Danielle and Nathan

Danielle and Phil booked me for two hours to cover the highlights of their small, intimate wedding. I arrived fifteen minutes prior to the start of the ceremony to capture pictures of the room, cake and Danielle, who looked absolutely radiant.

I headed over to the ceremony room, where I met Phil, who was feeling rather nervous! Soon after, Danielle arrived, escorted by her Father, who was beaming with pride.

The ceremony itself was brief, but extremely touching, as is often the way with very small weddings. The room had windows along one side of it, creating a well lit space. I always enjoy working with natural light as the results can be beautiful.

After the ceremony, Danielle, Phil and myself went for a short stroll into the village to take some photos of just the two of them. I like to suggest this to couples as it gives them a little bit of time to have a breather and spend time with just each other.

Danielle and Phil only wanted a few photos before rejoining their family in the garden for some informal drinks, photos and a simple confetti throw.

Sophie and Pier

Sophie and Pier were married just around the corner from where I was living at the time in Cheltenham. I knew the vicar, Nick Davies, extremely well, having photographed another of his churches, Pip and Jim’s, frequently for promotional work. Click here to see a Mother’s Day service I photographed for Nick and here and here to see photos from heritage recording Nick commissioned me to do.

On this occasion though, the subjects were Sophie and Pier. They had booked me for six hours, to capture photos of Sophie getting ready at her Mum’s house, followed by the wedding ceremony and reception. This was back in 2019 and I remember them being very relaxed about it all.

Being in a church, the ceremony was long, so plenty of opportunities to get lots of pictures. The church was also really big so it was easy for me to scuttle up and down the side aisles without getting in anyone’s way.

As with all church services, I make a point not to take any photos during the prayers. This is out of respect to the person delivering the prayer and to mark the solemn moment. Hymns on the other hand are lovely and loud, and so I snap away!

Aisle shots always seem to lend themselves well to black and white, especially those in a Church. I take everything in colour, any black and white images the couple receive have been adjusted in post production. It was lovely to see Sophie and Pier express so much joy as they walked down the aisle together at the end.

After the ceremony, guests poured out onto the street. Always a lovely moment full of kisses, cuddles, smiles and laughter. For some reason, this group of people seemed particularly cuddly!

After the bride and groom left the Church, I followed and met them at the reception venue, which was basically a field they had hired and erected a large tepee in. It was very informal and very relaxed. As the sun shone, guests chatted and laughed. I walked around watching and snapping anything that caught my eye. All very natural and all very candid.

Group photos were very informal, with Sophie and Piers opting for just a handful with their immediate wedding party. I love it when children are involved in group photos as they always bring an element of fun. You never quite know what they’re going to do, and that’s the beauty of them!

There was no first dance, the afternoon just rolled on into the evening. This period in the day always provides a natural break in photography as ‘eating’ photos are not the most flattering. It’s at this point that I either go and have a break myself, and come back in for speeches, or, go home. On this occasion, I left just as everyone was sitting down to eat.

Rachael and Mark

Manor By The Lake has been voted UK Wedding venue of the year more times than I care to remember, so when a couple contact me saying they’re getting married there, I feel excitement start to bubble! This is exactly what happened when Rachael and Mark got in touch. Listening to their plans and aspirations for the day, it all sounded wonderful. Fast forward a year and everyone had their fingers crossed for good weather, given that it was to be an outdoor ceremony.

As it turns out, the weather was overcast - the perfect light for photography. A little bit of sun is always nice for guests, but from my point of view, as a photographer, nice, white, dry clouds create a lovely soft light with minimal shadows.

Rachael had lots of bridesmaids, which made for a very lively morning in the bridal suite! It was great fun though. I always feel slightly privileged having access to this part of the day. One gets to hear all sorts of conversations, gossip etc and it can sometimes raise an eyebrow or two!

Rachael and Mark had me booked to cover the whole day, from bridal prep through to the first dance. There was plenty of time to photograph the grounds, ceremony area, groomsmen and anything else I could spot that I thought might help to tell the story of their special day.

Key to taking great photos is framing and composition, a great example of which is below. Adjusting the focus so that the ‘wedding’ sign is pin point sharp, creates a lovely dialogue with the guests walking off ‘towards’ the ceremony. It’s a nice narrative.

Prior to heading off to the ceremony, I spent some time with the bride and her bridesmaids, who were practising their aisle walks, with some help and direction from the event manager!

There’s a big difference when it come to photographing indoor and outdoor wedding ceremonies. Generally speaking, there is much more space to move around if the wedding is held outside. This means lots more opportunities to move around to get different angles without being noticed as much as I would be in a smaller, confined space. The camera settlings that are required are also very different.

I was fortunate to have met the registrars conducting this wedding at a couple of other weddings, so we were quite familiar with how each other liked to work. They were also happy to conduct the ceremony from the side, which gave me clear angles to get some great shots. I think they even asked the couple to pose for a photo at the exchange of rings too!

Manor By The Lake’s infamous group shot from the balcony of the bridal suite was on the couple’s photo list. A large group photo like this is helped massively with the assistance of some ‘on ground’ direction from members of staff.

I recall with this wedding that Rachael and John had a fairly lengthy list of group photos, so much so, that it left very little time for any candid photos, a style which I much prefer. Candid photos tell the story of a couple’s wedding day in a very honest and truthful way, capturing the moment.

Once the group photos were finished, I went straight into the wedding breakfast room to get some shots of the tables and decorations. I think there was only about ten minutes or so until guests were due to sit down.

Speeches followed food, and the first dance happened soon after. There was no need to use the flash gun as the natural lighting levels were actually okay, and the DJ lights for the first dance provided enough ambiance.

Alice and Mark

Alice and Mark booked one of my half day wedding packages for their big day at Ellenborough Park. Half day wedding coverage is a really affordable option for couples who want professional photos of their wedding. To couples considering half day coverage, I always suggest doing the speeches before the wedding breakfast, that way they get professional coverage of that part of their day too. I also suggest cutting the cake immediately after the speeches, or just before, again, to ensure that is also covered. It’s really only then the first dance that isn’t professionally photographed, but even that, if couples are clever about it, can be squeezed into a half day.

I’ve photographed a few weddings at Ellenborough Park, and the thing I love most about it is the beautiful spiral staircase. In this instance, the wedding cake had been placed directly in the centre at the bottom of the staircase. I happened to notice it on my way down from photographing the bridal prep, and thought it made a great composition.

As is usually the case, there was time before the ceremony to capture some informal, candid shots of the groomsmen and guests arriving. These are parts of the day the bride doesn’t normally get to see, so I always like to make sure I document it.

The ceremony itself was short but very sweet, and the registrar fairly relaxed in terms of photography. My preferred position is just behind the groom looking at the bride so I can capture her reaction and expressions. If room allows, I will try and move across to the other side to get a different angle and some photos of the groom.

After the ceremony is was time for group photos and informal mingling. I took many more photos than the small snippet here and I always invite prospective clients to view the full weddings on my computer when we meet face to face.

Group photos can be so much more fun than just people standing in a line. Some couples really embrace this, such as the lads below!

I always make sure I leave time to photograph the wedding breakfast room, ensuring that lots of the details have been documented. I understand how much time and effort goes into making the room look beautiful, so feel it’s important that everything is recorded.

Confetti throws happen so instantaneously, you never quite know what you’re going to get. My approach is a fast shutter speed and a high click through ratio. This guarantees a high number of crisp, sharp images.