Outdoor Ceremony & Celebrant Wedding Photographer
Notes from a wedding photographer based on Exmoor
More and more of the weddings I photograph happen outside: an outdoor ceremony under the trees at Ash Barton, vows in front of a timber coach house on a Dorset farm, a terrace above the sea at Tunnels Beaches, a field at Woodcroft Farm in West Devon. Since the law changed to allow civil ceremonies outdoors at licensed venues, and with celebrant and humanist ceremonies free to happen anywhere, the outdoor wedding has gone from a rarity to a normal choice in the West Country, and I think it’s the best thing that’s happened to wedding photography in years.
Outdoors, a ceremony becomes a documentary photographer’s dream: no pews, no rules about where I stand, daylight on every face, and guests who can see each other. I work close and quietly, without flash, and I move around the edge of the gathering so you have the ceremony from every side: the walk in, the vows, the people watching, the kiss and the walk out through everyone you love.
Light and the time of day
The one thing I’ll ask you to think about is where the sun will be. A ceremony facing west at four o’clock in June puts the sun in everyone’s eyes and shadows on every face; the same spot at two o’clock, or turned ninety degrees, is perfect. I’ll come to the venue beforehand or look at it on a map with you and suggest the direction and the time. Shade is your friend, an open sky behind you is lovely, and overcast is actually the kindest light of all.
Outdoor ceremonies in pictures
Ash Barton Estate, a Dorset farm, Woodcroft Farm and Tunnels Beaches.
Celebrant, humanist and legal: how it works
In England a legal marriage needs a registrar or a licensed venue, so most outdoor ceremonies work one of two ways: a licensed venue with an outdoor ceremony space, where the registrars come to you, or a quick legal signing at a register office earlier in the week and a celebrant-led ceremony on the day that says what you actually want to say. Both photograph the same; the second often photographs better, because the ceremony is written for you. See register office weddings for the first part of that.
Good to know
Wet-weather plan. Every outdoor ceremony needs one and every good venue has one; I’ll photograph the plan B as if it were the plan. Sound. Outdoors, a small speaker helps your guests hear the vows; it doesn’t affect the photographs. Confetti. Outdoors is where it belongs; throw it high and slow. Venues. See farm and marquee weddings, tipi and festival weddings and beach and coastal weddings.
Taking a limited number of weddings for 2027 and 2028
If my way of working sounds like your kind of thing, I’d love to hear about your plans. Drop me a line with your date and venue and I’ll tell you straight away whether I’m free.
