I photograph weddings of all sizes, from intimate weddings with just a handful of guests to extravagant weddings with 200 or more. One of the things I always look out for is groups of guests. As a documentary wedding photographer I very rarely take the typical ‘large group shot’ of every guest stood in front of the venue. There are several good reasons for this. Firstly, these large groups take time to organise. This is time that the bride and groom don’t spend enjoying their day with their family and friends. But perhaps more importantly, by controlling the entire wedding party and effectively announcing myself as the ‘official photographer’ in this way, it makes it much more challenging to then blend in and continue shooting in my documentary style.

So instead, I always look for different naturally formed groups at weddings. Over the Christmas break I was covering a wedding at St Audries Park in Somerset. St Audries is a beautiful venue and has a rather handy balcony that overlooks the main reception room. Whenever I cover a wedding here I like to make my way up there at several opportune moments of the day to photograph guests milling around, laughing and even dancing later in the evening.

I like this picture as both a record of the reception room, and a record of the guests.