Indoor Wedding Ceremony Photography: Farmers Image Of The Week

What happens when a wedding photographer is faced with a massive venue, zero daylight, and a ceremony rich with tradition and detail? If you’re Lauren Chambers from LIT Photography, you don’t back away, you lean all the way in.

This week’s Farmers Image Of The Week is a masterclass in indoor wedding ceremony photography. It’s a complex, multi-layered composition that stops the scroll. From the dramatic disco ball anchoring the top of the frame to the glowing candelabras lining the aisle, this is the kind of image you return to again and again, discovering something new each time.

When I spoke to Lauren about how it was captured, it reminded me of Rebecca Carpenter’s earlier winning image and her nod to the wisdom of John Dolan. His advice? Let your second shooter handle the safe shots so you can take creative risks. Lauren clearly took this to heart, heading to the balcony and capturing a viewpoint that delivers on atmosphere, narrative, and scale.

There’s so much happening, yet it doesn’t feel chaotic. Your eye is guided – first by the oversized glitterball, then pulled into the structure of the leafy green Mandap, and finally to the bride making her way up the aisle. The sweep of red fabric held behind her acts as a visual thread drawing us in. We don’t see her face, but the look on her groom’s face says enough. It’s joyful. Anticipatory. Real.

The final element that I love about this image is the people with their phones. I know they are banned in many wedding ceremonies but I’ve never been a photographer who pushes for this. I think they add a context that will alter as time goes on. One day, we will look back on these images and view this technology as old-fashioned. These photos become time capsules, not just of the people, but of how we live now. We also don’t know that someone might be sending a live view of the ceremony to a loved one who is unable to make it. In this image, it is a lone child who is the only member of the audience that we can see who is watching the proceedings without a phone, and I find this fascinating.

For any photographer nervous about shooting a large, dark venue? Let this be proof that with planning, collaboration, and a clear creative vision, you can still produce work that dramatically stands out.

Well done, Lauren. We’ll be looking out for what happens next.