Blog - Sophie Duckworth Photography

Rachel & Mike Grittenham Barn

“We had THE BEST day and it wouldn’t have been possible without you. We wanted to say a HUGE HUGE thank you for all your help leading up to and also on the day… We had the most amazing time and everything was SO perfect we couldn’t have asked for anything more – you have been an absolute star :)… THANK YOU for the previews eek they are SO lovely and we can’t wait to see the rest.” R&M

Grittenham Barn Spring Wedding

My second visit to the fabulous, countryside venue that is Grittenham Barn in Petworth. WHAT A PLACE! Donkeys, the cutest dogs, PIGS even, plus of course, Jeff the cat (in the form of the sweetest sequinned adorned hat hiding on a wedding cake tier). We can all agree the weather so far in 2023 has been rather unkind…I don’t think I have avoided checking my weather apps so much, only due to the fear of seeing yet another outdoor family shoot postpone. So when I reluctantly glanced only to see that Rachel and Mike would be blessed with beautiful weather, I won’t lie, I did a happy dance in my car.

The thing is with barn venues, is they are largely darker than the average venue, the rustic-ness is part of their charm, and they often have beautiful surroundings. It is not easy shooting the whole day indoors (but do-able, I can get creative!) so being able to make the most of the space at Grittenham was fab.

After capturing Mike and the boys at the venue setting up, it was time to meet Rachel and her gang of lovely girlies just down the road. I do love a busy bridal prep house! Always someone on hand to help, but mainly because the atmosphere is brilliant and distracting – always useful to curb those pre wedding jitters.

A quick dash back to Grittenham saw me preparing for beautiful Rachel’s arrival in THAT dress with THAT bow at the back (my fave look!) Poor Mike was a little nervous waiting but his lovely group of lads kept him patient and calm. The ceremony was so lovely and smiley and emotional. I knew after seeing the pair of them together this would be a lovely day. The sunshine poured down upon us all, all day and evening, we were superbly lucky. We had about three different outings in the golden hour light and finished off the photos with a stunning first dance and some brilliant shapes thrown upon the dance floor!

It truly was a wedding that had it all, and I will quietly mention that the venue staff, and caterers, Eat the Street, looked after me SO well, something that doesn’t go unnoticed, so thank you. The flowers were by the wonderful Angel Like flowers and were so unique, and truly captured the Spring vibe. I won’t lie, if I book more Grittenham weddings after the last two I’ve had, I will be a very happy lady!

Here are some previews (and some lovely words from the lovely couple themselves) – can’t wait to get stuck into the main edit! x

Amelia & Tom – Albury Fisheries

“Sophie was our wedding photographer earlier this month and she was absolutely incredible! We’ve just received our full set of photos and couldn’t be happier with them. Sophie somehow managed to capture all of the relationships and the little moments and emotions of the day, without us being conscious of being photographed at all. Sophie also went above and beyond to help with everything on the day. She was everywhere all at once – lifting up a dress, carrying a speech, tracking down children – whatever was needed! We are so happy we found Sophie and that she was free on the day – we couldn’t recommend her more!”

AH Previews

Summer Wedding at Albury Fisheries

What a treat it was to return to one of my favourite parts of the Surrey Hills! Albury Fisheries is quite a spectacular space to hold a wedding, goose poop aside, it really does have the most incredible and calming vibe. Perfect for two of the sweetest, gentlest and loveliest of couples. Amelia and Tom’s wedding was one I was looking forward to from the word go, knowing I was working with top class hair extraodinaire Sharon Roberts (I may have mentioned once or twice that she did my wedding hair!) I could tell Amelia had good taste! Meeting her family at her parent’s lovely home was a real pleasure, such genuine and caring people, I knew this would be a lovely day.

Amelia had an army of fabulous bridesmaids, and they were all just SO thrilled for her to see her marry Tom, a truly brilliant person. They are fiercely talented individuals with their own minds and own independence, but together, they are everything. Sometimes I witness a joining of a couple such as this, and I can literally see the love emanating from one another. It was lovely to head back to St James’ Church in Shere once more, I even had my own cones left outside for my car parking space (thank you to Amelia’s brother!). It’s a beautiful village and everyone gathers when a wedding is afoot. The incredible flowers done by Carrie Macey beautiful adorned the church doors and inside too. After an emotional and smile-filled ceremony, thousands of petals fell upon the couple as they made their way to the Fisheries lake.

