25th January 2020
Rob and Maddie are the sweetest couple. Fact.
They laugh – a lot. The way that Maddie looks at Rob is super intense and super sweet. And they surfed their way through their intimate wedding day without, seemingly, a care in the world.
Bottom line, they were the perfect first couple for me to shoot as a solo wedding photographer. Every photographer starting out needs a break at some point, and a couple prepared to trust someone to capture the most important day of their lives. And for me this January, Rob and Maddie were that couple. After a year of second shooter roles at weddings, engagement shoots, portraits and generally faffing about, it was time to take the plunge.
Set at the gorgeous Careys Manor in the heart of a damp but ever beautiful New Forest, Rob and Maddie’s wedding brought two disparate families together, with parents flying in from South Africa and Dubai to join their new friends in the UK. It was an cosy and welcoming affair, and all the better for it.
For me, wedding photography should be about capturing the day in an authentic manner. I’m not sure I’ll ever be one for asking a couple to act moody, face away from each other with faces like thunder and pretend to be something that they’re not, creating a dramatic image that will keep people confused for years to come. This couple kept it real throughout. Smiles by the dozens, stolen glances across the aisle; the look that Maddie gave Rob as he sat down from delivering his speech and she reassuringly placed her hand on his knee, told me everything I need to know about this couple.
Rob, Maddie, thank you for asking me to photograph your magical day. I hope that I captured it for you as I originally set out to do – authentically. And if your wedding turns into the first of many for me to photograph, you’ll have played a major part in getting me there.
