This article was originally written by Jack Fifield for SWNS — the U.K.’s largest independent news agency, providing globally relevant original, verified, and engaging content to the world’s leading media outlets.
Hiring a photographer to memorialize one of the most important days of your life is often nerve-racking, but couples who contract Olly Knight can rest assured that he’ll capture the celebration beautifully. The father of two from Kent, England, was named the U.K.’s best wedding photographer at the 2026 Wedding Industry Awards, and his favorite shots showcase the special moments that make these events so meaningful.
This was Knight’s fifth time submitting his photos for consideration — he was a runner-up for three years in a row. The annual awards comprise 29 wedding vendor categories, and actual wedding clients are involved in the selection process: Entrants request votes from their couples, and those who receive them move on to be evaluated by the judging panel. This year’s winners were honored at a ceremony in Liverpool late last month.
Knight, who has been a photographer for 25 years, told SWNS his favorite submission was a picture of couple Danny and Michaela, who got married last year at Trinity Buoy Wharf on London’s River Thames, located across from the city’s iconic O2 arena. “I really love that photo,” Knight said, adding, “I think it’s my favorite I took last year because of their obvious joy, the fact that you can see the guests in the foreground, them in the middle, and the O2 in the background.”
He noted that he had to figure out where exactly to stand to get the shot he envisioned, and ended up crouching down behind a small bar in the back of the venue to get everything in frame. “I had an idea in my mind. I was thinking I was going to get the first kiss, but when they raised their hands I thought ‘oh, that’s even better.’”
The 41-year-old began taking photos as a child, using a wind-up camera, but it wasn’t until his own nuptials at 25 that he got the idea to go pro. “It was my own wedding day that made me think wedding photography can be really dynamic and interesting, it doesn’t have to be stuffy and posed,” he shared, explaining that the photographer he and his wife chose captured “very in-the-moment” images that weren’t “particularly formal or traditional.”
That inspired Knight to try his hand at the craft. “I offered to photograph a friend’s wedding, got a camera, got let loose on the day, and it snowballed from there,” he said. “When I had my first kid, Caleb, more people started to ask if I could photograph their wedding.”
Other photos he submitted as part of his 2026 entry include a candid shot of bride Maria and her mother. “That’s the photo that’s done best for me over the years.I show it on my website because I want to detract people who want vogue weddings or posed photography,” Knight explained. “I love moments. I’m not a fan of smoking, but I love the fact Maria and her mum are just taking a little moment out.”
Another picture submitted is from a Spanish wedding for couple Danielle and Andy, taken at a pool party the day after the main ceremony.
“Andy, the groom, started chucking everyone in the pool — he wanted the pool party to kick off and he knew I was leaving a little bit later. This guest, their friend from Italy, started trying to fit as many rubber rings around him as possible. He kept on jumping in the pool with more and more rings, and people were just really enjoying it,” Knight recounted. “It’s what happens next — people don’t know whether he went into the rings or what happened, it’s an in-between, people can make up their own minds.”
One unexpected moment came at Reuben and Lisa’s Italian wedding, just after they’d cut the cake.“I don’t even think I’d realized there’d be fireworks, but then they started going off behind them. They lent in for a kiss, I was really close to the cake and them, I crouched down really quick, tried to focus on them, and was lucky enough to get the fireworks in the background as well,” he shared. “It was completely unchoreographed, unorchestrated, as it happened.”
Another surprise frame came at the wedding of Leigh and Hannah, when their son popped out from under the table. “Their little son was a real character. Just as the best man’s speech was going on, I saw something rustling from underneath the top table. I legged it from the back of the room to just in front of the top table, got down really low,” recalled Knight. “I wasn’t even sure if I’d got this photo until I got home, and when I saw it went, ‘yes, got it’. It’s one of their favorite pictures and it’s one of my favorite pictures.”
He added: “Being a father, I love photographing kids at weddings. They’re mad, they do fun stuff, spontaneous stuff.”
Check out more of Knight’s work.
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