When Tess & Dan chose me as their wedding photographer for their St Pierre Wedding in South Wales, I can honestly say that I was over the moon. It is a venue that I had been longing to photograph at, as it is one of the finest wedding venues in the Cardiff and Bristol area.
St Pierre was originally a small parish and hamlet in the Chepstow area, and the Hotel, now run by the Marriott chain, was a Manor House and deer park. The park is now the golf course. The venue has quite a rustic feel to it, though in the more recently built sections of the hotel, it naturally feels more contemporary.
When I spoke to Tess before the wedding, we spoke about any particular photos that she would like taken, as I do with all of my brides. Sometimes a bride has a clear idea of what she would like and thats great! Some like me to simply 'do my thing' and I love doing that too. Tess had an idea however, and that was to take a picture that incorporated the sky at sunset. You've probably noticed that the sky at sunset can produce an insanely beautiful palette of colours, and the clouds look very dramatic. I thought this was a brilliant idea, and it's something that I'm well versed in, as I've done this type of shot at many weddings before. The technical ability I have is innate and pictures get taken without even thinking about things like settings. It just happens.
We set off down the magnificent driveway (where we made even more cool pictures) and I placed them in the rough just off one of the fairways. Daylight was running out fast here, so there was little chance of being hit by a Titleist balata. After exposing my Nikon camera for the sky, I knew that the couple would have been in total darkness, so here I pulled out my flash and my assistant held it up just off stage left. I really enjoy taking photos when the light is low as I can get really creative with my own lights.
You can check out the venue's website here: St Pierre
Location: Chepstow, South Wales.