Dom & Katies beautiful but slightly wet Washingborough Hall Wedding.
As a a wedding photographer one of the best things I can receive is referrals and recommendations for weddings. It shows me that I am doing the very best that I can at every wedding I shoot and this was the case with Dom and Katy recently. I shot Dom's brothers Tom and his wife's wedding Laura back in August 2020 - remember that weird time? It was my first wedding after teh initial lockdown and was restricted to 30 guests, social distancing and mask wearing, so very glad to see the back of that particular period of time.
Anyway, no such restrictions with Dom and Katy, just a lot of rain to contend with. Dom and Katy where married at my favourite wedding venue in Lincoln, the very lovely Washingborough Hall https://www.washingboroughhall.com/ and yes the weather was not as kind I may have hoped for in mid July but thats part and parcel of being a professional wedding photographer, always thinking on your feet and having a plan B. Dom and Katy and had planned a rustic and nature inspired wedding in an intimate and exclusive venue where everyone they loved could celebrate with them, they certainly achieved that.
Bridal Preparation.
The bridal suite at Washingborough Hall is a great room to shoot in. Large windows giving me great light and plenty of space to work in. Katies make up was provided by Hayley Louise Beauty https://www.instagram.com/hayleylouisebeauty?hl=en-gb and hair by Charlotte from Hair by Edwin https://edwin-co.co.uk/. Katy looked absolutely stunning when she was ready for portraits and she was so easy to shoot, I just had to put her in the right light and shoot away, no direction needed, just beautiful.
It was then time for the grand reveal images with Katies dad seeing her for teh first time in her wedding dress. This is one of my favourite images to produce from any wedding, images that are full of emotion.
I just had time to catch up with Dom for pre ceremony portraits and he looked super cool in his suit by Cavani at Coneys and topped off with Doc Martin shoes, all the cool people wear Doc Martins, obviously.
The Ceremony.
The ceremony took place at Washingborough Hall and thsi was a moment that both Dom & Katy where looking forward to most on the day, that beautiful moment when they both see each other for the first time and as Katy said it most certainly lived up to their expectations. The light coming into the ceremony room was almost perfect it terms of photography. A slightly overcast day with no harsh sunlight streaming in, almost perfect conditions to shoot in. I always tend to put my ceremony photos into black and white, I think it gives them more of a documentary feel and I do love this collection of images.
Group Photos.
After the ceremony it was time for the group photos and with one eye on the weather which was not looking great I tried to gather all guests for the dreaded "everybody" shot. I managed toi get teh confetti shots in teh bag and maybe 7-8 frames of the group photo and then the heavens opened, so that put paid to any more outdoor shots for the time being. At least I managed the big one though - phew.
A question I get asked often "What do you do if it rains all day? How will you get all the essential shots?" Well July gave me plenty of experience of this. It is rare for a day to rain from start to finish so you may have to pick your moments and when a break in the weather appears I will shoot what I can. Otherwise it may be a case of shooting indoors and I am always prepared for this ensuring I have all the necessary lighting equipment needed to shoot indoors if I need to. This is what I had to do with a lot of Dom and Katies family photos. When you have a great looking venue such as Washingborough Hall it is easy to make these images look grand and regal, taking inspiration from the group shots that Annie Liebowitz shoots for Vanity Fair.
Bride and Groom Portraits.
The weather thankfully started to relent in the afternoon so I took the opportunity to spend some time with Dom and Katy to produce some beautiful and creative images with them. Dom & Katy wanted a nature inspired wedding and there is a lovely spot at Washingborough Hall that resembles a small wood. The bride and groom obviously love to spend a lot of their time outdoors so it was a great opportunity to produce images that reflected their love of nature and the outdoors. This is one of my favourite techniques when I am shooting couple portraits. I just get them to walk and talk, act natural, have a kiss and just be themselves. Sometimes I offer a little direction but I really just like my couples to do what they do naturally, they have such a lovely natural and organic feel to them.
I also produced images in the ceremony room taking advantage of the still lovely light that was pouring in through the large windows, these are some of Katies favourite images from the day, very romantic.
Favourite Moments.
I asked Dom and Katy what their favourite moments from the day where. Obviously the ceremony when they saw each other for the first time, but another stand out moment for them was the first dance. They chose Baby Im Yours by The Arctic Monkeys and this was performed by one of their best friends the wedding band Hard to Handle https://hardtohandleband.co.uk/. It was performed in such a unique style and according to Katy it really matched the style and vibe of the wedding, everyone was touched by such a heartfelt rendition, very cool.
"Baby, I'm yours (baby, I'm yours)And I'll be yours (yours) until the stars fall from the skyYours (yours) until the rivers all run dryIn other words, until I die"
Photobooth and Evening Photos.
I have not used my photobooth at weddings for a while now and I forgot how much fun they can be. OK I will not win wedding photographer of the year with these images but they do add something extra to the evening.
I finished off the evening with two of my signature shots. First it was Dom and the boys reenacting a Scorsese film and doing their best gangster looks for my cigar shot, I think they pulled it off quite well.
Finally I made use of the pagoda at the bottom of the garden and using my secret weapon, portable studio flash. This is such a great piece of equipment and I know I can create really beautiful images using this lighting technique. I love shooting images like these, really stylish and produced in black and white they have such a great quality to them. The little bit of rain that was present adds to the images as the way I light the subjects every bit of rain is picked up. This is another image that both Katy and Dom loved from the day.
So that was another lovely wedding at Washingborough Hall, Lincolns No 1 wedding venue. If you are planning a wedding at this venue I would love to hear from you please do give me a shout and tell me what you have planned so far. https://www.masseyphotography.co.uk/contact-us/
And if you would like to see more of my work do take a look at my portfolio https://www.masseyphotography.co.uk/lincoln-wedding-portfolio/
Dom and Katies Dream Team
Venue - Washingborough Hall Lincoln. https://www.washingboroughhall.com/
Flowers - Flowers by Suzannehttps://www.flowersbysuzanne.co.uk/
Dress - Bellamme Bridal https://www.bellammebridal.co.uk/
Suit - Cavani at Coneyshttps://www.coneysdesignerwear.co.uk/
Make up - Hayley Louise Beauty https://www.instagram.com/hayleylouisebeauty?hl=en-gb
Hair - Charlotte at Hair by Edwin - https://edwin-co.co.uk/
Music - Hard to Handle - https://hardtohandleband.co.uk/
Cake - Vegan cake by Grandad Danny
Catering - Plant based fully vegan catering by Washingborough Hall.