Claire & Matt's country wedding

The sun was bright red and setting behind fields of yellow flowers and I was speeding along the empty road towards a tiny pub where the sound of a band and merriment was coming from. Claire and Matt had invited me to their familie's local where Matt's dad was playing in a band - a rehearsal for the wedding the next day...It was fab to meet both families and the ushers, best man and bridesmaids as well as listen to the music.

Next morning it was early bird call, checking equipment and eating a very big breakfast before heading over to the hairdressers where I was meeting Claire and her mum and sisters. From there the wedding had started!! I loved every minute, from the bacon sandwiches being made in the morning, the sibling banter whilst getting ready, and then high tailing it to the gorgeous Ersham Hall where the wedding ceremony and reception were taking place. Matt being nervous, and Claire all calm before the ceremony, and then the laugher, happiness and fun that was the rest of the day and into the night. Claire is lovely, she makes sure everyone's ok, is organised, and dependable. Matt is hilarious, mucking around and funloving. But its when they are together that you really see how well they "fit". They compliment each other so well and you can see in the quiet moments that they know each other totally and love each other for everything that the other is. Here are a few of my favourite photographs..

I love the block colour that the barn doors provided for a fab backdrop!

Here are the bridesmaids waiting for Claire to arrive - it was tipping with rain but luckily the portico on the front of Ersham hall was great for sheltering under! This is where the group pics took place too.
I love this picture of Claire getting out of the car and her dad hurrying around to help her.

I think it was a bit emotional for Claire's dad, but Claire was totally calm, and radiant too.

Here are the two best men, after this shot they both gave Matt a kiss...in fact there was a lot of boy kissing at the wedding!

Its great when I can photograph the ceremony. Here I was able to, and I really think if you can, make sure your photographer can photograph what is taking place. I know that it will go in a blur and that its ultimately your day (not the vicars or the registrar's). I always like to chat to whoever's conducting the ceremony beforehand, just to double check what I can do, and if its possible to persuade them (if they're not keen on having photographs taken), that I wont use a flash, move around or interrupt the ceremony in any way.
I love this picture, Claire looking at the registrar and Matt looking at Claire. Beautiful.

La Kiss!
This was one of the confetti shots - not sure if you can see the detail, but its always fun to get a wider angle shot and see what people are doing.

Between the rain clouds we scurried outside to where I had spotted some flowering cow parsley which was great to use as a backdrop to Claire and Matt. Proper country wedding.

The inside of Ersham Hall is beautiful. It is a privately owned and Annabel who runs all the events here is fab. A proper ball of energy and loveliness. I wish I could live here. The rooms were great too - not too big but still beautifully decorated (the gold leaf and chandeliers), and great to photograph.

When Matt said "we will never walk alone" to Claire's dad who is an Everton fan (you can see his head in his hands).
Lovely moment of Claire and Matt laughing. They have been together for over nine years so all their friends knew them both.

Queuing up for the Hog Roast.

The first dance, the lighting was beautiful - the DJ had a great set of lights, and it made such a difference to photograph. I truly believe that the lighting will make the difference to the atmosphere in the room. I like to shoot with a minimal flash so that it doesnt burn the lights but still brings focus to the shot. Please please if you have a DJ make sure they provide good lighting!

Beautiful dress - love the train.

I took this shot of Matt dancing with each grandma - how fab are they to be tearing up the dancefloor.
The boys, also tearing up the dancefloor. Again, such great DJ lighting makes my job of creating beautiful pictures all the more easier to do.

Weddings and Italy

So its been a crazy busy last couple of weeks for me - two weddings in the space of two weeks! I was in heaven.... what an amazing time. I sometimes have to pinch myself when I think that I can do what I do - I love it! Meeting new people, going to new places, the excitement and interpretation that each wedding brings, the whoop (sometimes whispered) when I feel I've nailed a shot, the utter exhaustion too - in a good way, when I am on my way home, bones aching but smiling at the memories I have of the wedding and the photos I think I have captured.....so my lovely readers, get ready for some blogging wedding overload in the next few weeks...think private manor house, Jane Austin type bride, cracking disco lights, hog roast and rocknroll dad. And, think wuthering heights castle in a storm, candles, family, laughter and laidback loveliness.

