Button hole
From a Wedding at Gateway Vineyard Church
The wedding of Claire and Jay took place at Gateway Vineyard church in Hellesdon Norfolk. The Church itself is a 60’s build, an era of architecture not known for its aesthetical oomph but the couple worked wonders along with their friends in the congregation to tranform the space into a very personal and pretty venue for their wedding day.
One of my favourites from the unfortunately gloomy October wedding day is this one of The Father of the Bride and head Usher sortingtheir button holes outside, well they appempt too. Both of their jackets had the button holes still stitched up, The Usher at the back of the frame reslised this first as he is seen closely examining the problem, whilst the father of the Bride is still in the nonchalant “I’ve got this” headspace. Long story short a small paring knife had to be borrowed from the kitchen to help the stars of this frame out (along with a few other guests afterwards).
This photo speaks to me in a couple of ways, I like the glimpse into the behind the scenes aspects of a wedding day or event. Its these, I guess you could say less exciting scenes that really capture people at their most themsleves. Visually the photo works, in a number of ways.
The subjects are well framed, they have enough space between them so that they arent muddied together whilst simultaniously slotting into each others shapes.
The tree in the background fits perfectly between our two subjects and helps draw the eye through the frame left to right. Also the little glimpses around the edges of the scene help to give the scene its locational context, it reveals the venues location in a residential area and gives you the information to help paint your mental image. Its a simple scene, but its the simple scenes that often tell the biggest story.
I hope you enjoyed my little explanation as to why this photo speaks to me. Taken at the Gateway Vineyard Church, Hellesdon, Norfolk.
A Simple Wedding Moment That Tells a Bigger Story
This photograph was taken at Claire and Jay’s wedding at Gateway Vineyard Church in Hellesdon, Norfolk. It is a quiet, in-between moment, but it sums up a lot of what I love about documentary wedding photography – real people, doing real things, when they are not “on show” for the camera.
The Setting: Gateway Vineyard Church, Hellesdon
Claire and Jay were married at Gateway Vineyard Church in Hellesdon, Norfolk. The church is a 1960s build, which is not exactly known as a golden age of beautiful church architecture.
With a bit of imagination and a lot of help from friends in the congregation, they transformed the space into something much more personal. By the time the wedding day arrived, the church felt warm, pretty and very much “theirs”, despite its fairly plain origins.
Why This Photograph Works For Me
This image speaks to me in a couple of ways – emotionally and visually.
Emotionally, I like that it shows a genuinely behind-the-scenes moment. No one is posing, there is no grand gesture, and nothing dramatic is happening. It is just two people quietly trying to solve a small problem. These are often the moments where people look most like themselves.
Visually, there are a few things that make the frame work:
The two subjects have enough space between them so they do not merge into a single shape, but they still “fit” together within the frame.
The tree in the background sits neatly between them and helps guide the eye through the image from left to right.
The little details around the edges of the frame give the photograph its context. You can see just enough of the surroundings to understand that the church is in a residential area, which helps you build the wider scene in your mind.
It is a simple scene, but simple scenes often carry the strongest sense of story.
What This Says About Documentary Wedding Photography
For me, documentary wedding photography is about paying attention to the in-between moments on a wedding day.
The buttonholes, the borrowed knife, the slight shift in expression when someone realises something is not as simple as they thought – these tiny stories are all part of the bigger narrative of the day.
If you only photograph the big, obvious moments, you miss a lot of what makes each wedding unique. If you are willing to look quietly and wait for scenes like this, you end up with photographs that feel honest, human and personal to the couple.
