I photograph relaxed, joyful weddings for couples who want photographs that feel like them – natural, colourful and full of genuine moments.
If the thought of spending your wedding day posing for photographs fills you with dread, you're in the right place!
My approach is relaxed and unobtrusive. I'll give you a little direction when you need it, but I won't take you away from your friends and family for hours. Instead, I'll be looking for all the wonderful things happening around you – the laughter, the happy tears, the hugs, the dancing and those little moments you might not even notice on the day.
Your story, naturally told.
I'm lucky enough to live and work in one of the most beautiful parts of Gloucestershire.
The Forest of Dean is such a wonderful place to get married. From historic castles and characterful venues to woodland celebrations and quirky, intimate weddings, there is so much variety here.
Being local means I know the area well and love photographing weddings throughout the Forest of Dean, including Clearwell, Coleford, Cinderford, Lydney and the surrounding countryside.
But wherever you're getting married, my aim is always the same – to capture the atmosphere of your day and the people who make it special.
Let's be honest – most people don't feel completely comfortable having their photograph taken.
You don't need to know what to do with your hands, how to stand or where to look.
That's my job!
I'll help you when you need a little guidance, especially when it comes to your photographs together, but I'll also step back and let you enjoy yourselves.
Some of my favourite photographs aren't the perfectly posed ones. They're the ones where you're laughing with your friends, your dad is trying not to cry, your best friend has had one too many glasses of champagne, or you simply look at each other and forget I'm there.
Those are the photographs you'll treasure.
I've photographed weddings at some wonderful venues across the Forest of Dean and Gloucestershire, including Clearwell Castle and Perrygrove Railway.
Set amongst the woodland of the Forest of Dean, Clearwell Castle is a wonderfully atmospheric wedding venue.
I've photographed weddings there and love the combination of the castle, the grounds and the surrounding forest. There are plenty of beautiful opportunities for photographs, while still allowing your day to unfold naturally.
Perrygrove Railway is a little bit different – and that's exactly what makes it so much fun.
It's perfect for couples looking for a relaxed, informal wedding with plenty of personality.
From the railway and woodland surroundings to the celebrations with your favourite people, there's plenty to photograph without making the photography feel like the main event.
I'm not interested in turning your wedding into a series of stiff poses.
Instead, I want your photographs to take you straight back to how your wedding actually felt.
The anticipation before walking down the aisle.
The look on your partner's face when they see you.
Your mum laughing during the speeches.
Your friends throwing shapes on the dance floor.
The quiet five minutes you steal together during the craziness of the day.
Those are the things I want to photograph.
I'll get to know you before your wedding, understand what matters to you and help you feel prepared for the photography side of your day.
I'll be there to answer questions, calm any photography-related nerves and help things run smoothly.
And on the day itself, I'll be your photographer, but also an extra pair of hands when you need one.
Need someone to fix a button?
I'll help.
Not sure where everyone should go for a group photograph?
I've got you.
Feeling nervous before the ceremony?
We'll have a chat.
It's all part of making sure you can relax and enjoy your wedding.
Let's talk about your wedding
If you're planning a Forest of Dean wedding and think we might be a good fit, I'd love to hear all about it.
Tell me what you're planning, what you're looking forward to most and what you're slightly nervous about. We can have a cuppa, a chat and work out whether I'm the right photographer for you.
Being based in the Forest of Dean means I know and love this area. I know the character of the local venues, the beautiful woodland and countryside, and some of the lovely little spots that can make your photographs extra special.
More importantly, I'm close by. We can meet for a coffee, visit your venue and chat through your plans in person, so by the time your wedding day arrives, I'm not just a photographer you've booked – I'm someone you already know and trust.
To anyone looking for a photographer, this is your lady!
Kathryn photographed our wedding at Clearwell Castle and we cannot fault her. From the first coffee we had with her prior to us booking right up until she said goodbye on our wedding night she made us feel so comfortable. Her work is faultless and the photos that we have received are absolutely perfect. On the day, nothing was too much for her. From buttoning up my dress, to re-piercing my ears and herding rowdy bridesmaids, she brought a irreplaceable sense of calm to the day. From start to finish, she made us laugh and was always there when we needed her.
Kathryn, thank you so much for being part of our special day
If your wedding plans don’t quite fit into one of my existing packages, I’m happy to offer a bespoke option tailored just for you.
