2020 eh? Crikey. The fact that I was able to somehow photograph 13 lucky couples getting married during 2020 is something of a miracle given the restrictions put upon the Wedding Industry from March onward. However, as an avid ‘Blog Avoider’ for the entirety of my profession, having such a relatively small body of work to review gives me perfect excuse to compact it all into one blog post.
In addition to the weddings captured below, the year was notable for 2 major personal work achievements: Firstly, I managed to win National Wedding Photographer of the Year for The Wedding Business Awards at my first time of entering. Secondly I managed to host and deliver my first Full Wedding Photography Workshop for other professionals whilst restrictions were more relaxed in summer.
But most importantly of all, we soldiered on. We shot some weddings. We rearranged some weddings. I captured love, I captured emotion, and I captured beauty. A massive thanks to every single one of my clients who stuck with me and didn’t give up on their dreams. Bare with the shear amount of images and thankfully limited waffling below, and enjoy the strangest year in the history of Weddings. 2021 lets be ‘avin you.
Charlotte and her father walking down the aisle at the Groucho Club, Soho
Nina hits a beam of light walking down the aisle of St Mary’s Church, Hitchin
Christine & Anthony at The Great Barn Aynho
The year began with the usual light flurry of winter weddings to kick off the year, with myself and most of the industry unaware of what was to come. January saw Lauren & Sid kick my season off with their fabulous winter wedding at the ever-charming South Farm, the first of what was originally several weddings there for 2020. A particularly lovely touch was the game of ‘Mr & Mrs’ played between them, where everyone got to see a little bit inside the world of Lauren & Sid. Being a smart man, Sid made all the right plays and I’m pleased to say the marriage survives to this day :-)
““.....Although the choice out there for photographers is endless, we felt completely confident that Rafe would capture our day in a natural way, but with flare and creativity too.””
Three weeks later, I was pleased to be able to return to South Farm for Melissa & DJ’s big day, where their young boys shared centre stage with them for much of the day. While the weather wasn’t quite as clement, we still managed to get them both outside as weren’t to be denied an epic driveway night shot!
““.......We have received so many lovely compliments about our wedding photos, we absolutely love them and cannot stop looking at them! If you are looking for a professional photographer look no further.””
As we approached the end of February the world could sense something unusual was happening, but nevertheless we carried on with daily life, and Andrea & Josh threw quite a bash for everyone down in the city at Hawksmoor, Guildhall. Rarely have my team and I looked forward to a wedding meal as much as this one, and it was as good as advertised! Having some cityscapes to work with rather than the usual country gardens was a fun diversion from the norm, and we put our creative hats on. Little did any of us know that this would be the last wedding reception dancing we would photograph in 2020!
Next up would be my last Wedding Photography action for a few months, as we entered lockdown shortly after Claire & Stuart tied the knot at South Farm in late March. I blogged this one in full right here:
Claire & Stuart by the Boating Lake at South Farm
““.....Rafe has been helpful, supportive and a great surrounding board through the COVID-19 crisis. We just managed to squeeze in a small wedding before lockdown and Rafe was fantastic with changing plans, keeping in touch and being flexible.””
For what felt like an eternity, I waited for the chance to photograph an actual live wedding, and Sarah & Vikram presented me with an opportunity once lockdown restrictions were lifted as summer progressed. I was slightly apprehensive of photographing my first wedding with social distancing in a church, but I needn’t have worried, as the church was enormous, and the Vicar was as chilled as they come! After the ceremony we all trekked off to a primary school in Hoddesdon for a marquee reception, where Sarah’s Mum had recently retired as Headmistress.
Moving into August, and Becky and Matt were originally due to marry in Northants and celebrate with a reception at Rushton Hall, however when rules and regulations changed on weddings, Rushton Hall could not longer accommodate their needs, so they had a complete u-turn and moved the wedding down to where Becky grew up in a tiny village in Gloucestershire. Sellack church hosted the ceremony and Becky’s parents were able to accommodate everyone in the grounds of their stunning house for the reception. To be able to celebrate your wedding in the grounds of the house the bride grew up in was extra special for them both, and Matt’s best man completed an amazing day with the longest, and possibly the most inebriated (there’s a link there) best man’s speech I have witnessed. So much love and joy between 2 wonderful families.
““.....Our pictures had us all in tears - re living the day back- he managed the capture the emotions in all our photos - I don’t know how he does it!””
Later In August I had a rare treat of actually visiting a wedding venue. My first time since March! Christine and Anthony were married at the stunning Great Barn at Aynho in Oxfordshire. Given couples were still able to have up to 30 people attending, and that I was able to bring Karl with me to capture Groom Prep, it was about as close to a normal wedding as I would get in summer 2020 and we took full use of the opportunity. After the speeches outdoors, the venue manager was kind enough to drive us out on the grounds to capture some stunning portraits of them both.
September saw me capture a wonderful Jewish wedding ceremony in the family back garden. The weather was kind thankfully, and the couples friends and family assembled in full view of the Chuppah to witness Francesca and Daniel become husband and wife. Daniel’s elderly Granddad was safely wheeled into place front and centre, and the whole ceremony was streamed live on video to overseas friends and family unable to travel.
In mid October, Charlotte and Alex had the pain of just a few days notice to halve their wedding party down from 30 to 15 as tougher rules around weddings were imposed due to a steady rise in COVID cases. Despite this, no plans were changed (guest list aside), and Dave and I engaged in our first full day wedding since February. Their location of the Groucho Club, right in the heart of Soho, on a Saturday - back when pubs and restaurants were still open - meant we had to accept it was going to be busy when we went out for B&G portrait time around dusk. This would prove to be just one of the technical challenges of the day given the lack of available light for the ceremony also. Nothing a couple of gridded flashes on light stands couldn’t fix! This day was such fun for us, and being able to take wedding photographs at night for the first time since February was amazing. Above everything, it was wonderful to work with a couple who absolutely trusted my creativity from the start, and I was so pleased to see them both overcome so many hurdles to have their big day. I’ll let these images do the rest of the talking.
““.....Rafe was a joy to work with, very very professional and just great to have as part of our special day.””
I’ve been a second photographer at a number of weddings over the years, and it’ s something I really enjoy, as I don’t have the pressure of managing the day and I can just get creative. In November however I was asked to be an Associate Photographer for the first time. This means stepping in for the original photographer booked and capturing the whole day for them on my own. This way you take the pressure of managing the day but the added pressure of managing the expectation of both the photographer, AND the wedding couple! I was painfully aware of the fact that they chose my friend Catherine for her photography style, and really wanted to please everyone. In the end however, I realised that I just needed to do what I would normally do with a little extra focus in certain areas to match Catherine’s style. Working with a really fun and easy going couple at two of my favourite local Hitchin venues certainly helped, and we were blessed with some gorgeous winter sun on the day too. More of this please!
My final flourish for 2020 was the only wedding I could walk to from home without needing a car. A short stroll into town to St Mary’s Church in Hitchin, followed by a reception meal in the Pitcher & Piano. Tania and Abe had planned to wed in May and just about managed to sneak their wedding in before restriction were ramped up around Christmas. It was a privilege to be a part of their day, and they couldn’t have made me feel more welcome.
At the time of writing we just don’t know how 2021 is going to play out, but I have a diary full of awesome weddings that I hope and expect the majority to happen as intended. Regardless, I will be working to support my clients through the year as I did for those in 2020 and hoping there is plenty of magic to look back at in a years time!