‘Wedding photographer caused mayhem - I told him to leave’

Retired vicar Rev Martyn Cripps, 77, says he must have conducted more than 400 weddings involving dozens of photographers in his time. But a few, he says, remain memorable for the wrong reasons. A petition calling for a reset in the relationship between vicars and wedding photographers attracted headlines this week. One snapper even lay in the middle of the aisle as the bride and her father began their procession.

Martyn would invite them to the rehearsal and talk to them about the shots they were hoping to get. Then he would advise them on where to stand to get those shots while causing minimal disruption. Lorna Yabsley from Kingsbridge, Devon, has photographed more than 700 weddings across 40 years. The 59-year-old began shooting weddings back in the 1990s.

Despite her impressive experience, she says she still gets treated like a “third-class citizen”" on occasion. Lorna started using the now-familiar candid style of photography before it was popular. But her fly-on-the-wall approach did not go down well with some church officials. Lorna believes there are a lot of unprofessional photographers doing wedding jobs now.

In this Instagram age, people all want this dream princess wedding in this church, Lorna says. Don’t tar everyone with the same brush. There are lots of very, very fine vicars,"" she adds. When Paul and Lorraine married in 1995, the vicar was in a “foul mood.

He warned the photographer previously that they could take one photo only in the church and not in the aisle. The vicar paused the ceremony and stared the photographer down for a full 10 seconds.

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