This flexible package is for a minimum of 2 hours coverage within a 20-mile radius of my location in GL14.
Perfect for intimate ceremonies, registry office weddings or elopements, this custom service ensures your special moments are beautifully captured - your way.
Your wedding day podcast £95
An audio only recording of your ceremony and speeches
Video highlight package £500
set to music, showing lots of little clips - *Not the full audio/video of ceremony or speeches.
Second photographer from £400
Albums are the perfect way to display your photos and enjoy them for years to come.
My album suppliers are based in the UK and creates the most beautiful albums I've ever seen.
They are carefully hand crafted to the highest quality.
Prices start from £350 for an 8" x 8" album. Matching parent albums are available – please email me for more info.
My husband & I can't put into enough words how incredible Kathryn is.
She is a true superstar in her field of work. Her attention to detail & her professionalism is remarkable, but even with her professionalism she has most definitely worked out the right balance on how to make it fun & full of laughter along the process.
Though Kathryn is there to work, you do truly feel like she is one of your guests because a person like Kathryn is someone you would have as apart of your circle.
Everyone loved Kathryn at our wedding & still speak about her to this very day. Guests had even said they wished they had her at their wedding which speaks volumes!
A genuinely lovely person & we hope to see her in the future!
Yes! Personally, I like to meet you before you book with me. Tea, coffee or gin will feature, as will cake! (Just to make sure we’re a great fit.) After all, I’m joining you and your family and friends to capture one of the most important days of your lives.
You need to feel comfortable and know you can trust me to do my job. After booking, I like to keep in touch with you, so feel free to drop me an email, a text or call if you have any questions.
We’ll meet again around 2-3 weeks before your big day to go through timings, any must have shots and the final details of your day.
Yes, I store your images for up to 2 years after delivery. And don't worry – I’ll message you before I delete your files so you can check your storage and backup.
Yes, Kathryn Goddard Photography is fully insured by Infocus Insurance. I also have employers’ liability to cover any second photographers or students who may be working with me.
Yes, we’ll chat about this at the time of booking. I use other professional photographers to second shoot with me, although I will edit the final images to ensure consistency.
Occasionally I have photography students on work experience. I will always let you know if they’re joining me for your wedding (at no extra cost to you!) You will of course have access to any of the images they have taken.
I know how expensive those meals can be – so I’m happy to provide my own! (Although I always appreciate lovely food if it’s offered.)
I take a break whilst you eat your wedding breakfast in peace, and will be back with you, ready for the speeches.
I know you’ll be keen to see them, so I’ll send you your highlights gallery within 3 working days. (Usually within 48 hours if I'm not shooting a wedding the day after.)
To make sure the final images are looking their absolute best, the average editing time is between 2 to 4 weeks, depending on the time of year.
I’m usually in excellent health! But if the worst ever happens and I absolutely can’t make your day, I’m part of a great network of photographers who jump in to help each other out if the need arises.
I shoot with two cameras throughout the day. Both cameras have two memory card slots, so I always leave your wedding with a backup.
I also have two additional camera bodies and a selection of lenses in my car, just in case. My first job when I get back home (after saying hello to the dog, my husband and grabbing a drink!) is to back up your images to another external hard drive, which is copied to a cloud-based storage system.
That’s a whole lot of backup!
The final number of images is very much dependent on how much is going on, travel time and the size of your wedding. It’s usually between 500-700 digital images for a full day.
Yes, I will always do these too. I understand that this may be one of the only times that all family members get together, and it’s an important record of your wedding day.
I do also encourage guests to grab me at any time for smaller group shots throughout the day.
I believe you should be the first people to see your wedding images, so I send you a highlights slideshow direct to your inbox. I never post sneak peeks online.
If you’re happy with me sharing images online after you’ve seen them, just let me know.
As a photographer it’s important for me to showcase my work – but I understand that not everyone wants their lives popping up on social media! I’ll ask you if you’re happy for me to share any images online, when you’re ready.
That’s great news! As soon as you’re happy to go ahead, you can secure my services for the day with a non-refundable booking fee of 25% of the full package price. (Press the ‘We’re Ready’ button below to get in touch, and we’ll arrange it.)
The balance will be due no later than 14 days before your wedding day. I’ll email you the payment details and a contract for you to sign. Once both of these are back with me, your date is officially booked!
Congratulations.
