smilingtigerstudiosuk

**NO SPARKLERS. SO THE SKY STEPPED IN. 🌈**

Last week took us over to Essex and the beautiful @tuffonhallvineyard for Clare & Mat’s wedding - a day built around two people with a shared love of good wine, good food and the people closest to them.

It was also a rather special one for me.

Eight years ago I photographed Clare’s sister Karen marrying Graham at the Matara Centre in Wiltshire. Being invited back into a family to photograph another chapter all these years later is something I’ll never take for granted.

After one of the driest, hottest summers we’ve had, naturally the forecast decided **this** was the week to change. Showers. Sunshine. More showers. ☀️🌧️

And with the ground officially in drought, the sparkler dash Clare & Mat had planned had to be cancelled.

Disappointing? Absolutely.

But weddings have a habit of reminding you that the unplanned stuff can be far better than anything on the schedule.

Because somewhere between the rain and sunshine, the sky delivered something we couldn’t have ordered if we’d tried.

**A huge rainbow, right across the vineyard.**

So we grabbed Clare & Mat, headed into the vines and had a few glorious minutes to play.

No Photoshop. No AI. No elaborate setup.

Just two newlyweds, an Essex vineyard and Mother Nature showing off at precisely the right moment.

I think we’ll take that over the sparklers. 🌈

#TuffonHallWedding #EssexWeddingPhotographer #VineyardWedding #DocumentaryWeddingPhotography #UKWeddingPhotographer

smilingtigerstudiosuk

**Sometimes you just have to miss the flight. ✈️**

Six years ago, Rich was sitting airside at an American airport, waiting to board his flight home to the UK.

The night before, he’d been on a date with Katie. Not exactly your conventional first date either - they’d gone for a bike ride and, by all accounts, it had got just a little competitive. 😂

As Rich waited to fly home, Katie casually suggested that perhaps he was about to miss out on something pretty big.

So he took a gamble.

He pulled his luggage from the flight, cancelled his journey home and stayed.

Turns out, she had a point.

What followed was a transatlantic relationship, Covid, lockdowns, a move to the UK, a legal ceremony six years ago... and finally, last weekend, **the celebration they’d never really had.**

And what a celebration.

@thesecretbarnweddings, just outside Brighton, couldn’t have suited these two better. Hidden away in the Sussex countryside, a collection of beautiful old timber barns carried the day from ceremony through to dinner and one hell of an evening party.

@petal_and_feast transformed the place with incredible florals, before doing what they do equally brilliantly - feeding everyone with a proper feast from the fire and BBQ.

But underneath all of that was the bit I love photographing most.

Two people surrounded by the family and friends who’ve watched their slightly improbable love story unfold over six years, finally getting the chance to stop and celebrate it properly.

All because one bloke decided his flight home could wait.

**Sometimes the impulsive decisions really are the good ones.**

Rich & Katie - The Secret Barn, Sussex.

#SecretBarnWedding #SussexWeddingPhotographer #DocumentaryWeddingPhotography #BrightonWeddingPhotographer #WeddingPhotojournalism

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From the States to Stourhead, with a little Pride & Prejudice pilgrimage along the way...

Summer & Jaraad were honeymooning in the UK and squeezing in a few locations made famous by their favourite period dramas. Well... I suspect Summer may have been driving that particular itinerary slightly more than Jaraad. 😄

A very last-minute message landed in my inbox asking if I could meet them at Stourhead on Wednesday and capture part of the trip.

Thankfully, I could.

And there was really only one place they wanted to be photographed - the Temple of Apollo. The very spot made famous by that rather spectacular proposal refusal in Pride & Prejudice.

We had about an hour before they needed to head off to their next stop - Highclere Castle - but honestly, an hour was plenty.

These two were effortless together.

Summer arrived armed with a few inspiration shots she’d saved, which we absolutely nailed, but once we’d got those in the bag we simply played. Walked, talked, laughed and let the place and their connection do the rest.

Soft light, no brutal midday sunshine, one ridiculously beautiful setting and two people who made photographing them an absolute cinch.

