Preparations: Rookery Hotel

Ceremony and Reception: St Etheldreda's Church

John and Maria got married at the stunning St Etheldreda's church in East London late last year, their ceremony wasn't until quite late in the afternoon so it's a perfect example of how I approach an extremely low light documentary wedding without ruining the atmosphere with flash.

Their religious ceremony took place in St Etheldreda's candle lit chapel and thankfully I was allowed to discreetly document the service as the light, although incredibly low, was beautiful. Their church service was swiftly followed by a drinks reception in St Etheldreda's crypt - another amazing space to work in. Again, the room had been thoughtfully filled with candles which created pools of light for guests to mingle in, environments like this allow you to be even more discreet as a reportage wedding photographer.

The whole affair felt incredibly warm and friendly. Subsequently, everyone had a great time and really relaxed which allowed me to capture some very authentic and intimate images.

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Preparations: The Corinthia Hotel

Ceremony: Chelsea Old Town Hall

Reception: Chelsea Wharf

I documented Will and Fiona's small and intimate wedding in London late last year. My reportage wedding photography started at The Corinthia Hotel in South West London, The Corinthia is a very new and very exclusive hotel just off the Embankment, it's nothing short of stunning and I really look forward to working there again.

From there I travelled with Will by cab to The Chelsea Potter pub to meet guests. The whole wedding comprised of no more than fifteen people, so it had a very relaxed and friendly feel. The Chelsea Potter is a proper old London pub too which only encouraged this great atmosphere - reputedly this was the Stone's local back in the days. It's a pretty dark environment but great for candid reportage work and within half an hour we we're all on our way to Chelsea Old Town Hall - another magnificent building steeped in history. The registrars were very accommodating, as per usual, allowing documentary coverage to continue throughout the civil ceremony.

Our next location was Chelsea Wharf where we embarked on our two hour boat trip along the Thames. I probably do four or five weddings a year on the Thames and they never disappoint, people are always very relaxed because of the lack of formality and during the winter you can really make the most of the strong, low and warm light.

The end of the day and the end of my reportage wedding photography coverage saw us arrive at South Bank - a particularly brilliant place for photography in London. Fiona, Will and their family and friends spent the rest of the afternoon in the Skylon restaurant at the Royal Festival Hall with it's floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the Thames.

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My efficient wedding photography editing workflow starts the moment I begin shooting the commission, one of the key elements to being in control of your editing and processing is actually keeping your hit rate high and not over shooting. Not only will you double the amount of time you need to spend in front of the computer by over shooting but the quality of your work will be much lower. Photographers that overshoot and expect to capture significant, decisive moments and with accuracy are kidding themselves. Photography just doesn't work like that - you might capture the odd great image but this would be simply down to luck and luck has no consistency. We can all over shoot, the key is to keep a constant check on it and ensure your success rate remains high.

I never document people eating their wedding breakfast, not only do guests need to feel completely relaxed knowing they're not going to be photographed mid-chew, I also need to sit down and take a rest. Once seated, I begin my editing workflow. I find this chunk of time ideal for editing as the previous 4 to 6 hours are fresh and vivid in my memory, the process is quick and decisive. It makes absolute sense to utilise this otherwise wasted time rather than increase your workload several weeks down the line.

Importantly, it tackles a 'deal with later' attitude that we're all guilty of at times, by nibbling away at each commission, at the right time, you'll speed up your workflow and be ahead of deadlines. Infrastructure such as this keeps things efficient but you must fully commit.

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The first and most important task of the new year was to shortlist the very best from the last few seasons of work to create my 2012 portfolio. I always aim to update my portfolio every four to six months which makes the process less draining but inevitably, it's still one of the largest edits of the year with over 50% of the images being replaced.

I find this edit and cull process invaluable, it not only reminds me of all the fantastic events I've had the privilege of documenting but I also get to reevaluate and sharpen my approach and style, check it's on course, remove images that just don't represent it well enough and get a clear sense of where I am and where I want to be in a further year.

Your portfolio is your bread and butter, it's your substance too, a photographer is nothing without a strong, fluid and comprehensive body of work to prove their pedigree. I've chosen to have quite a heavy portfolio this year, perhaps 25% up on last years. I want the diversity of my work to shine through; the customers, locations, faiths and cultures. This variation is by far my favourite element of the job.

2012 is set to be a busy year and will see us travelling throughout the UK and oversees for commissions. Regardless of these commitments, we're making time for causes that we feel particularly strongly about. This year will see us raising as much money as we can for children living in poverty. We want to make a difference to children without a voice, children who do not know what it's like to have security in their lives or even know when their next meal is coming. We're in the final stages of preparing a section of the blog to promote our efforts, so keep posted.

I urge you to press play on the music bar before you visit my 2012 portfolio, it's a beautiful track from one of the best movies ever made. Take five minutes out, adjust your volume and when you return to switch the music off, it'd be great to hear what you think of them.

We've got to know many great couples from all walks of life over the last twelve months. In fact, it's been a spectacularly busy and exhilarating year for us all. We've worked incredibly hard - something I'm exceptionally proud of. Between us we've shot over 60 weddings and a handful of other interesting and quirky commissions. We've also made many significant changes to the business; hugely improving both customer experience and our own processes and productivity. We're all primed for our busiest year to date with 2012 seeing us travelling the length and breadth of the country as well as parts of Europe and who knows, maybe even further afield.

I find this variety of work invaluable as it keeps us fresh, challenged and inspired. We've documented many memorable weddings at numerous venues and locations with an array of interesting cultures and faiths. Moreover, families have entrusted with us the responsibility of accurately and genuinely documenting such a momentous and pivotal point in their lives, and of this we are incredibly proud.

Throughout the year we have never ceased striving to document commissions powerfully and authentically. Our customers are people serious about having an accurate record to look back on; no fairytales, no banal shoe shots or tedious requests for posed photographs, just an honest record created with our hands off approach. Photographs can and should be so much more than just pretty pictures, after all, when you're old and wrinkly what will be valued more, a picture of your Jimmy Choos on a table or an emotive image of an embrace with a relative? Powerful moments don't always make aesthetically 'perfect' photographs and sadly not too many wedding photographers have the capacity to appreciate this. We value a body of work that truly reflects an event, this strong sense of value and responsibility is why our customers choose to invest in us.

One of the best business decisions I've made in recent years is the addition of associate photographers. Associates ensure there is a continuous flow of creativity into the brand. I'm not just talking about image creation but hugely important elements such as infrastructure, business framework and processes and overall effectiveness - elements of such magnitude and scale that I simply couldn't implement them in addition to maintaining the day to day running of the business. Working as a collective and being able to bounce ideas between likeminded individuals has helped us to all grow as photographers in a tough industry. I'm very aware of just how much my work has improved whilst training associates, not only has each associate brought something unique to the table but it's also forced me to practice what I preach!

My first associate photographer, Joshua Archer, will be moving to Germany in mid 2012. Joshua has made a huge contribution and commitment to the company since early 2010 and I'd like to thank him for this in addition to wishing him, his wife and his beautiful new baby girl all the very best for the future. He's become an astounding documentary wedding photographer in a very short space of time.

Without further ado and in no particular order, here are my favourite images of 2011...

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