Cambridge Wedding Photographer | Cambridgeshire Wedding Photography

One of the nicest things about being a wedding photographer in Cambridge has got to be the opportunity to photograph in some of the most beautiful old buildings in the country. For me at least, this is slightly ironic because I think my main skill as a photographer lies in terms of photographing people and emotions and I don’t feel as though I have a natural flair for “landscape” photography. I don’t naturally take lots of photographs of architecture and locations at a wedding, I’m not really into the bride being a speck in the corner of a vast sweeping vista but am much more closely aligned with Robert Capa’s famous quote about “if the photograph isn’t good you’re not close enough”!

 Despite my musings above it’s very difficult not to be impressed by Downing College and the first thing you notice is that it is absolutely huge!! There is so much space, big imposing column clad buildings, vast lawns and long tree lined avenues. I love the almost artificial grandeur of it and the outrageously audacious spacing out of the buildings.

 As a wedding venue it has a huge number of possibilities. There are smaller drawing room – like rooms, a separate building with its own private gardens, the huge main hall with outrageous chandaliers and marble columns, a more modern annex perfect for serving your drinks reception, terraces for sitting on, sweeping lawns and gardens surrounded by mature trees, smaller intimate corners and gardens as well as the imposing exteriors of the main buildings. These are fantastic for taking photographs on; columns are great for leaning on, the light is nicely directional and there are large steps big enough for photographing large groups on as well.

 The other rather helpful thing about Downing is that there is ample parking on site – there seems to be no need to book a parking space two weeks before the wedding as at the smaller colleges, it is also very easily accessable for your guests being just slightly out of the city centre.

 One of my nicest memories of photographing at Downing College was at the end of an afternoon at a wedding on a beautiful balmy summer evening last year. The guests were eating the wedding breakfast and I sat in the warmth and slightly fading light on the grass under the trees safely backing up and editing some of the images from the day onto my laptop. This is always a great time at a wedding; feeling like I had almost completed a job well done, looking at the images from the day for the first time. The sun was going down behind the buildings and the light was golden and beautiful and in the distance I could here music from a festival playing on Parkers Piece. Best of all I had a sandwich in my hand and a self congratulatory Snickers Bar to look forward to! Happy days!

You can visit the Downing College website here

The Old Bridge Hotel has an extremely steep car park! I say this because, as a starting point for this post I was thinking about what characterised the Old Bridge in my mind and the car park was the first thing that came to me! I first visited the hotel about, well it must be nearly twenty years ago (yikes!!), in one of my first cars which was an old school black mini (very funny if you have met me as I`m 6′ 5″ tall!) which had seen better days and the handbrake kept slipping! You can guess the rest!

It also has a huge number (considering it`s relatively “bijou” size – love that word!) of different little areas to photograph in ranging from ivy clad corners, a walled garden, a riverside wooded area and overhanging trees outside to stylish big bathrooms, a rather cool contemporary bar area, traditional leather clad sofa sitting rooms and dining room, a bright almost conservatory style restaurant inside to mention but a few!

I have photographed a lot of weddings at the Old Bridge and have always thought of it as being a rather cosy and intimate venue. The staff are very attentive and organised and I have heard several recommendations for the food. In fact one couple I photographed there went there for a meal after they got engaged and booked the hotel for their wedding venue on the strength of the quality of food and service they received that evening! It`s riverside location is fantastic and lightwise, as the wedding celebrations draw into the evening, it is great as the sun warms the gorgeous walled garden during the afternoon and then sets over the river in the evening.

If you are planning a slightly more intimate wedding and are looking for a venue with masses of experience and also a touch of class then I would highly recommend the Old Bridge. You can visit the website here and see some more of my wedding pictures on their website here.