I had never heard of The Parlour at Blagdon until earlier this summer. Three months later and I have three weddings booked there. There is a real buzz about this unique, boutique, shabby-chic wedding venue which is based in Northumberland, just 10 minutes north of Newcastle.

Angela & Andy’s Edinburgh elopement, and this photo of them on the Royal Mile in particular, is a perfect way to talk about street photography at weddings.

What is street photography anyway?

Choosing your wedding venue is traditionally the first thing on your to do list for organising your wedding. It’s probably the most important choice you will make because it informs everything else. It sets the vibe of the day, and therefore how your wedding photographs look, and impacts every other decision you make down the line.

As You Like It is one of the coolest and quirkiest alternative wedding venues in Newcastle. I was working as a Registrar in Newcastle when it opened and it blew the whole wedding scene open in the city.

It’s been a long, learning journey becoming a wedding photographer. I’ve been full time for four years now, photographing weddings in Newcastle, Durham and Northumberland. As I’ve become more established and my reputation has grown I’ve photographed weddings in Yorkshire, the Lake District, Edinburgh and beyond.

I love getting on the dance floor at the end of the wedding day as everyone celebrates and it’s a great opportunity to get some unposed, fun photos.

Over the years I’ve developed a specific technique to get the feeling of the nighttime shenanigans across in the photographs.

I always scout out new wedding venues that I haven’t photographed before. Although I had previously shot a wedding at The Alnwick Garden, I hadn’t photographed inside St Paul’s Church in Alnwick where Noor and Callum’s ceremony was due to be held.

My camera shutter died during a wedding.

But it wasn’t a disaster.

Being a wedding photographer means being prepared and that means having a plan for dealing with the unexpected. I always take a backup camera to every wedding and I shot the rest of the wedding on that body without the couple noticing.

At Zoe & Ed's wedding we had scheduled a sunset bride and groom portrait session but the cloud was low and the skies were the colour of television, tuned to a dead channel. We picked things up later in the night when the rain was falling freely, and I'd broken out my strobes to light the scene.

Some photographs appeal to your head and some photographs get you in the gut. This is a gut photograph.