Josie and Kurt married at Wootton Park in July 2024, and this one shows the venue in full summer mode.
The ceremony was outside beside the water, people spent most of the afternoon out on the lawn and, at some point, most of the wedding party ended up inside a bouncy castle.
It was relaxed from the start. They wanted to spend the day with their people rather than disappear for photographs, which suits Wootton Park particularly well when the weather lets everyone make proper use of the grounds.
Josie got ready in the Hayloft with her bridesmaids while Kurt was getting ready elsewhere at the venue.
Most of the morning was exactly what you would expect: dresses, makeup, people wandering between rooms and everyone gradually realising the ceremony was getting closer.
There was one part of Kurt’s morning that I do remember particularly well.
Josie had given him a floral tie along with a handwritten note. Inside was a photograph of his uncle.
It stopped things for a minute.
You can plan the timeline, the ceremony and the group photographs, but moments like that just happen. Kurt opened the box, took it in and had a minute with the people around him before carrying on getting ready.
This time the weather did exactly what you hope it will do for a summer wedding at Wootton Park.
The ceremony could stay outside beside the water, with everyone seated around the gazebo and plenty of sunshine across the grounds.
Kurt was already outside waiting when Josie made her way down from the Hayloft.
The ceremony had plenty of smiles, a few emotional moments and the two of them barely taking their eyes off each other.
After the ceremony it was straight into confetti and then back to everyone for drinks.
I don’t turn this bit of the day into a two-hour photoshoot. People have just watched you get married and generally want to hug you, talk to you and put something cold in your hand.
Then somebody decided the bouncy castle needed testing properly.
That eventually turned into most of the wedding party being inside it at the same time.
Suits, dresses, children, people falling over each other. Much more useful than trying to make everyone stand in a perfectly straight line.
Josie and Kurt did not want to disappear for a massive portrait session, so we didn’t.
A quick walk around the grounds, a few photographs together and then back to the wedding.
Then everyone headed inside for the wedding breakfast and speeches.
I’m not going to pretend I can remember every line of a speech from two years ago. I hear hundreds of them.
What I can remember, and what the photographs show considerably better anyway, is a room full of people reacting to them.
The first dance is one bit I do remember.
As Josie and Kurt stepped onto the dance floor, the sunlight came straight through the upper windows and across the room behind them.
No elaborate lighting setup. No need to manufacture anything.
Sometimes the venue and the weather just sort it out for you.
After that, it was mostly a case of following whatever happened.
The dance floor got busier, people kept drifting between the room and the lawn, drinks continued appearing and any pretence of formality disappeared fairly quickly.
At some point Josie also decided that wedding shoes had served their purpose.
The Crocs came out.
Which feels like a pretty good sign that everyone had stopped worrying about what they looked like and got on with enjoying themselves.
If you want your photos to feel like your day actually did.
No awkward posing. No staged moments. No turning your wedding into a photoshoot.
Most couples I work with want to spend the day with their people, not disappear for hours taking photographs. So I keep things simple. I document what’s happening, step in when you need me, and get you back to your wedding.
Big country house, registry office or somewhere in between, the job stays the same. Honest photographs of the people, atmosphere and moments that made the day yours.
Years from now, I want the photographs to take you straight back to it.