Archive for category Weddings
Catharine & Jon’s finished album from their wedding in North Curry, Somerset
Posted by Paul in For Website, Weddings on February 21st, 2010
I don’t mind showing our work off just a little. OK, maybe quite a lot. We’re very very proud of the quality of work we produce and we’re forever striving to make sure it’s the best that we can do. So it’s always a great pleasure when you look at the finished design of a book and think it’s just gorgeous.
So it is with Catharine & Jon’s wedding album. I know, I know I’m biased but still – this book is just beautiful – and very big. Oh, and very heavy too. Bend-the-knees-not-the-back kinda heavy. With 24 inch wide pages when it’s opened up (with no crease line or cut down the middle of each spread) and the most sumptuous Bomber Jacket leather cover, this is one serious wedding album.
It does help, of course, that their wedding at North Curry Church near Taunton in Somerset was stunning (and that both Jon and Catharine were the greatest fun to work with!) Every moment of the day from the arrival of the bride in a priceless VW camper van, that had been lovingly restored (and upgraded!) to the beautiful church to the couple throwing some remarkable (and slightly unlikely) shapes on the dancefloor at their reception at Kersey Mill. It was all just perfect.
So with those images in your head, have a flick through their album design. I think Sara, our fantastic album designer, had quite a lot of fun with this one – and it shows! The design brings the absolute best out of the images: this is an album that I think many people will be shown (just a guess – I know Catharine!) and hopefully everyone who sees it will enjoy it as much as we enjoyed capturing the images and creating the finished design.
Let us know what you think,
Cheers
P.
There is nothing quite like a good book.
Posted by Paul in For Website, Weddings on January 15th, 2010
There’s nothing quite like a good book. Particularly if it’s full of your photographs.
Had a great meeting this morning with our album designer (who’s both lovely and a great designer!) to set the layout ideas running for this year’s albums.
I have to admit we’re hugely proud of these weighty tomes – they’re really really beautiful things, all custom-made and finished in some of the most sumptuous leathers and materials available. Everything from mirror finish patents, to exquisite linens and the softest leathers. All skilfully wrapped around state-of-the-art (yup, there is an art to this) prints and bindings, with each page – even though they’re incredibly thick – able to lie completely flat and open to allow those big panoramic images we’re known for.
Gorgeous albums that will, quite simply, bring back irreplaceable memories for a lifetime.
But even with such stunning craftsmanship, our albums wouldn’t be much without beautiful designs inside them. And that’s where our designers come in. That and the small matter of a load of images to play with! We regularly get together to chat through the kinds of designs that we (and our clients) will like and what sorts of photographs we should be shooting to make it possible. That way we know that the photography and albums will continue to develop and evolve so they’re always fresh and exciting!
This particular album is from Debbie & Kit’s wedding last year up in Chilton.
Gorgeous wedding. Stunning couple.
Absolutely fabulous album.
Blimey, I’m beginning to sound like a creative.
Pass the Bolly darling. Mwah, mwah.
Claire & Iain’s Crazy Bear Wedding Album
Posted by Paul in For Website, Weddings on January 11th, 2010
We’re at that lovely time of year at the moment where much of our work involves planning the next twelve months and looking back (with a lot of enjoyment it must be said) to some of the sessions and weddings we did last year.
We’ve already talked about Claire and Iain’s wedding at the Crazy Bear but I thought you might be curious as to their finished album. Well, it was every bit as stunning (and as unusual) as their wedding. 12 inches square and finished in the most beautiful calfskin leather (and weighing more than your average Italian car), it is truly unique – just as every wedding album should be!
Cheers
P.
Christina and Kieran’s Wedding at Farnham House Hotel
Posted by Paul in For Website, Weddings on December 23rd, 2009
Christina and Kieran’s wedding marks the end of our 2009 season. And what a way to end it!
You have to say that winter weddings are always a bit of a gamble but this has to be one that paid off. And then some.
So often when a client mentions a winter wedding and the dream of snow, I can’t help but picture a typical steely grey and gloomy day with limited light – not that that affects the photos particularly but it’s certainly not in the opening of the Bride’s Guide to Romantic Weather Conditions*.
