Documentary Wedding Photography

Emotional moments captured with documentary wedding photography

Documentary wedding photography conveys all the emotions of a wedding, not just the smiley poses… and these emotions can be complex.  They can veer from happy and excited, to sad and bittersweet.  

After all, a wedding is a milestone.  It’s something we can structure our lives around; there is a before marriage, and there is an after.  Weddings remind us of our own mortality; in sickness and health, till death do us part… it’s us making sense of life, living and love.  

As you can tell(!) it’s a slightly different blog this week, celebrating not only the relationship between bride and groom, but also that of a mother and daughter.  Wedding couple Anna and Hugo decided they would do everything they could to ensure that Anna’s mother, Rita, would not miss their marriage. 

They were overjoyed when they discovered that they could hold their wedding ceremony at St. David Hospice, where Rita was receiving palliative care.

Last minute wedding photography booking

I was washing the dishes at 8am when Raana phoned me (I shot Ranna’s wedding in Indonesia back in 2017 and have done her a few shoots since. She is also a big source of referrals for me as she is constantly singing my praises – I’m forever grateful, Ranna).

Ranna asked me what I was doing and if she could book me to shoot her friends Anna & Hugo’s wedding, TODAY! She explained Anna had learnt her mum Rita only had a few days to live and St David’s Hospice had offered to host their wedding, so Rita, who was unable to leave the hospice, could attend and give Anna away. I dropped everything and of course said yes! They turned it around and made it happen in 24hrs. The staff were amazing and so accommodating, making my documentary wedding photography that little bit easier too.

Wedding planning with a short timeline

With limited time, Anna and Hugo kept their wedding planning simple, using items they had to hand, and enrolling the help of friends.  Anna explains:

‘Hugo and I stopped at a Llandudno jeweller en route. We hurriedly bought some bands that ‘sort-of-fit’ and got to the ‘chapel’ on time!

‘I wore the dress I’d intended to wear as a guest to our friends’ wedding that weekend; Hugo wore the suit he’d worn to his brother’s wedding in Las Vegas.

‘Our dear friends drove from London and Manchester to be with us.  My good friend surprised us with the photographer I’d always hoped to have for our wedding day, who dropped everything at the last minute to be there with us.’

I, of course, was delighted I could be there.

These are moments I will cherish forever in my heart and I find it hard to describe exactly how it felt because I think there were layers to it. I sat in my car and cried it out before leaving Wales. A few weeks later I heard she had the most wonderful send off and her life was well celebrated.

I was Ranna’s wedding present for Anna & Hugo and Anna told me it was always her plan to book me anyway and she was thrilled I could capture these moments for her.

I’m super proud of this work but it’s taken a while to feel like sharing it. Sending my love to Anna, Hugo, Ranna, Rita’s family and friends xxx

If you would like to chat about documentary wedding photography, contact me here.