This super cool farm wedding was one of the best of the year because it was just so much fun to shoot and get involved in!
I wanted to share some of my fave photos as well as pass comments on some of my thinking behind some of them, so that makes this post a little different from others where I try to SEO them to death to get Google love.
After walking down the aisle by her Grandfather Emma and Rob’s ceremony was packed. I was thinking ‘OK this looks like everyone but man was I wrong! When we came out for the confetti throw there were just as many guests waiting outside as there were in the ceremony, it was amazing to see.
Emma and Rob hosted their Marquee farm wedding reception on the land owned by family friends. When I walked into the marquee I was amazed by the most colourful array of food I’ve seen at a wedding and all lanterns that peppered the dancefloor.
I’m not fussed about details at weddings normally, but I think that’s because when you shoot at an ‘official’ venue you have expectations. I might have shot there before or at least seen pics floating around the gram. But what was really exciting was having little idea what I’d see until I walked in especially when marquees give couples a blank canvas and Emma and Rob smashed it!
Before that, there were wasp attacks, cheeky dog licks and a guest questing if I was taking pictures of people in the toilet?… I really meet all sorts of people at weddings.
One personal highlight is the maid of honour’s speech, it’s a rare happening at weddings and it says something about the strength of friendship that they have with the bride. Either that or they just like taking to the stage. It was a hilarious address as Molly gave many examples of how she is ‘Still not sure about Rob…’ Speeches also gave us time to see Emma pull off her Michael Jackson nose impression and to hear her little daughter’s full-on Leeds accent over the mic.
It was cool to learn that Rob has a PhD too. That’s a little known fact about me. My PhD was in stem cell research which all sounds pretty sexy until I tell people what I actually did. I haven’t always been a photographer but I’ve always been a geek!
The evening ended with Rob tossing a can of beer over his shoulder while Emma looked horrified by the taste of her Jager Bomb. Nice!
Cheers for having photography your amazing farm wedding!
I love that both Emma and her Maternal Grandfather are almost mirroring each other’s expressions and I think it’s both sweet and funny at the same time.
When the food photo bombs your group photo
Just before I took this photo I missed a similar moment. I thought there had to be another food escort coming soon so I just waited patiently. This is always hard to do because sometimes you get a little bit of FOMO (Fear of missing out) while you’re waiting. Sometimes in wedding photography, you have to have an idea and hang around long enough to see if it comes off, patience is so important in wedding photography.
The look
This photo was taken over Rob’s shoulder and I cropped the photo quite a bit from the original composition because I wanted to draw attention to Emma’s eye contact with Rob. This is one example of how the creative process doesn’t stop at the point of capture. Sometimes, when you are doing an edit you see new potential in a photo and you try a few things to make the photo even stronger.
Why? – my mantra at weddings is ‘I’m NOT here for the pretty pictures’. Sure there are loads of photos where people look their best too, but some photos are just too funny not to show. 
I saw Molly and Emma holding hands and I thought it was such a lovely moment. I’m often looking for little touches and connections during a wedding because weddings aren’t all about the big moments but everything in between them as well.
Shoes– how on earth did that make the highlights reel you ask? Lots of photographers would take detail shots in a traditional way by neatly laying the shoes somewhere. This approach goes against my documentary ethos. I take detailed shots in context. What makes the photo is the fact you can see the dude is clearly having trouble fitting into the new shoes. There’s a layer of storytelling telling that would be missing from a standard ‘Oh, look at my shoes’ photo.
If you are planning a massively fun farm wedding and want a photographer that won’t jam you into poses all day get in touch now. I’ve only a handful of dates available for 2023, so don’t miss out.
Cheers, Nathan