Richard & Hannah’s Wedding at Royle Forest

Richard and Hannah’s wedding at Royle Forest in Burton upon Trent was one of those lovely relaxed summer weddings, surrounded by their closest family and friends in a beautiful woodland setting.

I joined them for four hours of wedding photography, arriving in time to capture their guests arriving and enjoying the surroundings before the ceremony began. With the sun shining and everyone in such a relaxed mood, there was a really lovely atmosphere from the start.

A Relaxed Woodland Wedding Ceremony

Richard and Hannah chose a celebrant led ceremony, which suited the setting and the feel of their day perfectly. Their wedding was intimate, personal and very much about celebrating with the people closest to them.

I always enjoy photographing celebrant ceremonies because they can feel incredibly personal to the couple, and there are so many natural moments to capture between them and their guests.

After the ceremony, we kept the group photographs quite simple. Richard and Hannah only wanted a handful of organised photos, concentrating on the people who mattered most to them, including their parents, close family, bridesmaids and the groom’s party.

We used the decking area close to one of the tipis, which gave us a great space to bring everyone together without taking people away from the celebrations for too long. I am always happy to work through a longer group photo list if that is important to a couple, but equally, if you only want a few key photographs before getting back to your guests, that works perfectly too.

Couple Photography at Royle Forest

For Richard and Hannah’s couple portraits, we explored different areas around Royle Forest and made the most of the variety the venue offers.

It was a very sunny August day, which is wonderful for an outdoor wedding but can actually be one of the more challenging lighting conditions for wedding photography. Some of the photographs Richard and Hannah particularly wanted were in areas of direct sunlight, so we worked with the strong light to get those shots while also finding softer light for some of their other portraits.

The woodland was absolutely beautiful for this. Under the canopy of the trees, the light became much softer and more flattering, giving us a completely different feel to the photographs taken out in the sunshine.

I loved being able to give them that mixture. Some photographs really captured the brightness of their summer wedding day, while the portraits amongst the trees had a softer, more romantic woodland feel.

Entertainment and the Start of the Wedding Breakfast

There were some lovely touches throughout the afternoon too. Richard and Hannah had an illustrator at their wedding, which was something a little different and gave me another part of their day to capture as guests had their illustrations created.

They also had a magician entertaining everyone, so I spent some time photographing the reactions and interactions around the guests. These are exactly the sort of moments I love looking for during a wedding because people are completely absorbed in what is happening rather than thinking about the camera.

My four hours of coverage finished shortly after the wedding breakfast had started, so I was also able to capture some of those final photographs as everyone settled down together.

Four Hours of Wedding Photography at Royle Forest

Richard and Hannah’s wedding was a perfect example of how much of a wedding day can be captured within four hours when you do not necessarily want photography from getting ready right through to the evening celebrations.

From their guests arriving and their celebrant ceremony through to family photographs, couple portraits, entertainment and the beginning of their wedding breakfast, we created a lovely photographic story of their day without their wedding ever feeling dominated by photographs.

Royle Forest also gave us such a variety of backdrops within a relatively small area. From the open spaces and tipis to the beautiful woodland itself, there were plenty of opportunities to create different styles of photographs while still keeping everything relaxed.

It was such a pleasure spending the afternoon with Richard and Hannah and capturing their intimate summer wedding surrounded by the people closest to them.