Small wedding with just 12 guests

After meeting Anna and Chris at the Bristol Wedding Show, it was clear they were planning something a little different, a super-relaxed and intimate wedding day surrounded by only their closest friends and family.

Including the couple, there were just 11 people present throughout the day. But while the guest list was small, the celebration was absolutely overflowing with love, laughter and genuine emotion.

For me, this is exactly what makes micro wedding photography in Bristol so special. With fewer guests, there’s more time to focus on the people who matter most and capture all those little interactions and moments that might otherwise get lost in a larger celebration.

An Intimate Wedding Ceremony

The day began with a beautiful ceremony at Salisbury Registration Office, a stunning venue that combines antique charm with modern elegance.

The bright, airy rooms provided a lovely setting for Anna and Chris to exchange their vows, with plenty of joyful laughter and a few heartfelt tears along the way.

After the ceremony, we took a gentle stroll around the grounds for some relaxed couple portraits. Rather than spending ages taking formal photographs, we simply enjoyed a little time together and captured some quiet moments of connection before moving on with the celebrations.

That’s one of my favourite things about being a Bristol micro wedding photographer, there’s no need to cram the day full of formalities. You can slow things down and actually enjoy being with the people you’ve chosen to share it with.

An Intimate Riverside Wedding Reception

Just five minutes down the road, the celebrations continued at the picturesque Riverside Hotel. Nestled alongside the River Avon, the hotel offers beautiful riverside views, lush gardens and a wonderfully relaxed setting for an intimate wedding reception.

Anna and Chris hired a private room for their small gathering, with access to the beautiful gardens at the back of the venue. It was the perfect space for their close-knit group to spend time together, eat, drink and celebrate.

A Peaceful End to the Day

As the sun began to set, Anna and Chris treated their guests to a peaceful punting experience along the river.

It was such a lovely way to finish the day, relaxed, intimate and completely different from a traditional wedding reception. Watching the group drift along the river as the evening light began to fade was the perfect ending to a genuinely special celebration.

Anna and Chris’s wedding was a brilliant reminder that you don’t need hundreds of guests or a huge venue to have an incredible wedding day. Sometimes, keeping things small means you can focus completely on the people you love and create something that feels much more personal.

 

“Choosing a photographer is one of the hardest decisions to make when planning a wedding and, although it sounds clique, we knew almost instantly that Simon would be the right fit for us.”
“With neither of us particularly keen on being centre of attention a certain amount of anxiety would be inevitable. From our first proper meeting we knew were in safe hands. Simon has an easy manner where you know he’s taking on board your ideas but can offer suggestions to make sure the results are a thousand times better than you thought they’d be. For example, we knew we wanted bubble confetti but as we were having a small wedding we weren’t sure what it would come out like. Simon suggested getting a few bubble machines to enhance the effect, which not only was great fun on the day but ended being some of our favourite photos.
 
On the day itself, Simon had the ability to blend into the background which relaxed everyone and led to lovely natural photos of us all. However, when we needed to wrangle people for group shots, Simon was able to organise everyone well and put them at ease. Simon also did his homework and got to the venue early which led to great versatile couple shots of us at locations we hadn’t even thought of. As we mentioned we were a bit nervous about couple shots but Simon had a way of chatting to you so it didn’t feel like you were posing and we’re really happy with the results. From capturing the tiny details we overlooked on the day, to working with the environment and setting to get the best of everything, Simon really went above and beyond for us.
 
One of the main to attractions to Simon’s work was the colour he brings to photos and  one of the reasons we thought we’d work well together is that’s something we wanted to bring our wedding as well and is reflected in our choices, e.g. flowers, outfits, confetti etc. Colour brings happiness to both of us and when we look back on our photos frequently we couldn’t be more delighted with the final results. When we remember our wedding now the word that springs to mind for both of us is joyful. Simon has perfectly encapsulated this within our photos and we wish him a heartfelt thank you for his brilliant work.”
Anna + Chris

If you’re planning an intimate celebration and are looking for a Bristol micro wedding photographer, I’d love to hear about your plans and capture your day in a relaxed, natural and documentary-style way.

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Suppliers

Ceremony venue – Salisbury Registration Office www.wiltshire.gov.uk/registrations-ceremonies

Hotel venue – Riverside Hotel www.riversidesalisbury.co.uk

Location – Salisbury, Wiltshire

Wedding type – relaxed, intimate, small, riverside, boat trip 

Photographer – Simon Withyman Photography  www.simonwithyman.com

Punting – Salisbury Punting www.salisburypunting.co.uk

Speakers and lights – All the Kit www.allthekit.com

Flowers – Flowers by Occasions  www.flowersbyoccasions.co.uk

Hair – Kayleigh Charles Hair @kayleighcharles_hair

Bristol micro wedding photographer | Feel good photography for relaxed fun-loving couples

 

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