Llandaff Cathedral Marriage Ceremony on Digital & 35mm Film Photography
Here are a few of the photographs I captured at Liz and Lloyd’s marriage ceremony performed at Llandaff Cathedral and wedding reception hosted at Hensol Castle in South Wales. Along with my regular method of digital capture, I also took a few photographs with my analogue 35mm film camera. These images who can view as you scroll down to towards the bottom of this post. As per my natural, candid approach to photographing a wedding, the day was captured in its normal flow with no intrusion or directing a scene. The only time I offered instruction was during the few family and bridal party posed photographs outside the Cathedral and then a few portraits of the bride and groom, as they strolled to the lake at Hensol Castle. As ever these are at the couples’ discretion allowing them to enjoy the company of their friends and family for the vast majority of the day.
This wedding took place in April 2026, marking the start of my wedding season. I started my coverage at the cathedral with the groom’ s arrival and greeting guests before the bride’s entrance. There has been a church at this site since the 2nd century, though has been rebuilt and restored many times over the years, much of the building today dates back to the 1700’s and 1800’s. The grandeur of the architecture with is gothic arches ensure that it is one of the more majestic locations to host a marriage ceremony in South Wales.
35mm Film Wedding Photography
Here are the photographs I took on analogue 35mm film, took on a Nikon film camera using Kodak Portra 400 film and kindly developed and scanned by The Film Safe. Once I have the scans back from the lab, I am able to tweak the contrast and levels in my normal digital software, only performing tasks that could be accomplished in a traditional darkroom, but without the additional time and expense this would incur. The best of both worlds, maybe? Though once the light fades in the evening and the dancing begins, digital camera technology does allow you to capture this using the limited available light rather than having to resort to artificial flash. I do feel the former persevere the atmosphere a little better and is certainly less obtrusive.
