Matara Wedding PHotography - A day in the Cotswolds

Today I’m going to take you on a little adventure through 40 or so images I shot as a Matara wedding photographer at a wedding at my absolute favourite wedding venue in the Cotswolds. So you know the key players in this story, it was Megan and Tom’s wedding, they had a small ceremony and meal, then lots more guests for the afternoon and evening. We’ll go through them in chronological order

PRE-CEREMONY WEDDING PHOTOs

So my first photo is this one, I was a bit early and they didn’t want any getting ready photos, so Tom and his mates arrived from the pub in their suits and sunnies and were some of the first people I encountered. I liked the backlight here and felt like black and white worked best (you’ll see this is a common theme!). Matara has this cool mansion house you can rent, it’s right next to the main buildings and is really nicely appointed with great windows.

Megan had planned a first look with her Dad, who was waiting at the bottom of the stairs. She was at the top, so I ran up to say hello after I had set her Dad up downstairs. Here we have more backlighting, this time by a beautiful Georgian window and another creative choice to go for black and white. I actually had black and white film in my other camera too, so this whole start is going to be very black and white heavy, but there is come colour later, fear not. How great does she look in this lighting though?

Next up with have a film shot of Megan coming down the stairs. Same window, I had to get her to stop on the landing so I could leap over the train and get down to capture this angle and be ready for her Dad’s reaction. I really love the imperfection in this image, I probably underexposed it a bit, with digital I could have gone much brighter in the highlights but the just perceptible expression on her face is really lovely to me, I think it captures her nerves but she looks so strong at the same time.

WEDDING CEREMONY in the gardens

Ok finally a bit of colour. Matara have this little garden where you can have a ceremony — one of my favourite spots for Cotswolds wedding photography, if I'm honest, it’s heavily Asian inspired and really nicely done. There are fish swimming in this pond and the wedding ceremony takes place on the little platform over the water. I’m really going to show my ignorance of the providence of a lot of the inspiration here, maybe if I get a chance to go back I’ll get time for a tour. Anyway here was an establishing shot I took of the flowers on the platform while trying to keep a bit of foreground with the chairs and flowers. With a fairly limited expanse of space, this is a technique I use to keep a bit of depth in images.

Hmm, back to black and white and still on vertical, I guess old habits die hard. The truth is it was a super bright day and Tom was very sensibly standing in the shade under this veranda - so I exposed to keep a bit of detail on his suit but let him mainly silhouette against the bright garden behind. However this tends to make some of the colours in an image go a bit weird, so black and white is a nice way to present it without having to over edit things. You will see I have used the same technique as above of including some foreground, this time with some really easy framing around Tom.

We jump forward a little here to their first kiss, you can see the veranda off to the right where there is seating for guests. I included this image as it was a nice moment, but it was hard to expose and edit as the sun was so bright, casting shadows right across their faces. You can see how some of the flowers are starting to look very overexposed, my priority here is the couple and all other concerns kind of go out of the window. It’s a moment to just get the shot, exposed well enough and in focus. Let’s move on.

A required confetti shot. Another lovely feature of Matara is their little courtyard, it’s totally full of amazing plants and has really lovely light in the evenings. It leads directly to the bar and the ceremony happened on the other side of the building in the photo. This is a part of the day where I get much more involved in directing people around, I get people into two lines, nice and close and make sure they know when and where to throw the confetti. Another technique I use is to ask the people early in the line to step in behind the couple as they pass by, that can fill dark doorways with smiling faces. However it seems only one chap remembered here.

Next is a view of the empty courtyard, this is where the confetti happened and I just really liked the depth of this image. I actually shot this on a digital camera from 2005 (in 2026), a Canon 5d if anyone is interested, it’s a camera I still can’t put down to this day, there’s just something about the rendering it produces and colours.

Another shot in the courtyard with the 21 year old 5d of this beautiful leaf. I really wish I knew what it was, but I’m quite aware I’ll never be the type of person who does know. I know photos like this won’t bring back memories for Megan and Tom, they aren’t necessary but I still like to include them, as I think they add something. Sometimes I use them as ways to break up sections of a gallery, other times just because the thing was beautiful. I shot this while they were eating, I’ll call it artistic wedding photography, but you can be the judge. I liked it enough that it made it into the blog post.

Anyway, onto the reception and meal, this is where I feel like I really get into my swing, things get a little less regimented and people can start interacting. One of Tom’s sisters was having a great laugh, so I in and caputured this great facial expression.

