COCKLEY WOODLAND WEDDING WAKEFIELD | OUTDOOR WEDDING OF RYAN AND SCOTT
COCKLEY WOODLAND WEDDING PREP
I was so excited when Ryan and Scott contacted me about shooting their wedding at Cockley Woodland Wedding Venue near Wakefield. The location is so individual and unique setting within a mature and historic woodland of 8 acres which dates right back to the 1790s as part of the Whitley Beaumont Estate. When I spoke to Ryan and Scott they mentioned they admired my landscape photography work and thought I would be able to create a blend, mixing beautiful wedding photography in a natural setting. I was certainly up for the challenge!!
I immediately warmed to Ryan and Scott, they were so enthusiastic about their Wedding Ceremony and has some brilliant ideas of how to make it special, not only for them but also for their guests. So, we chatted through how we could capture all the wonderful moments and discussed location and shooting ideas. After all, it was their wedding and not MY photoshoot (despite being so eager to be part of this brilliant day) and I, as always, wanted to make sure that I delivered a final set of images that would resonate with them and truly reflect the magic of the day.
Groom prep was at Ryan and Scott’s home where I met Scott and his Groomsmaides.
I enjoy this part of the day, capturing the final moment of hair and makeup preparation with a mixture of fun and relaxed and more posed photographs. This sets the tone for the day and we had huge fun making these images.
COCKLEY WOODLAND WEDDINGS, WAKEFIELD – WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY
As said, Cockley Woodland Weddings is a beautiful location for a wedding ceremony and celebration. Within the venue, festoon lighting leads the way through woodland trails from the large car park to the celebration area with its outdoor and indoor covered canopies. Around you are handmade wooden furniture and seating totally in keeping with your natural surroundings. Fire-pits, Shepherd Huts and the woodland bar add to the atmosphere of this amazing and beautiful venue. As a result, the opportunities for outdoor wedding photography are almost limitless and, with my knowledge and skill in ‘after dark’ shooting I was especially excited to create spectacular images when the sun went down.
The venue was prepared beautifully by the staff at Cockley Woodland Weddings with loads of little touches that set the scene. I caught up with Ryan and his brother Ashley who was best-man and captured some groom prep images at the venue.
COCKLEY WOODLAND OUTDOOR WEDDING CEREMONY
The wedding ceremony was beautiful, moving and funny, the guys injecting a little bit of humour into proceedings which had me chucking, never mind the guests! Thankfully the rain held off and we were able to capture some lovely group shots before I headed off with the guys to make their wedding photos. Given the location, and considering the brief, I used as much of the natural surroundings as I could, including the ‘brolly’ shot which most of my couples seem to love!
Before the wedding meal, the guys have a surprise lined up. Now dressed in Scottish Kilts they were ‘piped’ into the beautifully decorated indoor marquee to a rapturous reception from their family and friends. I think Ashley’s best-man speech was probably THE BEST I have heard so far. He had learned to play the guitar solely for this moment and sang his own various of ‘American Pie’ changing the lyrics to tell the story of how the guys met and fell in love. I was professional and worked hard to capture the reactions on people’s faces but I do have to confess having a smile on my face throughout. Well done Ashley, it was amazing!
AFTER DARK WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY – COCKLEY WOODLAND WEDDINGS, WAKEFIELD
If you are looking for a photographer who will be with you throughout the day, even at dusk or when the sun has gone down, then you need to make sure your photographer can work with the available light. Your photographer needs to be competent in the use of flash and off-camera lighting techniques. I am happy shooting in natural light but I also offer that extra dimension to your wedding photography and keep on shooting when the natural light has disappeared, after all, the party is still going strong! ‘Natural light only’ photographers mean just that so choose wisely.
As the evening wore on I made sure I captured all the action on the dance floor before stealing the guys away to make some of the ‘wow’ shots the guys were looking for using combinations of on and off-camera flash techniques. I was able to ask the couple to step out from their evening-do and quickly capture the night-time ‘wow’ shots without keeping the newlyweds from their guests for too long. This is so important because it feels like your day passes so quickly.
In summary, it was an amazing and joyful wedding day set in natural and beautiful surroundings with a huge range of opportunities to capture truly memorable wedding photos you will cherish forever.
Congratulation to Ryan and Scott. I hope you continue to re-visit your happy memories through your wedding photos.
If you would be interested in speaking to me about photographing your wedding at Cockey Woodland Weddings, then please get in touch, it would be great to speak.
