A Glastonbury wedding

Orchardleigh House is an outstanding UK wedding venue

I'm almost tempted to call this post 'behind the scenes at a wedding', or 'a really real wedding' because it is a perfect documentary style: I found it on Joshua Archer's blog and loved it immediately, the photography has something very special indeed. If you were wondering what documentary style wedding photography was, you're about to see the best example I've ever come across.

It's a perfect record of a wedding in my eyes, and focuses on the little events that take place during the day. This is one to settle down with and read quietly - you'll love the photos and it's a truly beautiful wedding.

Ciara and William on their wedding day. Ciara's smile as she glances at the camera is just so happy.

Over to Joshua Archer, who very kindly shared his story of the wedding day in words too!

"Ciara and William were married in Glastonbury in May this year. This was a gorgeous traditional wedding with a very relaxed atmosphere. Unfortunately the weather didn't hold up for the first part of the day and Ciara had to be escorted into the church under the cover of an umbrella, but true to form, she took it all in her stride.

"The reception was held a short drive away at the stunning Orchardleigh House near Frome in Somerset. This is a gorgeous venue and thankfully the weather improved and we were treated to some amazing views of the grounds and house.

"The most important part of this wedding however was the people. It is a privilege to document a wedding where the guests and family are so open and warm and this wedding was no exception. Building a rapport with people at the wedding is an important part of the documentary approach and allows me to capture intimate moments I couldn't otherwise. Thankfully, Ciara and William's family and guests made this easy and it was great fun to join them on their day."

Calm and tranquil before the wedding, last minute preparations are made at home

Two mirrors, natural lighting, absolute concentration and a perfect picture

The hub of all the activity is this dressing table - daylight, mirror and flowers create a scene that the camera interprets as truly beautiful. Ciara's dress is sculpted from delicate lace with a ribbon sash detail below the bust - she's every bit the timeless bride.

A bridesmaid makes final touches to her lipstick, making sure everything's 'just so' for Ciara's wedding

The classic wedding car arrives...

... and is decorated while the girls get ready inside

Orders of Service are made ready in the church

As Ciara arrives, rain falls but the wedding dress is kept nice and dry. The church is St Mary's Church, Magdalene Street, Glastonbury

A bird's eye view of Ciara's walk down the aisle

Inside the church, grown ups do grown up stuff and the little'uns read a book

The chief confetti thrower is at waist height today! Guests' arms are raised in celebration and the bride and groom hardly seem aware of the confetti

Cheering the wedding car on its way

Ciara and William arrive at Orchardleigh House to make their entrance

A crowd scene at Orchardleigh - I love the informality in such grand settings

You can almost feel the atmosphere and hear the chit chat echoing around the room.

I'd like one too, please.

Capturing the grandeur of Orchardleigh House

Guests mingle outside the wedding venue

Right, this looks like fun. What do you want to play?

Caught unawares, this page boy looks so cute in all his wedding day finery

Ciara's eyes are full of love during the first dance. The guests are the backdrop for a magical and emotional moment - a powerful picture...

This is what love is all about

Smiling and smiling and smiling and smiling

The laughter, the atmosphere, the moment... the picture on the wall

So that's the perfect example of documentary wedding photography. And from the best - Joshua Archer is Asso­ciate Pho­tog­ra­pher for Allis­ter Free­man Pho­tog­ra­phy. He has a strong phi­los­o­phy and focus on qual­ity over quan­tity. He told me, “I always look to cre­ate a unique approach or style that doesn’t seek to copy any­one else and com­bines a lit­tle humour into my pho­tog­ra­phy, help­ing to keep an ele­ment of fun involved.

“I like to stay as unob­tru­sive as pos­si­ble dur­ing the wed­ding day, which is not to say I hide behind bushes or under tables, but I work around the bride, groom and guests with­out con­trol­ling or dic­tat­ing how the day unfolds. I find this allows me to cap­ture much more hon­est, pow­er­ful moments and allows me to get close to the ‘action’ with­out get­ting in the way.”

Quoted from renowned UK wed­ding pho­tog­ra­pher Allis­ter Freeman:

“Joshua places great impor­tance on hav­ing intu­itive peo­ple skills, his easy man­ner enables him to be part of and, most impor­tantly, be able to iden­tify with, very per­sonal and pri­vate moments.…. his strong inter­est in fine art and social doc­u­men­tary pho­tog­ra­phy means he approaches wed­dings in an uncon­ven­tional way and con­tin­ues to pro­duce our trade­mark, thought pro­vok­ing doc­u­men­tary coverage”

www.documentaryweddingphotographer.co.uk