As a Staffordshire wedding photographer, these are the kinds of weddings I love to photograph: relaxed, personal celebrations with a meaningful setting, plenty of time for people to enjoy themselves, and a day that has been shaped around the people there rather than around a photoshoot.
Lydia and Mark’s wedding in Staffordshire was exactly that kind of day.
They got married at St Leonard’s Church in Blithfield, before heading back to Lydia’s family home at Cordon Springs Farm for a relaxed garden reception and marquee celebration. It was a beautiful summer wedding: elegant, personal, full of energy, and packed with the kind of real, unstaged moments that I love to photograph.
It was also a wedding that went on to be recognised with awards. Photographs from Lydia and Mark’s wedding won a Story Award from This Is Reportage for outstanding documentary wedding photography storytelling. These awards are given for real wedding stories – photographs that are not staged or posed, but captured as they naturally happen. A single photograph from the day, of Lydia and Mark drinking champagne simultaneously in the garden, also won an award from the Masters of Wedding Photography.
For me, that recognition means a lot because it reflects exactly how I want to photograph weddings: honestly, creatively, and without interrupting the flow of the day.
Bridal Prep at Cordon Springs Farm
Lydia got ready at her parents’ house at Cordon Springs Farm in Staffordshire. From the start, the morning had a calm, laid-back feel. There was no sense of everything being over-managed or rushed. People were helping out, things were coming together, and the day felt very much like a family celebration.
There was a lot of DIY involved in the wedding, but not in a rustic-for-the-sake-of-it kind of way. Everything felt considered and elegant. The marquee had a glass-style ceiling, lights, white flowers and florals overhead. It was clean, classy and beautifully put together, with everyone pitching in to make the day work.
During bridal prep, I photographed the small in-between moments: Lydia with her mum, the family cat, people moving around the house, the dress going on upstairs. These are the parts of the morning that often become more meaningful over time because they show the atmosphere of the day before everything officially begins.
While I’m photographing prep, I’m also quietly getting a feel for the place. Because guests would be coming back to the family home after the church ceremony, I used the morning to look for vantage points and think ahead about where I might be able to make strong photographs later in the day.
That is a big part of how I work. I’m not just reacting to what is happening in front of me. I’m constantly looking at light, space, access, backgrounds and possible compositions, so that when the right moment happens later, I’m ready for it.
A packed church ceremony at St Leonard’s, Blithfield
The ceremony took place at St Leonard’s Church, Blithfield, near Admaston in Staffordshire. It was a full church, with well over a hundred guests, a choir, and a family member playing the organ during the service.
Lydia arrived with her dad and walked into the church wearing a dress with a long train and veil, carrying a huge bunch of flowers. It was a brilliant entrance to photograph: full of scale, anticipation and emotion.
Church ceremonies require a careful approach. I’m always aware that I can’t be everywhere at once, and I don’t want to distract guests or interrupt the service. So I time my movements carefully and work with the restrictions of the setting.
For part of the ceremony, I photographed from behind where the priest was standing, using the priest in the foreground and Lydia, Mark and Lydia’s dad in the background. Her dad was visibly emotional, which gave the frame an extra layer of storytelling.
During the vows, I looked for ways to make the photographs more than just simple record shots. When Lydia and Mark linked hands, I used their hands as a frame for the expressions of guests beyond them, then moved in tighter for more intimate details of the exchange.
That is the kind of thing I’m always looking for: a way of showing not just what happened, but how it felt.
Storytelling during the ceremony
One of my favourite parts of church ceremonies is the way people interact during hymns, readings and addresses. A hymn might look static from the outside, but if you watch carefully, there are often small moments of connection: a glance between the couple, a hand squeeze, guests singing together, family members reacting.
When the address was happening, I had more freedom to move around the church and photograph the guests. I also wanted to make an image that showed the family member playing the organ in context. To do that, I stopped down to get enough depth of field and made a tight frame with the organist in the foreground and the guests singing behind him.
That kind of layered photograph is something I’m always trying to make. I want to show place, people, time and context in the same frame wherever possible. The more those elements come together, the more complete the story feels.
After the register signing, Lydia and Mark came back out of the church to confetti before leaving in an old-school fire brigade truck. It was one of those details that added so much personality to the day.
A relaxed garden reception in Staffordshire
Back at Cordon Springs Farm, guests moved into the gardens for drinks, canapés and music. It was the height of summer: bright, hot and full of colour. People were milling around, chatting, drinking, catching up and enjoying the grounds.
There was a string quartet playing, guests in hats, a bell tent, a dog wandering around, and a general feeling that everyone had been given proper time to relax into the day.
That time makes a big difference to documentary wedding photography. Once guests sit down for the wedding breakfast, they tend to stay in one place. But when there is a generous drinks reception, people move, talk, laugh and interact. It gives me the chance to observe properly and make stronger candid photographs.
I also used the vantage points I had spotted earlier in the morning. At one point I walked back through the house and upstairs to photograph the reception from a higher window, giving a wider view of the garden, guests and setting. I like to include photographs like this where possible because they show the scale of the day and give the story a sense of place.
There were plenty of small, funny and unexpected moments too including someone fainting from the heat. Not everything at a wedding has to be polished or perfect to be worth photographing. Often, the real story is in the things that actually happen.
