Wedding Ceremony

The photographs from your wedding ceremony are some of the most poignant and important photographs you’ll have from your wedding day. Below are some examples of other people’s ceremonies around Devon and Cornwall, you’ll see a mixture of outdoor civil ceremonies, humanist celebrations and traditional church weddings. It is important to choose a wedding photographer who respects the intimacy of the vows and works in a discreet way while still providing you with the memories. I’ve written a few tips on this below the gallery of images.

A Few Notes on Wedding Ceremony Photography

Whether you’ve chosen a large church wedding or an intimate elopement over-looking Cornwall’s coast there are a few things to consider when it comes to photography during your ceremony. Like a lot of professional photographers I use the Canon 5D Mark III camera which has the added bonus of a silent shutter … totally invaluable when it comes to the big “I dos”. My approach to photographing a wedding ceremony is to always try to position myself in a good position to be able to get a lot of the key photos but then the try not to move once I’m there. Normally I choose to stand next to the groom while the bride is making her way up the aisle and then when she is just a few metres away I move off to one side and photograph the vows from a few metres behind the vicar/registrar off to one side. You may see me in the background but I won’t move, I won’t use a flash and I will have my silent mode enabled on my camera so this really is as discreet as it can be while still getting the shots. If I am working with a second shooter they will stay at the back of the church/room/field and take shots from there.

Occasionally the celebrant or vicar/priest will place together restrictions upon where the photographer will stand and I will have to work within the limits I am given, this can be discussed before the big day to avoid any surprises. Unfortunately some less professional photographers have behaved disrespectfully in ceremonies in the past (treated it like their own photo shoot rather than a sacred event), this has led to some anxiety on the part of some celebrants who in turn place very tight restrictions on photographers or even ban the photography all together. The best way to approach this situation is to discuss the photography with them before the day and tell them that you are working with a photographer who doesn’t move around, doesn’t use a flash, won’t stand too close and has a silent shutter. We can discuss this further if you like, just contact me .

I’ve also written an article with general wedding planning tips and tips relating to your wedding photography – read it here .