It's the look of sheer joy that I love about this photo. That feeling of 'we've made it!' Wedding mornings can be stressful and there's so much going on, it's really easy to forget that the whole thing is meant to be an enjoyable experience, and the wedding itself is a celebration! Having spent months or years planning your dream wedding, it's tempting to try and sort everything yourself on the morning of your wedding, but it's important to offload tasks onto parents or the bridesmaids/ushers where possible. As the bride or groom, the most you should have to worry about is whether or not to have that second* glass of champagne.
The photo above was taken at one of my favourite wedding venues - Bredenbury Court Barns, just over the border into Herefordshire. There you'll find a custom built bridal suite, complete a makeup bench and continuous mirror that's the full width of the room, with three full height mirrors on the opposing wall. The last 30 minutes before civil ceremony can be mad - you'll have to meet with the registrars about 15 minutes before your ceremony, so without much warning your 'oh this is fine we have 30 minutes left' gets cut in half. With some careful planning and a handful of luck, Dani (pictured) was ready with enough time spare to actually relax a little. This image was taken just after she'd had her veil placed by the hair stylist. Dani took a deep breath in, looked at herself in the mirror, fanned her veil wide with her outstretched arms, and had the biggest smile on her face.
*or third or fourth.
Location: Bredenbury Court Barns.
Keywords: Pure documentary wedding photography (24).