ARTHUR & KIREN’S CHENIES MANOR HOUSE WEDDING DAY

A relaxed morning at Chenies Manor

Kiren spent the morning getting ready at Chenies with her mum, two sisters and bridesmaids.

I always like this part of a wedding day to feel observational rather than staged. There is normally plenty going on without me needing to manufacture moments: hair and make-up finishing, people coming and going, family seeing the dress for the first time and that gradual change in atmosphere as the ceremony gets closer.

Arthur was getting ready separately with his groomsmen, which meant I could move between the two preparations while making sure Arthur and Kiren didn’t accidentally bump into each other before the ceremony.

One of the advantages of having so much of the day taking place at one venue is that everything can remain incredibly relaxed. Nobody needs to disappear for long journeys between locations and I can move between different parts of the day without interrupting what’s happening.

An outdoor ceremony in the gardens

Arthur and Kiren had already completed the legal part of their marriage, which gave them the freedom to make their ceremony at Chenies completely personal.

A close friend led the ceremony outside in the gardens, with around 80 friends and family gathered around them.

There were no lengthy formalities. Instead, the focus was simply on Arthur and Kiren, their vows and the people they had invited to share the day with them.

It’s one of the things I particularly enjoy about outdoor ceremonies. When the weather allows, they have a completely different atmosphere. Guests feel connected to everything happening around them and, at a venue like Chenies, the gardens effectively become another part of the ceremony.

From a photography perspective, I try to interfere as little as possible.

I’d much rather Arthur and Kiren remembered looking at one another and seeing their friends and family than remembered where their photographer was standing. My job is to anticipate what’s going to happen and quietly capture it.

Confetti and time to actually enjoy the wedding

Immediately after the ceremony, Arthur and Kiren disappeared for a few minutes while everyone was organised for the confetti.

It’s a small detail, but it makes a huge difference.

Rather than spending 20 minutes greeting everyone and then having to pull themselves away again for a photograph, they could walk back out through the confetti and then properly enjoy that first rush of congratulations afterwards.

From there, the wedding simply spilled out into the gardens.

This was deliberately left as breathing space in the day. Drinks, canapés, hugs, conversations and all those little moments between guests are often where some of my favourite photographs happen.

There is no need to turn a wedding into a photoshoot.

Keeping the family photographs simple

Arthur and Kiren wanted family photographs, but they didn’t want to spend a huge part of their reception standing in lines having pictures taken.

I completely agree with that approach.

We planned the important groups for later in the drinks reception, rather than taking Arthur and Kiren away immediately after their ceremony.

It meant they could first spend time with their guests before we gathered the family together for a short, organised set of photographs.

Having the photographs planned in advance also means I can work through them quickly. Someone helps gather the next group while I concentrate on making sure everyone in front of me looks their best.

Then it’s done.

Arthur and Kiren could get straight back to their wedding rather than wondering when the photography was going to finish.

Bringing two families and cultures together

One of the lovely personal details in Arthur and Kiren’s day was a small exchange of garlands between their families.

Rather than creating a large separate ceremony around it, they incorporated the tradition naturally into the afternoon, with their parents and siblings involved.

Those are often the details that make a wedding particularly interesting to photograph.

Traditions don’t have to dominate the entire day to be meaningful. Sometimes a relatively small moment tells you a great deal about the two families coming together.

That continued into the wedding breakfast, where Arthur and Kiren had chosen a contemporary European-Indian menu rather than a completely traditional Indian wedding feast.

It reflected the whole feel of the wedding: taking elements that meant something to them and combining them in their own way.

Dinner and speeches in the Garden Room

Guests moved into the Garden Room for the wedding breakfast, with speeches spread between the courses rather than all delivered in one long block.

Again, it kept everything feeling relaxed.

Wedding speeches are one of my favourite parts of a day to photograph because I’m rarely concentrating solely on the person speaking.

I’m watching Arthur and Kiren, of course, but also their parents, siblings and friends.

A great line in a speech can create half a dozen photographs at once: somebody laughing uncontrollably on one table, a slightly embarrassed parent on another, or the brief look between a couple when a story means something particularly personal to them.

Those reactions tell as much of the story as the speech itself.

Exploring the gardens for portraits

We deliberately left Arthur and Kiren’s couple portraits until later in the day.

By then the ceremony was finished, family photographs were done, everyone had eaten and there was nothing left that they needed to worry about.

It’s usually a much better moment to disappear together for 20 or 30 minutes.

Chenies Manor has an extraordinary amount of variety within a relatively small area. Historic architecture sits alongside formal gardens, lawns, paths, mature planting and quieter corners away from the main wedding.

It means we don’t have to travel anywhere or turn portraits into a big production.

Instead, we can take a walk.

I give a little direction when it’s needed, particularly with composition and light, but I don’t want couples frozen into poses for every photograph.

The aim is elegant portraits that still look and feel like Arthur and Kiren.

And if the Buckinghamshire skies happen to deliver some beautiful evening light, we’re already in exactly the right place to make the most of it.

First dance, new outfits and a macaron tower

Back inside, Arthur and Kiren had their first dance while still wearing their original wedding outfits before joining everyone on the dance floor.

Later in the evening came another change.

Kiren changed into a red dress, while Arthur switched into an Indian-inspired outfit, giving the evening celebrations a completely different feel.

And rather than a traditional wedding cake, they had a macaron tower.

There was no ceremonial slicing of three tiers of cake. Arthur and Kiren simply fed one another a macaron, which felt entirely appropriate for a wedding where they had consistently taken traditions and adapted them to suit themselves.

By then, formalities were largely over.

The DJ had everyone dancing, and a pizza truck arriving later in the evening provided exactly the kind of refuelling required for a dance floor that wasn’t showing many signs of stopping.

A wedding that felt like Arthur and Kiren

That’s what I liked most about Arthur and Kiren’s plans for their wedding.

Nothing felt as though it had been included simply because that’s what weddings are supposed to contain.

The ceremony was personal. Their families and cultures were represented. Formal photography was kept short. They had time to enjoy drinks with their guests. Portraits happened when everyone was relaxed. A macaron tower replaced the wedding cake and pizza arrived once everyone was dancing.

It created a wedding that felt sophisticated without becoming formal and personal without becoming overly complicated.

Exactly the kind of wedding I love photographing.