St Mary's Church Wedding photography

Hello dark blustery autumn evenings! Time to get a cuppa and a hot water bottle while I tell you about my final wedding of the year –Tom and Helen’s.

I met Tom and Helen initially for a consultation at the end of February. They were all set for their spring wedding, and honeymoon of a lifetime to Sri Lanka, and we walked around their church, St Mary’s in Warwick, scoping out suitable spots and backdrops for their pictures. Tom and Helen pointed out a place where they knew some cheerful daffodils would soon appear, just in time for their big day in April. Perfect! What could go wrong?

Of course, the world went wrong, and Helen and Tom were one of the first couples to have their wedding plans upended by the pandemic and all the restrictions that came with it. Undeterred, they re-planned their wedding for the autumn. This time, it was to be a celebration at home, in the garden, with 30 of their nearest and dearest. It would be different, but it would be lovely.

And then in September…in comes the rule of 6, and weddings shrink even further, to include no more than 15 people. Fifteen! I had to admit that the prospect of photographing a wedding with only 15 guests was a little daunting. I might be an expert at capturing atmosphere but…would there be any?! Rules meant that Helen’s dad couldn’t walk her down the aisle, that there would be no confetti, no dancing, no hugging. What was it going to be like?

Full of love! That’s the only way to describe it. I think because Tom and Helen had gone through so much – planning, cancelling, adjusting, re-planning – the day really boiled down to what it’s all meant to be about in the first place – the love between two people.

So it was third time lucky for Tom and Helen. They kept the date – 24^th Ocober – but changed their plans, with 15 of their most special friends and family joining them for a ceremony at St Mary’s followed by drinks and lunch at the intimate Square Bar, around the corner.

The day began at 6am (yikes), because the bridal party’s preparations had to be staggered so that covid rules could be properly observed. There wasn’t any time for bleary eyes though – by 6.30 the maid of honour was blasting out Fresh Prince wedding raps and we were all fully awake! I think the bridal party knew that the intimate day was going to be an emotion-filled one, as they were planning strategies to stop the tears coming during the ceremony. I can’t divulge the technique they came up with (it’s a PG blog, folks), but to see if it worked – check out the pictures below.

After spending a couple of hours with the bridal party I headed down to the church to meet Tom. Arriving, the weather looked like it was about to turn. ‘I hope it doesn’t rain when you leave the church’, I said. ‘You guys need some luck!’ But Tom summed everything up in a nutshell. ‘It doesn’t matter what happens now’, he replied. ‘I’m getting to marry Helen, and that’s what it’s all about.’

It’s always a great moment when a groom sees his bride walking down the aisle towards him. Tom could only manage an ‘oh, wow!’ as Helen removed her veil. It was a lovely, spontaneous reaction to the sight of his bride-to-be. He couldn’t remember saying it, later – that’s when you know it’s from the heart!

That feeling – that it was all about the love between these two people – was the most striking part of the day. Seeing Helen and Tom get married was really a reminder of just how magical weddings can be, without all the trimmings and the frills and the finishing touches. The connection between the two of them was really obvious – even signing the register, they held hands, totally absorbed in each other and their happiness at finally making it to this moment!

St Mary’s is a stunning church, and changes to wedding restrictions meant that Helen and Tom were allowed to have a choir inside, as well as their guests. It was gorgeous – not only did the church feel more full with people, but also with beautiful music, and having those voices there really made the special moments feel even more poignant.

After the ceremony, we headed outside. Despite my fears the rain held off, and it was a lovely, but windy, day. Helen managed to just about keep a handle on her veil and I took a few portrait shots of the new Mr and Mrs, still totally besotted with each other. I’m not even sure if they knew I was there! Clearly, this was a couple who were just over the moon to have got through the obstacles and finally tied the knot.

Staff at the Square had done a fantastic job making the bar and all the arrangements covid compliant, and although everyone remained seated in their bubbles, soon the wine was flowing and so was the fun and laughter. In his speech, Tom talked about the weddings they’d planned and how different they were to what they’d ended up with – but how happy he was that he’d got the most important thing of all – his wife, Helen. This might have been a wedding on a small scale, but it was full of love.

In the late afternoon Tom and Helen hopped into a Rolls Royce and headed off to the Cotswolds to enjoy the evening together – what a perfect way to wrap up the wedding. It might not have been the massages on the beach in Sri Lanka that they had planned at the start – but they definitely still got their happy ending.