Wedding at Wycombe Abbey, Gro & Chris A Sneak Peek

Chris & Gro celebrated their wedding at Wycombe Abbey School in High Wycombe. I dropped Kiti off at the school & she started the day with Chris & the boys who were there getting ready. She captured the images of the boys suiting up & applying their buttonholes before making their way over to the chapel to greet the guests. Wycombe Abbey is a lovely school set within lovely grounds. I do a lot of their photography so am very familiar with the school. I am still always surprised that there is such interesting buildings & landscaped grounds so close to the middle of High Wycombe. It is only possible to have your wedding there if you have a connection to the school such as a former pupil or member of staff. Chris’ Mum is a House Mistress at the school so they were thrilled to be able to have their wedding there.Meanwhile, whilst Kiti was with the lads I made my way over to Chinnor to Chris & Gro’s home to photograph the bride getting ready. It was a lovely to be with the girls right from the start of the day & Gro was such a relaxed & happy bride. Once the glad rags were on it was time for me to fly back to Wycombe Abbey to make sure I was there & ready for the bride’s arrival. The chapel at Wycombe Abbey is lovely & has a mezzanine level where Kiti had located herself. This was perfect as it gave her a fantastic vantage point to capture some unobstructed views of the ceremony.

After a beautiful service everyone gathered outside for a drinks reception & we did the group shots of the steps of the chapel. When I first moved up country from Cornwall I worked for a photographic studio who used a local picture framing company. I continued to use the same company for all my framing (once my lovely wife had stopped being a Picture Framer!) for many years. It was a fantastic, bespoke framers & the owner was Chris’ granddad Neil. He left after the service but it was great to see him & get some shots of the proud grandfather with the bride & groom!We then organised the guests to line either side & the chucked the confetti & blew bubbles as Gro & Chris wandered along!Whilst the guests mingled Kiti & took Gro & Chris into the grounds to capture some stylish shots of the two of them. We then went back to the main hall for the wedding breakfast. There were some fantastic speeches including musical performances, poetry & thanks to Gro’s Swedish heritage a schnapps toast! After the speeches it was time for the another musical performance, this time by Chris’ brother, first dance & then everyone hit the dancefloor. We made our way home as they were dancing the night away!

A Colourful Tipi Wedding at Rushy Meadows, George & Kerrie – A Sneak Peek

A beautiful late Spring morning saw Kiti & I heading off to the wedding of George & Kerrie in sunny Garsington & Eynsham.I dropped Kiti in Garsington where she was to capture some images of the groom getting ready with a difference – we’ll come back to that later. I headed off to the little village of Thrupp just north of Oxford where Kerrie, the bride, was getting ready. Kerrie’s family are from North Yorkshire so had hired a lovely coach house to stay in which was the perfect place for Kerrie to get ready in. I captured some lovely images of Kerrie & her family getting ready but before long & I had to hop back into the car to get to the church before the bride. Kerrie was travelling by vintage VW camper van so I knew we wouldn’t be travelling at the same speed but the driver made excellent time & Kerrie arrived at the church on time.Meanwhile in George & Kerrie’s lovely cottage in Garsington where there was a houseful & the party had already started! George is originally from Cyprus & there are some important traditions to be celebrated before the service. The Best Man shaves the Groom in the presence of his family & friends. He then dresses the Groom in his shirt, waistcoat, tie & suit while music plays. His friends & family then take turn to wrap a red scarf around the Grooms waist as a symbol of his fertility. The images Kiti captured really show the emotions & celebrations of this part of the day. By now an expectant groom was waiting at the altar for his bride. The Best Man & Ushers were waiting outside as we arrived & they accompanied the bridesmaids up the aisle followed into the church by the Bride & her father. Unusually, at the last minute we found out we would be unable to take any images in the church due to the rules of a visiting vicar. After the service everyone poured out of the church followed by the Bride & Groom who exited to a flurry of confetti! The Bride & Groom, their friends & family mingled in the churchyard with champagne before setting off the venue. The reception was held in a tipi at City Farm, Eynsham. City Farm is a beautiful location & is also know as Rushy Meadows. At Rushy Meadows there are 3 separate huts for glamping which you kind find on Canopy & Stars but they also hold weddings there. It’s a beautiful area with big mowed parts perfect for pitching a tipi in front of the lake & of course, the Bride & Groom can stay in one of the beautifully appointed huts right next door!George & Kerrie arranged a beautiful, relaxed, colourful festival wedding & the sun really shone for them! During the drinks reception Kiti & I took them away for some shots of the two of them with the fab campervan & lake offering perfect backdrops.
George & Kerrie were announced into the tipi with a round of applause & it was time for the speeches.

