FAVOURITE WEDDING MOMENTS OF 2024

WHAT WERE THE BEST WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY HIGHLIGHTS OF 2024?

I know some people had a tough year, and certainly I worked hard and travelled far and wide. But that’s how I like it and honestly, from simple barn weddings, to formal catholic weddings, from the urban thrill of a London wedding to the lure of beautiful country house and stately home weddings, from gorgeous destination weddings in France and Italy to modest at home family weddings, it was a wonderful, varied and, above all romantic year. For the quick whistle stop tour of my 2024 (oh, a rhyme), check out the minute-long quick flip through my favourite moments in the video below.

But if you have the time and the inclination, I’d love for you to take is slow and check out just how amazing my, and my couples’ 2024 was.

For me, wedding season began and ended with my favourite offering, my Fusion Photo-Videography package which has become increasingly popular, as we all learn new techniques for shooting photography and videography simultaneously. It’s also great value for money and as always I overdelivered.

This year my wedding photography year began early, in January in fact, with the most excellent Ruby and Adam at The Trafalgar Tavern in Greenwich. A simple civil ceremony in this fun and quirky venue with stunning views of the Thames and a brilliant couple and their fantastic family and friends.

I particularly loved shooting Mina and Chris’s Greek Wedding at Addington Palace in South London. And then there was the two-day adventure of Abike and Sola’s France Destination Wedding in Provence where the surprisingly wild and unseasonal wind and rain almost put a stop to everything.

2024 was a great year for me also for Wedding Videography, shooting in Sussex, Kent, Hampshire, Berkshire, Oxfordshire, and my favourite county Worcesteshire. My personal highlight of my many Uk travels was probably Matthew and Abbey’s big day at Birtsmorton Court in Malvern.

My last wedding of the year was the gorgeous Jose and Rich at one of my favourite barn wedding venues, Southend Barns, near Chichester. Once more they opted for the fusion photo-videography package

But that wasnt really my last shoot, as Julie and Ian slipped in under the net with a 10-year anniversary London Christmas shoot, a wonderful recreation of their elopement a decade ago. And what, really, could be a more wonderful way to finish the year than a zip around London for the day in a chartered Black Taxi, seeing the sights and the lights with two people celebrating still being totally in love ten years on.

JULIE AND IAN'S LONDON CHRISTMAS TEN YEAR ANNIVERSARY

HOW TO GET THE MOST OF A LONDON CHRISTMAS ELOPEMENT SHOOT

So as is the way of things, the call came via a Facebook shoutout from my good friend, the supremely talented make up artist MEL KINSMAN.  Julie and Ian, who had eloped ten years ago in London, wanted to re-live and re-visit the romance of that occasion.  

Now, while everyone knows how picturesque and romantic London can be at Christmas, we all know also how crowded, confusing, congested and complex it can be.  And if you are a professional wedding photographer, the light is not on your side either, given that it is gone by 4pm in December.  

 Well we had all the solutions.  Starting off from the marvelous London Marriott Park Lane hotel, we had the able assistance of Steve and his black cab, booked out to us for the entire day.  I cannot tell you what a break this is.  Travelling on the tube can be fun, but it would totally not be my first choice for getting from A to B quickly and in comfort.

 Our first location was the delightful St Ermins Hotel, on the edge of Mayfair where Yuletide sparkle and unparalleled service make this an absolute must for anyone looking for high class high tea.  We stopped off at Smiths Square, behind parliament for a little bit of Peaky Blinders retro-style portraiture, before Steve dropped us off on Westminster Bridge.

 Westminster Bridge, in case you don’t know, is more crowded than the entrance to a Taylor Swift concert, so any professional portrait photographer needs to be able to not only handle hordes of milling tourists politely and discretely, but also know their angles.  The same thing went for our next bridge, the Millenium Bridge by St Paul’s Cathedral.  We Londoners get forgetful and tend to call it The Wobbly Bridge.  

 Surprisingly, Tower Bridge was remarkably easy to deal with, probably because everyone wants their shot on the side next to The Tower of London.  Which is all well and good in the mind’s eye.  Realistically you can’t get both in to a decent shot, so it was a lot easier for me to pose my couple on the St Katherine’s Dock side.  Her and at St Paul’s, en route back to the West End,  I started to experiment a little with off-camera flash lighting, in order to get more drama and contrast, and to prepare for the encroaching darkness.

From Covent Garden onwards we were at the mercy of the crowds and the available street lighting.  This is where, as an experienced commercial event photographer, knowing how to handle people and lighting and editing is crucial.  Using a mix of backlight and available light and then adjusting colour balance in post led to some really lovely results.

 Our final destination was the West End, from Bond Street and Burlington Arcade and then down to the iconic Fortnum and Masons which is always so beautifully decorated, finishing up at Regent Street, where the lights and the buildings curve so beautifully at Piccadilly Circus.

Chaotic as may seem for a photographer to drag a couple round all these picture postcard London locations at the city’s busiest and darkest time of the year, if you have your wits about you, if you know how to adapt your style and your lighting to move fast, and if you have a chauffeur who can stay with you for the day, then it is a whole lot of fun.

