Marc Bates

TWO YEARS AGO…

Jake & Claire Wakelin, were married at Swyford Manor. It was 2021 and the most hectic wedding season that I have ever experienced. All of the weddings that year were full on and high energy events. The relaxation of Covid restrictions meant that people could finally come together and celebrate. It meant that people could finally see their loved ones after over a year of being locked down. I was used to the excitement of the weddings from that year, but the wedding of Claire and Jake was on another level entirely. It was a non stop, laughter filled, adventure, and I had so much fun!

Claire and I were introduced by a mutual friend and by the time we spoke, they had already secured a wedding photographer, but she fell in love with my work and so the other supplier was asked to provide the videography. It was a huge compliment, and I immediately knew I was going to have the best time with these clients. At the time of writing this piece, Jake and Claire are celebrating their second wedding anniversary. This past year for them has been a mixture of joy and sorrow. Most recently they welcomed a new baby into their family, but sadly Jakes Father passed away. They went from two of my favourite clients to people I speak to regularly. I wanted to share some of my favourite images with you from the wedding day and the evening reception. I have re-edited them all to be in black and white.

 

THE DAY

 

 

EVENING RECEPTION

FINAL THOUGHTS

In my work I always want to capture the realism and unique events of your wedding day. I want the photos to full represent what happened instead of creating a series of generic images of each of the weddings I shoot. From the Bridesmaids steaming the dress to reaction from the Father of the Bride, to the Best man getting the confetti out of the hair, it was all a pleasure to capture. I particularly loved the moment where one of the Best men planned a surprise for the Groom during the evening reception. He has connections in the Music industry and so he arranged for Lemar to come and sing a couple of his songs. Jake was so happy and even grabbed the mic to serenade his Bride…You can tell from the reaction that perhaps his singing voice still needs some work.

This was a special day as all weddings are, but there was something different about this one. There was a much deeper connection between the people in attendance and you could tell the friendships in the room were solid and in many cases built up over many years together.
You could see and feel a love and universal acceptance of everyone. This extended to myself and I felt very welcome to be with everyone and share this time with them.

I will forever be grateful to Claire and Jake for choosing me to be their wedding photographer.

Marc x