Deborah & Stephen, The Tythe Barn – Sneak Peek!

Another sunny Saturday & I was off to one of my favourite venues The Tythe Barn, Launton near Bicester.

Deborah & Stephen hail from up north so they & their friends travelled down for a wedding in the Oxfordshire countryside. The Tythe Barn is a great venue with lots of options for all weathers; I shoot weddings there all year come rain & shine. When the sun is shining you can have the ceremony outside as Deborah & Stephen did. What a lovely aisle to walk up, a verdant arbour with your family & friends seated either side.

The flowers were beautiful, the ever-popular gypsophila in generous bouquets worked wonderfully against the bridesmaids dresses from Two Birds. Inside, Charlie from The Flower Fairies had decorated the barn with beautiful greenery highlighting the historical architecture.

Deborah & Stephen had some fantastic styling & details on the day & an important part of a wedding photographers job is to capture these for posterity. I particularly loved their table plan; pots of lavender & the place names were labels on granny smith apples!

The lovely day rolled into a beautiful summers evening & I shot some great photos of the guests mingling & playing croquet. As with most weddings though my evening ended on the dance floor – not dancing you’ll be pleased to know!

I hope you enjoy your sneak peek Deborah & Stephen. Wishing you every happiness for your future life together….

Ruth & Matt – The Forbury & The Plowden Arms – Sneak Peek

Another sunny day another sunny wedding. Despite overnight thunderstorms the morning of Ruth & Matt’s wedding was bright & clear. Ruth got ready at The Forbury Hotel in Reading & they had a civil service with a few chosen guests in the Eden room followed by drinks reception in the library.

Ruth & Matt are Landlord & Lady of The Plowden Arms in Shiplake near Henley on Thames so after a few bride & groom & group photos by the river in Shiplake we headed back to the pub for a knees up.

There was a traditional marquee with afternoon tea whilst guests mingled playing quoits, chatting & taking polaroid photos in their homemade photobooth.

Music during the afternoon was supplied by Rob Heron & The Tea Pad Orchestra all played from a fantastic stage, a converted airstream trailer.

Ruth & Matt laid on an amazing spread that mirrored the quality of the food on offer in the pub. They were then entertained by another group The Bellinis who sing modern day songs with a vintage twist. I left everyone dancing away with lights twinkling.

Hope you enjoy your sneak peek Ruth & Matt. Wishing you every happiness. I’ll be in for a pint of your best soon.

Stéphanie & Tim – Henley On Thames – Sneak Peek!

There are some days as a wedding photographer that you particularly hope for great weather due to something on the day that depends on sunshine or at least no rain. My own wedding included a boat trip & walk up from the quayside, which wouldn’t have been possible in gale force 9!

Tim & Stéphanie’s wedding included a planned walk across the bridge in Henley from ceremony to reception venue so it was disappointing to wake to heavy rain on the morning of their wedding. But one thing for the British weather is that it is pretty changeable! By the time Stéphanie left the house to travel to Henley the sun had come out & the weather just got better & better as the day went by. And yes, we even made the walk across the bridge!

Stéphanie & Tim’s wedding was at St Mary’s the Virgin in Henley on Thames followed by a marquee reception in a friends garden on the banks of the river Thames. It really was a beautiful day & the gardens, house & bridge provided a great variety of backdrops for some fantastic shots. Guest of honour was Stéphanie & Tim’s dog, Hugo, who even made an appearance at the church!

Hope you love your sneak peek Stéphanie & Tim. Wishing you every happiness in your future lives together.

Phoebe and Guy #CornishWedding #PentillieCastle

As a born & bred Cornishman I leap at every opportunity to travel back down the A30 so I was a happy man crossing the Tamar a week or so ago to photograph Phoebe & Guy’s wedding at Pentillie Castle near Saltash.

The day began with a beautiful service in the village church in Calstock before the guests were transferred by bus to the banks of the river Tamar to the picturesque Bathing Hut to await the arrival of the bride & groom by boat. Most Brides & Grooms pray for warm, sunny weather on their big day but the soft, misty rain, which thankfully cleared up, & high white clouds on Phoebe & Guy’s day really added to the mood & atmosphere for the photographs.

One of the highlights of the day for me was the choir singing during the church service. This wasn’t just any choir but the bride herself joining friends & family to sing, it was a beautiful moment.

Pentillie Castle is a fabulous venue for a photographer with the bathing hut & historical quayside, the gardens & the house itself & terraces for groups shots with a view!

Thank you for asking me to be part of your day Phoebe & Guy, I hope you enjoy your sneek peeks!

#Wedding featured on Conde Nast #BRIDES website as ‘wedding of the week’

One of my brides from March has just emailed me to tell me their wedding has been featured as wedding of the week on Brides Online! I have already showed you several of their images in previous posts but it was a stunningly colourful wedding. Here is the link to see the feature and some of the images again!

http://www.bridesmagazine.co.uk/community/weddings/story/233924-Explosion-Of-Colour/

Wedding Photography at The Tythe Barn – Paula and Daniel

Last Friday I had the pleasure of photographing the wedding of Paula and Daniel at The Tythe Barn; this was my 4th wedding at the barn in a row, two around Christmas time and two since the New Year. It was yet another fabulous wedding day and the weather was just amazing with clear blue skies and quite warm for this time of year.