I love the emotions, the fun & the laughter in the images & just what was the Best Man telling Kerrie for the Groom to react like this!

It was a lovely relaxed wedding & the large tipi was fantastic with firepits where guests could toast marshmallows. The whole day was a lovely celebration but before too long it was time for the Bride & Groom to cut the cake & then hit the dancefloor for their first dance.

As always we left everyone dancing the night away under the stars……

We hope you enjoy your sneak peek George & Kerrie, there are lots more to come!

A Wedding at Notley Tythe Barn, Joanne & Geoff A Sneak Peek

You can plan every detail of your wedding but the one thing you have no control over is the weather. Just because you book a wedding in June doesn’t mean that you can guarantee back to back sunshine…..but when can we with the British weather?! Joanne & Geoff’s day was still full of sunny smiles & happiness despite the weather!We photographed their wedding at the lovely Notley Tythe Barn near Long Crendon. We captured images of the Groom, Best Man & guests mingling in the barn before they took their seats & awaited the arrival of the bride. We always take images of the rings before the service but Joanne & Geoff’s were beautifully made by our very talented friend Lisa Marie who is Designer Goldsmith. We love her work so much she made our engagement & wedding rings!Joanne looked beautiful when she arrived & there was barely a dry eye in the house as she walked down the aisle. The buttonholes, Brides & Bridesmaids bouquets & flowers were grown & arranged by the wonderful Rachel from Green & Gorgeous. They really were a wonderful mix of everything ‘June’ Love in the Mist, Poppies & Peonies. Mark has been doing some photography for Green & Gorgeous so we visited on the day before the wedding & captured some images of Rachel picking & arranging the beautiful flowers. After a lovely service in the barn we photographed the group shots during the drinks reception before Joanne, Geoff & their guests were seated in the main barn for the wedding breakfast. Due to the inclement weather meaning we couldn’t go outside for the shots of the Bride & Groom I returned the barn in the early evening. As I got back they were doing the speeches so I whipped the camera out & took a few of the laughs & emotions. I then took Joanne & Geoff outside for some shots of the two of them. We couldn’t go to far afield as the ground was so wet but I am really pleased with the images I took of them in the wonderful rural setting of the barn. I left the couple enjoying the rest of their wedding day. We hope you enjoy your sneak peek Joanne & Geoff. Wishing you every happiness!

A Wedding at The Tythe Barn, Tegwen & Tim A Sneak Peek

So pleased as a wedding photographer when the summer finally arrives & the sun comes out. Kiti & I wound our way to the The Tythe Barn with sunglasses as well as smiles on our faces.We were there to photograph the wedding of Tegwen & Tim. Kiti started at the barn capturing the flowers, the outside space where the ceremony was to be held & the guests arriving. I made my way to The Nook where Tegwen, her family & bridesmaids were getting ready. The Nook is a wonderful secluded spot where the bridal party can get ready together in comfort & close proximity to the barn. The Nook is divided in to two main rooms – one side caters solely for the bride whilst the other room has been created to offer a large space for the bridesmaids, mother of the bride, flower girl, page boy and so on. Both rooms have been carefully thought out and the needs of the bride and her attendants have been considered at every stage.

