When couples first start looking at wedding photography packages, one of the first decisions they have to make is how long they actually want their photographer there. Three hours might cover the ceremony and a few photographs afterwards. Five hours sounds like plenty. Then there’s eight hours, ten hours or full-day wedding photography, and suddenly you’re wondering whether you really need somebody wandering around with a camera for quite that long.

It’s a perfectly reasonable question, particularly when you’re trying to keep control of a wedding budget. But after photographing weddings for almost two decades, I think there’s another question worth asking at the same time: which parts of your wedding story are you happy not to have photographs of?

Being based where I am, there’s always something particularly nice about photographing a wedding close to home. I spend a lot of my year travelling around North Yorkshire and the North East for weddings, so when I get the opportunity to photograph a day in Guisborough, surrounded by places I’ve known for years, it feels that little bit different. Paul and Bernice’s wedding was exactly that, with their ceremony taking place at St Nicholas Church in Guisborough followed by photographs with their family in the historic surroundings of Guisborough Priory.

One of the nicest things about photographing weddings is that no two stories ever begin in exactly the same place. Some start in grand country houses, others in village churches that have stood for hundreds of years, while some begin with a much smaller ceremony surrounded by the people who matter most before the celebrations move somewhere completely different. Sam and Charlotte's wedding was one of those days, beginning with a lovely ceremony at Redcar Registry Office before everyone made their way to Fletcher's Farm for an afternoon and evening of celebrating.

I've photographed quite a few weddings here over the years and, no matter how many times I drive through the gates, it always feels like somewhere special. Tucked away just outside Saltburn-by-the-Sea on the North Yorkshire coast, it somehow manages to feel grand without ever losing that relaxed, welcoming atmosphere. Every couple puts their own stamp on the venue, which is probably why no two weddings here have ever felt the same.

When couples first get in touch, the conversation usually starts with photographs. They'll tell me they've been looking through my portfolio, they'll mention a particular wedding they've seen on the website or they'll explain that they're looking for someone who captures the day naturally rather than filling it with awkward poses. It's exactly the conversation I'd expect, because photographs are ultimately the reason people book a wedding photographer.

What often surprises them, though, is something they haven't really considered.

There’s something wonderfully honest about a registry office wedding. Without the grandeur of a country house or the sweeping views of a castle, everything comes back to what a wedding is really about. Two people making a promise to one another, surrounded by the people who mean the most to them.

That was exactly the feeling throughout Andrea and Ste's wedding at Middlesbrough Town Hall Registry Office.

There's a sentence I hear at almost every wedding consultation, and after seventeen years as a wedding photographer, I can usually predict when it's coming.

"We're really awkward in front of the camera."

It almost always arrives with a nervous smile, usually followed by a glance between the two of them as if they're admitting some terrible secret. The funny thing is, they're convinced they're the only couple who feel that way, when in reality they're saying exactly what hundreds of couples before them have said.

There’s something I find myself doing almost without thinking these days. Whether I’m booking a hotel for a weekend away, ordering something online or looking for a new café to try, I always end up doing exactly the same thing before making a decision.

I read the reviews.

Not because I expect every business to be perfect, but because I want to know what it's really like once the sales pitch has finished. Photographs can look amazing, websites can be beautifully designed and social media is often full of highlight reels, but reviews are where real people tell real stories. They’re honest, they're personal and, more often than not, they answer the questions we didn't even realise we were asking.

If you're planning your wedding, you've probably already imagined the photographs you'll treasure forever. Perhaps it's walking back down the aisle as newlyweds, confetti filling the air around you, or that beautiful portrait together as the sun begins to disappear behind the trees. They're the photographs we all expect to love because they're the moments we see on social media, in wedding magazines and on venue websites.

They're important, of course, and I make sure every couple has those photographs. But after photographing weddings across North Yorkshire, the North East and beyond for more than seventeen years, I've realised something that genuinely surprised me.

There are some wedding days where you arrive at a venue for the first time and immediately start looking around, spotting photographs everywhere. Fred and Claire’s wedding at Aston Hall in Sheffield was definitely one of those days.

This was my first time photographing a wedding at Aston Hall, and with beautiful summer sunshine, plenty of outdoor space and a couple who clearly knew how to enjoy themselves, it turned into a cracking day to photograph.

There's something incredibly special about weddings that completely reflect the couple, and Matt and Jo's wedding at the Mallyan Spout Hotel in Goathland was exactly that. It wasn't about following traditions for the sake of it. Instead, it was about celebrating who they are, surrounded by the people they love, in one of the most beautiful corners of the North York Moors National Park.

As a North Yorkshire wedding photographer, these are the kinds of weddings I absolutely love to photograph. Every part of the day felt authentic, relaxed and filled with laughter, which is exactly what documentary wedding photography is all about.

When daylight fades and the evening party begins, the atmosphere of your wedding changes.
The music lifts, the laughter gets louder, the shoes come off, and everyone relaxes into the moment.

And from a photography perspective?
This is where some of the best, most emotional, most fun images of your day happen.

But the secret to beautiful evening photographs isn’t luck —
It’s lighting.