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AUTHENTIC STORYTELLING | creative. unscripted. emotional
suprised groom admires wedding car
bride and groom hold each other
groom has his button hole flower fastened
bride walking down the stairs at allerton castle
groom getting into wedding car
bride and groom standing in fornt of venue with wedding car
groom holds the brides hand
close up of bride and groom holding each other
bride and groom twirl on the lane
groom fastens his cuff links

uk documentary wedding photography | forever moments and creative portraits

Award winning uk documentary wedding photographer who captures authentic moments of your big day. For couples who want to have fun and enjoy their wedding day. Providing a timeless narrative and creative portraits.

Providing elegant, artistic wedding photography throughout Yorkshire and the UK

WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY YOU WANT
Authentic moments. Artistic flair. The emotions of your day. Stories you didn't see. Forver memories. To spend time with your family and friends. Creative portraits of the two of you.
WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY YOU DON'T WANT
To miss out being with your guests. Lots of posing. Aching jaws, a gallery of smile after smile.
drone photo of bride and groom at hellaby halll hotel
groom lifts the bride durng the first dance
children playing outdoor games
bag-piper walking over bride in front of bride and groom
bride and groom walking hand in hand
bridal party walk to the ceremony
bride and groom stand in front of fireworks
groom best man in wedding car
mum is emotional as the bride walks up the aisle
confetti falling on the bride and groom
bride and groom outside venue
bridesmaids checking the brides trail
bride walking downstairs in her wedding dress
drone shot of bride and groom walking towards Hellaby Hall
guest wining at garden games

Natural and relaxed, award-winning, UK documentary wedding photography

bride having her hair styled
bridesmaid brushes the wedding dog
bride and groom dancing
page boy gives out confetti
bride and groom walking along the confetti line
bridesmaids are emotional during the ceremony
boy holds brides hand during the ceremony
bridesmaid hands dad a tissue durnig the reveal
silhouette of bride and groom at sunset
groom dips his bride after the ceremony
bride and groom take a walk by the venue
bride reveal to father
Hi, I'm River, a natural and relaxed, documentary wedding photographer based in Yorkshire but covering the UK. Blending in with your guests, I gather authentic, creative and emotional wedding photos of your big day.
As a wedding photographer: I'm a visiual storyteller. Creative in my approach. Each click of my camera becomes a dance with light, a moment in your history, a tale of love, and a symbol of your wedding day.

Are you looking for a Yorkshire Wedding Photographer?

As a Yorkshire based documentary wedding photographer, I work primarily across Yorkshire, Derbyshire, and Nottinghamshire, but you can find me capturing wedding photography moments across the UK. On your wedding day I will be by your side to capture all of the moments of your amazing wedding day, joining your wedding as a guest, as a listener and observer and creatively documenting your day as it unfolds. I aim to give you authentic photographic memories of genuine, unique moments and emotions of you, with those you love most.

What is your wedding photography style?

My style is a blend of fine art portraiture and documentary photography to guarantee your perfect memories: beautiful posed images and amazing candid moments of one of the biggest days of your life! I want you to be relaxed, have the most amazing wedding day, and not be worried about your photos. I don't look for clichéd moments or cheesy posing. I will join your wedding as a listener and observer and creatively document your day as it happens. I aim to give you memories of genuine, unique moments with your favourite people.

UK Documentary Wedding Photographer

When searching for your uk documentaery wedding photographer it is essential you look far and wide to find the right photographer to tell your wedding story. I only take on a small number of weddings in order to devote my time to my couples. Whether you are North, South, East or West, I will travel to photograph your big day. Making incredible pictures from the emotions and moments that occur throughout your day. Whether it be tears of joy or laughter. The moment you are seen for the first time as you walk down the aisle. The way you move to your special song or the incredible moments during the party afterwards. I'll create the story of your wedding day with photographs you'll want to look at again and again.

What is documentary wedding photography?

When choosing your wedding photography it is important to choose not only a person that you will find easy to be with at your wedding. But also the style of the photos you will recieve. Are you looking for traditional wedding photography? Or editorial? Or does the interactions of the people involved and authenticity of the wedding photos important to you? Documentary photography is a specific type of photography focused on subject stories. Think of documentary films rather than a Hollywood blockbuster. The documentary film is real, it tells a real story. The Hollywood blockbuster is not. Documnetary photography is closely related to reportage (same definition as documentary photography but from different origins) and photojournalism (the photos used in newspapers/websites - for short-term use). The key point of documentary wedding photography is capture the moment without intervening. Therefore the moment is authentic, true, real. Combined the photos are used to tell the story: in the case of wedding photography, to tell the story of the whole day. Particularly the emotional element.

The impact of documentary wedding photography at your wedding

Think. The look on your partner’s face they see you for the first time The moment the young flower girl or page boy is caught as they walk together dropping petals down the aisle The tears of mum and dad as they proudly let go The quiet moment of you both stealing a moment together away from the hustle and bustle of the reception
Authentic. Telling the true story of your wedding day. Not just the perfect portrait you want hanging on your wall or adorning your album. It's the emotions, the interations, the little things that will help you remember the story of your wedding day as you felt it!

