Stunning portraits in the grounds of Bourton Hall

When I write about real weddings on the journal, I general write about the entire wedding day. However, Penny & Andrew's wedding is already featured in my portfolio, so I thought it would be of more interest if I were to tell you a little about how I approach your couples portraits.

If we've spoken about your wedding plans or you've been following me for long, you might know that I always recommend setting aside two shorter sessions for your couples portraits. There are so many advantages to having two short couples portrait session on your wedding day rather than one longer one.

One of the biggest advantages is that your final wedding gallery will have a far more varied set of images, because we'll almost certainly have time to capture portraits in more locations around your wedding venue.

It also gives you more time to enjoy your drinks reception because we'll have set aside 20-30 minutes for photographs rather than the 45+ minutes I'd likely recommend if it were the only opportunity for couples portraits.

I also find that you'll be far more relaxed having 20-30 minutes of photographs than you would if we'd squeezed them all into one session. It might not seem like it, but those 30 minutes will fly by! Often the first session is soon after your ceremony and provides an opportunity for the two of you to share some precious, uninterrupted moments as newlyweds too.

The final reason I'll speak about here is that it gives us so more flexibility if the weather isn't playing ball. Rain may be what comes to mind when you hear that, but bright, direct sunlight also isn't ideal during your couples portraits. For Penny & Andy that was the case. It was a beautiful, sunny day - perfect for drinks and canapes in the grounds after their wedding ceremony! However, for your portraits I love to find softer light as this is far more elegant and flattering. With Penny & Andy, we wandered back towards the walled garden to capture some gorgeous portraits where they weren't having to squint against the sun.

After about 20 minutes we'd captured some beautiful images, but I knew we could create something even more special later in the day. After they had eaten we had about 30 minutes before their speeches began and the light outside was beautiful. We headed out and were able to explore the grounds in all their glory and capture some of my favourite images from their wedding!

I couldn't write about Penny & Andy's wedding without sharing a their captivating first dance.

Bourton Hall has a beautiful carved wood staircase in its entrance hall, and Penny & Andy chose to have their first dance in the centre of this, with their guests looking on from the staircase.

They also had the most confetti I've ever seen, which their guests used to shower them from above throughout their first dance. I'm sure you'll agree their first dance was rather spectacular...