This was an incredibly unusual Wedding, in that I was only needed for the formal couple shots and the reception, but not the ceremony. Now let me explain why this was the perfect choice for this wedding…
I offer a ‘small wedding photography‘ package. It’s a two-hour service and it is used for just the ceremony, and the group shots after. As it turns out, I now know it can be used for any part of the day the Bride and Groom need.
In this case, the ceremony was very small with less than a handful of people attending. The reception was very different, two nice locations with a lot of people attending.
Up until a week before the wedding, the plan was the usual ceremony, formal shots at Cockington Registry Office. The bride called me and asked if I could change my time to the late afternoon instead? They knew that the ceremony would look sparse with only 3 other people there, plus the gardens are not yet flowering.
Instead, I was to meet them at the Imperial Hotel for some outside shots, followed by the main reception at the Royal Torbay Yacht Club, which is just down the road from the Imperial Hotel.
We had the first of the really warm weather of the year for this reception. The sun was beating down, the wind was soft, you could feel the warmth of the sun on your skin.
Parking at the Imperial is difficult so I ended up parking down by the harbour. This meant I couldn’t carry all my gear as I was solo for this one. What I had to leave behind were my light stands. I knew the sun was really harsh so I pushed my little speedlights to their limits…
The Imperial Hotel allowed us access to the Bridal Suite. We didn’t have long in there so it was quick photos on the balcony and then off to the Royal Torbay Yacht Club for the main reception.
My main role was to capture the emotion of the day via candid shots.
People always ask me “How many photos will we receive?”. I always answer with “The more emotion on the day, the more I will deliver”.
In this case, in those two hours, I delivered 175 photos of smiles, tears, and emotions.
Wedding Photography Equipment Used
- Sony A9
- Sony A7IV
- Sony 85mm f1.4 GM
- Sony 24mm f1.4 GM
- 2x Godox V1
This was my first wedding using my brand new Sony A7IV. I am seriously impressed with this camera! I will write a full review once I’ve used it at a few more.
