Zoey had planned to spend the morning of her Summer wedding at home getting ready with her 5 bridesmaids, plus 2 parents and a handful of friends for helpers. When I approached the front door, I was expecting a scene of hustle and bustle with lots of busy people moving around inside. However, what I actually found at this time was just Zoey and her daughter who had everything beautifully under control. Their home was warm and inviting and as the team began to arrive, Zoey was able to drop what she was doing to open the door and make time to welcome them in. I liked this super calm bride approach as it set the tone for a lovely relaxed day that the bridal party and all the guests enjoyed. The excitement was definitely there and it was infectious, but with so many people under one roof they managed to get everything done with a cool head. Someone once told me that wedding guests only want for the bride and groom to have a brilliant day so they take their lead from the couple. If the couple seem to be enjoying themselves then the guests can take that as their cue to relax too and everyone has a fun day.

It always amazes me how in the space of a couple of hours, a house full of people in casual wear will gradually evolve into a home full of glamour, as one by one, everyone’s look is completed and it all comes together. Zoey wore a stunning strapless fishtail gown which had some sparkle detail to complement the tiara and earrings she was wearing. This was finished off with a very special beautiful necklace that had belonged to Zoey’s grandmother. As I set off for the church, I left behind the 3 younger bridesmaids who were upstairs, giggling and chatting as they created their own handmade confetti and planned who they would be coming down the aisle with. It was such a big day for them too; I was so pleased to see them enjoying every second of it.

With David’s busy work schedule, I’d not managed to meet him face to face before today, so he decided to play a little prank on me which could easily have worked! “Ah so you must be David, lovely to meet you, I’ve heard lots about you” I say. David then tells me that I’ve made a bit of a mistake and he’s actually the Best Man and he hurries off to fetch the real groom! I will admit I had a slight moment of panic as the chap he presented before me didn’t look anything like the person I’d just seen in the family photos in Zoey’s home. To my relief the real Best Man took pity on the poor photographer and put me out of my misery. This must be a running theme amongst the gents in this family as the ushers also joked about which ones were (and more importantly were not) Zoey’s brothers. I was going to have to keep my wits about me with this lot!

Zoey and David are a big part of their community at The All Nations Church in Brickhill, Bedford so the church was absolutely packed full of faces, people there to support this couple in making their commitment to each other. I love my job as every wedding is totally different and you get to experience many micro snippets of the couple’s personalities that they express through the details of their day. In this case, Zoey and David had their hymns accompanied by a band made up of musicians from members of their church. This really brought the words to life and even David himself played the drums for one of the songs, with his dad on keyboard and vocals. Such a talented family, it was the first time I’ve seen a groom contribute to the service in this personal way before.

After the service we got some great group shots outside the church. With such a huge amount of people attending, I had to take the shots from some height to get everyone in, which at 6 months pregnant was impossible to do with much grace! I had some impromptu helpers from the congregation there, helping me up and down stools who seemed ready to catch me should I miss my footing, for which I was very grateful! When I meet with couples before their wedding, I usually ask for an idea of the group shots they would like and the name of someone who I can call upon to try and help round up the relevant people. It’s generally quite an informal task but I feel I should pay credit to David’s best man Gaetano, who executed the smoothest operation of ushering people to and from the camera that I’ve experienced. Definitely missed his calling in life I think 😉 With some assistance from Zoey’s brothers also, we wrapped up the group shots and I was able to sneak away with Zoey and David for a little excursion.

David and Zoey were first introduced in Bedford Park, so we decided to take a detour there in order to get some time with the couple to take some shots of them together. If you haven’t been, Bedford park is a beautiful old Victorian park with lots of tall trees, traditional bandstand, a full size cricket pitch and a huge lake which served as a stunning backdrop to some of the images. Zoey is a school teacher so it stands to reason that if you hang out in a park on a Saturday afternoon, especially if you are wearing a stunning white gown, you are more than likely going to bump into a few of your pupils. It was sweet to see the children’s faces when they saw Zoey out of the classroom and sparkling with her new husband.

We rejoined the rest of the wedding party for their reception at Bellinis Restaurant in Clapham, Beds. Surrounded by Zoey and David’s black and red decorations, the room setting was very romantic. The speeches were excellent and I still think with a bit of practice, there’s time for David to make it into the Backstreet Boys yet! The evening played out with much fun and laughter, with the DJ managing to coax pretty much the entire party to the dance floor for The Macarena, which is no mean feat. He played some fantastic tunes throughout the night and kept the party moving for hours.

This wedding was lovely to capture. It is clear that both Zoey and David are integral members of their family and their community, with so many friends who had wanted to chip in to help from creating hair dos to making that amazing cake. I wish you both an amazing future together. xx