candid, which is great. I like to reel off plenty of shots as it only takes a split second for the confetti to fall, resulting in one picture being totally rubbish, and the one taken just a second later being absolutely brilliant!

With this first dance of Rebecca and Gareth, no flash gun was used. It’s a tricky shot as there is the natural light from the windows plus the artificial light from the large letters. It was important not to over expose the background and therefore loose the detail in the bulbs, but equally important not to make the subjects, (Rebecca and Gareth) too dark either.

Rachael and Andy

I’m always pleased when a couple decides to book me to photograph their wedding. However, it’s not always under good circumstances. When Rachael and Andy got married back in 2018, I remember them telling me their original wedding photographer had let them down.

Fast forward to their wedding day, and it was seriously good fun! There was the usual bridal prep shots, followed by some quite posed pictures of the boys, (as was the request).

I take hundreds of photos during a wedding, sometimes thousands if it’s a really long day. I don’t limit the number of pictures I take or the number of photos the couple receive afterwards. They get all the good ones.

Over the ten years I’ve been photographing weddings, I’ve never had a bouncy castle, so it was great to see one at Rachael and Andy’s wedding! It provided lots of great photo opportunities, which really helped to add variety to the shots. I think Rachael spent most of the afternoon bouncing up and down on it.

It can be really fun to have a play around with lighting, some shots lend themselves well to being deliberately over exposed, such as this one below. Others work much better when darkened up.

I recall Rachael and Andy were particularly keen to get a photo of them entering the wedding breakfast room, followed by photos of the cake cutting. During the cutting of the cake, I always like to get pictures of the guest’s reaction too, as it often resembles something like the paparazzi! I think it’s nice for the bride and groom to have that memory to look back on.

The couple shots were particularly enjoyable. I don’t like to direct as the pictures can feel quite contrived, but Rachael and Andy were clearly comfortable in front of the lens. They posed naturally without much encouragement from me. The odd gust of wind helped too!

Lucy and Pete

I loved everything about this wedding. The venue had great, natural lighting, which is a must have favourite of mine, plus there were plenty of super sweet kids too, another of my favourite subjects!

Plenty of time and effort had gone into every little detail, from the confetti bags to the place names to the enormous number of homemade cakes! The ceremony had beautiful natural lighting, with gorgeous strands of fairy lights dotted along the roof, adding a little bit of sparkle.

The sparkly theme continued into the wedding breakfast room, with large oversized windows providing gorgeous amounts of natural light. The rustic barn looked dressed for the occasion with bunting, flowers and other delicate touches.

There were plenty of group photos, but mostly these were done in a very informal, fun kind of way, with Lucy and Pete making it up as they went along. It’s how I like to do things too. Formal, group shots are not my favourite part of a wedding day. They can interrupt the flow of the occasion considerably and the bride can sometimes get stressed out if guests aren’t in the right place at the right time. I understand why people want them, but I don’t think they capture the essence of the day quite like natural, candid shots do.

The speeches provided some very touching moments, and also some really funny moments too! When photographing speeches I like to get a balance of shots of both the person delivering the speech and the reaction of the guests.

We spent some time outside taking photos of just the two of them, before moving inside for dancing and cake. It was a super day all round.

Sara and David

Sara and David were married about four years ago. It was a lovely occasion with a small number of guests invited to the big day. I was asked to take photos of the girls getting ready. The boys weren’t interested in having any pre wedding photos taken, so after an hour or so with the bridal party, I went straight to the venue to capture shots of the ceremony area and guests arriving.

I particularly loved the flowers and Sara’s amazing ‘crown’. She looked gorgeous, and David clearly thought so too as he watched her walk towards him. The ceremony was conducted underneath an awning, so it was lovely and bright with plenty of space to move around.

After the ceremony there was the usual hugs, kisses and congratulations, followed by lots of mingling and drinks. As guests enjoyed the celebrations, we made a start on the group photos. I like to get this part of the day done as swiftly as possible as I find it can interrupt the flow of things if left to drag on for too long. To keep things relatively short, I always like to give a list of the group shots to either a bridesmaid or usher or someone else who is good at organising people. It means they can be getting groups ready, leaving me to focus on taking the photos. It just speeds things up.

Taking time out with the couple is always a nice part of the day. It gives them a chance to catch up with each other, and provides an opportunity to get some lovely candid shots of them together.

I was booked for the full day and ended up taking over a thousand pictures. The couple received about half that amount, in both colour and black and white. The majority were candid, informal photographs of Sara and David enjoying themselves with their guests. It was an honest portrayal of their special day.

Kate and Daniel

Kate and Daniel were married at Laines Barn in Oxfordshire in 2014. This beautiful venue had spectacular natural light, which I loved. It meant I could get really creative with my kit, opening up my aperture nice and wide to get those lovely blurry backgrounds that lend themselves brilliantly to portrait wedding photography.

Working with prime lenses, (lenses that are fixed with no zoom) allow the maximum amount of light to enter the camera. This creates crisp, bright photographs that are naturally lit. The barn itself, although quite light at the front, was rather dark at the back. With clever use of highlights and shadows, I was able to create a balanced picture that is neither too dark nor too bright.

