7/7/7

The most popular date of 2007 by far was 07/07/07. I had a massive amount of enquiries for this date over the past year.

David & Melanie married at Stapleford Hall on Saturday 7th July and commissoned a special ice sculpture to mark the day.

Debbie & Dickon at Fawsley Hall

Holby City writer Debbie married Dickon at Fawsley Hall on the 6th July 2007. Here are a small selection of photographs from their wedding.

Photography during civil ceremonies

As a documentary wedding photography it's my job to photograph as much of the day as possible and to tell the story in photographs. One of the most emotional parts of the day is the actual ceremony. It is also the part of the day most likely to have restrictions on photography and this is especially so with civil ceremonies. I always ask couples to check the restrictions on photography with the registrar before the day, unfortunately what they are told in advance and what I am told by the registrar on the day are often two different things. In some cases photography is banned altogether although the registrar might offer to "set it up later" which usually means a fake signing the register photograph. I had one recent wedding which consisted of the couple, their 3 children and two witnesses. The registrar told me I could not take photographs as it would distract the couple. I should mention two points here, 1) the couple had requested photographs 2) I am very discrete and stay in one place and I don't use flash. The registrar went on to say I could set it up later, but how exactly do you set up the emotional moment when the groom first sees the bride?

One of my photography friends, Duncan Kerridge, has set up a petition requesting professional photographers to be allowed to take photographs during civil ceremonies. There is no law preventing this, rather individual registrars can place the restrictions if they wish. The petition can be found at http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/ceremonyphotos/

I should mention that not all registrars ban photography, many are very helpful and allow the photographer to discretely take photographs.


Photography was allowed during this ceremony which resulted in this lovely moment being captured.



Professional photography was not allowed in this ceremony. This photograph was sneaked from the back whilst the registrar was not looking so at least I had one photograph from the ceremony to allow continuity in the album.

Recent wedding - Justin & Mandy

Justin & Mandy married on the 23rd June 2007 at St Peter's church in Middleton with their reception at Swinfen Hall.

Recent wedding, Tim & Clare

Tim & Clare married on 16th June 2007 at St Mary's church, Fittleworth (west Sussex), followed by a reception in a marquee.