Salcome Harbour Hotel Wedding
We share the wedding of Sophie and Ian captured by Luke of Pearwood Wedding Photography.
Sophie and Ian were married on the 14th October 2017 at the Salcome Harbour Hotel in Devon. Being a wedding photographer based in Cornwall, it was an exciting opportunity to photograph in a different county and the Salcombe Harbour Hotel was a beautiful location to shoot at.
On the day I arrived at the hotel nice and early. When I’m travelling for a wedding I always ensure to leave as early as possible to arrive in time to get to know the venue, assess the lighting and hunt out the best photo locations for the couple and group photos.
When I was able to meet with Sophie in her hotel room I was greeted by the lovely smiling faces of the two bridesmaids who were dashing around making sure everything was ready for Sophie. The view from the room was incredible, with panoramic views of the whole estuary out to the sea. The sun was shining perfectly, creating an ideal October light which was soft and perfect for natural and bright photos.
The ceremony was held inside the hotel, in a room filled with huge glass sliding doors to let in the light and spacious areas to allow me to walk around the room and stand far back, photographing their moment without being intrusive. I prefer my style to be as natural as possible and it was amazing to be able to capture the wedding as it happened without feeling restricted by space.
When the ceremony had finished, it was time to celebrate with canapes and flowing champagne. We then went for a short walk through the town with the bridal party in tow, towards the slipway, where we had a small wooden boat awaiting us. We went across the river to a small beach, which was only accessible by boat, which provided an idyllic location for couple’s photos of Sophie and Ian and their bridal party.
When we returned to the hotel we finished the group photos, brining in the remainder of their family before it was time for the speeches and wedding breakfast. We were very lucky and had food supplied to us (always happy when we’re fed) which was amazing. The staff at the Salcome Harbour Hotel were awesome and really friendly.
I also got to work along side Babalu Films who are also from Cornwall and makes some of the most incredible wedding films I have ever seen! I was amazed when I watched back their highlight reel from the wedding, such a pleasure to work alongside such talented people.
One of my favourite aspects of the wedding was seeing how much Sophie and Ian valued their family and friends within the wedding. They chose not to have a DJ but instead spent their time speaking with everyone who attended. For their first dance, we headed back onto the decking at the front, where all the guests had sparklers which made for a unique and special moment to capture. As there were sparklers left over, we even had a chance to incorporate these into the photos, with the bride’s brother running around the bride and groom creating cool light trails which turned out great.
About the Photographer
This will be my 3rd year as a wedding photographer. Prior to going it alone, I worked alongside other amazing wedding photographers and videographers where I gained valuable experience at weddings.
How would you describe your photography style?
My vision is to always keep my photos as natural as possible. I want the couples to look through their photos almost like watching a film, so they can visualise each part of their day and relive it as it happened. I try and stay away from anything too forced or posed as this can often be a little awkward for the couple, which can show in the photos. I like to capture the natural lights, smiles and kisses as these are always the best photos and the ones the couples treasure.
What did you love about the day?
The mood was so chilled and the bride and groom were unbelievably nice people, very down to earth and a pleasure to work with. The wedding was amazing, especially considering Sophie planned it all within 3 months of being engaged! The weather was perfect and the location couldn’t be more idyllic.
What advice would you give to couples planning their wedding day?
I think the most stressful part of the day for the couple and photographer is more often than not the group photos. If you have a list of 30+ group shots, trying to gather everyone and taking multiple shots can go on for a while, using up valuable time of the day which could be spent for having fun and enjoying your wedding. Instead I recommend just having the photos that are truly important to the couple, very close family and friends. Most of the time when people book me it’s because they like my natural style and group photos tend to be the opposite. With my style, everyone is captured naturally when they don’t realise it, which are always the best ones.
A testimonial from the bride and groom.
Luke from Pearwood Wedding Photography exceeded any expectations we had for our wedding photos. When we looked at our online gallery of photos (may I add this was 4 days after we got married which is incredible) we were absolutely blown away with them. Every second of the day was captured perfectly. We thankfully managed to secure Luke at short notice for our wedding. We live in Manchester and decided to get married in Salcombe.
We love Devon but this meant we had to compromise on enlisting suppliers we found on the internet as we did not
know anybody in the south of the UK. As you can imagine this made us feel nervous as you only get one chance at capturing your wedding photos. As the wedding was at short notice we didn’t manage to meet Luke beforehand; we did however speak which gave me confidence that all the shots I wanted would be taken. Luke also offered to answer any questions I had and was in general very helpful. I felt
more relaxed at this but still didn’t know what to really expect.
The first time we met was on the wedding day. I was expecting to feel a little awkward having strangers with me all day taking photos; but it was in fact the complete opposite. They actually added to the day as they were such fun and lovely guys. Both myself and my husband are not that confident in front of the camera so I made Luke aware of this, I thought we would actually make his job so hard trying to
capture any nice photos. This is why we were so shocked at how happy and comfortable we are in the photos, there are some absolutely amazing ones of us. So amazing I can’t actually believe they are us! I’m not sure where those people came from! Luke must have some magic powers to bring out the best in people! Luke was more than willing to do anything we suggested, this included taking a boat across the estuary to the beach which I would think some people wouldn’t be too happy about, taking photos of our dog and being very creative using sparklers. Luke’s willingness made our day so much easier as I wasn’t worrying about them at all, I was more focused on enjoying myself.
Luke went above and beyond for us. Firstly, as mentioned he captured incredible photos; one to mention is myself and my husband on the beach with my veil blowing in the wind. It honestly looks like it could be in a magazine yet it is still so natural.
Secondly, he gave us a complimentary online gallery (we didn’t realise what we would have missed out on if we had not got this, it was such a great feeling looking at the photos online and being able to share them with our family and friends).
Finally, we received a beautiful wooden box in the post filled with a wooden USB of our photos and a collection of prints from the day. It was more than we expected and brought back all those lovely feelings from the wedding again. With the USB Luke changed some of the photos from black and white to colour and vice versa without a fuss. He has been so accommodating with every aspect from start to finish.
I would recommend Luke to anybody looking for the perfect wedding photographer. From the bottom of our hearts we thank Luke, he has given us something we will treasure forever.