It was a scorcher of a day in Belper, Derbyshire. Great weather for an outdoor ceremony with temperatures pushing 30°C! Although traveling to venues is part of the job, I do enjoy driving down the country roads and taking in the farmland views. My first thought arriving at Shottle Hall was "wow, what a lovely venue". I arrived to capture the bridal prep with Magda and allowed enough time to go get some shots of the venue beforehand.

After wondering around capturing the picturesque views of Shottle Hall, I went up to the Rococo room to meet with Magda and start taking some shots of hair and make up. Magda was pretty nervous, which was understandable. She had spend a lot of time planning everything, and along with her young children (plus having one on the way!). I moved to the room opposite to take some shots of the dress. I had to move quick as Robert had arrived and was somewhere in the hotel. The last thing I wanted to do was to bump into him holding the dress! Luckily I managed to go unseen.

The guest had all arrived and got settled outside. When I said it was a scorcher... I meant it! Although the weather was nice and hot sometimes too much sun can cause a few issues from a photography point of view. I needed to try to avoid any harsh shadows on the face and shoot between people squinting due to the sun. It was a lovely ceremony and afterwards we headed to the front of Shottle Hall to get some group formals. We also managed to get a shot of the whole wedding party. For this I had to go upstairs and shoot out of the window!

Just before the meal and me heading off for the day, Magda, Robert and I took a quick stroll around the gardens of Shottle Hall to get some shots of the newly married couple. We had to do this very quickly as the couple was needed back at the venue but I know it was important to Magda to get some nice shots for her, little did she know I would have her running through wheat fields to get those shots!