Michelle & Jeff had already arranged their Photography with another Photographer, Dan Catley, however I was put in touch with Michelle and we made an arrangement where I was a secondary shooter.
I arrived at the Venue around 12:30pm, after getting lost for 15min as the venue seemed to be in the middle of no-where. I was scheduled to get there for 1pm, however I wanted to arrive a bit earlier to scope the setting as I have never shot at this venue before.
The TomTom directed me to a road and said to me "You have arrived at your Destination", I immediately screamed back at it saying "No I haven't!" as I looked around and I saw nothing but residential housing, and I KNEW this could not be where the Wedding was being held lol...
Thankfully, with the beauty of modern technology, I whipped out my iPhone and opened up Google Maps, which then directed me to follow the road I was on, for another mile, and as I said, I was driving in the middle of no-where. I saw nothing but bushes, trees, and grass. Then much to my surprise, I saw a sign saying "Cooling Castle Barn" and I turned left into a building which had people in it! I was so relieved I found it...
Unfortunately the day began with dreadful weather, and the clouds were grey and rained quite badly on the way in. I got my stuff together from the car and texted Michelle to let her know I had arrived.
I thought it was best to get some venue shots before too many people came in.
D800 + 14-24mm f/2.8 @ f/2.8, ISO500, 1/20
I try my best to attain every little detail, that even the Bride or Groom would even think they would like to remember. With Dan Catley being present as the main shooter, it did allow me more time to think more freely and creatively about what to look for.
So much so that I even thought it would be nice for the Bride to remember the door of her Bridal Suite...
Nikon D7000 + 24-70mm @ f/2.8, ISO1000, 1/60sec
I thought this image could also make for a nice background image. If the Bride had decided to put together a Wedding Photobook, this image could be the background with other Wedding Photos from her Preparation around the "1". With the lack of "Likes" on facebook, I don't think many people saw where I was going with this lol... But nonetheless, the shot has been taken, and I like it at least lol...
The Preparation itself was a bit hectic, as there were 7 bodies total in a small-ish room, loads of bags, clothes and weirdly enough, a Baseball Cap?
I was trying my best to stay out of the way. I try to allow things to roll as if I was not there, although I'm fairly certain I failed in that regard during the Preparations with my 6ft+ self and big camera lol...
The Preparation went smoothly, excluding the panick attack where no-one could locate the Veil. I can safely say this was probably the most awkward moment in my Photography life as the thought that ran through my head was this "They're upset, so I shouldn't snap a picture of them being unhappy" but then I did also think "It was a memory of the day... so maybe???" lol... I think after they had found the Veil, and that everything went well afterwards, Michelle would've probably liked a few shots from that moment to look back and laugh... But nonetheless, I don't think that's a memory she'll forget very quickly lol...
It didn't rain as much as I thought it was going too, as it did rain quite heavily in the morning, however throughout the day it seemed to have cleared up, and casually spitting.
The rain forced the group Wedding Photos inside, which was still ok as the venue itself was lovely.
The rain stopped just long enough for us to snatch a few shots of the Bride and Groom outside. Jeff was a gentleman and held Michelle's dress for her as she walked around the outside. Seeing as the grounds were wet, it would've made her dress very dirty... But I just love this shot! I wish I caught it a split second earlier so I could've gotten Michelle in the shot also, but the main focus of this shot was Jeff anyway and still conveys the same memory of the day lol... Hopefully Jeff will treasure this memory lol...
D800 + 50mm f/1.4 @ f/1.8, ISO100, 1/1250sec
After the dinner they moved onto the speeches, and I have heard some funny speeches in my time, but my god did the Best Man make it hard for me to aim the camera lol... He definitely did a great job at his speech as there was plenty of laughter and smiles.
D800 + 70-200mm @ f/2.8, ISO2000, 1/50sec
This is what I love about Wedding Photography, is capturing real emotions. The smiles on both Michelle & Jeff speak a thousand words, and hopefully the Best Man sent them a copy of the speech also so they can actually remember those words which made them smile so much...
The first dance surprised me... It began with the couple dancing together, then the DJ Scratched the track and Jeff's Daughter came out lookin' all hip hop with a New Era LA Lakers Hat!
I was standing where the guests were standing at first, capturing it from their perspective, however I moved around behind the couple to get the shot where you can see the couple dancing, and all the guests watching, however it was at this point where the music switched and now there's a second part to the performance where it was very energetic! Unfortunately I wasn't aware of this part of the performance, as I'm sure the Bride and Groom wanted it to be a surprise for everyone...
D800 + 50mm f/1.4 @ f/1.6, ISO3200, 1/60sec
I had to sneak from the back to the front...
D800 + 50mm f/1.4 @ f/1.6, ISO3200, 1/60sec
Jeff's daughter was a super star! Throughout the day she had a warm welcoming smile on her face, and then she rocked the show on their first dance!
All-in-all, it was a great day...
Sincerely wishing both Michelle & Jeff all the happiness, and have a great Honeymoon...
www.leophoto.co.uk
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@LeoHoangPhoto
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