Weddings aren't about the photographs.

Which is an odd thing for a photographer to say. But I've shot close to 400 of them since 2016, and the best ones are always the weddings where the couple got on with enjoying it and let me get on with my job.

I'm Aaron. I photograph and film natural, documentary weddings across North Yorkshire, York, Harrogate, County Durham, Northumberland and the rest of the UK. North East Wedding Photographer of the Year 2022, with over 60 five-star Google reviews.

What actually happens on your wedding day

Most of it gets photographed exactly as it happens: the nerves in the morning, the reaction as you walk in, the speech that goes off-script, the bit late on where somebody's uncle discovers the dance floor. No recreating moments, no interrupting anything.

Portraits take about twenty minutes. Not an hour. My quickest was ten, because the sky finally did something worth using after a grey day. If the light's brilliant later we might slip out for another five, but only if you fancy it.

Family photographs take about fifteen. There's a method to it. You two stand in one spot and stay there. I call in the biggest group first and work down to the parents, then swap in the other side and build back up. Nobody stands around for half an hour waiting to be called.

If you've booked film, it's still just me. No second crew, no boom mic, nobody walking backwards down the aisle in front of you. Switching between stills and video is a button on the camera. Most couples tell me afterwards they'd forgotten the film was happening at all.

What happens when it goes wrong

Weather changes, timings slip, the ceremony overruns, the heavens open ten minutes before you were due outside. I've seen all of it and I'll work round it without making it your problem.

Twice now the weather has been bad enough that I wasn't happy with the portraits. Both times I went back out with the couple a few days later and did them again properly. That isn't a service I advertise. It's just what you do when the pictures aren't good enough.

Who I work best with

Couples who've planned something that feels like them rather than a template, and who'd rather spend the day with the people they invited than posing for a stranger. Country houses, barns, castles, city venues, somewhere unexpected. The venue changes, the aim doesn't.

You don't need to be confident in front of a camera. Almost nobody is. You won't be left wondering what to do, and you won't be marched through a list of poses either.

If you want the day mapped out minute by minute and stuck to, I'd honestly point you elsewhere. I work best when there's room to move.

What's included

• Full-day coverage from morning preparations into the evening, with no finishing time
• 500+ edited, high-resolution photographs
• Private online gallery
• Sneak peeks within 24 hours
• Twenty-minute couple portraits
• Family group photographs, organised properly
• Planning calls whenever you want them
• Drone photography where conditions and restrictions allow

Pre-wedding shoots, handmade albums, a short creative film and a second photographer can all be added.

Collections

Full-day photography starts at £1,500. Add a pre-wedding shoot and a handmade album for £1,900, or photography, album and a wedding film for £2,500. A £100 booking fee holds the date.

Get in touch

Send me your date, your venue and a bit about the two of you. I'll tell you straight away whether I'm free and recommend the collection that actually suits your day rather than the most expensive one.