Your wedding day is all about celebrating your unique love story. Mark Hillyer, a Leeds-based photographer in West Yorkshire, specializes in capturing those genuine moments that make your day truly special. His relaxed, natural style means you get to enjoy your celebration with family and friends—without spending hours posing for photos.
Mark’s documentary approach focuses on telling your story as it happens. From laughter and happy tears to candid interactions, every moment is captured honestly and beautifully. If being in front of the camera feels daunting, Mark’s unobtrusive style will help you feel at ease, resulting in photos that truly reflect who you are. Many couples appreciate how seamlessly he blends into the background, creating images they’ll treasure forever.
With over 15 years of experience and more than 250 weddings photographed, Mark brings both skill and passion to every celebration. His portfolio includes everything from intimate city ceremonies in Leeds to grand countryside weddings across Yorkshire and beyond. He has a talent for noticing the small, meaningful moments that often go unseen, turning them into a rich, emotional collection of memories.
Mark understands that every wedding is unique. Here’s what you can expect when you work with him:
All weddings are memorable for at least one thing, but I can't compare them because a wedding is made by the people there and every single one is unique.
Natural, unobtrusive, distinct, discrete, fun
My photographs are a record of an event, a day & a moment in time & all of the people present. The photographs hang on walls, or are in often looked at albums. They're a record of family, friends & celebration
Plan ahead. Plan as thoroughly as you can. But then on the day, let it all go. Go with the flow & enjoy the day, however close to the original plan it is.
The speeches. It never used to be. But now that I have a daughter, the Father of the Bride speech always gets to me.
I work WITH people to create and capture their vision of the day. They create it. I record it.
Just the natural ones. The ones of people being themselves. They are the ones that increase their value over time.
Harry potter wand fight with added lightning bolts. It's not my usual documentary style, but the Bride really wanted it and it was a lot of fun to do.
Embrace it. You can't change it.
I photographed my grandparents golden wedding anniversary when I was 10 (My dad gave me the camera to keep me quiet). I loved that I'd avoided being in any of the photos. If you don't want to be in the photos, be the photographer :-)