MY APPROACH
In 2014 my mum died and it completely changed how I see photographs (something I write a bit more about here).
It made me realise how much photos of the moments we share are. Especially as I don't have many pictures of her, so the few I do have are extremely precious.
The way we know our family and friends isn't in the prefect selfie smiles - they’re the subtle expressions. The way someone laughed, the way they looked at the people they loved.
That’s why I value real candid moments so deeply at weddings. They’re honest, fleeting, and irreplaceable. You can’t recreate them later or stage them again. When everything else fades, these are the images that mean something — the ones that feel true, because they were. I don't think of my mum in a pose, performing for the camera or trying to look a certain way — just being herself, caught in the middle of a moment. That’s where personality lives.
Staged photos look polished - candid moments feel alive. They carry the energy of the day, the atmosphere, the truth of it. Years later, it’s not the setups you’ll remember — it’s the feeling. And that only lives in the real moments.
There’s no shot list running the show and no pressure to perform for the camera. Just honest moments as they unfold — big, small, loud, quiet. From packed dancefloors and off-the-rails celebrations to the subtle exchanges no one else notices, the focus is always on emotion, atmosphere, and telling the story as it actually happened.
Here I will take you through the different types of moments you find within the day and talk a bit about them and how they are captured, with a short gallery of images to demonstrate.
You can skip to different sections by clicking on them below:
Headline Moments
Small Moments
Unusual Moments
The Dancefloor
Group Shots
Couple Shots
HEADLINE MOMENTS
Big headline wedding moments are the bits of the wedding you can picture in your mind before the day arrives. The bits you know will happen. These are the moments everyone is paying attention to: walking down the aisle, exchanging the rings, the first kiss, being pelted with confetti, making a grand entrance into your wedding breakfast, the speeches, the first dance. These headline moments land with real weight. Even as the bits you are prepared for, they’re unfiltered and raw.
All photographed with no directing, no interruptions — just watching closely as something honest unfolds. It’s about timing, instinct, and being present when the emotions take over.
SMALL MOMENTS
The small moments happen in the gaps, when no one’s expecting them. A quick wipe of a tear, an impromptu kiss, a touch of hands, an short but meaningful embrace. They’re unannounced and easy to miss, but they carry more weight than the planned and practiced.
As a documentary photographer I'm drawn to these moments because they’re pure instinct — nothing performed, nothing expected. These are the quiet truths of the day, the parts people don’t realise mattered until they see them later. Subtle, intimate, and always the most meaningful.
UNUSUAL MOMENTS
Unusual wedding moments don’t follow the plan. Like a kid being dragged out of a hedge, they arrive sideways.
These are the moments that break the script and give the day its personality. These are the moments that show your wedding to be unique. They’re unrepeatable beautiful accidents. Serendipitous moments that could only happen to these people, on this day in this place. They’re strange, honest, and vital.
These are always my favourite photos and they don't get captured by accident. They don't fall into your lap. These moments need to searched out by a photographer who understands the importance of the unique & the unusual.
This is where a real documentary storyteller excels on a wedding day.
THE DANCEFLOOR
I stay late at every wedding. No limited hours, no clock watching for home time. I'm there to tell the story of your day and the story of your day doesn't end with the first dance.
The dancefloor is where everything loosens. Jackets come off, shoes get abandoned and people stop thinking about how they look. Arms around shoulders, heads thrown back, moments of chaos and connection happening all at once. It’s loud, unguarded and full of life. What’s left is celebration in its purest form - imperfect, energetic and completely honest.
It's a vital part of your wedding and it demands to be captured.
GROUP SHOTS
Yes, I take group photos!
If you'd like some group shots (most of my couples do have them, but not all) then I am more than happy to take these.
I don't show them anywhere else on my website, not because they're not important, they are, but because a wedding should never revolve around them and I really want to work for couples who value the same ideals as me. We agree that weddings are meant to be lived and not performed.
Hopefully all the posers have long clicked off my site!
Group shots do matter. They capture something that won’t happen again. These exact people, together, in one place. Some reunited after years apart, some meeting for the first time, all part of the same story - your unique wedding day story. They’re a snapshot of relationships and history at that time. Done well, they feel solid and meaningful, something you’ll come back to long after the day has passed.
If you'd like some group shots we'll do them efficiently and with intention, then let the day carry on. Because the memories people carry with them are made while life is happening, not while everyone’s waiting around for the camera.
COUPLE SHOTS
A short relaxed couples shoot is something that's completely optional and absolutely your choice. Around two thirds of my couples have them and I never force one on you if you don't want one.
The couples shoot is a chance to slow things down for a moment. A breather. Time for you both to step away together, reset, and be present with each other while a few honest, relaxed photos are taken. They aren't stiff or directed — just space to connect and let the day sink in.
Usually, weather and sunset time permitting, we go for a walk in the grounds of your venue for 10 minutes between the end of the meal/speeches and before the first dance.
Just a casual walk, where the emotion of the day will take over as you take it all in and enjoy each other's company. These interactions are always more real than anything I could set up and pose you for. There'll be one spot where the light is nice and the backdrop looks good where I'll ask you to stop for a moment before we head back to join your guests.
A wedding shouldn’t be built around constant portrait sessions. They’re part of the story, not the whole thing. When portraits are kept simple and unforced, they add to the day without interrupting it. The best couple shots come from moments of calm and connection.
The day isn’t built around the photos — the photos are built around the day.
