Zoe & Phil’s Wedding

They got ready in a big Airbnb in The Park, all tall windows and wooden floors, with room for everyone to spread out across the house.

That morning Phil told me, “I trust your intuition!” It’s about the best thing a documentary photographer can hear on a wedding day.

Outside the church, just before the ceremony, one of the bridesmaids went fully under Zoe’s dress to sort something out. It made me laugh at the time, and it’s the frame I keep coming back to.

Phil is the organist at St Mary’s, so the church was full of people who knew him, and plenty of them sing. The church’s adult choir sang, and with so many other choral singers in the pews the sound filled the whole building. When they really got going I had proper chills.

I was allowed up on the balcony by the organ for part of the ceremony, which gave me a view straight down the church onto the two of them. The confetti came from Zoe’s mum, a basket of pink petals.

Then it was out to Holme Pierrepont for drinks in the garden, with their dog on the lawn among the guests.

Zoe’s sister Bea was on top of everything. She was my go-to whenever Zoe and Phil were busy, helped with the groups and the timings, and when a change to the seating plan affected the meals, she sorted it out with the catering team. Zoe and Phil didn’t have to do a thing.

The speeches were properly funny. Phil is very much a classical music man, but when the best man lived with him (as a lot of the ushers did) he overheard Phil asking Alexa for Proud Mary, then found him dancing to it in the kitchen. He had to check he’d heard right. So Phil ended up in a Tina Turner wig. Kayaking came up more than once too, including the best man suggesting it’s basically rowing. Then Stylus took over and kept the dancefloor going.

St Mary’s in the Lace Market is a big, wide church, so there’s plenty of room to move without getting in anyone’s way, and the stained glass is beautiful. The vicar was completely laid back about me being where I needed to be.

Holme Pierrepont Hall is a Tudor house, and it’s the gardens that make it. The walled courtyard garden was full of flowers for the drinks reception, and the lawn round the back has beautifully kept hedges. On a bright day, the big tree at the front of the house throws proper shade, so that’s where we went for Zoe and Phil’s couple photos, with the hall behind them. The meal was in the Long Gallery, family portraits all along the walls. AR&Co, the hall’s in-house caterers, took the speeches running over completely in their stride.

Thank you Zoe & Phil for having me, and thank you to Zoe’s mum for the introduction and the petals.

The team behind the day
Ceremony and choir: St Mary’s in the Lace Market
Reception: Holme Pierrepont Hall
Catering: AR&Co
Dress: wed2b
Suits: Moss Bros Hire
Band: Stylus
Confetti: Zoe’s mum

If Zoe and Phil’s day looks like the kind of wedding you’re planning, I’d love to hear about it.

I work without a shot list. I get in amongst the day from the moment I arrive and photograph it as it happens, so you can spend it with your people rather than posing for me.

Have a look at what’s included and what it costs, or drop me a line and tell me about your day.