Iwerne Minster Wedding Photographer

Mindy and Justin Wedding in Iwerne Minster Dorset

Wow-what a wedding this was. I have never been that great at writing blogs so I made sure after this wedding I sat down to write about the day because this was truly a wedding to remember!

I first met Justin when we competed together on a ski team at a championship in France. Justin is quite literally a walking lung when it comes to fitness, his Instagram and Facebook is full of photos from his amazing endurance events, including one where he ran 100 miles in a day! Legendary!

Whilst skiing on our second year on the team, Justin asked me if I would like to cover his wedding later in the year to his fiancé Mindy and I was immediately very honoured to say yes.

After several months waiting for the big day with lots of chats talking through their plans for the big day, the day finally arrived for me to drive down from Kingston Upon Thames to Iwerne Minster in the beautiful Dorset Countryside.

Iwerne Minster is an idyllic small village and home to Mindy’s parents where the reception was being held. As I arrived at the house I was immediately met by Mindy’s Dad Niels who immediately welcomed me and gave me a bit of a lowdown on the day’s events. I was immediately taken aback on how beautiful the house and gardens were and knew it was going to be fantastic for photos!

Bridal Prep

So first up it was time to shoot the Bridal Prep which is something I always love to photograph. This is a chance for me to capture all the little details important to the bride and also the laughter and mood of everyone getting ready. Mindy was already getting her makeup done by the very talented Miranda. I always like to start with capturing the detail shots first so I took advantage of the beautiful gardens behind the house to get some shots of Mindy’s stunning dress shoes and jewellery. I had a few hours to capture the Bridal prep so had the opportunity to capture lots of laughter and all the excitement prior to the ceremony. Mindy’s hair was styled by the talented James Colmer and I took the opportunity to get one of my favourite hair spray photos. Hanging around during bridal prep was Frodo (Mindy’s Cat) so I made sure we got some shots of him in to make him feel part of the day. After Mindy got into her beautiful wedding dress, I took the opportunity to get some lovely candid photos of her and bridesmaids laughing and joking with each other. Prior to leaving for the church, we got the opportunity to capture some family photos and also some Bridal photos of Mindy outside in the beautiful gardens pre-ceremony group photos.

The ceremony

A quick dash across the village took me to St Mary’s Church in the heart of Iwerne Minster. Here I had the opportunity to capture some photos of Justin greeting people and lots of natural candid photos of guests excited for the ceremony. Not too long after Mindy arrived, walked down the aisle by her father Niel and each and everyone one watching had huge smiles on their faces! The ceremony was absolutely wonderful with some lovely readings, both a Bishop and a Vicar carrying out the service and the huge round of applause when Mindy and Justin were announced Husband and Wife were ecstatic! One of their guests sung a breathtaking song for the newlyweds, you could hear a pin drop with everyone listening word for word! After the ceremony, everyone gathered outside the church in the warm sunshine before Mindy and Justin had a confetti exit down the church garden steps-always one of my favourite photos of the day!

The reception

Another dash back to Mindy’s parent’s house for the reception where a big marquee had been set up in the field attached to the house. Whilst waiting for the rest of the guests to arrive, I took the chance to get a few photos of the happy Bride and Groom in front of their wedding camper van hired from Dorset Dubhire. The sun was in the perfect spot to get some dreamy portraits at this time and I managed to capture some lovely intimate moments between the happy couple!

Once all the guests arrived back it was time for some cocktail drinks before the group photos. I was fortunate enough to be able to get up high in an upstairs bedroom to shoot the big group photo so everyone could be seen with the beautiful gardens as a backdrop! The guests were then treated to an awesome surprise Chinese Lion dance! It was so cool to see and really unique, the display had them throwing gifts towards the newlyweds and the rest of the guests and both the lions and the drummers put on an amazing display!

Whilst all the guests made their way into the marquee, I stole the couple away for some lovely couples portraits around the gardens and we were even treated to an appearance by Frodo the cat who decided to pop in for a quick photo! Golden hour had just started which is a beautiful time for photos with the sun being lower in the sky! After being announced into the marquee it was time for some food. For their wedding breakfast, the couple and their guests enjoyed the main course of Somerset duck which was absolutely delicious. This was followed by some entertaining and emotional speeches from the Father of the Bride, Justin and his best man Chris. This led to the evening entertainment where 2 of the couple’s guests Jess and Charlotte sang 3 songs in front of Mindy and Justin and the rest of the guests. Their voices were absolutely incredible and it was a really lovely heartfelt gift to the couple!

The Party

After cutting the cake the couple shared their first dance together before several of their guests joined them to start the party. The couple had booked the excellent band Sugar Shack who played some excellent songs and really got the party started. For the final shot of the night, we went outside to capture a quick twilight photo with a brolly in front of the house before I left Mindy and Justin to enjoy the rest of the night with their family and friends.

It was an absolute honour and privilege to capture this wonderful wedding for such an amazing and inspirational couple. Soon after their wedding, they set off on an epic bike ride of South America which I have followed all the way and have been truly inspired and amazed by.

“Alex was the perfect photographer to capture our wedding. From the first point of contact, Alex was professional and gave us the confidence we had made the right choice. Alex made the effort to find out what we wanted from our photographer on the day including must-have shots. On the day Alex had a good time keeping a professional manner and was also very discreet. I hardly noticed Alex in the church even though he was only a few feet away and capturing pictures all the time. We now have an amazing album of photos from our wedding including pictures of Mindy and her bridesmaids getting ready. We have a great selection of family shots, pictures of all the big moments of the day and what we really like is the candid shots of our guests. The aftercare service was also prompt. The photo album contains well finished and edited photos that we and our guests can access online. Plus the USB and photo presentation box is a nice touch. I have already recommended Alex to others getting married as the service was brilliant.”

I hope you have loved reading about their day-now on to the photos!

Are you looking for a creative photographer to cover your wedding day? If so please click on the button and below and lets chat about your plans!