Laura and Matt both got ready at The Dodford Inn, married outside on the lawn and stayed there for the rest of the day.
Dodford is fairly compact, but that is one of the things I like about it. I could move between both preparations without spending half the morning walking around, and later the guests could go from the ceremony to the terrace and into the reception without being herded onto coaches.
I have written a separate guide about getting married at The Dodford Inn, so I do not need to spend half this page explaining the floor plan.
This one is about Laura and Matt.
Matt had arrived early with his best man to help decorate the venue. One of their jobs was setting up the wooden hexagon at the end of the aisle, which should have been straightforward.
Unfortunately, it was windy.
Every time they got the hexagon into position and attached the fabric, the wind caught it and pulled everything back off again. They would put it up, stand back to check it, then watch half of their work come undone. This went on for quite a while, but it eventually stayed together long enough to do its job.
Once they had finished fighting with the ceremony decorations, Matt could actually get ready. His best man helped with his tie and buttonhole, although judging by the photographs, neither of them was taking this part especially seriously either.
Laura had chosen the considerably better end of the arrangement. She was upstairs being pampered with her bridesmaids, having her hair and make-up done and enjoying a few glasses of prosecco. Standard wedding-morning behaviour, really.
The morning moved from drinks with the bridesmaids into Laura putting on her dress and her dad seeing her ready at the doorway. Just before it was time to head downstairs, the Tequila Rose appeared for a final shot of Dutch courage before she walked down the aisle.
Laura walked down the aisle with her dad, and whatever nerves Matt had been carrying beforehand seemed to disappear as soon as he saw her. Matt kept a lot of what he was feeling to himself, but you could see him settle almost immediately. After that, there was far more laughter than nerves, with both of them grinning through most of the ceremony.
Once they were married, Laura and Matt went straight into hugs and mingling. I don’t turn drinks receptions into photoshoots, and The Dodford Inn suited a wedding party like theirs perfectly: relaxed, with plenty of space for everybody to move around without being herded from one photograph to the next.
While the venue seated everyone for the wedding breakfast, we took a ten-minute walk down the lane. Laura and Matt were naturals and needed very little direction. It gave them ten minutes away together to enjoy each other’s company, and that was all we needed. There was no reason to turn it into an hour-long photoshoot.
Laura’s dad had come prepared, working his way from a beer mat to a welcome mat before officially welcoming Matt into the family. It was an elaborate route to a very obvious pun, but it landed.
Later, one of the groomsmen came to find me with an idea. He gathered the others and they grabbed Matt, who did not appear to have been consulted before finding himself horizontal and being held in the air by seven men. His confusion was completely genuine.
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.