Oli and Debs’ Wedding at the beginning of September was one of those rare occasions where everything goes off without a Hitch. The ceremony took place in the spectacular Lantern room of the Bristol Registry Office – a high vaulted room of stunning décor and an iconic skylight. The ceremony was filled with laughter and beautiful readings by the bride & grooms’ mothers. All the guests turned up in good form and I knew from the get-go that this would be a wedding I was going to enjoy photographing.

Ceremony begins in the Lantern Room of the Bristol Registry Office.

Oli & Debs have spent much of their adult lives in Southeast Asia, a part of the world I was lucky enough to have called home for most of my childhood. Knowing all these places they had met and fallen in love gave me a greater insight into their love and made photographing them that much more fun.

Once the ceremony was over all 60 guests plus the couple made the walk from the registry office through the winding Bristol streets to the waterfront where everybody boarded the Tower Belle - a riverboat oozing with charm and champagne to take guests on a scenic cruise along the river Avon to the destination – the iconic Beeses Garden & Pub, “Bristol’s best kept secret”.

Crossing a road en-route to the Tower Belle

Guests board the Tower Belle riverboat for the cruise to the reception

It was the perfect September day and the cruise along the river was fabulous. A cool breeze cut against the hot sun, and everybody was in great spirits – this was the most fun I’ve had getting wedding guests from A to B, and I would recommend this itinerary to any couple planning a Bristol wedding in future! We docked at the pub after about an hour, making the cruise the perfect amount of time for the guests to enjoy themselves and build up a bit of an appetite for when arriving at the venue. The idyllic riverside pub is one of Bristol’s hidden gems and was the perfect atmosphere for Oli & Debs reception. Easy-going, cool, relaxed, it was the perfect backdrop for them and their guests to let loose and unwind after the ceremony.

Crossing paths with another riverboat, the Flower of Bristol.

A little about the photography…

There were so many bold colours throughout the day and along with the cloudless sky I felt the images were perfect for a Kodak Gold emulation. I love the look of Kodak Gold, especially on a perfect weather day. Everything has that vintage ‘summer fun’ look and when conditions are right it is my favourite film emulation to play around with! The B&W images are a Kodak Trix emulation. As always, I utilise B&W when I feel the actions within the image speak for themselves, and also if the colour cast detracts from an image. All my clients will end up with a good mix of colour as well as B&W images.

I hope you enjoy the series of photographs as much as I did creating them.