Wedding photography has changed enormously since I started photographing weddings 18 years ago. Cameras have changed, editing has changed, social media has completely changed the way people see wedding photographs and, every few years, another style seems to become the thing everybody suddenly wants. Some of those changes have been brilliant and I've happily adopted them myself, while others have come and gone almost as quickly as they appeared.

I've never really had a problem with trends. Weddings should be personal, photography should evolve and it would be pretty boring if every wedding photograph still looked exactly as it did when I first started. What I do think is worth remembering, though, is that your wedding photographs have a much longer life than most wedding trends. Something that looks incredibly fashionable on Instagram today still needs to mean something when you're looking at it in ten, twenty or forty years' time.

It's always nice photographing a wedding close to home, and Luke and Emily's wedding gave me one of those days where so much of it took place around places I've known and photographed for years. Their ceremony was at St Nicholas Church in Guisborough, followed by a little time with the two of them over at Gisborough Priory for their photographs, and a day that had plenty of laughter, family, friends and some brilliant moments to photograph along the way.

I've photographed weddings at St Nicholas Church before and it's a church I've always enjoyed working in. There's something about an old church that gives wedding photographs a completely different feel; the stone, the architecture and the sheer amount of history surrounding everybody creates an atmosphere that you simply don't get anywhere else.

“I hate having my photograph taken.” If I had a pound for every time somebody had said that to me during a wedding meeting, I could probably have retired from wedding photography by now. Sometimes it's both people, although quite often one half of the couple is perfectly happy about the whole thing while the other looks genuinely horrified at the thought of spending their wedding day in front of a camera. Then comes the usual explanation: “I'm really awkward in photographs,” “I never know what to do,” or one of my favourites, when somebody points at their partner and says, “You'll have your work cut out with this one.”

The funny thing is, after 18 years photographing weddings, I've realised that most people who tell me they're terrible in photographs aren't terrible in photographs at all. They're uncomfortable being photographed when they're thinking about being photographed, and those are two very different things.

I've been photographing weddings for 18 years now and, because I'm based in this part of the world, a huge number of those weddings have been across North Yorkshire. You get used to driving through the North York Moors on the way to work, heading towards the coast for a wedding in Whitby or Scarborough, or finding yourself halfway down a country lane looking for a wedding venue that you're absolutely certain didn't exist the last time you checked Google Maps.

Nearly every wedding photographer describes themselves as natural these days. It's become one of those words that's used so often that I'm not entirely sure anybody really knows what it's supposed to mean anymore.

Natural wedding photography, relaxed wedding photography, documentary wedding photography, candid wedding photography... you'll see all of them while you're looking for a photographer, usually accompanied by photographs of couples walking through fields looking suspiciously like somebody has just told them to walk through a field.

One of the questions every wedding photographer gets sooner or later is, “When will our photographs be ready?”

And honestly, I completely understand it.

You've spent months, sometimes years, planning your wedding. The day itself seems to disappear in about five minutes, I've seen a few preview photographs on social media and suddenly you want to see everything else. I would be exactly the same. Once you've had that little glimpse of your wedding photographs, waiting for the rest probably feels even longer.

But something I've realised over the years is that most couples understandably have absolutely no idea what happens at my end once their wedding is over.

From your side, I've photographed your wedding, I've gone to the office and now I'm editing it. It sounds pretty straightforward.

Unfortunately, it isn't quite like that.

Your wedding doesn't finish when I put the cameras away

Photographing the actual wedding is only one part of the job

One of the decisions couples make fairly early when planning a wedding is where they're actually going to get married. For some, there isn't really a decision at all. They've always imagined walking down the aisle of a church. For others, having the ceremony and reception at the same hotel or wedding venue makes far more sense.

Having photographed weddings across North Yorkshire, Teesside and the North East for many years, I've covered plenty of both, and although the end result is exactly the same — two people getting married — the way the wedding day unfolds can feel surprisingly different.

Wedding group photographs can either be one of the quickest parts of a wedding day or one of the longest. I know that from experience because my personal record for getting through them is somewhere around ten minutes, while at the other end of the scale I've had group photographs take almost three hours.

That's quite a difference, and it wasn't because I suddenly forgot how to use a camera on the three-hour one. 😂

A huge amount comes down to what happens before the wedding, how organised we are on the day and, perhaps most importantly, whether everybody works together when it's time to take the photographs. That's exactly why I've developed my own way of handling wedding group photographs over the years.

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 couples ask me which wedding photography package I'd recommend, my answer is nearly always the same... my Signature Wedding Photography Package.

It's the package that gives me the time to tell the complete story of your wedding day, and after all, that's exactly what I am... a storyteller.

For me, wedding photography has never been about turning up, taking a few nice photographs and heading home. It's about capturing the atmosphere, the personalities and all those little moments that you'll never notice on the day but will mean everything when you look back through your photographs years later.