A September wedding at Rivington Hall Barn
There’s a photograph of Rachel and Darren sitting on the sofa between two tall windows, Rachel’s dress spilling onto the floor and the two of them looking very pleased to be exactly where they are. From the light in that room, you’d never guess what the weather was doing outside. It was bouncing back up to knee height. I feel quite strongly that at that point you should get to count the rain twice.
Rachel and Darren got married at Rivington Hall Barn on 20 September, which is also my birthday. I spent it photographing a gorgeous wedding, got a front-row view of a spectacular confetti drop and finished the evening with a little more off-road driving than I generally look for in a birthday plan. We’ll come to that.
Getting ready for the ceremony at Rivington Hall Barn
Rachel got ready with her bridesmaids and family, and there’s a lovely sequence from that morning. First you see her in her dress, on her own with her bouquet. Then you see her from behind as everyone else gets a look at her. I particularly like that second photograph. You’ve got a whole roomful of people trying to tell Rachel what they think of the dress at the same time, and you can read most of it from their faces.
The children deserve a mention here. There’s a little boy in a waistcoat leaning sideways in an armchair and a little girl absolutely beaming while someone does her hair. I’d happily put those two next to each other in the gallery. Two quite different assessments of how getting ready was going.
Over at the barn, the umbrellas made it as far as the door and everyone gathered for the ceremony. Afterwards, Rachel and Darren walked back down the aisle through confetti, with their guests close on either side. If you’re looking through the photographs thinking that seems a fairly generous amount of confetti, do keep going. That was the restrained one.
Wedding portraits in the bridal prep house
Sometimes on a wet wedding day there’ll be five minutes when the rain eases and we can pop outside. At Rachel and Darren’s wedding the number of those minutes was zero. Fortunately, I’d already spent part of the morning in a house with beautiful window light, and I knew exactly where I wanted to take them.
We went back to the house where Rachel had got ready. There’s a portrait of the two of them facing the window, with the full length of her train behind them. Then there’s the one on the sofa, where she leans into Darren and the whole photograph feels a little more like them having a minute together. I’d keep those two as a pair. You get to see how beautifully her dress falls, and you get to see how comfortably she fits against him.
I’m especially fond of that sofa photograph. Of all the things you might expect me to say about a day when it rained quite that hard, “I loved the light” sounds mildly unhinged. I did, though.
A first dance under the confetti
Back inside Rivington Hall Barn, the speeches had everyone laughing, the dance floor filled up and Rachel and Darren had their first dance under a confetti drop. I love the photograph where they’ve both got an arm in the air and there’s white confetti absolutely everywhere. From a professional point of view, I was delighted. From a housekeeping point of view, I was delighted to be the photographer.
Rachel and Darren, thank you for having me there. I love that you’ve got both versions of yourselves in this gallery. The two of you tucked up together on that sofa, and the two of you in the middle of the dance floor having a bloody lovely time.
As for getting home, the reservoir had burst its banks. The road in and out was underwater and had been closed. My way home was up and over a mountain on a single-track “path”. I’m putting path in quotation marks because it wasn’t even paved, and I’d like to manage expectations for anyone picturing a road.
I’m still alive. Quite a birthday.
If you’re planning your own wedding at Rivington Hall Barn, I’d love to hear what you’ve got in mind. Send me your date and tell me which bit you’re most looking forward to.