And finally, what Julie said at one point is so true;  “People love love”, and amazingly, if you take on the awesome challenge of a London Christmas Wedding Photo Shoot, you will find the minute people see a wedding dress and a bouquet they are thrilled and all too eager to step out of the way, hold a light for you, offer their best wishes, and even, as when we were in Leadenhall Market, give a resounding round of applause!

 All in all a fun-packed, romantic and thrilling experience and one I would happily take on every Christmas.  

Congratulations to Julie and Ian!

JOSIE AND RICH'S ROMANTIC HAMPSHIRE AUTUMN WEDDING, SOUTHEND BARNS

SHOOTING PHOTO AND VIDEO SINGLE-HANDED AT SOUTHEND BARNS

What do you call a guy whose assistant fails to turn up for the wedding where you’re due to shoot both photos and video?  You might call him a guy in trouble, but if he owns the new Sony a9iii with a DJI osmo pocket 3 clamped to it, plus a couple of Sony a7ivs, then you can call him Adam, and pat him on the back for having more than enough experience and tech to be able to handle the challenge with relish.

There are a lot of photographers of course, who shoot a little bit of video, just as there are a number of videographers who shoot some photos. But, without meaning to be immodest, it is not just a question of experience and talent to be able to do both well, although with 500+ weddings under my belt, I definitely do have the experience. It is also a question of equipment. Warning: brief techy bit coming up.

To be honest, it wasn’t the first time I’d shot both photo and video for a wedding on my own.  My first wedding of 2024, Ruby and Adam, back in January in fact was just me.  But what made this really exciting, and - yes I know it is a bit boring and technical - was that the new Sony A9iii can shoot ten second bursts of photos at 60 frames per second.  Which is really a wonderful advance in camera tech and was really what prompted me to write this.  To shoot a walk down the aisle, or the first kiss in dreamy slow motion, AND be able to pull out high resolution photos was brilliant.  Using the fast cf-A cards helped to, switching from photo to video and back again without delay is a must in the high speed environment of a wedding.  

What helped too was that Southend Barns is such a wonderful venue.  Nestled in the Hampshire Countryside, just a stone’s throw from the sea at West Wittering, it is a wedding photographer’s dream come true.  The staff are super efficient and relaxed, keeping the day on track without anyone ever feeling pressured.  The bridal suite is spacious and light.

 When it comes to couple portrait photography, there are lots of picturesque outdoor nooks and backdrops, even if - as on this winter wedding - it was too damp and muddy to traipse round to the fields and the caravan.  

I have shot outdoor weddings here in the Secret Garden, which is really fun and romantic on a Summer’s Day, though maybe not all that comfortable for a Winter Wedding.   Sensibly, Josie and Rich chose The Dairy Barn, which is just a perfect setting for a relaxed civil ceremony.  Painted white and hung with beams and drapes, the low windows and geographical position makes for a lovely soft light, and great accoustics, an absolute  wedding videographer’s dream.  

 The main barn reception, the Threshing Barn is all rustic wooden beams and wrought iron chandeliers, with windows overlooking the lovely landscaped garden. This has been re-arranged and is a great space, made extra sparkly and romantic with christmas lights hung throughout.  (another big tick for the a9iii which handles LED flicker effortlessly)

 I’ve shot at Southend Barns a number of times now, and the really great thing about it is there are enough indoor spaces with enough variety that a decent-sized wedding party can stay comfortable whatever the weather.  

 As for Josie and Rich and their family and friends, they were just brilliant.  What a great bunch, up for fun, super relaxed and friendly, and they 100% made, and deserved a truly wonderful day.

THE FILM

PALOMA AND JAMES LONDON WEDDING, ST GEORGE'S CATHEDRAL AND THE NATIONAL THEATRE

THE HIGHLIGHTS FILM

TERRI-LEE AND CASPAR'S BUCKINGHAMSHIRE WOODLAND WEDDING, MONKTON BARN

WHAT’S SO SPECIAL ABOUT MONKTON BARN?

It’s always unadvisable to call a venue “the perfect wedding venue”, because rather like a TV promo or a movie trailer (both of which in a past life I used to produce in return for payment of my mortgage) once you say something is the best, then logic dictates, everywhere else is not as good. And who defines what “best” actually is? I’ve photographed weddings at the Tower of London, Kensington Palace, numerous stately homes across the UK and the capital. Would you laugh if I said Monkton Barn was better than those venues? You might well. Would I rather be shooting there than at those venues? Well, probably yes is my answer.. Is Monkton Barn then the perfect wedding venue? Perhaps not. But in my experience it certainly is A perfect wedding venue and one that it was my absolute pleasure to work at.

Some of this may come down to the kind of wedding this was. This is my favourite kind of booking - a referral from a previous wedding. I don’t advertise a lot because I get referred a lot, because I always try to go the extra mile. So when Terri-Lee dropped me a line saying how much she loved my wedding photography for their friends Kat and Alex who tied the knot at Marwell Hotel, I knew this was a couple who would truly appreciate my style.

