Coombe Abbey Wedding Videographer

By the time Shezereh and Ian's wedding arrived, we had already spoken several times even though they were travelling over from Canada. So meeting them properly at Coombe Abbey felt surprisingly familiar — less like meeting a couple for the first time and more like finally putting faces to conversations we had already been having for months.

I have filmed at Coombe Abbey many times, and knowing the venue makes a real difference. It is a large place with a lot of ground to cover, so understanding the routes between the rooms, gardens and ceremony spaces means I can spend more time filming and less time working out where everything is.

The morning began with Shezereh in the Lady Craven room with her bridesmaids and mum. It is a brilliant space for bridal preparations because there is room to move, good opportunities for details and enough space for everyone to enjoy the morning without constantly feeling surrounded by equipment.

Ian was getting ready separately with his best men and dad. We kept his preparation coverage short and relaxed — final adjustments, a few natural moments and enough footage to give both sides of the morning their place in the finished film.

What made this wedding particularly different for me was the ceremony. Shezereh and Ian had chosen an outdoor celebrant ceremony in the gardens, with personalised vows and a much more individual feel than a standard civil ceremony.

The open setting gave the entrance real scale. I was able to combine the ground cameras with a wider aerial view as Shezereh made her way towards the ceremony, creating a completely different perspective on the arrival.

The ceremony itself was full of personal touches, beautiful vows and plenty of emotion. With several cameras covering different angles, the film could move between Shezereh, Ian, the celebrant and the reactions around them without interrupting what was happening.

After the ceremony came confetti, drinks and time with guests before we moved into the family photographs and a short portrait session.

The gardens at Coombe Abbey are one of my favourite parts of the venue. There are formal gardens, shaded areas, open lawns, paths, hedges, water and the Abbey itself, so it is very easy to create variety without taking the couple away for a long time.

Shezereh and Ian only needed a short first portrait session. The day was bright and sunny, so we chose areas that worked with the light rather than forcing them to stand facing directly into it.

The afternoon moved into the wedding breakfast and speeches, with words from family, Ian, the best man and maid of honour. There was plenty of humour, but the maid of honour's speech in particular brought a much more emotional moment and left Shezereh in tears.

Later, once the sun had dropped lower, we took Shezereh and Ian back outside. The softer evening light completely changed the look of the gardens and gave us the chance to create warmer, more intimate portraits before returning inside for the evening.

Their first dance had been properly rehearsed, which immediately gave it a different energy. It felt like a performance while still being unmistakably theirs.

Then came the surprise.

Around twenty guests had secretly prepared a flash mob. After the first dance they gradually joined in, moving through a routine that lasted several minutes and changed between different songs. Most of the room had no idea it was coming.

It was one of those moments where the best thing I could do was simply make sure everything was covered properly and let the energy take over.

Once the flash mob finished, the dance floor never really emptied. This was a group that genuinely loved to dance, and I stayed longer to capture it because the atmosphere kept giving us something worth filming.

By the time I packed away, the wedding had moved from a calm summer ceremony in the gardens to a full evening party — exactly the kind of progression that makes a wedding film feel like a complete story rather than a collection of separate moments.