Here is the same guest again shot in a completely different style, this was through a window using a slightly longer focal length and heavy framing from all the plants at Matara. I like the framing here a lot, but I wish the chap behind her had the common decency to bend down to tie his shoes or something at that exact moment.

Couples Portraits AT MATARA

Now we get to head off into the grounds to plant a tree and get some photos of the bride and groom.

First up Megan and Tom went to plant a tree, which was actually a bit of a walk from the main reception. They brought along SJ, a bridesmaid to help with the dress. SJ, if you’re reading this - thanks for being such a legend. As they were walking, I took this slower shutter photo of them, side on. I kind of love how it shows how much goes into maintaining a dress but also shows the fun SJ and Tom were having as they helped Megan through the long grass. Almost all the time when I use slow shutters, I go to black and white.

Once we finally made it to their tree, they could add some soil and water it, I wanted to add something to the image, so I knelt down in the long grass to add some foreground, rather than just standing there and taking the picture. Not much else to say on this one, I liked their facial expressions and how they stood out against the dry grass.

Next up, something more formal. I really liked this little path through the trees and thought it would be a good spot for a formal photo of them. I asked them to stand with their arms around each other, Tom with other hand in his pocket and to look at the camera, they did it and 5 seconds later we were on our way. I don’t ask couples to stand all that much, but I think it’s good to get a classic wedding photo sometimes. I call this the “Granny’s mantlepiece” shot but the truth is that images like this should be printed and framed and they actually might outlast all the others, sitting in a frame on a mantle. I like to add a bit of me though where I can, so I shot it through some leaves to add a bit more depth again.

This shot I absolutely love, I think it might be one of my favourites. If I had my way, Tom might have popped his hand in his pocket, but I’ll take it as is. I love the way they are looking at each other and the clouds, the tones, just everything. Also, a peep behind the curtain for you reading this, SJ the bridesmaid is crouch walking behind Megan, throwing her veil up! Absolute dedication.

Megan and Tom specifically wanted photos in the Greenhouse at Matara so that was our final stop before heading back in for food. The prompt: stand facing each other, Tom hands in pockets, Megan put your hands up on his shoulder, then open up to the camera. If I could change this shot, I’d have had something like at 135mm and framed them through the doorway, but I love how cool they both look!

And here is said doorway, a bit of slow shutter again to finish off the portraits. I just love the movement here, I don’t mind her being a bit of a blur, they both look so happy. I think the focus is all over the place, but this is a great example of keeping a photo for the moment, regardless of imperfections.

DINNER

A shot on film here as they waiting to be called in to dinner. You can see the ceremony platform in the background. I love the look of the film in this shot, it’s a little underexposed (tricky on film with backlit subjects) but I don’t mind. I have some digital shots of this too, but this film one just stood out for the colours and look.

Here’s a moment from dinner and Megan thanks this guest who was the Master of Ceremonies doing all the announcements. I liked the framing looking down the table, through he room divider. Lighting was quite tricky as one room is much lighter than the other, but I think it actually makes it more interesting as the light frames as much as the archway.

Often I don’t get that many photos of untouched food on tables as I don’t want to hang around over people’s shoulders as they await their meals, but I caught this of the starters and liked it a lot. I’m not really sure why, probably because I shot it on the 21 year old 5d camera.

Wedding Reception

This first shot was from my Leica, I had been playing with a slow shutter again and caught this moment of Megan fiddling around with her veil. I’m not sure it says anything important, I doubt it will make their album and I wish there wasn’t a tree growing out of her head, but I do like the motion and yet again, it’s got to be black and white.

I wouldn’t usually include a group photo in a blog post, but there’s something about this I really like. I think it’s the skin tones against the green from the Portra400 film stock. It was about the only place with all green out in the grounds during really hot weather. It’s soft, but it’s film and you can’t beat it.

Another film shot. This one I caught as Megan was coming out of the Manor House, I asked her to stop because I wanted to try to capture her emotions, there in the doorway like you see in so many of John Dolan’s excellent photographs. However, she just looks happy and beautiful, so I kept it.

This one I totally set up, I sent someone off to grab a chair (probably SJ again, bridesmaid of the year). The sun was starting to drop over the building, it was a bit of a shall I ask them to do this or not moment? I asked and shot it on film, I have a digital version too but the film one is so soft and saturated with some crazy light leak in the bottom left corner, missed focus but I think film forgives.

