May 3, 20172 min
Updated: May 26, 2020
Yay - my first wedding! Not exactly my first, probably my 201st, but definitely the first time I photographed a wedding. I'd been a videographer for 5-6 years so when I received an enquiry from a friend of a friend asking about photography, I thought there must have been a mistake, but it wasn't. Jenny and Steve were recommended to me by a videographer friend after hearing I was looking to start photography. They were on a tight budget, so our meeting became the perfect fit of opportunity for us both.
I was delighted when I heard they were to be married at such a beautiful venue, Clearwell Castle, not too far from Bristol. Clearwell Castle is a gothic revival mansion based in the Forest of Dean and is by far one of the most popular wedding venues around Gloucestershire and Wales.
I spent a few months practicing and learning all I could learn about photography before the big day. I know almost all there is to know about weddings, so I felt more than confident before the wedding. I believe that half the skills required to become a good wedding photographer are to know the process of a wedding day very well. I have experienced commercial photographer and videographer friends who think weddings are the craziest stressful job you can do! They're not wrong, but a good photographer who's been to plenty of weddings should know and prepare for all eventualities.
When it came to the wedding day, a wave of nerves came over me; my job as a wedding photographer is so important, and the pressure was building up. Eeek! I started taking photos of the dress and shoes when I realised this wasn't much different from filming after all. Up until this point, I'd worked with hundreds of different photographers at over 200 weddings and I realised just how much that experience I had obtained. The whole day went so well, and I enjoyed every bit of it. Some of the photos are my favourites to this day. I'm still friends with Jenny and Steve today and love following their social media posts about their adorable dogs and family adventures.
© Heather Bailey.
Clearwell Castle Wedding Photography By Heather Bailey - Award Winning Wedding Photographer.