Jack & Jody's Charnock Farm Wedding
There are some weddings where you know pretty quickly that you're going to have a brilliant time photographing them, and Jack and Jody's Charnock Farm wedding was definitely one of those.
From the moment the day got going, there was a really relaxed feel to everything. Plenty of laughs, plenty of people who were clearly very happy to be there, and that slightly chaotic energy that you get when two families and a load of friends come together for a proper celebration.
Charnock Farm in Leyland made a brilliant setting for it too. The combination of the barn, the surrounding Lancashire countryside and the grounds around the venue gives you loads of variety throughout the day, without ever feeling like you're miles away from where everything is happening.
And, as usual, I was there with a camera trying to keep up with it all.
The sort of wedding I love photographing
I'm not particularly interested in making a wedding look perfect.
I'd much rather make it look real.
The best photographs from a wedding aren't necessarily the ones where everyone is looking at the camera. Quite often they're the ones where somebody is laughing halfway through a conversation, a parent is trying not to cry, or a group of friends are completely oblivious to the fact I'm standing nearby.
Those are the photographs that bring the day back.
That's how I approached Jack and Jody's wedding at Charnock Farm. Rather than constantly pulling people away from what they were doing, I spent most of the day moving around, watching what was happening and trying to be in the right place when something good happened.
Sometimes that meant being right in the middle of it.
Sometimes it meant hanging back and letting things unfold.
Charnock Farm wedding photography
One of the things that makes Charnock Farm wedding photography so enjoyable is the amount of space around the venue.
Once the formalities are over, there's plenty of opportunity to get outside and make the most of the Lancashire countryside. It gives the day a nice change of pace and means the photographs don't all end up looking like they've been taken in the same room.
For Jack and Jody, it also gave us a chance to grab some photographs of the two of them together without disappearing for ages.
I'm a big believer in keeping couple portraits fairly short.
You don't need an hour of photographs of yourselves.
Give me a little bit of time, a nice bit of light and the two of you, and we'll get some great photographs. Then you can get back to your guests, which is where you actually want to be.
The bits in between
This is probably the biggest reason I enjoy wedding photography.
It's the stuff that isn't on the running order.
The moments between the ceremony and the speeches.
People bumping into relatives they haven't seen for ages.
Someone sneaking another drink.
The conversations happening in corners.
Friends making each other laugh.
The five minutes where nobody really knows what's happening next.
Those moments can be completely gone in an instant, but they're often some of the photographs you'll value most afterwards.
A wedding day goes ridiculously quickly. One minute you're getting ready, and the next you're wondering where the last twelve hours have gone.
That's why I like photographing all of it.
Jack & Jody's day
Jack and Jody gave me exactly the sort of wedding day I love to photograph — plenty happening, plenty of personality and absolutely no shortage of people enjoying themselves.
There were the photographs we knew we needed to get, of course.
But alongside those were all the completely unplanned bits that happened throughout the day, and those are the photographs that really help tell the story when you look back through the gallery.
That's ultimately what I'm trying to create.
Not just a collection of nice wedding photographs, but something that takes you back to the day.
You should be able to look through the photographs in twenty years' time and remember exactly how it felt standing there.
A Charnock Farm wedding in Leyland, Lancashire
If you're getting married at Charnock Farm in Leyland, you've got a really lovely part of Lancashire as your backdrop.
The venue has a relaxed countryside feel while still having everything you need for a proper wedding celebration, and there are plenty of opportunities for photographs both around the barn and outside in the grounds.
It's also a great location for couples getting married in the wider Lancashire area, with Preston, Chorley, Wigan and the surrounding towns all within easy reach.
I've photographed weddings across Lancashire, Cumbria, the Lake District and the wider North West, and I love working with couples who don't want their wedding day to feel like one long photoshoot.
Looking for a Charnock Farm wedding photographer?
If you're planning a wedding at Charnock Farm and like the way Jack and Jody's day has been photographed, I'd love to hear from you.
My approach is simple: I'll photograph the important stuff, keep an eye out for everything happening in between, give you a bit of direction when you need it and otherwise let you get on with having a bloody good day.
Because that's what your wedding is actually for.
The photographs are there to remember it.