But this was so far from that as to be unreal. True, it was cold. Blisteringly so. But worth it!
Christina and Kieran are two of our most laid-back clients to date and I reckon they had to be to keep smiling through the sub-zero (no, I’m not kidding) temperatures. And just a tiny, almost medicinal, consumption of Moet/Guinness seemed to help a little!
Set in Farnham, Surrey (not normally known for its winter wonderland qualities) this was a gorgeous wedding in almost unheard of conditions – at least in this country – with a client and their family who were an absolute joy to work with.
Now that’s how to end a season! Stunning!
*and yes, that is a fictional book title. I made it up and have no idea if it exists. But wouldn’t it be a great book to write?! It would be right up there with JR Hartley’s finest!
Sarah and James’ Wedding at Le Manoir Aux Quat’Saisons
Posted by Paul in For Website, Weddings on December 22nd, 2009
Ah, once more we find ourselves in the most stunning of locations. Whichever way you look at it, Monsieur Blanc certainly knows how to run a venue.
Le Manoir is always a favourite of ours and this wedding was everything that this venue does so well. Admittedly, the weather was terrible (that cold, piercing damp that we do so well in this country at this time of year) but, with the possible exception of a few photos we couldn’t capture outside, it made little difference.
I hope Sarah and James had dreamed of a cosy, romantic wedding in one of the world’s most beautiful venues as this is exactly what they had. With an open fire roaring and spitting in the corner and the Christmas tree lights twinkling over their ceremony, this was a truly wonderful wedding.
And following that, there were 7 courses of undoubtedly the most delicious cuisine imaginable. But then, that’s what Le Manoir is all about. A total immersion of the senses into a world of tastes and smells and attention to detail.
Sarah and James picked their wedding venue well. And they deserved it. They and their family were absolutely lovely to work with and I think the pictures we’ve captured show a truly romantic day that they’ll all remember for a long time to come.
Ah, this has been a great season.
Cheers
P.
Claire & Nick’s Wedding at Kersey Mill
Posted by Paul in For Website, Weddings on October 12th, 2009
One of the joys of train travel (apart from the excitement of founding out if they have any refreshments or not) is that you do get an opportunity to sit and do stuff. And that’s an opportunity that is too good to miss.
We’ve been unbelievably busy this year and so it’s actually quite rare for either of us to get some (relatively) uninterrupted time to sit and write our blog. So I’m endeavouring to make up for that now with the aid of my trusty laptop and a free wifi connection.
Claire & Nick’s Wedding was held at Kersey Mill – a beautiful old mill and grounds that sprawl across the Suffolk countryside. We’d had this wedding booked well over year ago (and we’d been looking forward to it ever since!)
It was worth the wait. A beautiful day, a stunning location and a fantastic crowd. Claire and Nick looked like they were having an absolute ball, as did their guests. One thing that we loved about this wedding was the opportunity to grab some shots of the bride and groom in the grounds and the mill, in the most stunning summer evening light.
Not every bride and groom wants to go off on their own to create some images for the album, but Claire and Nick really wanted some cool images of the two of them. So, once the guests were happily consuming their way through Suffolk’s wine and spirits, we wandered off into the grounds to play in the most glorious evening light! The images, I think, speak for themselves (though you wouldn’t know it given how long my blog entries are!)
Let us know what you think!
Take care
Cheers
P.
Christina and Richard’s Wedding at Le Manoir
Posted by Paul in For Website, Weddings on September 23rd, 2009
I could get used to this. Having venues like Le Manoir Aux Quat’ Saisons (and the clients who book there) that is. There is definitely something about the place. Maybe it’s the whole chilled atmosphere or maybe it’s the stunning grounds. Maybe it’s just that it seems so familiar or that our clients who have booked this little pile in the Oxfordshire countryside always seem really lovely. Dunno. Either way, I love working there – which is just as well as we’ve been there fairly regularly this season!
We do seem to be blessed with cool, classy venues around us with Le Manoir, The Crazy Bear and Notley Abbey all within a 10 minute drive from where we’re based!
