Kate & Andy - Humber Barn - Trioh Media - Honest Wedding Photography & Videography

Wedding Venue: Humber Barn

DESTINATION: Devon

WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY

A wedding at the coast:

My partner Emily and I like to travel, in fact one of the reasons that I'm able to offer wedding photography and videography all over the UK and Europe is because we're on the road for the majority of each year. Two of our most favourite places to visit are the Devon and Cornwall coastline, so we're always super happy whenever I get a booking for a wedding in either of those areas. Kate and Andy's big day was set to take place at the amazing Humber Barn - a relatively new wedding venue located in the south of Devon.

With most of my bookings I don't usually get to physically meet my couples until their wedding day. Typically initial introductions are done via video call but occasionally we'll be lucky enough to meet in person. I had just finished photographing a wedding the historical town of Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire and as luck would have it, Kate and Andy would be passing by and so we met up at a local coffee shop. At first they came across as quite shy and a little reserved, but once the caffeine had kicked the conversation started flowing, their personalties were showing and before we knew it; it felt like we were old friends.

Keeping It Real:

Bridal prep was at Kate and Andy's stunning home in Torquay, South Devon. Being invited into someone's home, their personal space, is not something I take for granted. I like to make the most of being granted the opportunity to capture genuine moments and un-staged photographs of my clients in a place that only their family or closest friends would usually have the privilege to do so. I like to keep things as real as possible. Not every shot is needs to look prim and proper. If a room is messy I will, through composition (but never physically), remove anything from the frame that acts as a definite distraction, but I won't attempt to make it look tidier than it is. Leaving things how they are brings life to the story - it shows that the house is "lived-in", characterful, more real and that, to me, is far more interesting than photographing a "perfect" showroom. I try to present an attractive - yet honest - narrative of the day but I'm not pretending that the wedding day is something that it isn't. It is often in - what some would call - the "imperfections", that I find the most character. The half empty champagne flutes, the hand drawn list of 'things to remember', the scattered containers of eye-liner, foundation and hairspray; they all add to the story of a wedding.

Chickens and wedding rings:

As mentioned previously, this wedding took place at a fairly new wedding venue. Set within the rolling fields of Devonshire, Humber Barn takes advantage of the stunning views of Dartmoor and is blessed with a rustic yet charming feel. The ceremony took place in the old lambing shed and being surrounded by hay bales and fairy lights gave the ceremony a relaxed and fun vibe, which was suitably matched Kate and Andy's personalities. Partway through the ceremony we had a guest appearances from a few of the resident chickens, which only added to the charming and cheerful aesthetic that this lush little venue had to offer.

In our pre-wedding meeting, Kate specifically asked me to include any "silly or goofy" pictures in their wedding album. Being someone who always wants to go the extra mile for my clients, I made sure to capture and include any "silly or goofy" shots that I could. A big part of being a successful wedding photographer is being able to capture your clients charisma and personality, and I absolutely love when people share the kind of humorous and childlike playfulness that Kate and Andy have, the world needs more of it.

Everything's Magic:

The evening was just as fun - yet somehow simultaneously relaxed - as the first half of the day. The weather was incredibly inconsistent, and although we didn't get the jaw dropping sunset that we had hoped for, we still proceeded to head out for a quiet walk around the beautiful surrounding fields. Kate and Andy seemed to be the type of couple that are often quite reserved when surrounded by others, but when you get the two of them on their own, they let their guards down and like two newly-in-love teenagers, a playful, comical and somewhat mischievous side to them appears. One of the many things that I love about my job is getting the opportunity to photograph this kind of raw love and affection. I barely spoke a word throughout our walk around those fields and I didn't need to, the magic was there right in front of me, and all I had to do was smile and press the shutter button.

Dancing the Night Away:

The evening came to an end with a traditional ceilidh (a barn dance on steroids) and a very talented magician. I've seen quite a few magicians at weddings over the years, but this guy was next level. Wrap your head around this; this master of magic, he asked me to pick a card, I picked my card while making sure he couldn't see it, it was the King of spades, I then placed the card back into the pack and gave it a shuffle, he then smiled and calmly walked away. "what a rubbish trick" I though to myself. The next day, I decided to check this guy out and found my self on his website, I clicked to enter the website and you wouldn't believe which card pops up on my screen - the king bloody of spades! MIND BLOWN.

Anyway his name is Johnathan Bitel and I seriously recommend checking him out. I'll leave you with some more pics of this fun filled day of magic, wild dancing, good music and great company.

Much love - Rob