I’m going to be controversial on a couple of counts here and also say that I have had some nightmare experiences with vicars and videographers at weddings. I can count on one hand, the number of times I’ve been banned from documenting the ceremony in church. I can count on the other hand the number of videographers that have been great to work with, eg; inconsiderate, not working with me as a team to not block each other’s angles, not having good spatial awareness etc.

Amy and Paul have cleared this article before it goes live, to help raise awareness of this kind of situation arising for other future brides and grooms. First the church…

I always make straight for the vicar or officiant before a ceremony starts to introduce myself and explain how I work; quietly, patiently, thoughtfully, with no flash and with a huge dose of respect for both the church and for the ceremony itself. My couples’ wedding day is about them and their ceremony, not me. Amy & Paul had informed me weeks before the wedding that they had received clearance from the church for me to work from the rear of the aisle. Unfortunately, the church told me differently upon our chat before the ceremony. “There’ll be no pictures at all from the moment the first hymn is over up until the signing of the register”. I couldn’t even sneakily take a few pot shots from the back as the lady who had enforced these restrictions stood on my shoulder all the way through the ceremony. As a result, I missed recording some lovely, emotional moments from Amy during the vows. To be fair to the church, they have had some bad experiences with photographers. I just think it a little unfair that they tar all photographers with the same brush.

So if you are reading this and planning your wedding, I implore you to check carefully with the officiant that photography of your ceremony is, first of all, allowed and that they won’t backtrack and change their policy on the day. Now the videographer…

I should actually refer to Jeff as the wedding cinematographer. Luckily, he did get permission from the church to document the ceremony and capture those wonderful moments I was banned from recording. The reason? A video camera (DSLR) is silent! Anyway, Jeff Wood of Jeff Wood Visuals is not only a really nice guy and great to work with, but his work absolutely blows me away – he is such a talented guy! He even managed to put up a same-day edit of the wedding and presented it at the evening reception. You can see the film right here. Take a look at his work, I dare you not to be wowed & touched by the amazing coverage. I’d happily work with Jeff again anytime, he comes very highly recommended by me.

Regardless of the restrictions placed on me during the ceremony, Amy & Paul were chuffed to bits with the final story of their day… “Thanks so much for these. My goodness they are absolutely amazing! We are completely delighted. Every time we look at the images we see something different (and we are addicted to looking at them!). Thanks again Ian – these shots are just stunning :)”

A selection of faves from the day are below in the slideshow.

This was my second of two weddings in a row where the bride & groom had organised the day from halfway around the world. James & Penny work & live in Hong Kong and their ‘official’ marriage took place in a registry office there a few weeks before their ‘blessing’ here in the UK in front of friends and family.

The day started with James’ preparations and quickly turned into one of the funniest preps I’ve ever covered with confusion galore about how to tie a half-windsor. Without a computer and an internet connection to enable us to view one of the countless YouTube instruction videos that most boys refer to on the morning of the wedding, James & his best man had to call for backup in the form of a friend. I’ve mentioned before that it’s hard to photograph at weddings when you’ve got tears in your eyes, but that’s normally during some of the speeches you get to hear. These tears though were due to the hilarity of the situation. Thanks go to James & the boys for such an entertaining morning!

The laughs continued throughout the day. As I turned up at the church, which is just a short walk away in the grounds of the hotel, my eyes were greeted with the vision of James’ brother in a pair of Bermuda shorts. He is currently living out in Bermuda and felt obliged to wear the national uniform! After the ceremony, the guests formed a line down the church path for a confetti walk. James got more than he bargained for when he got a snowball in his face from 6 feet. I’m not sure who the culprit was, but I think it was the best man. James took it all in his stride before making it back to the hotel for the reception.

Entertainment for the evening was provided by Sussex party band Rythmn Nation, who were fantastic. Another great band that I can highly recommend if you are looking for a live act for your wedding or event. Click on the slideshow below to view a selection of my favourite images from the day.