An Intimate Celebration at Lucknam Park
If there was ever a time when you could rip up the Wedding “rule-book” and do things your own way then the last 18 months have proved that now is the time to do it!
From micro-weddings to elopements, celebrations where the focus has purely been on the love and commitment of the happy couple has definitely been the name of the game for the last few months. And I’d wager that these intimate celebrations are going to be around for a long time to come.
So was the case for this celebration that I was asked to help document recently at Lucknam Park.
The couple in question had actually got married in front of their closest friends and family beyond the borders of Wiltshire, travelling up to Lucknam Park immediately after they had said “I do”. Having hired another photographer to cover their ceremony and capture the formal photographs, they enlisted my services to take some portraits around the grounds of Lucknam Park to provide them with some additional story-telling images of their special day.
Unfortunately, the weather had other plans!
On their wedding day we were greeted by heavy rainfall and blustery winds. Having already discussed potential plans to perhaps take some photographs indoors instead, we were determined to make it work whatever happened!
Thankfully, the rain abated just in time to give us a brief window to get outside. Unfortunately, however, there was just no stopping the wind! After attempting a few photographs outside the front of the hotel it quickly became apparent that it was far too blustery. Our choices were therefore restricted to finding a more sheltered spot or heading indoors. It seemed a shame not to grab at least some photographs in the grounds so I went for a quick scout around and found a couple of sheltered spaces outside the Spa.
With a bit of shelter and some clever angles, I was actually really pleased with the range of photos we were able to capture in such a short space of time. It’s a location that we would not necessarily have even thought about using had the weather been a little kinder to us. As they say, necessity is the Mother of invention and we certainly found it necessary to seek out these backdrops. But, do you know what? I love them!
I always try and reassure my couples that there are always opportunities for photographs, no matter what the weather, no matter what the location. Admittedly, it has been a while since I have needed to think on my feet and search beyond the obvious backdrops for some beautiful photographs. But this has just reminded me that I’m more than capable of thinking on my feet and I’m really proud of the resulting images.
I think this final image encapsulates it all - despite the postponed dates and rearranged plans, despite the poor weather and the fact that she was probably absolutely freezing by this point, the Bride turned around and shot me this look at the very end of the photoshoot. Despite all of the obstacles they had faced, there is nothing that beats that “we finally did it” feeling!