Anyway, I was up at Raymond Blanc’s little pad again last week for Christina and Richard’s wedding. And it was wonderful. The weather was great, the guests were great, the food was great (according to the guests – I nipped home for lunch as I don’t really like to photograph people eating – seems rude somehow), the gardens were stunning (again, according to the guests, many of whom appeared to be incredibly knowledgeable gardeners!) and the service, as always, was exemplary.
And this extends to the guys up at the Bat & Ball pub in nearby Cuddesdon which is where I met the bridal party first thing in the morning (it felt like dawn as it was a pretty early start!) and was immediately offered a cup of coffee by the landlady which was hugely welcome!
So all in all, a fantastic day full of beautiful moments, plenty of emotion and an awful lot of affection all shot against the familiar sandstone backdrop that is Le Manoir. Beautiful.
Let us know what you think
Cheers
P.
Elizabeth & Dave’s Wedding at Notley Abbey
Posted by Paul in For Website, Weddings on September 21st, 2009
Ah, a breath of Californian sunshine in the Buckinghamshire countryside. In September as well.
We spend a lot of time and effort keeping our website and blogs up to date (well, reasonably up to date) and it was great to know that it works – Elizabeth found us from her home in California through Google!
I knew this was going to be a great wedding the minute that we met Dave and Elizabeth at our studio and so it turned out to be. They were married at Penn St. Church and had there reception at Notley Abbey which is very close to us – and is utterly stunning.
The weather? Well, what can I say about the weather? Given our pretty dramatic summer, you’d be forgiven for thinking a couple from California were nuts for choosing an early autumn UK venue for their wedding! However, fortune favours the brave as they say and it couldn’t be more true. It was pretty funny to see a crowd of people used to very hot weather, sitting in an English church trying to keep cool by using the orders of service as makeshift fans!
I am not sure what our American guests made of it all (particularly the formality of an English wedding) but with two gorgeous (and very old) venues, glorious sunshine and a beautiful couple who could not be more in love, it was truly a wedding that Richard Curtis could write a film about! Stunning!
Caitriona & Shaun’s Wedding in the Dordogne
Posted by Paul in For Website, Weddings on September 21st, 2009
I’ve just returned from the first wedding we’ve been commissioned to photograph in France; three scorching days in the Dordorgne at the most beautiful Chateau de la Bourlie with a brilliant group of people (life’s tough huh?!)
We were absolutely thrilled to be able to offer our services and be part of such a special occasion. Although the location of the wedding was not exactly local, we created a bespoke wedding package to fit perfectly with what they were looking for. This package included our usual pre-wedding session that was held on a glorious summer’s evening on Wandsworth Common, close to their home in London.
We are always meticulous about getting the details and logistics right in advance of the Big Day – and this is even more important where large distances are concerned – however it was well worth investing the time as everything went without so much as a hiccup and we have some absolutely beautiful images that are going to make a truly memorable wedding album for Caitriona and Shaun and their family.
Claire & Iain’s Wedding at the Crazy Bear
Posted by Paul in For Website, Weddings on September 21st, 2009
Once again, our summer weather has been a bit of a talking point – and for all the wrong reasons. Let’s be honest here, we have experienced quite a range of conditions this year!
However, we are exceedingly fortunate in that our cameras can withstand pretty much any weather that is thrown at us – quite literally sometimes. Though that doesn’t always make it nice to be standing out in it!
One such wedding that we had the pleasure of photographing in torrential rain and thunderstorms earlier this year was at the Crazy Bear in Stadhampton. Now, to most brides and grooms this would appear to be an absolute disaster but to Claire and Iain (who are the ultimate chilled couple), it was quite the reverse – it simply added drama and excitement to the day! I love clients like that!
The Crazy Bear is one of the few venues where it is equally atmospheric inside as out and the Moroccan lounge felt welcoming and cozy as the heavens opened all around us. We did manage to squeeze in some of the family group shots outside – while dodging the downpours – but it made no difference to the day which was ultimately a huge celebration even with thunder growling away in the background!
I absolutely loved photographing this day!
Rachel and Philip’s Wedding at Le Manoir Aux Quat’ Saisons
Posted by Paul in For Website, Weddings on May 29th, 2009
You know sometimes when you have to pinch yourself? Just a little pinch. Just to remind you that this is actually work? Well, this was one of those days.
