Zoe & Peter's Wedding Story
I first met these guys in a Norfolk pub. We talked over a drink about their day and had a look at their venue. Well, I was in love straight away. Such an intimate, fairy-tale like location, immaculately kept and so well considered in its setup. It was The Reading Room in Alby, Norwich. They had another photographer to meet with the next day, however, they emailed and said that they wanted me. Probably based on my reaction to their venue and the ideas that we came up with together, but they summed it up in the following sentence, “we think that you really connected with our vision”.
Well, the day started out lovely and relaxed as I arrived at a B&B, the place in which Zoe and her bridesmaids were to be getting ready. A gorgeous little B&B, typical Norfolk seaside cottage with Wisteria growing up the front wall. You could not have put Zoe in a better dress. It was like a 1940’s lace mermaid dress which left her looking like a movie star, and also really complemented Peter’s suit very well. It was a nice day, not overly bright and sunny, which is always good from a photographer’s point of view. A warm summers day non the less, with patches of cloud. Everything about this day was just looking gorgeous, the bride, the getting ready location and the actual wedding venue. As it had all been so well considered by the bride and groom, backgrounds were never going to be an issue.
After documenting Zoe and her girls at the cottage for some time, I directed the girls to the front room, and we worked in there for a short while. A stunning little room with period cottage-like furniture and well thought out seats and sofas to match. With the sunlight just glancing through the front window, the light was perfect so no flash was needed. Natural light is always the best if it’s right. As the girls were ready so early it would be the first wedding that year where I would get good time with the groom before the bride arrives. Back to the briefly aforementioned suit I referred to earlier. A dark blue velvet dinner suit and bowtie just to add that movie style they had gone with. It would only be right to give them movie star style images.
The venue was gorgeous in daylight, but it was evident that as the sun went down it would really come to life, and we had previously decided that this would be when the real magic would happen. Zoe arrived and the wedding was preparing to commence. One by one the bridesmaids made their way from the front of the main house through the glorious cottage path around to the venue room giving the guests a snippet of what was to come with the arriving bride. The setting was just magical. At this point it was a perfect summers day and as Zoe appeared she seemed to be glowing in the sunlight. The front of the venue was very aesthetically pleasing indeed, with a huge, wonderfully structured window. The sort of window which just had to feature. Later, as day turned to evening, I had the couple all to myself. With the aid of some backlighting, we began exploring some wonderful areas of the venue. One being a very long living tunnel of climbing plants filled with fairy lights and a backlight to compliment. The large window glowed from the inside lights as Peter and Zoe appeared like true movie stars walking the red carpet. James Bond and his bride. One of my favourite shots of the year and I was so happy to have pictured perfectly the vibe that I felt the wedding had. Their review of my services said it all, but I just wanted to thank them just as much for allowing me to capture such an amazing day with some incredible individual images.