And it got me thinking...

I want to photograph more honeymoons.

Engagement shoots have anticipation. Weddings have adrenaline, nerves and a hundred moving parts.

But honeymoons?

They’re different.

The pressure is off. You’re married. The big public declaration has been made. Nobody is waiting for a speech, a first dance or wondering where they’re supposed to be next.

Now you get to breathe.

To wander somewhere beautiful together, soak it all in and celebrate the simple fact that you actually did it.

And perhaps that’s what I love most about these photographs.

They’re not about the wedding.

They’re simply about Summer & Jaraad.

If you’re honeymooning in Dorset, Somerset or Wiltshire - or building a slightly obsessive British period-drama pilgrimage into your trip - give me a ring or drop me a line.

I’d genuinely love to photograph more of this.

#Stourhead #HoneymoonPhotography #CouplesPhotography #SomersetPhotographer #DocumentaryPhotography

smilingtigerstudiosuk

Who knew tequila could be responsible for a wedding like this?

When I first arrived to see the colourful Mexican-inspired styling, I have to admit I was intrigued. Then, during the speeches, everything clicked into place. Catherine and Jonjo’s love story began over a shared appreciation of tequila, so what better way to celebrate the journey that brought them here?

It wasn’t just a wedding theme. It was their story.

With the summer sun shining over CIM Business Centre in Cookham, the day unfolded exactly as the best weddings do - full of laughter, hugs, good food, plenty of colour, and a dance floor that didn’t need much encouragement.

The moments that stay with me aren’t always the grand ones. They’re the quiet, blink-and-you’ll-miss-them memories. Like their young son, taking his role as ring bearer incredibly seriously, carefully passing Jonjo’s ring to his mum. Such a simple little exchange, but one that says everything about what this day was really about - family.

Then came the confetti…

I’ve photographed a lot of confetti throws over the years, but this one was something else. A riot of colour filling the air, just enough of a gap to catch Catherine and Jonjo laughing as they made their way through it. Pure chaos. Pure joy. Exactly how confetti should be.

Weddings don’t need to follow traditions to be unforgettable. They just need to reflect the people at the heart of them.

Congratulations, Catherine & Jonjo. May there always be sunshine, laughter… and perhaps the occasional tequila. 🌵🥃❤️

#DocumentaryWeddingPhotographer #BerkshireWedding #WeddingStorytelling #ConfettiMoment #SmilingTigerStudios

smilingtigerstudiosuk

Some weddings are remembered for the sunshine.

Others are remembered for the people.

Anna & Steve’s wedding at Highcliffe Castle was definitely the latter.

With British and Austrian families coming together on the Dorset coast, there was a warmth to this day that no amount of rain could dampen. In fact, the weather almost became part of the story. Umbrellas appeared, guests huddled together, laughter echoed through the castle, and every break in the clouds felt like a little gift.

We made the most of those moments. A fleeting walk through the grounds. Reflections caught in a car mirror. Anna arriving on the castle steps beneath an umbrella, looking every bit as elegant as the setting itself.

But what I’ll remember most wasn’t the weather or even the photographs.

It was the people.

The hugs. The smiles. The genuine affection everyone seemed to have for one another. At one point I joked to Anna and Steve that it felt a bit like an American hug therapy session. Not that I’ve ever attended one, but if they exist, I imagine this was pretty close!

There was simply so much warmth, kindness and connection throughout the day.

And that’s the thing about weddings. Long after the flowers have faded and the cake has been eaten, it’s those moments of human connection that remain.

Congratulations Anna & Steve. Thank you for trusting me completely and allowing me to document your day exactly as it unfolded.

Subtle. Emotive. Raw.

#HighcliffeCastleWedding
#HighcliffeCastle
#DorsetWeddingPhotographer
#DocumentaryWeddingPhotography
#WeddingPhotographyUK

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Looking forward to sharing Tara & Jamie’s full wedding gallery shortly. These two were a laugh a minute, throughout the church ceremony, all the way into the evening!
@#bridportwedding #dorsetweddingphotography #documentarywedding