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.

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.

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!

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!