Why couples love documentary wedding photography

Documentary wedding photography creates something undeniably powerful, often — it’s real, it’s authentic, and it’s you. Enjoying your wedding day! Couples love documentary wedding photography because it doesn’t force moments or stage emotions. Choose documentary wedding photography because it lets your day unfold naturally.
As a documentary wedding phtoographer I will look to capture the 'belly laughs', the tears, the fleeting touches of affection, and the beautiful chaos that happens in between. Like one of your guests, I'll be there. Fully present (though you won;t notice me) as I skillfully and quietly weave through your guests. Turning real-life moments into timeless visual stories. No stiff poses, no awkward smiles — just honest, heartfelt memories that hit you right in the feels every time you look back.

What makes documentary wedding photography unique?

Documentary wedding photography makes your memories as unique as you are! Weddings in the UK happen in a variety of different settings; whether traditional, modern, or a quirky venue to suit your personality. Whether you decide to get married in stunning barn, an historic city hall, a luxury countryside estate, or a quirky urban venue, a documentary wedding photography approach adapts to your wedding setting. British weddings also come with their own quirks — unpredictable weather (no matter what the season), cultural traditions, humour, and multi-generational families. Having a documentary photographer at your wedding will be able to navigate the layers and intricacies that make your wedding unique. Capturing the moments that matter. The grandeur or character of your venue to the personal details you've added. Plus the people that make the story.
CONTACT
ABOUT

See my wedding gallery here

Wedding gallery
His professionalism is outstanding and his work is just perfect, exactly what we asked for and visualised. He listened to our requests and nothing was too much for him. We have so many photos to choose from, from the standard group poses to the spontaneous ‘snaps’ of those unplanned moments. All our guests commented on River and how lovely he was, capturing every moment without intruding or ever in the way.

Critical questions to ask a wedding photographer

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What Our Customers Say

Our client experience is at the heart of our business, read what people have to say about us...

Dear River,

From our first meeting, we knew that you understood what we wanted from our wedding photos. You really listened to what we asked and put our minds at ease. You guided us through the wedding day and helped it go so smoothly and captured truly amazing memories that we will cherish forever. You went above and beyond (quite literally climbing a ladder to get the perfect wedding shot and risking getting your ankles wet in the stream) to ensure we got beautiful wedding photos.

For that, we are truly thankful. All our guests commented on how you blended well into the background and snapped some very natural shots. We cannot thank you enough.

N & D - Manorial Barn, Rotherham

Thank you, thank you, thank you for our wedding photographs.

M+D, Wood Hall and Spa, Linton, Wetherby

Hi River,

I received the wedding photos and I am delighted. I want to thank you for your professionalism from the beginning of the service to the final result. I wish God to bless you. A big hug.

Shavolks, Chesterfield Wedding Photography

We loved that you came to our rescue and photographed our wedding party. Thank you, we love the photos, they are amazing! I wish you had been our official wedding photographer in Greece.

S+L, Rotherham Wedding photography

Dear River.

I just wanted to say thank you for the hard work you did taking the photos at our wedding. We are both really pleased with them and looking forward to choosing which we will use for our wedding album!

C+M, Woodlands Hotel, Leeds

You were brilliant . . . everyone said so! The wedding photos were brilliant and we had such a great day. We laughed so much and loved our wedding day and the photos were how we imaged them to be. Just amazing! I loved that you took so many wedding photos of everyone and captured all the memories of our wedding day!

C+J, Rotherham

As a bride I was just not used not being in control. But you kept me relaxed as you were just so calm and focused. You said we should enjoy our wedding day. It was brilliant. I had planned my dream wedding and the photos were an important part of our day.

The wedding photos really do tell my wedding day story that’s worth thousands of words. We love our wedding album it captures some fantastic moments and I love sitting down and reliving the wedding day. It really is a family heirloom. Thank you, so much!

S+R, Sheffield Wedding photography

I don't even know where to begin!!!! Professional, polite and courteous! We booked River as our wedding videographer. After receiving our wedding video, me and my husband are blown away!!!! He's captured our day PERFECTLY!!!! Every little detail, lighting, little bits we didnt notice.

I am so happy with it!!!! He has done an outstanding job I couldn't be any happier with it. I've watched it so many times!!!! 100% recommend him, his work is fantastic!!!!!

L+C, Holiday Inn, Leeds

Highly recommend River Xavier, he was a fantastic wedding photographer. He was so friendly and helpful. The guests said he was like a ninja just appearing out of nowhere, one minute he would be laid on the gravel next to a tree getting photos, the next he would be hanging out of a window. He was literally there all day capturing moments, some in the moment shoots and posed wedding shots we wanted. He was such great value too, highly recommend.

Samantha & Andrew, Holme PierrePont Hall, Nottingham

Could not have asked for anyone better!

My experience in dealing with River has been flawless from start to finish. He is polite, professional, very competitively priced, but above all, an extremely talented wedding photographer. He did an amazing job at capturing every aspect of our big day. We received our photos back within 3 weeks from our wedding which was quicker than expected and we have not stopped looking at them! The online gallery is particularly well laid out and easy to use as well, very impressed. Thankyou very much for your service River, it has been an absolute pleasure!

C+R - Stallingborough Grange, Grimsby

River did a great job capturing our wedding photography, he did drone photography and also a wedding highlights video. Nothing was any trouble to him. Would definitely recommend him and would not use anyone else.

T + C, Burntwood Court Hotel, Barnsley

River you're a star! thank you so much. You've captured so many amazing moments from our wedding day and we are over the moon with them all. 

We watched our wedding film last night and wow, we were just blown away!! We are really impressed with our wedding film. What a perfect way to remember our special day! It's absolutely perfect, thank you so much!

K+S, Whitley Hall Hotel, Sheffield