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.