I’m stood in the familiar surroundings of Le Manoir Aux Quat’ Saisons, camera in hand. And I have the nicest group of people to photograph. Oh, and the sun is shining – at least momentarily.
This was Rachel and Philip’s gorgeous and intimate wedding at Raymond Blanc’s famous venue. And it was everything you could wish to photograph in a wedding. Except for a little rain. Actually, quite a lot of rain, but it didn’t seem to matter too much. Besides, pictures of kids with umbrellas always look fantastic!
Rachel was particularly insistent that we captured a lot of images of the younger members of the wedding party and that the images overall were relaxed and informal. Given our approach, I suspect that’s exactly why she chose us to take the photos in the first place!
I reckon I have fulfilled the brief and I had a fantastic time doing it – and I suspect that Rachel, Philip and all of their guests did too judging by what I saw unfold in front of my camera. We have loads of images of the kids running around (with and without umbrellas!), a chilled groom, a stunning bride and a newly-married couple looking, well, like they’re unbelievably in love!
Is there more you can ask from a wedding day? If there is, I am not sure I know what it would be! Except, just maybe, a little less rain. But hey, that’s just nitpicking.
Let us know what you think of the images.
Cheers
P.
Debbie & Kit’s Beautiful Day
Posted by Paul in For Website, Weddings on April 16th, 2009
An unbelievably beautiful day.
The first wedding proper of this year’s busy season and it was an absolutely stellar day! I still find it hugely flattering that we have a client list that is just full of people who are genuinely a pleasure to work with – and this couldn’t be more true of Debbie and Kit. And their wedding was to be everything you’d wish for out of the most romantic day of your life!
The way we approach our wedding packages is so that we can always cover the whole of the day, right through the build up and then into the ceremony itself and completing with the celebrations afterwards. This makes for a fantastic wedding album full of interesting moments and surprises. Admittedly, this particular day did kick off with the groom’s party not being, well, exactly where myself and Kelly, my ever patient assistant, had anticipated them to be (we eventually tracked them down in our regular haunt, The Little Italy Coffee Shop, for an impressive breakfast of caffeine ‘n’ carbs!) However, once this slight glitch had been ironed out – and the lads had been united with their wedding suits – we were on a roll.
After a very emotional (and very musical) ceremony, the celebrations moved to The Barn At Chilton which is one of those venues that simply takes your breath away – possibly quite literally during the winter months as its perched right on the top of the hills overlooking wide open expanses of Buckinghamshire countryside leaving it just a tad exposed. However, this day was as perfectly still and as calm as any August morning and the location was everything you could wish for (and the staff up there are fantastic which always makes our life so much easier!)
We stopped off on the way to photograph the bride and groom in Kit’s stylish… er…. van. Yup, once a surfer always a surfer (even Debbie’s shiny new surfboard was temporarily re-purposed as a somewhat unusual seating plan!) Kit had arranged for a red carpet for the bride though! Anyway, this all just addedto the really relaxed atmosphere – I did half expect to Debbie to dig out her ever-near acoustic guitar and we’d sit around and sing a song or two, but this didn’t happen until a little later! And the photos we captured are beautiful!
Finally, just as I thought the day couldn’t get any better, it quite simply did with the appearance of possibly the best wedding band I’ve ever had the pleasure of listening to – awesome!
Cheers
P.
Fireworks at Carlton Towers
Posted by Paul in Commercial, For Website, Weddings on March 27th, 2009
Wow. Where do I start?!
This was just an amazing session albeit a gruelling one.
We have teamed up once again with the guys at Fuse Fireworks. For our regular visitors, you may remember that we captured some images for them down in a very inclement Bristol back in November but this was a very different shoot.
I always love creating images for Fuse as they have a really forward-thinking view of the marketing and PR images that they’d like. For this session, Ben and Brian from Fuse didn’t want the familiar explosions-in-the-sky type of image but rather wanted to create some images that show a little more of what it’s like to have fireworks as part of your own celebration or wedding. A little more tricky to shoot but brilliant!
