We really love a Do It Yourself wedding. Getting to know our couples is one of our favourite parts of this job – as a Yorkshire Wedding Photographer – that we love so much. All our couples are different and every wedding is unique, none more so than a DIY wedding. A DIY wedding gives a couple the opportunity to put everything into their designing, creating and putting on a whole wedding right from scratch, just as Sam and Rob did. Their personalities really do come through in every detail.
We first met Sam and Rob on their pre-wedding shoot – they told us they wanted entirely natural photography, no posing and no staging. Which was music to our ears as that is what we always deliver and it’s the style of wedding photography that we love. Sam and Rob had transformed Sam’s family farm into the perfect setting for a wedding – it would be the envy of most wedding venues! The barn (or recent cow shed) was unrecognisable to how it was a few days before. So much time and effort had been put in and it really was a dream for any documentary wedding photographer like us, as it gave a perfect backdrop for all the natural moments that were to come.
Sam got ready at the farm, with her stunning Charlie Brear wedding dress hanging and waiting in the kitchen, as bridesmaids and Sam’s mum joined her for hair and makeup. It was such a lovely, relaxed atmosphere, with smiles and happy tears as cards were given out. Then, after the dresses were put on, Sam came downstairs looking unbelievably elegant, with her dad’s happy face a picture as he saw her in her dress for the first time. Then, we were onto a local church for the ceremony – meeting Rob as he got out of his and Sam’s vintage VW camper van (Sam and Rob are keen travellers and campers!)
We were restricted to just a few photos during the ceremony due to the church rules – rules are rules and we are happy to abide by them! Everyone has a job to do and we will always respect whoever we are working with.
On a side note, if you’re reading this and have yet to get married, we always recommend you chat to their celebrant (be that a civil service or religious ceremony) in advance to check whether they have any restrictions for photography, just like Sam and Rob had done. We will always happily adhere to any rules about where we can stand and when we can and when we cannot photograph. It’s just good for the couple to know this in advance, so if we can only take a few photos (or none at all) of the wedding service, this isn’t a shock to them on the day. Enough of our wedding planning tips though, back to this Sam and Rob’s beautiful farm wedding!
The most important thing of course, like on any wedding day, was the ceremony itself – Sam and Rob looked so happy and in love throughout. We think sometimes it’s easy to forget about the ceremony a little in the build up (or to feel very nervous about it!) but it really is the key part of any wedding, the moment you actually get married! It’s when all the emotions often come out – we really love wedding ceremonies for this reason.
After a really beautiful wedding ceremony, it was onto confetti, which was enthusiastically thrown by the whole wedding party, absolutely showering Sam and Rob. It really did look amazing and was a lovely moment for our happy couple! We won a Wedisson award for the confetti shot we took below – we’ve won lots of awards this year it’s always amazing to be recognised for our work! It’s definitely one of our favourite ever confetti shots.
Also, as a surprise, Sam’s family had arranged for her horse, who she’d had throughout childhood, to meet her at the church. It was a wonderfully emotional moment. After this it was onto the farm, after a few photos in a nearby field. And what a celebration it was! The drinks flowed and everyone had the very best day possible as all the photos show. The food was amazing (provided by expert caterers Field and Forage) and the speeches were so emotional yet funny in equal parts. The wind blew, but the sun shone – and guests had a choice of spending time in the windblown sunshine or within the beautiful barn.
We then went for a few relaxed and natural couple shots – Rob picking his beautiful bride up quite unexpectedly at one point. Then it was onto the evening reception and dancing. So much dancing! We were able to grab so many fun dancing shots, as confetti canons went off and everyone got involved. That is just the way we like it! It’s always such a fun way for us to end our coverage, with some lively dance floor shots. Sam and Rob are such a lovely couple – and they really did have the best day ever with all their family and friends. We are so thankful for the amazing five star review they left us:
“We couldn’t recommend M and G Photographic highly enough. We have been blown away by our beautiful wedding photos and video. We literally cannot stop looking at them / watching them! Our day was captured perfectly and we now can look back at the day and bring our memories to life whenever we like.”
As always, below are just a few of our favourite natural moments. As a Yorkshire Wedding Photographer, we really love any Yorkshire Wedding! But Sam and Rob’s DIY wedding day really was perfect. We hope you enjoy looking through our highlights from this beautiful DIY Yorkshire Wedding.
Natural wedding photography by Yorkshire Wedding Photographer M and G Photographic. We cover right across the UK. For a quote, please get in touch with us here.