Emotions on a wedding day run high & I love the moment when the Father of the Bride sees his daughter for the first time. It’s a really touching moment & I love the images I captured of Tegwen & her Dad. By now the guests had gathered in front of the large oak doors in the sunshine & the expectant groom stood with his best man awaiting the arrival of his bride.Preceded by her bridesmaids Tegwen & Her Dad made their way through the wisteria arbour to meet her groom.
An outside ceremony is lovely, when the weather allows & added to the celebratory, relaxed feel of Tegwen & Tim’s wedding. After the lovely service the Bride & Groom made their way back through the arbour to a flurry of lavender & then joined their guests for a drinks reception in the garden. We did the group shots there with the barn as a backdrop before taking Tim & Tegwen away to do some shots of the two of them. There are some great places around the barn for shots, the folly, shepherds hut & tree lined driveway to name but a few. They even have this new vintage landcover that can be used as a drink station but is also a fab backdrop for your photos!We then made our way back to the barn to join their guests for the wedding breakfast in the wonderful vaulted space. After the speeches & cake cutting the guests spilled out onto the lawns with tea & coffee before they made their way inside to the dance floor. After Tegwen & Tim had their dance everyone joined them on the dance floor & they boogied the night away…… Wishing you all the best Tegwen & Tim, we hope you enjoy your sneak peek!

Wedding at West Wycombe House, Karen & Ian, A Sneak Peek

Recently Kiti & were lucky enough to photograph a wedding at a beautiful country home called West Wycombe House. I have photographed the house & estate several times but this was my first wedding there & one I have been really looking forward to.Kiti & I both started at the house but Kiti made her way into West Wycombe village to the primary school to meet Ian the Groom. He went to school there for some shots as a memento before going back to the house for shots by the beautiful columns & in the stable yard! I made my way into the house to find Karen the bride & took some shots of her getting ready. It was so convenient for her, she only needed to make the short journey down the stairs to meet her groom. West Wycombe House and its 5000 acre estate is the home of the Dashwood family and has been since 1698. The current Premier Baronet of Great Britain is Sir Edward Dashwood, 12th. Bt, and he currently resides at West Wycombe Park with his wife and family. The house today is often featured in screen adaptations of literary classics such as Cranford, Downton Abbey & was most recently seen in Doctor Thorne.The Hall where the ceremony was held is a beautiful room with marble & frescoes.The staircase that Karen descended on is a work of art on its own made of mahogany with inlaid satinwood & ebony. Their friends, family & an expectant groom waited as Karen made her way down the stairs to meet him with her best friend Mark. After the lovely service Karen, Ian & their guests moved onto the colonnade for champagne & canapés before we took the group shots. We then took Ian & Karen away for a few quiet minutes to get some stylish shots of the two of them. Very often my Brides & Grooms say how much they enjoy this part of the day. A part of the day that they can take a deep breath & take it all in…And a have minute just the two of them…..well, apart from me!

I never keep them away too long & it was soon time for them to join their guests in the Music Room for the wedding breakfast. After a delicious meal & some very funny speeches it was time for cutting the cake & then for a boogie on the dancefloor. After a little while everyone was asked to gather their coats & move outside. The guest were all amazed with the wonderful firework display & I was really pleased with the images I captured. We then moved back inside for a bit more dancefloor action before it was our Cinderella moment as we made our way homeward.

Photography Shoot with a Master Thatcher

To continue with our series of shoots with artisan food producers & craftsmen we thought we would share a recent shoot that Mark did with a Thatcher down in rural Wiltshire.
Whilst we have been searching for suitable projects for Mark so much has been through word-of-mouth, twitter & chance meetings with people. Recently Mark spent a day teaching photography to small businesses in Wiltshire for use on their websites etc. On the day he chatted to a lady who mentioned that her husband was a thatcher & may be looking for new images for his website. Now, never one to rest on his laurels the next day when he was back at his desk Mark called Adam & later the same week he found himself atop a thatched roof! Mark spent the day with them whilst they thatched the beautiful thatched cottage. He captured images of them using the traditional tools such as the legget which is used to force the blunt ends of the reeds inwards to bring them into line & shearing hook which looks like a left-handed scythe, except it’s right-handed and is used to shear the ears off the reeds. Mark got some fantastic shots of the tools, the skills & the craftsmen themselves. Thatching truly is an ancient craft; the first thatch was in the Bronze age – 4,500 years ago. Thatched cottages and farm buildings were the norm in rural Britain for a millennium or more. Adam Nash, who Mark spent the day with, is a Master Thatcher & is based in Crockerton, Wiltshire and thatches in Wiltshire, Hampshire and Dorset. You will see examples of his thatching scattered around the counties including Salisbury, Amesbury, Andover, Heytesbury, Tisbury, Shaftesbury & Warminster www.adamnashthatcher.co.uk

