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.