Paula and Dan told me their wedding was to be inspired by the film ‘UP’ a lovely film you should all try and watch. It’s a very colourful film so most of the inspiration was based on bright colours. WOW, I was not disappointed, this wedding had a lot of colour and thought put into the details.

Dan got ready on the outskirts of Brackley with his best men and ushers. He thought he was heading to the barn by taxi, however, Paula arranged a flash car to pick Dan up and take him to the barn. It was a great surprise that my assistant Jack captured and you can see Dan’s reaction in the images below.

Meanwhile, Paula was getting ready at their home with a cool orange VW Camper parked outside to take her, her parents and the bridesmaids to the barn. They could not have picked a better colour vehicle to be photographed against the blue sky and the backdrop of the barn as Paula and Co. arrived. It looked……… well……. wicked!

The ceremony went off in true, flawless Tythe Barn style with a reading and a poem written by Paula which was most funny. Then followed the champagne reception in the courtyard with a handful of group shots and some inspired by Paula….

I had my usual 20-30 minutes with the bride and groom to get some lovely pictures of the two of them. Paula and Dan particularly liked my vintage style that I applied to some of their pre wedding shoot pictures and ask for me to apply these effects to some of their wedding pictures.

They had some really lovely ideas at their wedding and they both looked fantastic in their outfits. It was another wonderful Tythe Barn wedding and I look forward to my next one there in June.

There was a very special man there too, Paula’s grandad who is 99 soon and as bright as a button!

Paula and Dan have been on a mini moon (small honeymoon!) for a few days and I have promised them some teasers soon. Here’s a sneaky peek guys – there are a lot more images to show you soon…..

Just get me to the church on time…… #weddings

The wedding car can be a big part of the day. Don’t panic if you struggle to get into the car in your dress, most brides do and will get in with a little help from their Dad or bridesmaids. If the car has a stereo ask if you can play some music on the way to the church or venue. Record a CD that’s ready to play on the day, some stereos may even accept an iPod! 186-IMG_3814-KSH But don’t be disappointed if there is no stereo after all many wedding cars are vintage, so long as the wedding car can get you to the church on time!These old cars are not wedding cars you will be pleased to hear! They just happen to be ‘parked’ in the grounds of the fabulous country pub and wedding venue The Crooked Billet. If you are looking for a quiet country pub for your wedding venue that serves the most incredible food then look no further. Kate Winslet even had her wedding reception here!

A little tool that may save the day! #Weddings

Buttoning up the brides dress is always a crucial moment, often when you might be running out of time. Try and allocate someone (who is calm) to do it for you and even ask them to practice beforehand. On several occasions bridesmaids have become unstuck when it comes to buttoning up a dress because they have not practiced or worried about damaging their fingernails. Understandably! The best advise I can give is to buy a crochet hook to help grip the loops that go around the button.

It’s a great tool to use for buttoning up dresses and something I have seen several mother of the brides pull from their handbag! I would suggest for every wedding photographer who reads my blog to buy one now and tuck down the side of their camera bag. It can save a lot of time and help the bride get to the church on time.

This shot was the first time I ever saw a mother of the bride use a crochet hook on the dress. The picture was taken at Taplow House Hotel

#Wedding #Flowers

Your wedding flowers are such a beautiful part of your wedding day, take time to smell your flowers before the wedding service or ceremony, they will help you relax as you will have chosen some of your favourites and maybe they will even remind you of your childhood, parents or grandparents gardens.

Find a few minutes to take in all of the wonderful flowers at your venue and see how spectacular they look. Often the church or venue will smell of the flowers you have chosen. Speak to your florist about your favourite flowers, what is in season and what they are able to get as you plan your big day. Choose flowers that remind you of your loved ones who are perhaps no longer with us.

Some of my favourite florists in the south Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire area are listed below. Check out there websites for more information.

http://www.theflowerfairies.com

http://www.hotflowersandart.co.uk

http://www.thedaisychainprincesrisborough.co.uk

Here are some ideas to help you with your wedding flowers

See more wedding flowers and more of my work on my website http://www.marklordphotography.co.uk

Group photos #photography at #Hedsor House

Hedsor house is a stunning backdrop for your wedding photography. The house is magnificent and the parkland breathtaking, both give a great deal of opportunity for some unique wedding photography. I prefer to do the group photographs in front of the house as the light is generally at it’s best there and the backdrop of the house looks very regal in the wedding pictures! Here is a stylish shot of the bridal party in front of Hedsor house.

Mark Lord Photography

Oxfordshire based photographer specialising in people and our rich landscape

Bridesmaids