Andrew and Heather got married at St Ecgwin's Church in Honeybourne, Evesham.
The couple chose to get ready at Norton Grounds Farm a few miles from the church, and hosted their reception at the same venue.
I always make an effort to attend a client's wedding rehearsal if I get the opportunity to do so. Even if I don't stay for the whole rehearsal, being in the church at the same time as the vicar, bride and grooms means I can work out exactly where I'm going to stand and what kind of photos I hope to get during the actual wedding. The other reason I like visiting the church before the wedding, is it gives me an opportunity to meet the person taking the service. I'm hoping in that first brief meeting that I can convince the vicar that I know what I'm doing, as well as being a consummate professional when it comes to wedding photography. I find the more time I spend talking with the vicar before the wedding, the more they trust me and therefore the more they allow me to do during the actual wedding.
When I first visited St Ecgwin's Church I realised that it was a small and intimate church, but with some good light I were to get my positioning correct. I usually try to stand at the very front and centre of the aisle as the bride walks in, but a small wall behind where I was stood for this photo, and the lack of space with the vicar being so close to me prevented me from taking my normal approach. Instead I elected to stand to the left of the aisle, in order to shoot between the groom and his best man.
When the wedding day came about, everything went as we had rehearsed and the photo I really wanted to get, I did. This photo is made even better by things I could not have planned for - human emotion and the way people react to it. I love how the bride is smiling and how nervous the groom looks. I love the look of apprehension on the father of the brides face. I love how the groom is facing straight ahead and his best man has turned to see the bride walking towards them. This photo came out better than I had planned, which is certainly no bad way!
Location: Evesham, Worcestershire.
Keywords: Documentary wedding photography (99).