The wedding of Vince & Lynn 27/4/12

All week  the weather was very poor, wedding photographically speaking.  We had very heavy downpours of rain and blustery winds.  The date of the wedding growing near and I was getting very anxious.

Of course non of our anxiety can be shown to the bride and groom, so we talked about how unique the rain would make the shots and how the large white umbrellas we always carry will make for some quirky shots, and of course the vent was great and if we had to we could do al the shots in doors.

Well the venue is great, St Pierre Hotel near Chepstow, but there was very little room inside for us to do any large group shots.  Never mind we would deal with all this as and when.

The night before the wedding I am loading my car up with all the gear, prepped and cleaned the day before and the weather is still not looking great.

At 9am on the morning of the wedding I am at the hairdressers and the weather is dry, but with rain clouds still in the sky.  Still it's dry and that will do me fine.

I spend over an hour with the female bridal party while they have their hair done and then it's off to the venue, where the bride has a room, after spending the previous night there.  Now it's time to get the shots of the dress and preparations.  I met the brides father, we had a further 40 minute wait while the ladies went off to do other female preparations etc.  The brides father helped me to arrange the brides and bridesmaids dresses and get the room ready for the bride.  I now have all the shots of the dress that I want and the bride is now here and I get to work capturing the next series of shots.

The room is small, but with a nice big window at one end.  This is where the pre wedding shoot proves it's worth.  The bride is now so familiar with me that she gets on with the preparations and has no problems or concerns with my presence, which help to make for some very natural shots.
We are then off, very quickly, to get the groom and the best man before the bride leaves her room.  I work very quickly and soon have all the shots in the bag and it's off back to the bride to get her as she makes her way to the main event.

Today I am working with a second shooter, this is the first shoot he has done with me so I am reluctant to put to much trust in him and I try to work as though I am on my own to ensure all the shots I want are there at the end of the day.
We stop only a few times on route to the ceremony for some quick story telling shots and then it is into the main room and the big event.

I take up a stance at the front and left and my second shooter covers the rear and the right.
The ceremony is both joys and emotional, all you could want in a wedding, and then its over and we are heading outside for the group shots.

As always this takes some controlling, which is the role my wife does so well.  The rain has stopped, but the grass on the lawn we want to do the group shots is still wet.  No problems, my wife brings out the white sheet we have and places it on the ground.  She then lifts the brides dress and assists her in walking onto the sheet.  The dress is then placed down and the sheet tucked back under the edges of the dress.  All the other guests and family, as well as the groom, make their way out to join the bride and I, from my vantage points in a window up one of the towers, get the group shot in the bag.
I now run back down to ground level and priced with all the 'must have' shots of the day, the main family groups.

All done with the group shots and now we have a few moments with the bridal party, first in the grounds and then inside the building.

Once these shots are done, and I am still working very quickly, the second shooter and myself head for the functions room to get the detail shots of the layout before the guests sit down for their meal.
We also use this time to get a shot of the bride and groom mock cutting the cake.

And that is it.  We are not stopping for this event after the bridal party and their guests enter the functions room for their meal.  So its back to the studio and start the long process of uploading, sorting, editing and preparing the images for the bride and groom to view on their return from honeymoon.
A great day, with great people and the rain held off for the whole event.  What more can we ask for?

A small selection of the images taken on the day.