Belle Epoque Wedding

Here’s a shot I love from Terina and Lee’s wedding at Belle Epoque in Cheshire. Although I’m a Stafford wedding photographer its not unusual for me to travel to neighbouring counties but this was the first time I’d been to the Belle Epoque and being such an unique venue I was a little unsure what to expect. The venue is very grungy with a slight gothic feel, its a very stylish venue and one for couples who are looking for less traditional and more unusual.

This photo is from the first kiss at the end of the wedding ceremony, well I’m not sure it is actually the first kiss as they had that many kisses I lost count (thats true love for you folks!).

So what do I love about this photo? Well the best shots have three things; Composition, light and emotion/moment.

What I like about the composition is seeing all the guests smiling and clapping, no one is holding their phones up trying to get a shot they are simply sharing and supporting in the happiness of the couple. I also like how the ceiling light is above the couple and you can see the decor.

The light is interesting, it isn’t good light but its interesting light. It was a very dark ceremony room, in fact the darkest Ive ever shot in. The couple are lit nicely by the ceiling light almost giving them a spotlight effect. Theres some nice window light streaming in and lighting the guests.

Emotion/moment – If I could only have one of the three I’d sacrifice light and composition for the moment. Capturing the moment is so very important, this is what really tells the story of the wedding and why I’ve started spending much less time and groups and posed shots and more time on capturing natural and real moments. The emotion here is very apparent between Terina and Lee, I think for this brief moment they may have felt like they were the only people in the room completely submersed in each other and their feelings. There is also a lot of secondary emotion coming from the guests, clapping, cheering and smiling..NOT trying to get the blurry photo to stick on Facebook, they are simply sharing the moment right there and then watching it with their own eyes. Perfect.

If you’re looking for a natural wedding photography or planning a wedding at Belle époque please do get in touch.

I’ll post the full blog from Terina and Lee’s Belle Epoque wedding soon.