I’ve been to the hotel several times but this was my first time as a Wedding photographer. With clear blue skies and a warm Sun, you wouldn’t have believed it was March!
This was a short notice wedding photographer request. They only contacted me two weeks before and luckily for me, I was free. The couple lives just a minute or two from where I live. Meeting them was easy and delivering the photos was just as easy. The day required Bridal Prep to Cake-Cutting. The Bridal Prep was at their home in Paignton so good time-keeping was essential.
When I arrive for Bridal Prep I don’t get the cameras pointing at everyone straight away. It makes people nervous if you start right away. Instead, I take detail shots, some story-telling shots, and initially, I only point the camera at any laughs or emotions. This allows everyone time to get used to a camera or two being around them.
Let’s have a look at some photos from their day. You’ll notice quite a few black & white photos. I do deliver both colour and black & white. Sometimes they just have that extra little sparkle in black & white.
The Berry Head Hotel is located in Brixham, Devon. It is a hotel right beside the sea. Although it doesn’t have a sandy beach, it does have great rocks and backdrops for your wedding photos.
The event room is huge! For this wedding, they split up the room into two parts; the ceremony section and the reception section. It can accommodate a lot of people!
Groom Tip – Greeting People
People came by car and taxi. If you’re a Groom wondering where to stand to greet people, just outside the door to the reception is perfect. You’ll see them coming down the stairs from the car park, and also be right next to where the taxi drop-off is.
Where does the Groom meet the Registrars?
The staff at the hotel are really on it! If they don’t come and find you, the registrar will come outside to look for you.
The Bride will only come through one entrance so the Registars will know exactly where you will be.
What’s the food and bar like?
The venue room has its own bar. It’s the same price in both bars so you don’t pay extra. The staff were really efficient and rarely were there queues of more than a handful of people.
The food looked and smelt amazing. Unfortunately, we didn’t get any, but hopefully next time we might. We grabbed a McDonalds on the way back home, still jealous of the lovely looking food at the hotel 🙂
Wedding Photography Equipment and Talk
- 1 x Sony A7IV
- 1 x Sony A7iii
- 2 x Sony A9
- 85mm f1.4
- 24mm f1.4
- 24-70mm f2.8
- 70-200mm f2.8
- 2 x Godox V1
- 2 x Godox TT685s
This was my second wedding with my new A7IV. I am very quickly falling in love with this camera. I now prefer it over my Sony A9! I shot with the 85mm and 24mm. William shot with the 24-70mm and the 70-200mm.
The reception room suffers quite badly with LED flickering. Natural light photographers will struggle. We had anti-flicker in two of our four cameras, but we used flash on all cameras to eliminate the issue entirely.
The sun was very bright and over the scene the whole day. The formals by the sea had no cover so it was simply embracing what nature gave us. I used a little bit of flash to boost the shadows but apart from that, I let mother nature do her thing.
Are you getting married and need a photographer?
If you need a Devon Wedding Photographer please have a look at my page and if you like the examples, I’d love to have a chat with you both!