The weather gods were smiling once again on us (June was a record month of incredible weather wasn’t it!) and the couple were able to enjoy a bustling outdoor reception in amongst their lovely guests. Speeches, as always, were may favourite part to photograph. Amelia’s sister Charlotte absolutely nailed hers with Amelia’s Maid of Honour, and a few tears were shed during Amelia’s father’s very obvious pride as he beamed throughout his own. Tom’s was just so delightful, and I don’t think I saw Amelia stop smiling all day. They were even visited by a less than 24 hours old baby! Humungous kudos to that baby’s Mother, I actually don’t know how she was standing let alone dressed looking as glamorous as everyone else! The day was rounded off by the most beautiful golden hour light ever, and allowed Tom and Amelia to have a few quiet poignant moments by the water, surrounded by swans and cygnets. A pretty special day all round. Thank you lovely A&T for being the best, most easy going and delightful clients a photographer could wish to work with, here are some previews from your day! x

AH Previews

If you’re planning a similar wedding and would like to know more about my approach or have any further questions please just shout!

My Favourites – 2022 Wedding Photography

Best Wedding Photography – 2022

I cannot believe I’m sat here, having finally compiled my 10th ‘best wedding photography of the year’ collection. Little did I know in 2012 when I began this journey, mid-season with just 5 weddings, that I would go on to shoot 28 the following year, and now over 250 weddings. I still pinch myself each year when I reach capacity and have to start saying no to people (the worst part.) So what can I say about 2022! First off, it was a lovely year, I worked pretty much straight through from March to 19th December with no real let up. I juggled days with my son, I started a garden design course to see me through my elder years (career moves take years folk!), I then deferred said course because I realised that it was totally nutty of me to try and balance it all. Now I am safely back in the calm period of the year, catching up on blog posts, planning family shoots and eagerly awaiting 2023’s season.

The photos below took me the LONGEST time ever to curate. I have no idea why, but it never gets easier. Each wedding has its own story, each couple’s day leaves a memory and it can be really hard to choose just a few photos from each day. If you’ve visited before or know my work, then you’ll know that I just want to capture the atmosphere of the occasion. I am obsessed with choosing photos that make you feel something and I really hope I’ve managed that in this post. There are 200 photos below for you to enjoy, to make you smile, laugh, reminisce and relate. If you don’t, then I’ve gone wrong somewhere. I love the couple portraits, confetti, the golden hour, first dances etc, as these are the major things, yet these aren’t what make up the atmosphere of a wedding. What does that, are the fleeting moments, the silly things, the weather, the sniffs into tissues, the hugs, the tears and the unexpected. So here is a post full of all of those things, things I genuinely believe are what I capture best.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart to the 26 couples I worked with (some more than once thanks to covid!), you’ve all be SUCH fun, and trusted me with some of the big stuff in life. I have designed more albums than ever, which is really comforting, as we all know the digital age isn’t a lasting one. So many of you have referred me to your friends and I’m delighted to be seeing lots of you again this year, and incredibly grateful. 80% of my work comes from word of mouth, which makes me feel as though I’m doing something right! Thanks also to the brilliant suppliers I got to see lots of too! I’ve been so well looked after and made firm friends with suppliers I’ve had the pleasure of working with multiple times. A special shout out to Olivia Mills whom I just adore, Gill Pike whom I couldn’t love more, Earth Catering who are the kindest caterers I’ve ever met, and OWP who is always a great laugh to work alongside. If you’re one of my future couples or would like to be, I have an extensive list of recommendations for other areas of your wedding, so please just ask! Enough waffle from me, sit back, enjoy and thank you for reading! x

Best Wedding Photography in Surrey Sophie Duckworth Photography

Are you planning your wedding for 2023 or 2024? If you’d like to know more about my approach or have any further questions please just shout! I’d love to hear from you!