Photography Shoot with Chiltern Charcuterie

As we promised earlier in the week, a blog about Mark’s recent visit to a charcuterie producer. When we were looking for local artisan food producers we thought a charcuterier would be an interesting project so put our snouts to the ground & found a fabulous local company producing wonderful air dried ham, pancetta, salami & chorizo. Chiltern Charcuterie was born in the summer of 2014, by two amateur cooks; Ross and Catherine, who both have a passion for good food. Their current products include: Air-dried Beef (Bresaola) and Lamb, Pancetta, Salami and Chorizo. All their produce is handmade, and hangs for a minimum of 28 days to develop flavour. You can purchase online here or there are lots of local places you can purchase such as Just Cooking in Thame. Last week Mark visited them to capture some shots of them making their fine produce & some images of the finished product.

Photography Shoot with Hobbs House Bakery

This year Mark has been photographing lots of projects for a British stock library who sell worldwide. They are all about capturing images about living healthily, well and sustainably. Their images reflect artisan & small business. As you can imagine this type of photography is right up Mark’s street. He has had a great time photographing some really interesting projects & some really talented artisans; from fine furniture makers & thatchers to a traditional sign writer & a local charcuterie producer. I even took part in a shoot myself with Mark’s Mum & Dad cocklepicking on the Helford in Cornwall. I’m sure that we will be posting some more projects in the next few months but last week Mark had a rather exciting photo shoot.Hobbs House Bakery was established in the Cotswolds in the 1920’s and they are a true family business with five generations of baking experience. Mark has met them previously at the fabulous Gloucester Services & contacted them in the hope of organising a shoot. Born with flour on their fingers, 5^th generation bakers Tom & Henry, known to many as The Fabulous Baker Brothers, were so generous in giving Mark their time & the results were fab!Mark visited them at The Hobbs House Cookery School in Chipping Sodbury near Bristol & photographed them doing all things bread. The combination of the neutral light-filled room, a couple of handsome chaps & a fantastic photographer has resulted in some great images.

Hobbs House Bakery’s beautiful sourdough & artisan loaves, cakes & baked loveliness, baking equipment including your own sourdough starter can be purchased from their website. They also have a selection of Bakeries where you can purchase the old fashioned way in person in Chipping Sodbury, Nailsworth, Tetbury & Malmesbury. You can even learn how to bake yourself at Hobbs House Cookery School.

A Wedding at Henley & Hedsor House – Camilla & Rob’s Sneak Peek!

Camilla & Rob were recently married at St Mary’s Church, Henley-on-Thames & Hedsor House. It was a beautiful, sunny Spring morning as Kiti, Becky & I set off to Hedsor House.I was to photograph Camilla getting ready in the beautiful surroundings of the Bridal Suite so I was dropped off & Becky & Kiti made the journey to Henley for the first time of the day.

The Bridal Suite at Hedsor is such a wonderful place to prepare for your wedding day. It is one of the largest Bridal Suites in Europe & provides the ultimate space to enjoy your most special day together with your bridesmaids & close family.

It was just lovely on this sunny morning with the large windows filling the space with warmth and natural light. It has been decorated in soft ivory tones & plush furnishings so is a photographers dream! Meanwhile Kiti had arrived in Henley to meet with the Groom, Rob, his Best Man & Usher. They had met for a drink at The Bull & Kiti got some lovely shots of Rob & the lads there before making their way via the River Thames to the church.

