Georgie & Maarten – A Sneak Peek

There is nothing better for a photographer than to be booked to photograph a wedding through recommendation & today’s bride & groom found me through word of mouth. Georgie & Maarten were married at Holy Trinity, Penn & their reception was held at the stunning Hedsor House.

Kiti, my assistant, started the day at the beautiful Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons. Maarten, the groom, stayed there the night before the wedding with his family who had travelled over from Holland for the wedding. The gardens at Le Manoir were a great backdrop for some great family shots & photos of Maarten & his Best-Men.

Meanwhile, I was at the brides family home where she got ready with her family & bridesmaids. I love the shots of Georgie walking down the stairs towards her proud Mum & Dad & bridesmaids.

I then popped into the car with the bridesmaids to travel to the church & found myself on the other side of the camera when Father-of-the-Bride filmed us as we drove away!

After a beautiful service Georgie & Maarten greeted their guests in the churchyard & came out of the church door in a flurry of confetti.

We then travelled to Hedsor House for the reception. Hedsor House is a fantastic venue for a photographer providing some fabulous architecture & gardens for some stylish Bride & Groom shots.

And some great opportunities for some dynamic shots with your bridal party!

Georgie & Maarten had their speeches spaced throughout the wedding breakfast which included a noise off – who could be the noisiest table & the table who won had to do shots or nominate another table and some very interesting videos including the Bride & Groom’s fathers & a slideshow. It was a really fun reception with lots of laughter that shows in the photos.

After the speeches there was a fantastic firework display. Fireworks aren’t always the easiest thing to photograph but I was really pleased with the images I got on the night.

Then it was time for everyone to hit the dancefloor & have fun. I left as they were dancing the night away……

Hope you love your sneaky peek Georgie & Maarten. Wishing you long & happy lives together.

Mark & Aurelija – A Sneak Peek

I recently photographed the wedding of Mark & Aurelija in Marlow. This really was another international wedding, Mark is from New Zealand & Aurelija is from Lithuania

68-MAP-DL-DLOW4541-32 They had their service at the beautiful riverside church in Bisham and I took the opportunity to their group shots with picturesque river winding its way behind them.

After a few photos of Mark & Aurelija using the architecture & textures of the church. The happy couple then took a boat trip along the river Thames to The Compleat Angler in Marlow for their reception.

The weather was a little mixed but was fine enough for them to have their drinks reception on the lawn next to the river & I got a great group photo of the whole wedding party from the bridge.

I then stopped traffic in Marlow again for my favourite photo opportunity at weddings at The Compleat Angler & got some great shots of the two of them & some lovely portraits of Aurelija on the bridge.

I hope you enjoy your sneaky peek, wishing you every happiness!

Laura & Andy – A Sneak Peek

I was at The Compleat Angler in Marlow again recently for the wedding of Laura & Andy. It was a great day & I was pleased the forecasted downpours passed us by.

I started the day at Laura’s parents home to get some coverage of the bride & bridal party getting ready. I always love being part of the day from the very start & this wedding was no exception. There is an almost ceremonial feeling to the process of preparing a bride to meet her groom.

Laura had a lovely lady Carol, who came to help her into her dress. A great idea as Carol was experienced in all the buttons & laces & completed the task calmly in double quick time. I always have a crochet hook in my camera bag which often comes in useful for the uninitiated but no need for it at this wedding!

Laura & Andy were married at St Margaret’s Church in Tylers Green. It’s a great church with fantastic natural light & a lovely vicar Derek. We did the group shots outside the church, which provided a lovely backdrop. We also got some great shots of the couple under a shower of confetti!

We then set off by car to The Compleat Angler & I was really pleased to catch up with the bride & groom in their wedding car. Kiti got a quick shot or two as we overtook them. Great one Kiti!

Unbeknown to their guests Laura & Andy took a slight detour on their way & rocked up at the venue by…..boat. I love the shot of Laura disembarking with the crowd of quests all taking their own shots. She looks like a film star arriving at a premiere!

It really was a great day. As Kiti & I left them on the dance floor I thought how lucky I was to be part of their special day, to capture the laughs, the tears & the love. Hope you like your sneak peek Laura & Andy. Wishing you every happiness in your lives together.

