WEDDING 365 PROJECT – Daily choice of a documentary wedding photograph selected from my catalogue, collated from time spent documenting these unique events. This one from an outdoor ceremony at Notley Abbey.

SHOOTING DATA: 5DMk2, 35mm, F1.4, 1/2000, ISO 1000, over by two stops.

VENUE: Notley Abbey, Oxfordshire

ETHOS: I’ve just written a piece for a photography magazine on the subject of bad weather at weddings. It’ll be a month or two before that piece appears, so this will be long down the order by then. I thought it worth broaching the subject within 365. I don’t consciously use bad weather per sae in my photography as I follow the lead of a bride and groom; my work favouring a photojournalistic approach. If the couple are embracing adverse climatic conditions, so will I. Storms and snow covered vistas are fabulous environmental backdrops and offer me opportunities to record dramatic landscapes to accompany the final collection, but I generally don’t ask clients to go and stand outside. Let’s take snow as an example. As I write, I’ve just completed two weddings on bitterly cold days where snow fell and the valleys we frequented funnelled blasts of Siberian chills through them so bitter that cheeks would redden within seconds. Both brides suggested they would enjoy that. The reality was different and despite sporting Hunters bought particularly for the day, we retreated pretty quickly. So bad weather for me often results in more indoor photography where I don fast lenses, open up wide in photographic terms and go look for available light tungsten style. I prefer then to report the weather and show how it impacted in real terms on the day. This image from an outdoor ceremony at Notley Abbey near Thame is a perfect example. We’d not long commenced an outdoor service when a roll cloud brought a healthy delivery of heavy rain in seconds. It didn’t [sorry for this] dampen spirits, but it did tell a story of the day. I particularly love the image of the lady at the back rolling the carpet back with her foot.