The vast majority of my bookings are for bigger weddings. I’m typically with couples for at least 11 hours recording the full story of their day. However, not everyone wants or needs that level of coverage. More intimate and more low key celebrations are every bit as special and memorable, often even more so. The Coronavirus pandemic made a lot of us re-think our priorities and thus changed the way we think about weddings. As a result, smaller celebrations are currently more popular than ever. For this reason I have smaller photography packages available, perfect for those couples looking to cover just a small ceremony with a few nice family then bride and groom pictures immediately after. (Have a nosy at the prices page for more details.)
Charlotte and Adam were married at the pretty St Albans register office in front of their closest family and friends. They booked my 2 hour ceremony package to record this special occasion. I started 30 minutes before the ceremony began, taking photographs of their guests arriving as Adam eagerly awaited his beautiful bride.
Warm summer sunshine beamed through the windows of the ceremony room as everyone found their seats. Meanwhile, outside Charlotte arrived with her parents and daughter (on flower girl duties and proudly holding a sign that read ‘here comes mummy’). As Charlotte was discretely whisked into the registrars office for the legal pre-wedding interview I returned to the ceremony room, where Adam anxiously waited out those final few minutes before his wedding service began.
I know the St Albans register office well as it is a venue that I am regularly booked for. Be that for a ceremony only duration such as this, or as part of a bigger event. The building was formerly a Victorian prison gatehouse (even featuring in the opening scenes of Porridge). As such it has a level of grandeur not often associated with register office buildings. Inside, the wedding ceremony room itself is light and airy. Something which is always a plus point from a photography point of view! Outside, formal rose gardens are beautifully maintained and a compact but pretty garden space works perfectly for those post-ceremony photos. Beyond the venue itself the city of St Albans is a wedding photographers dream. Pretty parkland, old fashioned shopping streets and the cathedral precinct are all great spots for wedding photography in St Albans. And, there are wedding reception venues aplenty, including St Michael’s Manor, Sopwell House, and Tudors at the White Hart Hotel. All of which I have attended following a ceremony at the St Albans registry office.
Adam and Charlotte’s wedding ceremony was bursting at the seams with love and joy, the pair beaming at each other non-stop from the moment that Charlotte walked into the room. Their daughter skipping ahead and shortly after performing ring bearer duties perfectly for mummy and daddy. As the registrar announced “you may kiss the bride” Charlotte and Adam kissed and Adam twirled Charlotte around to cheers and applause from family and friends.
When the confetti settled we moved to the adjacent garden area to take some family group photos and for a short photo-shoot session with the bride and groom themselves. Afterwards the happy newly-weds and their little girl boarded an elegant Rolls Royce to make their way back home.
If you are planning an intimate wedding celebration in St Albans, Hertfordshire or beyond, and would like to find out more about ceremony only wedding photography please don’t hesitate to get in touch!
