2022 - The Wedding Round-Up Post
As the end of the year draws near, I am always excited to reflect on the last 12 months and put together a look back post or two. Inevitably, these posts have a tendency of running away with me and my first draft of this particular blog post was faaaaar too long!
The fact is, I shot more than 40 weddings this year! That’s the most I have EVER photographed in a 12-month period and consequently I had a huge number of photos to go back over. To be honest, I don’t think I’m ever likely to shoot that many again in one single year simply because Covid postponed events meant that my diary was packed much fuller than “normal” (whatever “normal” is!).
I have more to say but I don’t want to keep you waiting - here are the photos! Keep scrolling to see a small handful of my favourite images from the year as well as read a little more about the amazing weddings that I have had the privilege to be a part of.
A note on wedding venues
It’s inevitable that I often visit the same venues time and time again. Grittleton House has been my most visited venue by far this year. I love that I have been able to build rapport with the venue staff to the extent that I am now welcomed like a part of the team! And, I have to be honest, it really does make my job a little easier when I am so familiar with a venue that I already know the best places to take the photos!
I visited many other favourite venues during the year which I have come to know very well but I was also lucky enough to be asked to shoot at a number of new venues. New venues offer the opportunity for new types of photo and make me feel excited to scope out a new location and try something a bit different.
New venues this year have included the Queens Hotel in Cheltenham, The Old Bell in Malmesbury, Oxleaze Barn, The Pear Tree in Purton, Clevedon Hall, Pauntley Court, Donnington Grove, Langford Lakes, Pythouse Kitchen, Perrygrove Railway and the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford!
Some of these venues have long been on my list of bucket-list venues and I am already eager to shoot there again. I have six new venues included in my bookings for 2023 and I can’t wait to visit them and see what photographic opportunities they offer!
Making the leap
After dipping my toe into the world of mirrorless camera systems last year, 2022 was the year that I properly made the leap to shooting solely on mirrorless! After shooting the first few weddings this year using both Canon and Sony cameras, I decided that it just wasn’t sensible to cart around two different sets of lenses. I purchased a second Sony body and, that was that, no looking back! I won’t lie - it took me a while to adjust to shooting and editing with the Sony but I love how I can finally shoot silently if needed and, I know it sounds ridiculous, but the Sony cameras just feel as though they fit in my hands better!
Swapping systems completely was a huge financial investment. Cameras themselves don’t come cheap but then I also had to purchase a new set of lenses. My bank balance did NOT thank me but now that the key items have been purchased I am excited to add to my kit with some new toys. Not that I can go too crazy - I need to start saving up for when I need to replace the bodies again in a couple of years time!
Extended Celebrations
For me, 2020 was the year of the micro-wedding (for obvious reasons). 2021 was a year of all-sorts being that it included lots of postponed events that had been tweaked many times over as well as lots of events that could go ahead as planned.
In contrast, 2022 has been the year that couples have decided to do things a little differently. After the last couple of years of upheaval, it seems as though couples have really embraced doing things their way. I feel as though there have been less of the “traditional” weddings (although they are still very popular) and more events which break that traditional mould.
This has probably been most evident in events that take place across two (or more) days. I’m not talking about split celebrations where the couple chose to go ahead with their wedding when Covid restricted the guest numbers but then had a big party once restrictions were lifted. I’m talking about events where the couple specifically chose to get married on one day (perhaps in front of a very small group of guests) and celebrate a few days later. Couples that decided to spread their celebrations across a whole weekend. Couples that decided to renew their vows. I was lucky enough to be asked to document two 2-day events this year and it was amazing to be able to spend so much time with the couple and their guests. I was also asked to document a number of other intimate wedding celebrations which included pretty much everything except the legal vows themselves!
I personally love to see how traditions are being turned on their head and reinterpreted by so many couples to make their celebrations truly unique.
Weddings by numbers
I do love a spreadsheet so I’ve spent a bit of time over the last few weeks looking over my wedding stats for 2022. I find it really interesting to see the numbers in black and white so here is a bit of a summary of my year in numbers:
43 weddings
1,900 miles travelled
72,000 photos taken
21,000 photos edited
15 new venues visited
13 Covid postponed events covered
6 second-shooters
3 times second-shooting
If you’ve made it to the end then a huge well done! I never really know if others find these posts interesting or not - I write them simply because it makes me happy to reflect back over the past 12 months.
If you’re eager for more then I’m happy to say that I have (thankfully) been pretty good at keeping up with my blog posts this year. Simply take a look back through the blog archive to see a more detailed overview of many of the events I have photographed.
So there you have it - a very brief overview of my year in weddings., I’d like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their support this year - it has been the busiest, craziest most hectic year of weddings I have ever experienced but it’s been a blast! Lets see what 2023 holds!