One of favourite micro weddings | Oxfordshire Golf Hotel wedding
When it comes to wedding photography during Covid, I definitely have a few faves but I think that Charlotte and Alex’s micro wedding at the Oxfordshire Golf Hotel and Spa was one of the best.
Micro weddings were thrust upon us pretty much by the pandemic; it was a simple case of small or nothing. But after a year of not being able to work as a wedding photographer, it was actually a lovely way back into wedding photography.
Micro weddings are typically around two to three hours long so technical with nine hours of photography, Charlotte and Alex’s wedding wasn’t exactly micro. What made it micro was that there just 30 guests as we were still in a partial lockdown.
When they booked their wedding at the Oxfordshire Golf Hotel and Spa, Charlotte and Alex had hoped to invite over 100 guests, and have photography from bridal prep to twilight. Hence the nine hours. Of course, the pandemic changed a lot of things but they decided to stick with the time line.
A few weeks before the wedding, I went out to the venue to meet Charlotte and Alex and agree the final plan for their wedding photography.
And that’s when I knew I wanted to take the the portrait with the enormous tree overlooking the golf course that you can see further down. On the actual wedding day, this photo almost didn’t happen.
We’d had torrential rain for several weeks in the run up to the wedding and the ground was literally waterlogged.
One of the challenges of wearing a wedding dress is keeping it clean. Luckily Charlotte was a pretty laid-back bride and we found a partially dry route across the grass to get this photo with the Oxfordshire countryside in the background.
I should say she also had a sheet of plastic with her that we laid under the dress. It didn’t show in this photo but I did have to edit it out of a couple closer images at the same location.
A venue bathed in beautiful window light | Oxfordshire Golf Hotel wedding photography
Of course, the photo on the hill at the Oxfordshire was taken much later in the day but even before that time, Charlotte was probably the most relaxed bride I’ve ever met. Perhaps working in the A&E department of a London hospital helps.
Getting ready was a team effort as you’d expect with lots of family and friends involved. Charlotte’s bridesmaids included her best friend Katie, and sister Emma – you can probably see the resemblance.
I’m thrilled to say that Emma alos asked me to photograph her wedding the following eyar, based on her experience of meeting me at Charlotte’s wedding.
One of the things I loved about the Oxfordshire Golf Hotel and Spa was the beautiful northern light that bathes the bridal suite. Most of the photos you see here were taken using only window light. I like this next photo of Charlotte having her dress buttoned up while Emma looks on.
If you’ve ever been involved in bridal prep, you know that it often runs late. Charlotte’s weddign was no exception. Things were running about 20 minutes late so I only managed to steal a couple of minutes for portraits with Charlotte before she had to leave for the ceremony.
Here’s one with her dad in the doorway of the bridal suite – I’m actually standing outside as it’s a bit of squeeze around the door. I love the natural light at this venue; it’s perfect for wedding photography.
Oxfordshire Golf Hotel and Spa | wedding ceremony photos
Lockdown weddings were an interesting experience and some of the rules changed my approach to photographing wedding ceremonies.
As you can probably see from this next shot, I was stationed at the back of the room, where I was on strict instruction to stay for the duration of the ceremony.
Given the choice, I’d normally shoot a wedding from the front but if I’d shot this wedding from the front, I wouldn’t have captured this photo of Charlotte and an emotional dad entering the room and I definitely wouldn’t have caught the smile on Alex’s face as she walked up the aisle. Albeit, he might have been smiling at her dad.
The bride looked like a film star
Yes, she really did from some angles, especially in this next photo. Do you know which film star I’m thinking of?
The Oxfordshire has a lot of charm and I really love this next photo under the chandelier. And the one after it on the stairs.
For the confetti shot, Charlotte liked the idea of shooting on the balcony with the view of the golf course and Oxfordshire countryside in the background.
One of the things I loved most about photographing this wedding was that Charlotte and Alex (possibly more Charlotte than Alex) really wanted to be photographed. This proved to be somewhat serendipitous for going outdoors as it was quite windy and cold, plus it rained on and off for most of the day – you really had to be keen.
In case you didn’t get it from the title, the Oxfordshire is also a golf course. The only reason for highlighting the golf aspect, is that it did mean we were quite limited on where we could take photos because the course was too wet for a golf buggy. In fact, this bridge was actually the only place we were allowed to take the buggy on the course.
Fortunately, we were able to walk to my favourite vista at the Oxfordshire.
One of the reasons I like to visit a wedding venue with brides and grooms before the wedding is to come up with ideas for photos I’d like to take. In my mind, these are generally sunny day photos and I did go to Charlotte and Alex’s wedding with a head full of sunny day ideas. I guess some of these will just to wait until I get my next opportunity to shoot at the Oxfordshire.
A micro wedding reception at the Oxfordshire Golf Hotel and Spa
The speeches at the wedding were very entertaining – it’s not that easy to take photos when you’re laughing. Charlotte’s dad was particularly good although his version of Roxanne was particularly bad for their dance together.
For the last few photos of the day, I was fully expecting to do rain under the cover of the entrance portico. But then this happened instead.
So, it had to be a champagne toast to a fabulous day at the Oxfordshire.
The Oxfordshire Golf Hotel and Spa has a lot to offer as a wedding venue. You can find more information about weddings at the Oxfordshire, using this link or by visiting the venue.
If you’re looking for Oxfordshire wedding photography and you’d like to know more about my wedding packages visit my Pricing page
For information small weddings and elopements, visit my micro wedding photography page.
You can see more examples of my work as an Oxford wedding photographer.