V & Y Highley Manor Wedding (Second Shooting)

One of the most epic and eventful weddings I’ve ever been to, I still can’t believe it really happened!

In April I once again had the privilege of second shooting for Dominic Smith Photography and it was at one of my favourite venues, Highley Manor in Balcombe. I had no clue what would be in store for us and the April weather did not disappoint; in fact we experienced nearly every single type of weather within the space of two hours! The day started off very sunny but crazy windy. The bride was desperate to have the ceremony outside and all was looking good so we decided to take the risk and go for it.

The whole morning it stayed beautifully sunny but the wind really started blowing a gale. We set ourselves up for the ceremony, and the bridesmaids started walking down the aisle in the bright sun. Perfect. Then it suddenly got dark! I turned around and saw the most enormous black cloud I’ve ever seen coming towards us just as the bride started walking down the path. Within the space of two minutes the weather completely changed. The bride started walking down the aisle in bright sunshine, and got to the altar in torrential hail! They didn’t have much choice but to continue, but the hail got heavier and larger, and started actually hurting people, so we all had to rush under the arch and continued the ceremony under there all huddled together. Of course with my 85mm lens which I now couldn’t change this was a nightmare for photos but it was such an experience. Literally the second they were pronounced husband and wife, the hail suddenly stopped and the sun came out like nothing had ever happened. They walked down the aisle together in the bright sunshine through bubbles which created some amazing glare effects in our lenses. Then during the couple’s portraits the wind picked up again and we nearly lost her veil multiple times. It was then that I realised that I was really unwell and had to take an hour out because I nearly passed out (perfect damn timing eh?). Luckily after some cereal and lots of sugary tea I managed to make it back to shooting for the rest of the day, which ended up with some very cold but very epic night shots of the couple.

So here are my favourites from throughout this epic day, let me know what you think! Such an unforgettable day I was so privileged to be a part of!