Part of the fun of the occasion of a wedding is capturing shots of guests arriving and the groomsmen, (often) struggling to master their buttonholes. There is always a great atmosphere and a relaxed mood. This was particularly the case with this couple, whose guests mingled outside on the lawn.

The wedding ceremony and the wedding breakfast were held in the same room, so both benefitted from the gorgeous natural light. There was very little post production work to do to these photos, such was the nature of the venue.

After the ceremony, the wedding party congregated outside, enjoying games and drinks on the lawn, while staff busily turned the room around.

The day had a very relaxed feel to it, with the bride and groom happy to simply ‘go with the flow’. As such, the group shots were done after the wedding breakfast, which meant more time for candid shots of everyone enjoying themselves.

This wedding took place during the height of Summer. The lovely, light evening meant I was able to photograph the final dance without a flash. A really wide aperture, (F2) enabled me to get a well lit photograph, despite the low lighting conditions. It gives a lovely, natural feel.

Sarah and Andy

Sarah and Andy got married about six years ago at The Wool Barn in Frampton, Gloucestershire. I remember I especially enjoyed photographing this wedding because of the beautiful light that the venue had. Barns can suit wedding receptions very well with their lofty ceilings and large doors. A photographer can get very creative with their use of light in these spaces.

I recall Sarah got ready at her Mum’s house surrounded by her close friends. The colour scheme was a lovely yellow. Great attention to the detail in the flowers and the wedding decorations had been made to ensure that colour theme ran throughout.

All of the photographs I take are in full colour. Any that the couple receive in black and white will have been changed during post production. It is important that all photos are taken in colour as it means there is more content within the file, making it easier to tweak hue, shadows, highlights and saturation etc.

The speeches from this wedding really stand out in my mind. There are some weddings that I photograph and I actually find myself laughing along to the jokes as well. This was one of those weddings. I can’t remember the exact content of the best man’s speech, but it involved a power point presentation and had Sarah and Andy in stitches!

The image below is a great example of fantastic, barn style lighting. The big double doors behind me, really lit up this natural scene of the bridesmaid taking care of her friend. The image really pops.

As with many first dances, the flash normally has to come out, unless it is the height of Summer or a very well lit space. I like to get creative with the flash gun, setting it to rear curtain mode, thus enabling me to create some movement within the image.

Annie and Duncan

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!

Louise and Jonty

I photographed this wedding back in 2017 on the bride’s family farm in Wales. The bride and her bridesmaids got ready in one of the rooms upstairs, while the boys used the groom’s parents house as their base. The ceremony was held in their local church, and the reception took place in a tipee erected in the grounds of the farm.

If it is a Church wedding, I always like to arrive a little early to take photos of the setting and of guests arriving. These are aspects of the day that the bride doesn’t normally get to see, so these images are nice for her to look back on afterwards. I also like to meet the vicar to understand what they do and don’t like. On this occasion, the vicar requested I stand at the back of the Church. Always frustrating!

After the ceremony, the bride and groom were waved off by their guests, and headed back to the farm for the wedding celebrations. I followed on in my own car and met them back there to carry on with the photos.

I recall the wedding breakfast was quite lively! Everyone had prepped their speeches, which gave an extremely thorough and detailed history of the groom! Straight after speeches was the cutting of the cake, after which everyone stepped outside for further drinks and chat.

The grounds at Graigwith Farm made the perfect backdrop for photos of Harriet and Henry. They didn’t want too many, so we just stepped aside from the main wedding party for five minutes to grab a couple of snaps of them together.

Georgie and Craig

I have been photographing weddings for over 10 years and I still very much love the joy and positivity of the day. Weddings are really happy occasions that I never tire of photographing. I often come home at the end of a very long day with sore cheeks from where I have been smiling so much.

Georgie and Craig’s wedding was a lovely day, very simple and non fussy. The couple and their guests were very down to earth. The ceremony was poignant, with Dad clearly very emotional at giving his daughter away. I was pleased that the registrar allowed me to take photographs throughout the ceremony, and that she let me stand in my preferred spot - just to the side of the groom, looking at the bride. I love capturing the reaction on both couple’s faces.

I recall it was a very sunny day, which was fortunate as the grounds were gorgeous and the couple were keen to have photos taken. It’s always nice to take the bride and groom off for twenty minutes or so for some quiet photographs of just the two of them. It’s nothing like a photo shoot - I give minimal direction, preferring instead to let the couple be together. It produces lovely, natural intimacy.

I remember I was booked for the whole day, right up to and including the first dance. The speeches were great, with the best man not showing any nerves, (and I’ve done many weddings where that hasn’t been the case!) Before guests enter for the wedding breakfast, I always like to make sure I have taken pictures of the room - so much effort goes into decorating it and laying up the tables, often with lots of personal little touches. It’s important to document it all.

A live band always makes a first dance go off with a bang! Georgie and Craig got married in 2012 so I can’t remember if theirs was a slow or fast number, but going by the fact I used a flash, would lead me to think it might have been quite up tempo!