We had speeches on the lawn outside the Main House, I really liked this little moment in black and white during one of the speeches. There’s a lady on the right smiling over which I think adds to it.

From here on out, we’re getting into some silliness. Expect facial expressions, fun, laughter and a bit of emotion. This candid shot I really like, I like the balance of the blue with the sandy grass tones in the image, she really stands out.

Another strong laughter shot, this time from a little further away on my Leica. I debated cropping this in to cut out all the space on the left, but I quite like her being dead central. If you’ve ever focussed with a Rangefinder, you’ll know why she’s in the middle. I chose black and white for this as the contrast it gives is much nicer than with some quite dark greens in the background.

I spotted Tom’s mum looking through some Polaroid’s that Megan’s dad had been shooting through the day, my timing was pretty nice here as she was actually looking at herself in the photo with her husband. It’s a nice little moment and shows that we can be lucky sometimes.

These two were smashing it at Cornhole, so this was a case of waiting for something to happen, and it did. I love how much more into it the closer lady is. I chose black and white here to kind of reduce the distractions on the grass. In colour it looked a bit busy.

The Dancefloor

Here we are at my favourite part of the day, the dancefloor. The first three shots are from their first dance, they looked so happy and beautiful. Matara has quite a big space for this, so they had this beautiful little moment alone in each other’s arms surrounded by their friends and family. The ceiling is quite high with a big circular light window, so I decided against flash for these shots, relying on my camera to keep focus in the low light.

They did this big spin, under the windows which lit them up, keeping everyone else darker. I chose black and white for these for the contrast it adds and also the band’s lights were making lots of different colours which black and white ignores.

I don’t think this needs much explaining, but it’s important to anticipate moments like this, they had just done a big spin, getting everyone cheering and I wanted to keep my camera on them in case something just like this happened.

Now everyone else is on the dancefloor and the band Next Level Music were absolutely rocking it. I caught this one of this guest doing a bit of finger karaoke. Once we get to this point, I have at least one camera with a flash on, but I also like to keep one without, this moment definitely demanded flash!

Here’s an example of a moment that didn’t need flash, but it did need black and white. It’s just another really lovely moment between these two who were clearly so in love.

So let’s get back to some chaos, the beauty of using flash is that you can stop down the aperture and get everyone in focus. When the dancing starts, you’ll find me right in the middle of it all, it’s just a buzz after a long day of shooting, I really find my second wind.

I actually considered deleting this photo as it’s not sharp but I had shot this without flash and low shutter speed because I love the soft look it gives so one must live with one’s decisions. The expressions here are too good to leave out.

This was just a lovely moment I spotted, it’s obvious what it is so I’m not going to write much more except that shooting this without flash probably allowed me to be more discreet and not interrupt the moment.

This is another where I suppose the image speaks for itself, she had been killing it on the dancefloor. I was pretty happy to include her whole arm and elbow within the frame, while getting her in focus. Black and white fixed all the crazy coloured lighting from the band.

Ladies and gentlemen, the Father of the Bride absolutely going to town. This guy had some moves and I love how there are loads of hands pointing to him, even though it looks like he’s put his back out. He definitely had not.

I was gutted about this shot, she had just done the worm and I had missed it, but as soon as I saw something happening, I was down on the floor. The facial expressions are what really make this photo for me, so I’ll take this one I got and stay happy. I think it’s a lesson in being ready, even if you think you missed a moment.

Ok, let’s end it here with a really lovely father/daughter dance. I lost my mother this year and I’d do anything to have a photo like this of her and me. Moments like this keep me coming back, knowing that I can do this for someone, that they might look at this in 20 years and remember how they looked back in 2026.

Well that was Matara wedding photography with Megan and Tom, a lovely alternative wedding in a beautiful Cotswolds venue.

If you want to find out if I am free on your wedding day, you can enquire here

Photography - Tom Brossard

Venue - Matara

Flowers - Hire and Admire

Hair - Kate Withey

Dress - Nancy’s Bridal Lounge

Makeup - Sofia Cox

Harp - Noa Davies

String Quartet - Music Students for Hire

Band - Next Level Music

Cotswolds and Bristol wedding photographer working across the South West, London, Oxford, Devon, Cornwall, Somerset and Wales — and increasingly, Northern Spain.