Back at Hedsor House, Camilla was making her final preparations in the bridal suite before gliding down the stunning staircase & into the awaiting Rolls Royce Silver Cloud.

By now Becky had popped back to Hedsor House to collect me so we whizzed off to Henley. The traffic into Henley over the bridge was chock-a-block. Once we got within striking distance I jumped out the car, made a run for it over the bridge & got there just in time!

The service was just lovely, Camilla is a teacher at a Henley school & some girls from the school sang beautifully at the wedding. It was wonderful to see what an exciting day it was for them.We gathered everyone either side of the church path & Camilla & Rob made their way through a confetti tunnel & the congratulations of their friends & family.Meanwhile, Becky was waiting just around the corner to pick us up & run us back to Hedsor so we were in place to capture the Bride & Grooms arrival.

They were soon joined by their guests who arrived back in two fabulous double decker London busses. The vehicles all looked fantastic lined up outside the impressive frontage of the house.The guests made their way into the galleried centre hall of the house & we took a moment to do the group shots outside the house. It’s such a wonderful backdrop & really adds to the splendor of the day. We then took Camilla & Rob to do some stylish shots of the two of the in the grounds. Hedsor House is perched high above the River Thames and set in over 100 acres of historic parkland. We got some lovely shots of them in the parkland & outside the house.

Before long, it was time for them to join their friends & family for a balloon release! This was really good fun & an unusual way of doing a photo of everyone!After this, the guests made their way into the Grand Ballroom for the wedding breakfast & speeches. When you book Hedsor House it is as a dry hire so your wedding planner or caterers run the day. Camilla & Rob used a fantastic company called Caper & Berry who I have worked with before. They were amazing on the day & the food was delicious! After a wonderful meal & much laughter it was time for Camilla & Rob to cut their cake & then have their first dance. We positioned Kiti up on the gallery & I love the shots she captured of them alone on the dancefloor before being joined by their wedding guests! As always Kiti & I left everyone dancing the night away. Hedsor House has 10 gorgeous guest bedrooms for the Bride, Groom & closest guests so when the day was over all they had to do was wind their way up the sweeping staircase.

We hope you enjoy your sneak peek Camilla & Rob, wishing you every happiness

A Wedding at Notley Tythe Barn, Nikki & Bren a sneak peek

Recently Kiti & I photographed the wedding of Nikki & Bren at Notley Tythe Barn near Long Crendon in Buckinghamshire. As there was some driving between locations Becky joined us to help with the logistics. First thing first we dropped Kiti off at Notley to meet up with the groom Bren & his Best Man & Ushers.

We then hotfooted it to Chesham where Nikki was getting ready at their home with her Mum & Bridesmaids. I spent the morning capturing some lovely shots of Nikki’s bridal preparations with everyone having hair & make up. I love the shot of Nikki’s mum helping her with her dress.

They all looked wonderful as they left home to make the journey to the barn for the wedding. I jumped in the car & we made a quick get away to make sure we got back to the barn ready for the Bride’s arrival.

The service was held in the main part of the barn in front of the window & was officiated by a family friend, which really added to the personal feeling to the service. After the ceremony Bren & Nikki made their way outside for a champagne reception & to be congratulated by their guests. After some mingling we did the group shots outside before taking the Bride & Groom off for some stylish Bride & Groom shots. The barn is set in a lovely rural location & has a variety of places that I take my couples to. Nikki was wearing a beautiful veil & I love the possibilities & textures that a veil can add to the images. On a windy day they can be problematic but no worries at this wedding & I love the shots of Nikki & Bren both under the veil.It was quite a chilly day so we didn’t spend too long outside before we went back to the barn so Nikki & Bren could join their guests for the wedding breakfast. After some great speeches…what was the Best Man saying to make Bren cover Nikki’s ears?!…It was time for cutting the cake, first dance & for everyone to hit the dancefloor. This was a great wedding for dance floor action, loads of people got up & there was some very enthusiastic dancing! As always, we left them dancing the night away…..