Carriage Hall Plumbtree wedding photography | Sarah, Rob & Bella

Sarah and Rob were married at The Carriage Hall Plumtree back in the summer, with assistance from Bella the dog, who was the most awesome ring bearer ever!!

Rob is a photographer and filmmaker/videographer himself, so it was an honour to be chosen to capture their special day. In fact, Rob was my second (of three) grooms who are/were photographers; so although the pressure is on, it’s great to know that your fellow professionals admire your work!!

Although not local to me, I travel all over the UK photographing weddings so if you’re getting married at The Carriage Hall, give me a shout to discuss your wedding photography!

I started the day with Sarah, the girls and Bella at Sarah & Rob’s house for hair, makeup and lots of fuss for Bella! It was great to work alongside Ellyn from Bright and Beautiful Films who was documenting Sarah and Rob’s day for them on video.

We’d been keeping an eye on the weather all morning – although it was muggy, it was dry…well, until this happened!!

Suddenly, the heavens truly opened….luckily only a passing shower, but what a downpour! Once weather-worries had subsided, it was back to the prep for the girls…

While Sarah was safely hidden away upstairs, Rob arrived to pick up the ring bearer and take her to The Carriage Hall – Bella was impeccably behaved all the way through!

Although I document the day in an unobtrusive way, I do offer words of advice so that I can capture the day to the best of my abilities. One of these bits of advice is about the bridesmaids ensuring they leave a nice gap on their entrance, so I can get clear shots of the whole bridal party. I always joke that the pressure’s on whoever comes in first (and the second person often tries to use them as a sheild, hence why they need to remember to keep their distance). On inquiring who’d got position one, the girls admitted they hadn’t worked it out. In what was a first, a hasty game of ‘rock, paper, scissors’ was used to decide!

Sarah’s mum then helped her into her stunning dress. A few final prep shots and then it was time for me to head over to the Carriage Hall.

The Carriage Hall, a former railway station, looked fantastic! Outside, the guys had gone to amazing lengths to create their own outdoor games area. After photographing guest arrivals and the buttonholes going on (and Bella doing the rounds saying hi to everyone) it was outside to capture the brides arrival.

While Sarah was talking to the registrars, everyone took their seats – and fussed over Bella a bit more, which was great as she’s so photogenic!

Soon it was time for the ceremony to start as Sarah made her stunning entrance. Before long, it was time for Bella to show her moves as she made her way obediently up to deliver the rings for the service.

After the ceremony, the guys made their exit through confetti and bubbles! Due to a few threatening clouds, we quickly dispatched the group shots before drinks and canapes. After a while I took Sarah, Rob and Bella for a few quick portraits in the grounds. Once we were back everyone got stuck into the home-made games and I played the ‘keep the photographer ready for the Jenga tower to fall’ guessing game – I seem to spend my life doing this at weddings – everyone’s too good at it!

We’d been really lucky with the weather, so Sarah and Rob’s plan of outdoor speeches before the meal worked a treat!

Then it was time for the guests to make their way back into The Carriage Hall, which had been turned round quickly to reveal a beautifully decorated room for the wedding breakfast. Once the guests were seated, Sarah and Rob made their grand entrance!

I always like to photograph during gaps in the meal, as I find you pick up some nice candids. On this occasion I also quickly grabbed the wedding rings to set up a ring shot (my absolute favourite of the year, even if I do say so myself!) before I took Sarah and Rob back out into the lovely evening sunshine to photograph a few more quick portraits.

After the meal, the guests made their way back outside to enjoy the evening sunshine and really get stuck into the games that the guys had laid on! The sunshine was absolutely stunning – a great quality of light and very directional, so great for some high drama to the shots.