A Sturminster Marshall Wedding

I don’t know if it’s just me but doesn’t it seem like time is just accelerating by? Today the clocks have moved back and it is officially the end of summertime. I’ve spent the day today looking through a wedding that warmed me up inside my mind. A fantastic Tipi Wedding in Sturminster Marshall in Dorset. Big thanks to Lemontree Photography for second shooting on this wedding

Siobhan is an old colleague of mine from a while back when I used to write database software for a company in Poole. When she approached me and asked whether I could photograph her wedding I initially had to say no as I was already booked on her wedding date, however an unfortunate turn of events for the other couple that originally had booked me meant that I had the opportunity to call Ben and Siobhan back and give them the good news. I could shoot their wedding! I think the Universe had spoken in their favour that day.

We started the day at Siobhan’s parents’ home in Sturminster Marshall which just happened to be directly opposite Saint Marys church where their ceremony was to be held. A small home with oodles of character gave me so many angles in which to shoot and the summer light was spoiling me. Pretty bridesmaids and a stunning bride, I can not complain about my job at all!

I have to say it was a superb ceremony with an upbeat reverend who quoted Spice Girls lyrics as part of the sermon, very funny, I thought I’d heard it all over the years but this was a new one for me! Happy for me to take whatever photos I wanted and trusted me to be discrete which makes a novel change as other photographers will attest to. From the church we walked through Sturminster Marshall led by bagpipes, a perfect village experience, you don’t get this happening in a city. Arriving at the Tipi was spectacular. I’ve done a few Tipi weddings but this was by far the best I’d seen to date, like a 5-star Indian reservation.

The speeches at this wedding were amazing. When people speak from the heart it does show. You can see in the photos here the dynamic between father and son. I’m sure that any family hopes to have this type of relationship. It is notoriously difficult to photograph in a tipi on a sunny day as the difference between the light outside and inside is so great that the camera just squeals every time I pass an opening with the addition of poles everywhere however, this means I just needed to work just that little bit harder to get the shots. Being kept on one’s toes never does anyone harm. The photographs that came out of this wedding were fantastic. The first dance image from this wedding has to be one of my favourite shots I have ever taken of the dance. Fairy lights, a just married sign and the groomsmen watching in the background are brilliant. Love these guys.

Thanks to:

Flowers: Jess at www.westdorsetweddingflowers.co.uk

Tipi: World-inspired Tents

Makeup and Hair: Claire Bowring  http://www.clairebowring.co.uk