Justin Thompson Wedding Photography - Ian and Rachel Stanton

About a month ago I shot the first of many weddings this season – and I have to say wedding photography doesn’t get more fun when you have such a brilliant set of guests, a fantastic and willing couple in front of the lens, and such amazing surroundings! The church and reception venue were brilliant, and were conducive to getting great wedding photography, and we also owe a debt of gratitude to the weather gods, either side of the day itself had been pretty awful weather (as anyone who lives in england this spring/summer will testify) so we made the most out of the great weather on the day and got some amazing wedding photographs! Ian and Rachel were such a great couple to work with, as were all family and friends of the couple, which always makes things easier – and we had a great day all in all.

As I explained earlier in my blog (and is the reason for the slight dip in posts as of late!) I became a father again fairly recently, so hectic lifestyle aside, it meant that Helen couldn’t be my assistant for this wedding… step up Mr William Graham esquire! Will has been a friend through photography for a few years now and i’m a big fan of his work so I was incredibly pleased he came along to be my second shooter for the day, he really helped take the pressure off and he got some great shots of the groomsmen whilst I was shooting bridal prep (any groomsmen shots you see below are his as are a random selection of others!), so a massive thank-you to him. You can find more of his work here: http://willgrahamphotography.co.uk

The day started with Will and I doing a quick run through of the day and a recce of the church – Knowle church is an incredibly beautiful (and old – it turned 600 in 2003!) church so we wanted to get the best out of the venue and grounds on the day. From there Will spent some time with the lads getting ready for the big day and I went over to the reception venue at Ardencote manor to capture some of the bridal prep photography. a few choice shots below for you:

Once the couple arrived at the church – it was all systems go for the next 3 hours – this is the time where the wedding photographer really earns their crust, it’s around 3 hours of high intensity work, ranging from positional work inside the church, to directorial work and thinking on your feet with the couple around the grounds, then through to the reception venue and finishing with the formal photographs. It feels like about half an hour when you’re in ‘the zone’, but this is usually when you get the really spectacular shots when your instinct takes over! I have to say the ceremony shots and some of the posed couple shots are among my favourite shots of the day, we had an incredibly serendipitous shaft of light that illuminated the bride during the vows which really came out well, and with the church being so spectacular both Will and I got some amazing shots, even if we do say so ourselves!

With the ceremony finished, the new Mr and Mrs Stanton made their way to the reception venue with their guests, where we completed the formal guest photography around the gorgeous grounds of Ardencote manor, and then the meal began whilst Will and I recharged our batteries (literally and figuratively!). After dinner were the speeches, and then we took some of the guests and the bride and groom out into the grounds for a few more photographs to finish the day off nicely.

We had an absolutely amazing day, and we hope the fun, love and laughter that made this wedding so special shines through in the pictures.

Big thanks to Ian and Rachel for being such stars on the day, and to all their family and friends for making us welcome and for being good sports.

Justin and Will.