A Dartmoor Wedding
Back in May, I met Heidi & Josh to capture their special day for them. They booked me for half day coverage, starting off with morning prep for Heidi at her parents house and finishing just before their meal was served at The Two Bridges. It was 6 hours coverage in total and we packed a lot into that time.
When I arrived at Heidi's parent's house I immediately noticed the decorations that had been put out to celebrate. Balloons were outside and I even noticed a little Josh in the plant pot, which I assume was left over from the hen do. There's something special about getting ready at home, surrounded by family photos and memories in every room.
When I first arrived Heidi was in the early stages of getting her make up done and personally I prefer to capture the finishing touches of hair and make up (foundation going on and hair being backcombed doesn't usually make for pretty photos). So I made my self busy by photographing Heidi's dress in the back garden. When I returned back indoors, Heidi's make up was just being finished off and I was able to get some lovely photos of that.
I was then able to capture some photos of Heidi having her hair done before she got into her dress and we set up a first look photo to capture the moment her Dad saw her as a Bride for the first time.
Make Up Artist: Suzanne Francine MUA
Hair Stylist: All About The Bride
Dress Shop: Bridal Reloved Tavistock
Bridesmaids Dresses From: Asos
As soon as Heidi was ready, I headed to the church and Heidi waited at her parents for 10-15 minutes before she made her way to the church. Giving your photographer a bit of time to get set up at the venue is really important especially when travel and street parking is a factor. The couple did arrange for a parking space to be reserved for me which was really appreciated. I had just enough time to take a couple of test shots inside the church, introduce myself to Josh and then I waited outside the church ready to capture Heidi's arrival.
The couple hired a singer in the church who entertained guests when they arrived. Zoe also sang while the Bride made her way down the aisle and again when the register was being signed. It was a lovely touch to the ceremony.
Sometimes photography can be very restricted in churches but luckily I was told that I could move around and capture the ceremony from a few different angles. When given the freedom to move around, I do always do so quietly and with respect. It's always so appreciated when that freedom is given. Some vicars will only allow the photographer to photograph from one location and then key moments can be missed when the photographer's view is blocked. There are also times when photography is not prohibited at all in churches, so make sure you ask about this if you’re planning a church ceremony.
Church: St Peter’s Church Meavy Green
Singer: Zoe Adele Sings
Suits: Moss
The newlyweds had personalised bubble bottles made up, which were handed out to their guests. The couple then exited the church via a bubble aisle, which is a great alternative to a confetti aisle. One guest even had a bubble machine which looked brilliant! You may also notice that there was one guest who didn’t have any bubbles and he made a bit of a joke about it to the camera, which made for some funny photos.
Some venues or churches won't allow confetti to be thrown so bubbles are the perfect solution. The only downside to bubbles is that they don't show up as well on lighter backgrounds. So as you can see in these photos the bubbles are visible moreso in the dark arch of the church door or on the Groom's suit, and not so visible around the brickwork of the church or the Bride's dress. The same can be said for confetti too though, if you throw white confetti and have a white overcast sky in the background then you just won't see the confetti in the sky or on a white wedding dress, but it would show up well in front of a dark suit. These are things to think about when planning a wedding but bubbles will usually keep your venue or church happy as there's no cleaning up to do afterwards.
The couple wanted their group photos to be taken at their reception venue, so I informed everyone that they could start making their way to the venue straight away. We allowed 5 or 10 minutes for guests to hug and congratulate the happy couple, then when the area was clear of guests the couple had some photos in front of the church, just the two of them.
As we were driving through the moors to get to The Two Brides, the couple wanted to stop off to get some photos with the view. They had scoped out a location which had a little area for us to tuck our cars into. It was right on the road so I took most of the photos from the other side, timing my shots in-between passing traffic. We only spent a few minutes there but managed to get some lovely shots.
Wedding Transport: Devon Classic Hire
When we arrived at The Two Bridges, the guests had already been there for around 20 minutes or so and they had all had a chance to grab a drink and take a look around. Heidi and Josh were then able to have a break for 10 minutes or so before we had to make a start on the group photos. Unfortunately, the married couple don’t often get to relax for long in that busy time in-between the ceremony and the food being served, but this is something we discussed beforehand so the couple knew they would be quite busy.
Some of Heidi & Josh’s guests had mobility issues, which meant we took some group photos on the concrete near the entrance to the venue, others were taken on the grass with the bridge in the background, we also did a big group photo on the steps leading down to the grass. Having the group photos across three locations did slow the process down a bit but Heidi & Josh only had around ten group shots to get through, so it was still manageable in the time we had. The upside of having the group photos in different locations around the venue grounds is that they really made the most out of their venue, capturing a place they both love in all it’s glory.
Once the group photos were done, the couple stayed with me for another 10-15 minutes so they could have some photos of just the two of them around their venue grounds. Normally I would allocate around 20 minutes minimum to these newlywed portraits, but the couple had already had some at the church and at the moors so we didn’t need to spend as long taking photos around the venue (although I’m sure we would have if there was more time). It was such a beautiful day and a gorgeous location to photograph at.
As soon as we got back indoors I busied myself with photographing the wedding breakfast room before the guests entered. I was then able to capture some candid photos of the guests sat in the lounge area while they were having a drink and enjoying the entertainment from the very talented harpist.
As the couple had booked me for half day coverage, they arranged to have their cake cut before the meal came out.
Cake: White’s Cake House
Venue Décor: My Special Day Wedding Planning & Events
Harpist: Fionnuala
I was due to leave after the cake cut but we decided to quickly pop out the back of the venue to get a couple more newlywed photos. There was a lovely shady area and up until that point all photos had been taken in very bright sunshine, so it was nice to be able to find some shade and make use of it. I always prefer to photograph people in the shade where possible and I’m really glad that Heidi & Josh were up for a few more photos before I left them to their meal. It also meant that they were able to utilise even more of their beautiful venue and make the most out of the time they had booked me for too.
“Leah really is a fantastic wedding photographer. She captured our beautiful day so perfectly. Leah made us feel so relaxed on our special day and took so many different photos which made for a great selection at the end. We have so many favourites ❤️ A highly professional photographer with so much experience which showed throughout the day.”