Storm Abigail could not dampen Estelle and Nick’s Village Hall wedding in Hartley Witney.

I first met Estelle at a wedding fair and she loved the natural, documentary style to my photography and how I approach a wedding day as a photographer. The wedding itself would prove to be a challenge for all as the first of several autumn storms rained down. To ensure the best results for the couple I prepare for all eventualities…as they say-“fail to plan and you plan to fail”. This included researching the venue, as I had not photographed there before.

The Victoria Hall was opened in 1898 for the grand sum of £998, raised entirely from community funds. The building was constructed in the Arts and Crafts style, as is the general look of Hartley Witney, and can cater for 150 guests, with 50 parking spaces. Further development took place in 2008, receiving a Hart Design Award for best new building.

My day started at the Bride’s home for the Bridal preparations – a gorgeous house adjacent to the Cricket green at Hartley Wintney. There was lots of laughter to capture and a really great atmosphere.

I travelled to Tylney Hall for the Groomsmen photographs, as that is where the Groom stayed the night before the wedding. After some great photographs with the Groomsmen at Tylney Hall, and on their vintage bus, I headed back to Hartley Wintney for some pictures with Nick and his guests at their local pub.

The ceremony was at the St Thomas More church in Hartley Wintney and it was a wonderful occasion with lots of smiles and a very happy Bride and Groom. One of the images of the day was as Nick lifted Estelle’s veil, she simply beamed and that smile said a thousand words as to how happy she was at that moment in time. As the couple opted to walk – with umbrellas – through Hartley Wintney to get to their reception drinks, I produced some wonderful photographs of Nick and Estelle with some of their closest friends.

The Cricketers – the venue for their reception drinks – was full to the rafters with guests enjoying a pint or two and before long it was time to photograph the groups. Looking at the weather outside I suggested possibly doing them inside however Estelle and Nick wanted to do them outside under the awning of the pub. So with Storm Abigail rain hammering down and jacket in toe, I stepped out into the storm and photographed the groups. As a photographer you can recommend what you think would work best for the photographs but for me it is always the clients that are right and with limited space inside it was the right choice for the couple, as reflected in the images shown below.

Estelle and Nick decided to cut short their personal photographs after a few in front of their beautiful house and Nick carrying Estelle across the threshold as the rain started to fall quite heavily. They wanted to be with their guests and I couldn’t blame them. So we headed over to the Victoria Hall where I managed to get some wonderful documentary images of the couple with their guests.

The Wedding breakfast was simply stunning. There were fairy lights, beautiful candelabras and white material draped from the ceiling. It is really amazing what you can do with a simple village hall when you have the vision that Estelle and Nick had. The speeches were FULL of laughter as the guests hung on every word of the speakers.

The evening flowed seamlessly as the happy couple and their guests danced the night away. It was a true pleasure to photograph.

Although I did plan, prepare and adapt on the day, Storm Abigail ensured I did get wet! Although the weather was not great, thankfully Estelle and Nick’s wedding day was blessed with wonderful people as the following images show…

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