ALTERNATIVE WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER – CHARLIE vs JAKE

Being an alternative wedding photographer in Manchester is pretty awesome. So much in fact that on this occasion I was a photographer in Brighton too!

Just where do you start when trying to describe campsite wedding photography? Well, I’ll start at the beginning. Charlie, our bride, is a friend of a friend, and the wedding was being held at a Pop-Up Campsite, all the way down in Steyning, near Brighton, so my job started the day before the wedding, not on the morning of the wedding itself. 

After a 7 hour drive from Manchester I rocked up in the early evening, set up my tent, and then armed with just one camera and a 35mm prime lens, I followed everyone to the pub. Not knowing anyone, what else could I do but make friends with everyone and simply shoot what followed. Charlie and Jake and their friends were so chilled and easy to get on with, I soon felt part of the gang and just using one camera – I think all my gear at the pub would look a bit silly – worked pretty well.

I won’t lie, I had a few pints of guiness at the pub. Why not? Everyone else was! Then we headed back to the campsite and sat round the campfire. This was just awesome. I chatted away to people and shot when a good photo presented itself. First time shooting so much by a campfire….I’m such a geek, I was already looking forward to editing the shots when I got home!

Slowly people retired to their tents. I stayed up perhaps a little later than I should and the retired myself. I certainly wasn’t the last to go to bed and the next day I learned that a hardcore few had stayed up until 5am! I started taking photos almost as soon as I woke up. Today was the day of the ceremony and you could smell the excitement (and the remnants of the fire from the night before!)

Jake, Charlie and pals set about setting up the campsite’s barn for the wedding.  Decks, live drums, beer pump, it really felt like a festival. Our bride and groom shared a love of not just music, but competitive rowing so giant rowing oars had been brought to be held upright to make an ‘aisle’ for Charlie to walk down.