Louise & Lars – The Compleat Angler – Sneaky Peek

A couple of weeks ago I photographed the wedding of Louise & Lars at The Compleat Angler in Marlow.

Now, over the years I’ve done a fair few weddings there but it did look lovely in the sunshine with the river flowing past. Louise & Lars’ wedding was a small but perfectly formed family affair which is always lovely as you mingle with everybody at the wedding. I often try & do a group shot of the whole wedding when there aren’t too many people to fit in the frame! Large group shots often test my physical fitness though as in my time I have climbed a church tower & hung out of many a window to capture the shot. At The Compleat Angler, with weather permitting, I gather the guests on the lawn by the river & make a quick dash around & up onto the bridge to get the shot from a vantage point.

The river & bridge always seems to play an important part in a Compleat Angler wedding. I try to do some stylish bride & groom shots as they walk across the bridge. This is when I employ the skills of the Best Man, Ushers & my assistant to stop traffic. The boys at Louise & Lars’s wedding did a sterling job & everyone smiled & waved as they drove past!

Louise & Lars also fitted a boat trip into their day which was lovely in the sunshine & I got some great photos of them onboard from the same vantage point of the bridge!

Louise & Lars also had one of my favourite wedding suppliers, Sam Strange, who is an amazing magician. I am always in wonder at his magic & can never work out he does it! If you are thinking of a magician & are looking for someone a bit cooler than the average Sam is your man!

Here is your sneaky peek Louise & Lars. I wish you every happiness for your future lives together.

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.

L & D – Notley Tythe Barn Wedding – Sneak Peek!

Well, we were a happy photographer & assistant recently when we set off for an afternoon wedding in beautiful sunshine.

L & D were married at Notley Tythe Barn near Long Crendon in Buckinghamshire surrounded by their friends & family. The barn is a fantastic backdrop & it looked beautiful adorned with vintage bunting made by The Vintage Bunting Company who are based near Henley-on-Thames.

The barn & surrounding farm lend a photographer a variety of backdrops for cool, personal bride & groom shots & the lawns outside are perfect for an alfresco drinks reception.

I would like to wish L & D every happiness for their future lives together. I hope you enjoy your sneak peek!

Sarah & Ben #sneekypeek #Bisham #Danesfield

Before any wedding I always ‘recce’ the venues to run through the journey for the day & check for any ‘issues’ that may arise; such a parking at the church etc. I went to Bisham Church, near Marlow for my usual look around a week prior to Sarah & Ben’s wedding & my wife Becky was baffled to see a No Fishing sign on the lychgate on entering the churchyard. All became clear to her a few moments later as we walked round the church to be welcomed by the sight of the River Thames in all its glory meandering its way past the churchyard.

The River Thames played a part throughout Sarah & Ben’s day. Sarah prepared for the wedding at the famous Marlow hotel The Compleat Angler where I have photographed many a wedding before she travelled the short distance to Bisham Church to meet her groom. After the service the bride, groom & guests (plus photographer & his assistant Kiti!) travelled to the renowned hotel Danesfield House for a drinks reception & dinner.

This wedding was truly to the adage ‘small but perfectly formed’ with only 14 guests but with all the lovely trimmings of a larger wedding.

Sarah looked absolutely beautiful in her lace dress & her ‘look’ inspired me with some new image styles. Inspired by everything vintage it gives the images an almost ‘milky’ quality rather than the standard black & white. These are applied post-production & whilst they will never be applied to every image add another variety to the styles that I offer. I am really pleased with the range of images in their sneaky peek, I hope Sarah & Ben love them as much I do!

#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/

Le Manoir Wedding Photography

Le Manoir is a stunning Oxfordshire wedding venue and I’m very lucky to live so close to it in the glorious Oxfordshire countryside. It is the perfect wedding venue for an intimate wedding ceremony and reception for you and your guests. The grounds are fabulous for your wedding photography and I hear the food is pretty good too!

See more images from Le Manoir weddings on my website http://www.marklordphotography.co.uk

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…..