We’ve mentioned on a couple of occasions that Manor by the Lake in Cheltenham is one of our favourite venues for wedding photography, and as it stands this still remains the case. There are some stunning alternatives in the Cotswolds, but the Manor is just one of those places that we love photographing.
Luz and Andy’s day took place mostly at the Manor by the Lake, but with a church ceremony about 15 minutes away. I started with bridal prep while Mike headed over to a family member’s house to meet with the groom and groomsmen. The typical arrangements for bridal prep at the Manor start with the bride getting ready in a small lodge at the edge of the grounds before being moved up to the bridal suite to put the dress on. This tends to split the photography also into mostly reportage in the lodge, but then with the opportunity for some more staged images in the bridal suite. Any regular readers will know that our style leans more in the direction of natural images and capturing genuine moments as they unfold, but with a bridal suite like this there’s so much scope for some posed shots, and so we took advantage of this on Luz and Andy’s big day.
After a quick blast over to the church the ceremony began. We are always mindful of trying to be as discreet as possible with church ceremonies in particular and with every church being different this can be emphasised more by some vicars than others. Having spoken to the vicar conducting the ceremony beforehand we were advised to choose a location to shoot the ceremony and stay there. We have huge respect for the ceremony itself, and it’s a privilege to be able to take photographs at all, so after finding our spots (Mike at the front just off to the right of the congregation and me at the back shooting down the aisle) the proceedings began. With a few tearful readings and a remarkably impressive attempt at some Spanish translation from the vicar (a number of the key guests were from overseas) rings were exchanged and everyone moved outside for some confetti.
It was then back over to the Manor by the Lake for Mike and I before the guests arrived for the remainder of the day. We began the afternoon with the bride and groom’s choices of group shots and then had a quick break while everyone enjoyed their meals before capturing the speeches. Afterwards, we brought Andy and Luz away from the rest of the guests for 20 minutes or so to photograph some couple shots before the light dropped. One of Manor by the Lake’s biggest selling points is the stunning grounds it has to offer for pictures, and for a Summer wedding like this it was ideal. With the first dance and a few evening shots under our belt we left the Manor and headed home after a brilliant day of wedding photography.
A selection of shots follow, enjoy!