So I should probably get back to post production (and off Facebook!) here are a few photographs I took last summer walking in the mountains with my mum in Italy (we flew into Venice)...

Rugby

Its 7:30am and Im in Paddington train station half asleep watching a bunch of guys in yellow and green crack open cans of beer and start blowing a brightly coloured horn. Yep Im off on a three hour journey with what seems like all the South Africans living in London up to Wales to watch the rugby. Feeling somewhat outnumbered I text my sis who is coming from Pembrokeshire and who reassures me her train is full of red shirted Welsh supporters. Ive never been to a match before but this is a birthday present to my mum so its great to meet up with the whole family and spend the next 90 minutes cheering, yelling and singing.....unfortunately South Africa just won but actually it was the atmosphere in the stadium and singing Bread of Heaven that will stick with me. Here are a few photographs I took....(luckily the water got confiscated but not the camera).

Annabel and Tom's London Wedding

It was always going to be a fantastic wedding, from the moment I met Annabel across the table in Cha Cha Moon. Im not usually so forward but when your sitting elbow to elbow and hearing the girly chat of what sounded like an amazing wedding I had no choice but to say hi - it was fate. So, it was with a whoop that Annabel called and asked me to be their photographer....This couple is perfect, honestly. With a mixture of cheekiness from Tom, pure loveliness from Annabel and two people totally in love. And how do you celebrate this - with a low key, modern wedding, with Annabel getting ready at home while Tom headed to the pub for one (or two) drinks before a ceremony in the beautiful Chelsea Registry Office, and a reception in their local pub - The Brown Dog, Barnes. I loved every minute of being a part of their wedding, it was such a relaxed affair, and did I mention totally gorgeous! Check out the photographs.....

I caught this picture of Tom, his brother and best man walking from the pub to Chelsea Registry Office - love it. London really lends itself to this type of photograph.

Arr yes, and the boys in the pub beforehand. Not sure what they were talking about but love the natural shot.
I wanted to create a striking picture of Annabel arriving at the Registry Office in what is otherwise just a stairway. By cross-exposing the picture I was able to get the yellow light from the chandelier in the stairway and create a darker blue than was actually there for the hallway. Love seeing Annabel's dad waiting for her at the top too.

It was so great to be able to take photographs during the ceremony!

Whoop - Confetti and congratulations as Tom and Annabel walk down the steps of Chelsea Registry Office. Spy the champagne bottle in Tom's hand - a gift from the bridesmaids for them to have on their cab journey to Barnes.

I spotted this shop just down the road from Chelsea Registry Office and thought it would be fab to use as a backdrop. Something totally different but great in creating a striking picture.

Humm, maybe I am having a thing with chandeliers but this is Della the best man delivering one of the funniest speeches I have ever heard. I love the fact that Tom and then Della stood up on their chairs to give their speeches (Tom without any notes - impressive).

As you can see - hilarious speeches!

The back of the pub was painted blue which was a perfect backdrop for the bridesmaids dresses. I had to do a bit of photoshop work to get rid of the windows..but hopefully you wouldnt notice. They were fab bridesmaids too - Carly gave a speech and together with Sasha made the delicious wedding cupcakes and Katie flew all the way back from Hong Kong especially!!

At the end of Tom's speech he said "my dad gave me some advice, marry a kind girl - and I have." So difficult to take pictures when welling up but he's right Annabel is lovely, and here we did a few pictures of her outside their first home (which was just behind the pub).

Love this picture of everyone during the speeches - I think everyone is laughing!

This is Tom and Annabel's home which is gorgeous. They were given a wedding card with "The Kiss" by Robert Doisneau and by chance the way they stood outside is exactly the same stance as the couple Doisneau photographed at Hotel de Ville 50 years ago. Love it so much!

The lighting was amazing in the pub - yellow/purple/blue. It makes it so much more atmospheric when I can use a high iso and just a touch of flash without burning the natural light. Here the boys wanted a pic with Annabel's bouquet?!!

At about 10pm we took a few pictures outside. I love this, no flash, just the light from the pub lighting up Annabel's beautiful dress and them walking away down the road.