“We could not be happier with the results – so many photos that make us smile and laugh, and that really tell the story of our wedding.”
Sarah, Gloucester
Weddings at Clearwell Castle
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Weddings at Perrygrove Railway
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"We’re so glad we decided to hire Kathryn Goddard Photography for our wedding day! Kathryn is such a lovely woman, and was so accommodating for our situation - we had to postpone our wedding and change location, day and time, due to COVID-19. My husband and I are both awful in situations when the focus is on us so having a wedding day and a photographer was difficult for us, but having Kathryn as our photographer for the day made everything so much easier! We were at ease for the whole day and we’re happy to have our photos taken because Kathryn made it such a comfortable situation! Kathryn you’re such a star! Thank you so much for everything you have done for us - the photos are gorgeous!".
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"Kathryn was like having a welcome, unobtrusive guest that everyone liked who happened to be able to take great photos. She captured the emotion and spirit or our Wedding wonderfully. We are grateful for the memories and moments captured by someone who bought their lovely character and personality to our special day. Thank you Kathryn. Highly recommended."
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"We really can not recommend Kathryn enough, she did an unbelievable job of our wedding photos and we couldn't of asked for anything more.
Kathryn remained calm and relaxed throughout the day and yet still managed to keep our unruly guests under control during the group photos. the amount of wonderful comments we had from our guest about how amazing Kathryn was really made it clear that we had made a fantastic choice in our wedding photographer.
I know I've said it many times before Kathryn but you really are a very talented lady and your wonderful personality shines through to all of your work. Thank you so so much for providing us with a life time of beautiful memories."
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"The photos turned out so beautiful. We honestly couldn't be happier with them. All my family think they are stunning and loved having you at the day, you really did feel like part of the family. So thank you so much for that. "
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"I can't thank Kathryn enough for our beautiful wedding photos! not only am I in love with our photos, every single one of our guests commented on how great and funny she was, and how she fitted into our day and made everyone feel so comfortable around her. Even the lead up to the wedding was so easy with her as she is extremely reliable and flexible. 100% recommend her to anyone looking for a wedding photographer."
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"Really happy with the photographs from our wedding, my friend (who has been to a lot of weddings recently) says they are the best she's seen. The colours are vibrant and they have turned out really well. Kathryn was lovely to have at our wedding and was the right level of assertive with gathering my guests for photos. Thank you very much"
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"Kathryn is an amazing photographer, so pleased we found her to capture our special day! She made us feel at ease, we had such a fun day but she also got all the perfect photos for us! Everybody at our wedding really liked Kathryn too and she just felt like one of our guests :) xx"
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"Kathryn went above and beyond. Out of every professional we dealt with with for our wedding, she was the most outstanding. Nothing was too much trouble, we were always made to feel comfortable. Couldn't be happier with our wedding photos."
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"Kathryn is a lovely girl who manages to put you completely at ease and therefore gets lovely natural photos! She drove to Cornwall and back the same day to stand in for our original photographer that had to cancel last minute due to unforeseen personal problems. In actual fact we are so glad as the outcome could not have been more perfect! Thank you once again Kathryn!!"
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"It’s been 6 months since we said “I do”! Working with Kathryn was a wonderful experience. She made us feel at ease and comfortable throughout the day. Kathryn captured our perfect day brilliantly! Thank you! "
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"Kathryn is such a wonderful and talented photographer, she did the most fantastic job of shooting our wedding and gave us the most precious pictures of memories that we can cherish forever. She created the perfect balance between getting all the essential pictures on the day and capturing natural pictures allowing us to relax and spend more time with our guests. Not only did she also give us a pre-wedding photo shoot so that we could get to know each other. She made us and our guests feel relaxed and I would very highly recommend her to anybody looking for a photographer for any occasion."
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"I have hired Kathryn on multiple occasions, from portraits, through to our wedding photographer last year. From personal experience I know Kathryn is a natural at helping even the most self-conscious subjects relax and she gets the very best results for you. Kathryn handled our wedding crowd with ease and captured many, many amazing memories from the day. She was happy to work with our ideas for certain shots as well as bring many creative ideas of her own. I've also had the pleasure of working with Kathryn at dance events and she has an amazing eye for capturing those special details. So if you are looking for a photographer with a personal touch I wouldn't hesitate in recommending Kathryn. You'll be happy you did!"
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