When couple Debby and William chose to have their wedding at the beautiful Sudeley Castle, photographer Abul Shah of Gracious Photography was very excited. Having relocated from London to Cheltenham purely for the wedding industry, this was one of his first few local weddings in the area.  

“Standing in the gardens of Sudeley Castle, it’s easy to get lost in the beauty of both the venue and grounds, but the heart is always the interaction of the guests capturing them as they enjoy the wedding and venue themselves,” Shah explains. “To do that, I treat myself as a guest, walking around capturing reactions and moments. It was when I turned around and saw this cute little girl with tears rolling down her cheeks that I positioned myself behind to wait for the moment. But my paternal side, wanting to comfort her, couldn’t resist trying to get her attention and so I pulled a face to try and get a smile. This was the very moment that she saw me, processing what was happening.”  

Influenced by street photography and editorial work, Shah says he is always looking for the story, the narrative. “My work is 90 percent documentary, with about 10 percent being directed to help where needed when it comes to my couples. Focusing on the story, and the real moments I find is crucial when designing my wedding albums, which is always in mind when composing my images. Left page, right page, double spread, details, etc.”

For this wedding, the photographer says that all in all it was a fantastic day, and everything you could possibly want in a wedding—”Love, laughter, and yes…a few tears. No chicken nuggets on the canapés can do that!”

(Photographed with a Nikon Z6 and Nikkor 50mm 1.8 S lens at f/1.8, 1/4000 of a sec. and ISO 100.)

Check out more Photos of the Day, and email submissions to rangefinder@emeraldexpo.com.