Sammy & Thomas Westbury-Orange - The Welbeck Hall Wedding
A relaxed riverside wedding at Welbeck Hall, West Bridgford
Sammy & Thomas’s wedding at Welbeck Hall was a relaxed and joyful celebration in the heart of West Bridgford.
With its historic character and riverside setting beside the River Trent, Welbeck Hall provided a lovely backdrop for a wedding filled with genuine moments, laughter and plenty of personality. From the ceremony through to the evening celebrations, my aim was to capture their day naturally while still creating some beautiful portraits of the two of them together.
Nottingham Wedding Photography
Getting Ready
The day began with the usual mixture of excitement, anticipation and final preparations before the ceremony.
I always enjoy photographing this part of a wedding because there is so much happening naturally — outfits being prepared, people helping one another, little details coming together and those moments when it suddenly starts to feel very real.
Rather than constantly directing things, I try to document the atmosphere as it happens.
Welbeck Hall
A Wedding at Welbeck Hall
Welbeck Hall is a characterful Nottingham wedding venue overlooking the River Trent in West Bridgford.
The historic building, ceremony spaces and riverside surroundings provide plenty of variety for photographs without couples having to travel elsewhere during their wedding day. The nearby river and surrounding outdoor areas also give us opportunities for more relaxed portraits away from the main celebrations.
For Sammy & Thomas, it gave us a great combination of indoor wedding moments and relaxed photographs around the venue.
The Ceremony - Making It Official
With everyone gathered together, it was time for Sammy & Thomas to make things official.
During the ceremony, I work as quietly and unobtrusively as possible, concentrating on the expressions and reactions happening around the room as well as the important moments themselves.
Juggling wedding video and photography for the first look, vows, rings, laughter and reactions from family and friends all form part of the story — and quite often it's those smaller moments between the obvious ones that couples enjoy rediscovering afterwards.
Just Married - Time to Celebrate
Once the ceremony was complete, everyone could finally relax and start celebrating properly.
There were congratulations, hugs, drinks and plenty of laughter as Sammy & Thomas spent time with the people who had come to share their day.
These are some of my favourite photographs to capture because there is very little need for posing or direction — people simply forget about the camera and enjoy themselves, other than posed group sessions, that is. We can't avoid that part..
We also made time for the important family photographs without allowing them to dominate the wedding day.
I like to keep group photographs organised and relaxed so we can capture the people who matter while getting everyone back to enjoying the celebration as quickly as possible.
If you wish to see their full day including evening reception then click the below view full gallery link.