Best Of 2023
With 2023 firmly now in the rear view mirror, it’s time to reflect on some of my favourite images of the season, with a little story behind each of them.
Kicking off with Mother of the Groom (Esperanza), and her sister Betsy sharing a moment in church. There was no Father of the Groom present, making this moment all the more poignant. The crop was deliberate, as this moment was all about the hands, rather than faces. The couple, Aisling & Matthew went on to have an amazing moment filled wedding day at South Farm, but this was the highlight for me.
It wouldn’t be unreasonable to assume that this is a photo of the bride and groom dancing, however it’s actually Bridesman, Jayson dancing with Tuulia at Queens House in Greenwich, London. Without a doubt the craziest dancefloor of a crazy dancefloor season, Tuulia’s Finnish family left no song un-boogied, and groom Paul very much held up his end of things as well with some spectacular moves and faces!
This image showing the joy on their faces, and body movement was my personal favourite from a fine set.
These were truly unexpected tears, as Zetian had remained ice cool up to this point, but halfway through their beautiful chapel ceremony at Downing College, Cambridge the emotion of the day really let loose!
Husband Huw, was ready with a strong embrace seconds later, but it’s very rare to capture an actual tear falling in any wedding scenario. Getting close enough to do this moment justice whilst not being visually or audibly obstructive is so important, and given the glowing feedback from both grooms, it appears I managed it!
Whilst the first dance itself is indeed a magic moment, I keep my cameras up when the dancefloor fills up with friends and family members too. To be able to frame a couple among their love ones in the way I did for Amy & Ollie here is even more special to me (and hopefully them!)
Another wedding at South Farm, these guys were the photography gifts that just kept giving all day, despite less than brilliant autumn UK weather! Picking one frame from this wedding was hard, as half a dozen could have easily been chosen
Capturing natural looking Father of the Bride reactions when they see their daughter in the dress for the first time is super difficult. The more you try and set it up, the less natural it looks when the moment happens. Luckily Vicky’s Dad, John didn’t dissappoint with his emotional response.
It was well worth the long drive to beautiful Wales, and Llantilio House near Abergavenny to meet this wonderful family, and share in the joy of Vicky’s wedding to Matthew. A couple who only live a few hundred yards from me in Hitchin!
Just when you thought Zetian (above) was about to walk off with the ‘Emotional Groom’ award for 2023, along came Clive to rewrite the history books.
The brother of one of my regular Second Shooters, and good friend - Karl, Clive was a mess from the moment the bridal party entry music started. His raw emotion then triggered Charlotte, and before you knew it three hands entered the frame to absolute perfection at The White Hart, Ampthill. It took a few minutes for composure to be attained.
I’ll be honest, I had absolutely no idea this was going to happen! With Sonny of Italian heritage, his family were always going to wrap them in some sort of party tape at the end of their first dance. Luckily I am tall, and I was in position to capture this moment!
This all followed an awesome surprise singing appearance by the Tailored Tenors. Don’t worry though folks, as Vicky & Sonny were soon freed and back to dancing around Hatfield Place in Essex like a pair of legends again.
It’s not just Dad’s who get a reaction shot to brides and their dress reveals, and the Bridesmaids version doesn’t get much better reactions than these!
Thanks to a certain recent pandemic, this was Claire & Stuarts second South Farm wedding, and I was fortunate to be their for both! The original legal ceremony day was restricted to essential family only, so they had a Wedding Party in Feb last year and screened the original wedding film to all, providing popcorn along the way!
Another wedding absolutely packed full of moments, Dan & Nikita brought together both Greek and Indian wedding traditions during their day at Offley Place Hotel, Hitchin.
Dan kicked off with his Greek Stolisma Party at his parents house, with best man, and brother Georgio helping with the traditional shave. The day went on to feature a Money Dance, Indian Drummers and Dan having to complete some tasks to win access to his new bride! With Nikita being a dance teacher, you can be sure the dancefloor was not a quiet one.
Jordan and Joe shared an emotional day down in Brighton back in May, with this moment celebrating the end of their ceremony at Brighton Town Hall. With the jubilation clear on their faces, they soon headed off to the amazing Brighton Proud Cabaret for a show featuring Fire Breathing, Magic, Circus Tricks and more. As a photographer, this wedding gave me everything you could ask for, and I got to enjoy, and capture an amazing cabaret show as part of it.
