When the Bride is dressed in Black

A couple of weeks ago I was asked to photograph the 4th wedding of a friend of mine's uncle. I have to be honest I was really really nervous, I tend to shy away from weddings as there is no reshoot, you can't check your screen and ask the minister to "do that again please".

Anyway lots of rescue later, the venue had been checked, the outdoor "location" chosen and the day dawned.....fortunately the church where the ceremony (and reception) were held is a very relaxed family church and it wasn't long before I was able to relax and have some fun.

I tried to spend some time before the wedding photographing the details and some of the guests in candid poses as they waited for the bride to arrive - all the things she didn't get to see.

When the bride arrived dressed in black I had to rethink a lot of the traditional shots I had in my mind, but one thing I am learning is to go with the flow and at the end of the day this elegant lady and her gallant new husband really relaxed and got into the swing of things.

I found it quite difficult to capture all the important moments in the church without being intrusive, after all the bride and groom should be completely in the moment and not worrying about the photographer - no flash was used obviously but the church is very nice and light so didn't present to much of a problem.

We chose a nearby park for the photographs which on a magnificent autumn afternoon presented a little bit of a problem as far as crowds where concerned, but with a few creative camera angles gladly we managed to avoid adding them to the pics.

Neither the bride or groom felt particularly comfortable in front of the camera so we went for the more relaxed shots, I encouraged them to chat and laugh and tried to capture the moments rather than set up formal poses.

I loved a stain glass window I found on the side of the church, the cross was perfectly placed and I like the imagery I was able to create with the rings.

Speeches presented their own set of challenges as by now the light was really low, again shooting without flash I am very lucky the Nikon is a very versatile camera and was brilliant in low lighting situations.

Will I do it again? I am not sure...was it as terrifying as I thought it would be? definitely not. The bride and groom are happy with the photos so at the end of the day I achieve what I set out to do.