2020 was not a great year for me as a wedding photographer, lockdown meant that most of the weddings I had booked for last year have now been rescheduled for 2021 (it’s going to be a busy year!) However I wanted to share just a few photos from the handful of weddings that I had the pleasure of photographing over this last (very strange) year. Thanks as always goes to all the brides and grooms who entrust the photographing of their wedding day to me.
My first wedding photography gig of the season was a nice little one (always good to start the wedding season with a nice little ‘warm up’ before things start to get really busy with weddings every weekend…or so I thought!) with Beth and Tom deciding that now was as good a time as any to get married. Have a look at the wedding date on the ring case, the 29th Feb 2020 was a little less than a month before our world was turned upside down. Looking back through the photos now, I can’t help but feel nostalgic looking at people cuddling their grandkids, larking about with friends and family. Now the simple fact that people are actually touching in the group photo now kind of gives me a slightly odd ‘that’s wrong’ feeling! But Beth and Tom’s wedding photos were taken in a time before things changed. It was a beautiful wedding, a beautiful couple and a gorgeous sunny February afternoon (it really doesn’t look like winter from their wedding photos!)
Layla and Andy had a big wedding planned for the summer of 2020, with over a hundred guests booked in for the wedding and South Lodge booked for their wedding reception it looked like they would have to postpone until 2021. Instead when I got in touch to check their plans they told me they were going ahead with their original wedding date, just postponing the wedding celebrations until 2021 as they wanted to be able to celebrate their wedding with all their friends and family. Their wedding was dramatically downsized, with only both of their immediate families and closest relatives (grandparents) being invited. Layla arrived at the wedding with a face mask on (it took a little persuasion to assure her that she’d be okay without it, as everyone else was covered up) Their wedding took place at StJohn the evangelist Catholic church, right in the heart of Horsham town centre. And as you can see from the group photos, we practiced social distancing as best as possible under the circumstances – usually we mix up parents but this time it was stick close to your partner and stand at least 1m back from the bride and groom. I must say I can’t wait for part two of their wedding this coming year, it’s going to be great!
My final wedding of the year was Richard and Sandra, they had been planning a reasonably small wedding for around 30 people, which would have been fine, with a small reception at a local venue for early November…and then lockdown 2.0 hit, their wedding plans were in the wind but we agreed to stay in touch. They rescheduled at short notice and changed their plans (no wedding reception and less people to fit the new regulations) back at Horsham registry office, the world had changed, with everyone sitting 2meters apart, facemasks and visors on (apart from the couple) they still had a wonderful time celebrating together, just as a family. It was my honour to be able to capture their wedding. My only grumble was that the registry office had eight weddings booked back to back (catching up from the November lockdown I guess) and the couple from the previous wedding were still out in the garden of Horsham’s Park House (which meant we couldn’t go and capture the handful of photos we wanted straight after the ceremony). So instead I followed them back to Ockenden Manor to capture a few group and informal couple photos for them there, I’m glad I went the extra mile for this, as Ockenden is such a lovely venue, and we also managed to capture a little wedding cake cutting photo for them.
All in all, I’ve enjoyed the few weddings that I’ve been able to photograph this last year, but boy am I looking forward to weddings and my photography getting back to normal. I’m looking forward to hearing from couples who are making plans for the year ahead, despite the current restrictions there are still people getting married, so don’t miss out on the opportunity of capturing some beautiful photos from your special day.
Happy New Year, and may 2021 bring an end to Covid restrictions for us all!
