Another summer 2014 wedding and another encounter with the clergy. Mike and Jane were getting married in their former local church although I didn’t think they had been regular members of the congregation there. It was a Saturday wedding with a reception at The Walton Park Hotel, Clevedon, Somerset, UK.

They were blessed with a glorious sunny day. Not so great for photographers, with those long noon shadows across everyone’s faces, but fantastic for everyone else.

I started the day at the hotel, where Jane and her party were getting ready, before making my way back to the church to meet Mike and his entourage. The dress code was quite funky as both Mike and Jane were into surfing. The guys were wearing suits with converse trainers. The guys lapel flowers had small Lego figures, each with a character trait for that particular person.

All went well outside the church and I had plenty of time for the guys shots and a few guests as they started to arrive. At that point I ducked into the church to check out my things inside. I had visited the church, two days prior to the wedding and spoke to a female vicar there. I asked if it would be possible to position myself at the front of the church for the service. She told me it wouldn’t be her marrying the couple on the day but said there wouldn’t be a problem with me being at the front.

With that in mind I started to place some equipment to the side of the alter when the vicar who was running the service approached me and asked me what I was doing. I was initially taken aback by his tone and attitude because the guy was just downright rude. He bluntly told me “Your not going to be there through the service. You can position yourself at the back until we’re finished”. He then patronisingly pointed out a step near the front I wasn’t to cross.

It wasn’t the first time I’d been treated like this by a member of the clergy. I’m not the only one it seems, following recent newspaper stories about photographers, complaining about the treatment they’ve received from some of these people. This vicar was just obnoxious, for what reason I’ve no idea. I’d done nothing to antagonise him.

Shooting from the front of the church was always going to be a bonus anyway, so shooting from the back of the church it was. I was just trying to do my best for Mike and Jane. A simple “would you mind moving to the back of the church” would have sufficed.

It was a nice service in the church, with several readings and then it was outside to grab the group shots in the grounds of the church. Walton Park Hotel is a nice venue but the grounds are not the best for photo locations as it’s built into a steep slope.

Mike and Jane had told me prior to the wedding that they had booked two vintage VW Camper Vans to transport the bridal party between the church and hotel. They wanted to go somewhere, with the vans, to take some pics of them and the bridal party. We’d agreed the church or hotel wouldn’t be much use for that.

Initially I wondered where we could go, trying to stay local, somewhere with plenty of space but without too many members of the public around, especially with it being a Saturday. In the end I found a simple solution. I was still working for the police at the time so, I asked the groundsman for our force headquarters premises if we could use the grounds there. He was fine with that so we had an area the size of two soccer pitches to ourselves, which worked out really well.

Afternoon shots done, we headed for the hotel and the wedding breakfast. That followed the usual routine and following the speeches I touched base with the hotel wedding co-ordinator. she then sprung a big surprise on me when she told me we were off to Clevedon Pier in twenty minutes time, with Mike and Jane, to take some pictures there. Problem was, they hadn’t told me they’d booked the pier.

The pier allowed wedding photography, for a fee, and you get a thirty minute slot. If I’d known we were going I would have been prepared with some poses and a flash gun and brolly, but I just didn’t have time to sort that out. I don’t know why they hadn’t told me about the pier being booked. It was such a shame. We did get some nice shots but they could have been so much better if I’d been forewarned.

All in all this was a nice wedding. We did come away with plenty of great images. We left shortly after the visit to the pier. We didn’t know at the time but this was to be the penultimate wedding for my fledgling wedding photography business.

All images: ©Stephen Hyde 2007-2025 – All rights reserved.