Speeches in the garden
The speeches took place in an amphitheatre-style setup, with the father of the bride, the groom and the best man speaking from one side of the marquee area while guests sat around the outside looking in.
From a photography point of view, this worked brilliantly.
Often, speeches happen from a top table placed against a wall. That can make it difficult to photograph both the speaker and the reactions in the same frame. With this setup, there was space to move, shoot from different angles, and include both action and reaction together.
That matters because the best speech photographs are rarely just about the person speaking. They are about the people listening: parents laughing, friends reacting, the couple taking it all in. This kind of layout made it possible to photograph the atmosphere of the speeches in a much more complete way.
Into the wedding breakfast marquee
After the speeches, guests moved from one part of the garden into the main wedding breakfast marquee. One detail I loved was a dedicated area where guests could hang their hats. I hadn’t seen that before, and it was such a simple but brilliant touch for a summer wedding.
The marquee itself was a wonderful space to photograph in. It had a high, clear roof that let in lots of light, with elegant flowers and a clean, bright feel. As the sun started to drop, shadows began to appear across the space, adding shape and atmosphere to the photographs.
Guests had fans to cool themselves down, people were cheering as Lydia and Mark came in, and there was a real buzz in the room.
My approach in moments like this is not to stage or direct what guests are doing. I follow what is happening, look for good light and strong compositions, and try to photograph the scene in the most interesting and flattering way without influencing it.
That is the balance I’m always aiming for: considered photography without taking over the day.
Relaxed couple portraits without turning the day into a photoshoot
Although most of my work is documentary, I do think it’s important for couples to have some relaxed photographs together.
After the church ceremony, Lydia and Mark came with me for around five minutes. There was no big production and no awkward posing — just a short walk, holding hands, looking at each other, and having a bit of time away from the busyness of the day.
Later, they joined me again for another five minutes during golden hour, when the sun was lower in the sky and the light was soft and flattering.
That is how I prefer to approach couple portraits: short, relaxed and fitted around the natural rhythm of the day. It gives couples photographs where they look good and feel like themselves, without the wedding turning into a photoshoot.
Two short sessions can work really well because they give different light, different locations and a bit of breathing space together.
Family photographs and informal groups
I also photograph family formals at every wedding. I don’t tend to show many of them on my website because, outside of the couple and their families, they are not always the most interesting photographs to look at. But that does not make them unimportant.
Family photographs matter. I always allow time for them, and I’m happy to make sure couples have the key group shots they want.
At Lydia and Mark’s wedding there were also some impromptu group moments during the evening, including one where a guest fell over. These are the kinds of photographs that sit somewhere between a group shot and a candid moment, and they are often much more fun because they have a bit of life in them.
First dance and a packed dance floor
As the evening began, guests chilled out on the lawn while the temperature cooled, before everyone moved back into the marquee for the first dance.
Lydia and Mark’s entrance had the feel of a second arrival. Guests cheered as they came in, which made the whole room feel alive before the dancing had even started.
Because there was a stage set up for the band, I used it to get a higher angle over the dance floor. One of the things I think about a lot when photographing weddings is viewpoint. If every photograph is taken from the same height, everything starts to feel a bit repetitive. Changing height only works when it serves the photograph, but in this case, getting above the couple helped me frame them in the foreground with their guests around them.
Again, it comes back to storytelling: action and reaction in the same image.
After the first dance, the dance floor filled quickly. That always makes such a difference to the energy of the evening. The band had a double bass, guitars and a brilliant live sound, and the guests were completely into it.
I photographed close, wide and in the middle of the action: hands in the air, embraces, movement, energy and atmosphere. I also used the band as part of the framing, shooting through and around them to tie the music and dancing together in the same story.
The lighting in the marquee was already atmospheric, so I didn’t need to use flash in the way I might at some weddings. I could keep the feel of the room and work with what was already there.
Why this wedding suited documentary photography so well
Lydia and Mark’s wedding is one of my favourite Staffordshire weddings because it had so much variety and so much room for real moments to happen.
There was the family home, the church, the garden reception, the marquee, the speeches, the golden-hour portraits, the band and the packed dance floor. But more importantly, the day had space. Guests had time to talk, drink, laugh, move around and enjoy themselves.
That is ideal for the kind of photography I make.
Couples who book me usually want a relaxed approach. They don’t want their day turned into a photoshoot. They care about candid photographs, real moments and storytelling. To do that well, I need time to observe how people interact and commit to scenes as they develop.
When there is breathing room in the schedule, I can work in a more considered way. I can wait for moments to come together, layer compositions, include context, and make photographs that feel more complete.
This wedding was a perfect example of that.
Looking for a Staffordshire wedding photographer?
If you are planning a wedding in Staffordshire and want relaxed, documentary photography that captures the real atmosphere of the day, this is exactly the kind of wedding I love to photograph.
Whether you are getting married at a family home, in a marquee, at a church, or somewhere completely different, my approach is the same: I work quietly, look for real moments, and photograph the story of the day without staging or taking over.
You can see more of my work as a Staffordshire wedding photographer on my main Staffordshire wedding photography page, or get in touch if you are planning a relaxed wedding and want photography that feels natural, honest and full of life.
I primary shoot weddings Nottingham however I photograph wedding across the whole of the UK.