Natural wedding photography, for me, is about letting your wedding actually happen.

No staging moments. No stopping people and asking them to do something again. And definitely no turning your wedding into one massive photoshoot.

I’m looking for the real stuff — the laughs, tears, hugs, nerves, chaos and all the little moments happening around you while you’re busy enjoying yourself.

You’ll hear words like documentary, candid and unposed used to describe my approach too, but they all come back to the same thing: people being people.

That’s how I approach every wedding I photograph in Essex. Natural photographs that show what your day actually felt like, not what I told you to do.

One of the best things about natural wedding photography Essex couples tell me is how quickly I stop feeling like the hired photographer.

I don’t spend the day hiding in a corner with a massive lens. I get amongst your guests, chat to people and become part of what’s happening. Think of me as another guest who just happens to have a camera.

That means when something brilliant happens — your dad getting emotional, your mates absolutely losing it or a quiet moment between two people you love — I’m already there.

I don’t interrupt it or ask anyone to do it again. I just photograph it as it happens.

Those little connections are what matter to me. Years later, I want a photograph to take you straight back to how that moment actually felt.

Apart from around 15 minutes for the family group shots, I keep the same natural wedding photography Essex approach throughout the whole day.

That includes your couple photos. I’m not going to spend an hour twisting you into poses or asking you to stare lovingly at each other until it gets bloody awkward.

We’ll normally disappear for a short walk, give you a chance to catch up and actually take in what’s happened. I’ll use the light, composition and whatever is happening around us, but the interaction between you two stays real.

Your photographs should look and feel like you. Your personalities, your little quirks and the way you naturally are together.

Because ultimately, it’s your wedding day — not my photoshoot.

Weddings are meant to be fun. You’ve spent months — sometimes years — planning the bloody thing, so when it finally arrives, I want you to enjoy it.

Laugh loudly. Cry if you want to. Have another drink. Hug your mates. Get absolutely stuck into the dance floor.

As a wedding photojournalist, my job is to document all of that rather than constantly interrupting it. When you look back years from now, I want you to remember what happened and how it felt — not what the photographer asked you to do.

That’s what natural wedding photography Essex is about for me. Let the day flow, be yourselves and I’ll take care of remembering it.

And then there’s the dance floor.

Things can get a little bit messy here, which is exactly why I bloody love it. You won’t see me packing up after the first dance because, as far as I’m concerned, the wedding isn’t finished — so why would I be?

I’ll be right in the middle of it with you and your guests, getting close to the action and photographing all the chaos as it happens.

This is when the flash comes out, the questionable dance moves begin and some of my favourite candid photographs of the whole day are made.

Sweat, spilled drinks, ties around heads and people completely forgetting there’s a photographer there. I bloody love the dance floor.