And here is what I found at Monkton Barn. As a photographer, Monkton Barn is a dream setting. Nestled on the edge of the Chiltern Hills, near the scenic riverside town of Marlow, this venue is a hidden gem. The centerpiece of the location is a beautifully converted traditional farm barn, complete with original beams and oak floors, providing a warm and authentic backdrop for any celebration. The surrounding meadows, bathed in natural light, offer an expansive canvas for outdoor events, while a secluded dell adds a magical touch for woodland weddings.

Monkton Barn is incredibly versatile, allowing you to craft your celebration exactly as you envision it. Whether it’s a relaxed, intimate barn ceremony, an open-air reception in a marquee, or a large-scale party, this venue offers the flexibility and charm to match your style. Photographing events here is a delight, from candid moments in the barn to the wide, sweeping views across the meadows and woodlands. The light filtering through the trees, the open skies, and the natural textures of the landscape all lend themselves to creating stunning, timeless images.

For me, it’s the outdoor spaces that truly shine. Imagine capturing a couple’s first dance under the stars, with fireworks or bonfires lighting up the night. Or documenting a festival-style celebration with live music, fairground rides, and guests mingling in a relaxed, playful atmosphere. Whether it’s the rustic charm of a woodland wedding or the elegance of a marquee reception, Monkton Barn allows for endless creativity.

The venue offers the opportunity for unique shots – from glamping under the stars to hot air balloon rides – creating moments that are not only beautiful but unforgettable. Each celebration here tells its own story, and I love being able to document every detail, from the intimacy of a cozy winter reception with fire pits and roasted chestnuts to the vibrancy of a West-End musical-themed party.

Now so far, so ChatGPT, right. But the truth is, the people who run this place are really on it. They are super helpful at all times and really lovely. They have taken real care to make every part of the venue feel special. For me, the real standout is how they have decorated and cared for the woodland glen, which feel genuinely a bit magical.

The owner is a talented wedding photographer, and, as someone who also shoots wedding videography, I really hope I get the chance to work alongside them one day. The little prep barns are small but perfectly comfy, the indoor dining and party spaces, likewise, so if rain stops play, there is ample space to host your wedding. But best of all is the woodland and countryside. Even on a wet day, a woodland wedding is still very much a possibility. And, for a wedding photographer and videographer anyway, on a sunny day, as you will see from the wedding group photos below, the light bounces up into the shade, giving a lovely glow to everyone’s skin.

And with such a beautiful backdrop, couple portrait photography becomes a real pleasure.

And the views really are that wonderful. Take a look abelow and see for yourself. The highlight for me on this wedding - apart from the adorable couple and their lovely friends and family of course, was that Terri-Lee and Casper had their first dance and party out in the open. A whole new experience and creative challenge for me as a wedding photographer, giving me the chance to experiment with all different kinds of lighting techniques and styles

MINA AND CHRIS'S BEAUTIFUL LONDON GREEK WEDDING, ADDINGTON PALACE

MINA AND CHRIS AT ADDINGTON PALACE

As a North Londoner, I’m always primed to joke about getting my passport stamped before going South of the River.  But here’s the thing.  Addington Palace is not only NOT in Croydon, it is not in London at all, but swish, posh Surrey.  It is however only a hop and a skip from central London, so if you are heading here from elsewhere, it is within easy reach.

And don’t be fooled by the bustling tramlines and the modestly-named Gravel Hill.  Addington Palace is high class sophistication  all the way, from it’s grade II listed Palladian-style mansion architecture, to it’s 163 acres of prime English countryside.

The history of Addington Palace begins with a Manor House, which was here before the Norman Conquest. However the Palace really came to prominence in 1771 when Barlow Trecothick, an Alderman of the City of London, began planning his new country mansion – a spectacular Palladian-style residence with two main storeys incorporating single-story wings and pavilions. Home to no less than five Archbishops of Canterbury, the gardens were designed  by the  Capability Brown 

But today it is a wonderful wedding venue, chosen by Mina and Chris for several very good reasons..  

If you’re getting ready here, there is the most wonderful bridal suite with more than ample space, lots of natural light and lots of lovely original Georgian features  

There are lots of beautiful rooms for portraiture, and group shots too, if it rains; as it goes, we actually had a lovely sunny day, and still it was impossible to resist the allure of these exquisite, perfectly-furnished rooms, which the venue staff are more than happy to guide you around.

The spacious and characterful Great Hall, replete with chandeliers and oak panelling gives ample space for your party and wedding breakfast.  Guests can bask in a real sense of history and sophistication, before letting go on the dance floor.

Mina and Chris actually had their ceremony in the ornate and lovely  Greek Orthodox church on Crystal Palace high street, with all the wonderful classic traditions and rituals, and their party was a full-on, fantastic text-book Greek Wedding celebration, complete with money dance, greek dancing, warmth, love, hilarity and an amazing energy.  Congratulations to Mina and Chris.