We’ve been planning this session for weeks. Hasselblad kindly lent us a beautiful hi-res camera (more about this in another post) and we had hair & makeup, flowers, dresses, lighting, fireworks, models and the most unbelievable location all organised to create the most gorgeous images to cover everyone’s marketing. All of the suppliers involved are some of the best in the business which made it a real pleasure!
So a huge thank you to all the following:
* Once again we’re working with Sassy & Co in High Wycombe which I love. It was Claire and Connie who kindly joined us and we had a ball! Not only do they produce stunning results with hair and makeup – you only have to look at the photos to see that – they’re also just the loveliest people to be working around. They were absolutely at the heart of everything and there wasn’t a single glitch.
* Everyone at Maid in Heaven in High Wycombe for providing some utterly stunning wedding dresses. They were also hugely helpful given that it’s not every day that I get to go and pick out bridal wear!
* Carlton Towers for providing a location to die for. A huge, breathtaking Gothic mansion in the middle of the Yorkshire countryside. I can’t imagine a more glorious place to have as a backdrop
* Alison Tingey from Anthurium Floral created the stunning bouquets that you can see in the shots (you have to see these close up to see her exquisite attention to detail.) We’ve used her floristry for a year or two now and I am still always blown away by her work!
* The models – Anna, Ben, Coral, Danielle, Harriet, Mark, Natasha and Polly. What more can I say? Gorgeous! (even the guys)
* Fireworks – Fuse Fireworks who, as always, create the most sensational explosions! Oh, and you couldn’t ask for nicer guys to work with.
* The guys at EES Showhire provided the beautiful lighting that was the final icing on the cake. We bathed the building in a rich scarlet (for some Halloween publicity) but they had pretty much any colour we could have asked for!
I’ve included quite a few photographs for this blog to give you a feel for all the different types of shots we captured. Enjoy!
Cheers
P.
As recommended by Le Manoir aux Quat’Saixons
Posted by Paul in For Website, News, Weddings on February 10th, 2009
Well I know that every day the news on the TV and radio seems to be incessantly gloomy, but we seem to be having a rather fab start to 2009!
I will grant you it’s a little chilly. Now, I absolutely love the snow (it’s the kid in me – I’ll get our snow pictures up later today) but I’m no fan of the sleet’n’slush that we’re now enduring. And it’s really challenging for our normal outdoor photography. Red noses seldom add to the look of a sexy image.
Apart from that, we’re having a ball!
One high point so far this year has been that we’re now one of a select few photographers on Le Manoir aux Quat’Saixons recommended supplier list.
Right from the very outset we’ve strived to produce the best images, the highest quality products and an exemplary level of service – while still keeping our familiar informal and relaxed approach. And that is still very much the case. And to be viewed by Raymond Blanc as a supplier he would happily recommend is really exciting!
Now that’s not to say that I think we’ve ‘arrived’ – far from it. There are always things we can improve and develop. However, if the guys at one of the best restaurants and wedding venues in the UK think we’re doing OK then I have to admit it feels good!
Cheers
P.
Rachel and Matt’s Wedding.
Posted by Paul in For Website, Weddings on August 26th, 2008
Anyone for golf? We’re back again at one of my favourite venues – The Oxfordshire Golf Club in all its glory.
This wedding was always destined to brilliant fun and we’ve been looking forward to it ever since we did the pre-wedding session with them. We don’t often get a chance to be completely removed from the crowd but I knew that both Matt and Rachel wanted to get some photos down on the course (and who wouldn’t?) which we thought would be cool and, as an added bonus, there was to be a fireworks display. Cool.
Matt is one of the managers at The Oxfordshire so, with the assistance of one of the best-men as my driver, we shot off across one of the finest golf-courses in the UK in a pair of golf-buggies. Thankfully Jo (the best man) knew how to swing the windscreen down on the cart so I could get some really unusual shots of the bride and groom hurtling along through the greenery. Ah, the romance.
So a great day, lovely company (the bridesmaids in particular were very sociable!), an Olympic vicar (I kid you not), amazing performances from various friends (the solo guitar/vocal in particular stood out – she was awesome), singing waiters, ice sculptures, stunning fireworks and a fantastic venue. Oh, and let’s not forget two easy-going and chilled clients!
One very happy photographer.
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