Late Night Wedding Photography

To me, the purpose of wedding photography is to tell the story of the day so that the pictures take you back to the day so you can relive it all over again. Traditional wedding photography ends with the first dance, as it’s the last staged moment of the day. Photography which is timed around the main moments of the day is going to focus on those and every wedding gallery will start to look the same. But weddings are not all the same. When you look past the big headline moments there are lots of smaller moments happening which are unique to each day, and just important. Capturing all these together builds a more complete story of the day.

This means that when I photograph a wedding I don’t leave after the first dance. For lots of photographers there is nothing important to capture as it’s “just a party” and “nothing happens” – both things other photographers have said to me when they find out I stay for several hours after the first dance. But the evening party is just as much a part of the day as everything that came beforehand and I think it’s important to be there to capture it. The late night shots show a different side of the people at the wedding, the ties loosen and the shots come out and everyone lets their hair down. Often you’ll see people dancing at weddings who you don’t normally see dance, such as parents and grandparents. Capturing a bride or groom dancing with their parents is a one off moment in someone’s life and documenting that moment.

Below are a selection of images from weddings all taken after the first dance.

If you like the idea of your wedding day being captured in a way which truely documents the entire occation and allows you to feel what it’s like to be there all over again please get in touch.