There’s always something special about photographing a wedding, but being able to capture one right here on home ground in Honiton made Amie and Dave’s day feel that little bit different.

From a relaxed morning of coffee, pastries and wedding preparations, through to a beautiful church ceremony at St Paul’s Church in Honiton, and then an evening full of laughter and celebration at Club 102, this was a wedding packed with personality.

More than anything, what really stood out throughout the day was just how loved Amie and Dave clearly are by the people around them.

My day began with Amie and her bridesmaids as they got ready for the wedding.

Wedding mornings are one of my favourite parts of a full wedding day to photograph. Before the ceremony begins and everything moves up a gear, there is usually a brilliant mixture of excitement, anticipation, nerves and plenty of laughter.

And this one started exactly as a wedding morning should, with pastries and coffee.

As everyone settled in, hair and makeup preparations got underway and the excitement gradually began to build.

For me, photographing the preparations is not just about capturing the dress, flowers and those finishing touches. It is also about documenting all the little moments happening around them, from conversations between friends to reactions, laughter and the things that nobody has planned.

There was certainly one very personal addition to Amie’s wedding preparations.

Amie is a lash technician, and despite it being her own wedding morning, she somehow ended up doing everyone else’s lashes too.

It was one of those moments that summed up the relaxed feel of the morning perfectly. It was completely natural, completely personal to Amie and exactly the sort of memory I love being there to capture.

With everyone ready, it was soon time to head into the centre of Honiton for the ceremony.

A Very Warm Honiton Welcome

St Paul’s Church sits right on Honiton High Street, which created one of my favourite moments of the day before the ceremony had even started.

As Amie arrived and stepped out of the car, people going about their day in the town began stopping to watch.

Then came the cheers.

Seeing people on Honiton High Street stop what they were doing to cheer the bride as she arrived at the church was such a lovely moment. Most of them had no connection to the wedding at all. They were simply sharing in the excitement of seeing a bride arrive for her big day.

It created a wonderful atmosphere outside the church and felt like Honiton itself was giving Amie a little welcome before she walked down the aisle.

As a Honiton wedding photographer, it was particularly nice for me to capture a moment like that right in the heart of the town.

Amie & Dave’s Wedding at St Paul’s Church, Honiton

Inside St Paul’s, family and friends had gathered for Amie and Dave’s wedding ceremony.

It was a lovely church service with plenty of smiles throughout, but there was one moment that made this particular ceremony especially memorable.

Elvis Presley’s “Stuck On You” was included in the service.

Before long, the church was filled with family and friends singing along to Elvis.

It was brilliant.

Weddings do not always have to be completely serious or traditional, and this was one of those moments when everyone could relax, smile and enjoy themselves. Looking around the church and seeing so many people joining in made for some fantastic natural photographs too.

It is exactly why I love approaching wedding photography as a story rather than simply working through a list of photographs.

Of course, the vows, rings and first kiss are hugely important. But years from now, I also want Amie and Dave to look through their photographs and remember what it actually felt like to be standing in that church surrounded by the people they love, including the moment everybody started singing Elvis.

Confetti Outside St Paul’s Church

After the ceremony, everyone made their way back outside onto Honiton High Street.

Then it was time for one of the great wedding day traditions, confetti.

We gathered family and friends together outside St Paul’s, armed them with confetti and created a pathway for the newlyweds.

Amie and Dave then made their way through a shower of confetti, cheers and smiling faces.

Confetti photographs are always slightly unpredictable, which is exactly why I love them. You can organise where everyone stands and give a little guidance, but once the confetti starts flying, you never quite know what is going to happen.

Those genuine reactions are what make the photographs.

With Amie and Dave successfully making it through the confetti tunnel, it was time to continue the celebrations at Club 102 in Honiton.

A Fantastic Wedding Reception at Club 102

From the moment we arrived, there was a fantastic atmosphere at Club 102.

One thing had already become very obvious during the day. Amie and Dave are incredibly well loved.

That became even clearer when I heard about the effort that had gone into preparing the venue for them.

I was told that the owners of Club 102, together with friends of Amie and Dave, had stayed there until after 2:30am decorating and getting everything ready for the wedding reception.

That tells you quite a lot about the couple.

Wedding days are obviously about two people getting married, but they are also about the network of family and friends around them. Seeing how much effort people had put into making the reception special for Amie and Dave was lovely.

And all that work certainly paid off.

Music, Laughter and Plenty of Celebrating

The rest of the evening had everything you could want from a wedding reception.

There was music, laughter, good food, drinks and a room full of people having a genuinely great time.

As the more formal parts of the day came to an end, everyone could simply relax and enjoy themselves.

This is another part of a wedding day that I love photographing.

Once people forget about the camera and become absorbed in the celebration, you get some of the best photographs of the day. There are spontaneous laughs, hugs between friends, conversations, reactions and all the little moments happening around the room.

Those photographs might not always be the ones couples imagine when they first think about their wedding photography, but they can end up being some of the most important.

They capture the people who were there and the atmosphere they helped create.

And there was certainly no shortage of atmosphere at Amie and Dave’s reception.

A Wedding on Home Ground

It was a real pleasure to photograph Amie and Dave’s wedding and to tell the story of a day that took place right here in Honiton.

From pastries and coffee with the bridal party, and Amie taking on the unexpected role of wedding morning lash technician, through to strangers cheering her arrival on Honiton High Street, a church full of people singing Elvis, confetti outside St Paul’s and a fantastic celebration at Club 102, there was so much personality throughout the day.

But the lasting impression was the people.

Amie and Dave were surrounded throughout their wedding by friends and family who clearly think the absolute world of them.

And being able to capture that is what wedding photography is really all about.

Planning a Wedding in Honiton or Devon?

If you’re planning your own Honiton wedding, getting married elsewhere in East Devon or celebrating anywhere across the South West, I’d love to hear about your plans.

My approach to wedding photography is natural, relaxed and focused on telling the story of your day, from the big moments you know are coming to all the little ones you never saw happen.

Get in touch with S A Thomson Photography to tell me about your wedding day.