Peter & Amber’s wedding fell on a gorgeous blue-sky day. Everything about it felt right. Pulling into the Fennes the daffodils were in flower and trees in full blossom!
There was a calm atmosphere as Amber and her bridesmaids were getting ready, excitement slowly building as the garden-party atmosphere increased with every glimpse out of the window at the chairs being set out in front of the crisp and freshly-painted bridge.
Once ready, Peter and his groomsmen made their way down the dappled light of the tree-lined driveway to the main house, where guests had started gathering.
They enjoyed a glorious ceremony outside under the Fennes gazebo, with all their friends and family in attendance
After a few minutes with the newly-hitched Mr & Mrs Tovey, getting photos on the bridge, I left them to enjoy their day and greet their guests for a good while until I thought it the right time to crack on with the formality of the family line-ups. This time I always spend circulating with my camera, getting casual photos that convey the atmosphere of the day.
I always like to give the group photos themselves the best quality photographic feel as I can, for that reason I like to use a longer lens and take the photo from a greater distance away, enhancing the short depth of field and foreshortening effect of the background that really makes the subjects stand out on the photo.
An overhead photo of all the wedding is always great, but usually done with a blank space around, wherever a window is available to us. I prefer to choose my own background, so used a little trick of mine to hoist the camera into the air on a monopod, gaining the height needed for the overhead photo, but allowing the garden to be used instead of the driveway.
As meal time came ever closer, I took Amber and Peter for a few more photos around the front of the house, and inside the very regal lounge, allowing the ambient light to cast gentle shadows, carefully balancing the amount of flash I used to fill the subject so as not to lose this nice natural effect.
The blue colour scheme worked very well and the marquee looked fantastic, with tall candelabra looking elegant and pale pink rose petals.
On this bright day in May we had the great advantage of brilliant evening light to take more photos and got a lovely set of photos walking in the daffodils, warm reds of leaves behind, and white blossom to one side and in the foreground. A really wonderful set of photos to finish a very satisfying wedding to photograph.
Photography by: Lavenham Photographic Studio.
