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 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
This afternoon I travelled a short journey up the road to the Point to Point races at Kingston Blount.
I took a different camera to the one I usually use, a Fujifilm X-Pro 1. It is quite different to use compared to my usual Canon EOS 5D Mk3 system but due to it’s size you can become more inconspicuous and blend into the crowd better and still achieve professional results.
As with all of my work I like to tell the story, capturing the detail, the behind the scenes, the overall picture and people involved in the day and this can be achieved due to the discreet nature of the X- Pro 1. Its not as fast at focusing as my Canon gear but is a great camera to use for photo journalism.
I met several lovely people today and promised to put some images on my blog and Facebook page soon. Please visit my Facebook page to see a small selection of images. Please LIKE my Facebook page to then receive a notification when I post the other images later this week.
https://www.facebook.com/MarkLordPhotography
Looking for a last minute Mothers day present for you Mum? Why not treat her to a family portrait session? Portrait sessions are just £25 for a shoot in Aston Rowant OX49, £50 for up to 10 miles ( Marlow, Henley, High Wycombe, Oxford and Thame areas) and £75 for up to 25 miles of OX49.
Just click on the link below and you can enter any value you wish to give your Mum from £25. She will then receive an email from you showing the value of the session. Prints and digital files also start at £25.00
http://www.marklordphotography-clientarea.com/index.php?do=giftCertificates
Please contact me letting me know you have sent your Mum an e-voucher and we can log your details. The voucher will be valid for the rest of 2014. Thank you
http://www.marklordphotography.co.uk info@marklordphotography.co.uk 01844 351218
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…..
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! 
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!
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
With the current British weather I’m sure several brides will be worrying about it raining on their wedding day.
Unfortunately this is not something any of us can change and what will be will be. However, a rainy day can make for some stunning photography if everyone is prepared for it. Check with your venue to see what their wet weather plan is, see if they have a load of umbrellas or whether you need to buy some for the bridal party. We bought a job lot of clear umbrellas for our wedding day which thankfully we didn’t really need but it’s one less thing to worry about if you have some. Also, remember the grounds of the reception venue may be waterlogged if there has been flooding or a lot of rainfall. I would suggest getting yourself a couple of pairs of wellies, Hunter do some very trendy ones now so treat yourself to a pair, if you don’t use them on the wedding day then I’m sure they will come in handy another day!
But most of all, don’t let it get you down. Just smile and remember it’s good luck if it rains on your wedding day!
Recently Clare and Conor booked me for their wedding photography at Notley Tythe Barn. I love a rustic wedding at a tythe barn so if you are getting married at one of the Oxfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire or Wiltshire tythe barns please do get in touch!
I was at a wedding fair at Notley Tythe Barn, Long Crendon, near Thame and Clare and her Mum came by to see me and introduce themselves. We had a chat and before Clare left she mentioned bringing their dog to the pre wedding shoot. I really enjoy photographing dogs, I could photograph dogs all day long and in my time have photographed all sorts from terriers to Newfoundlands. It’s been a while since I have photographed an Old English Sheep dog but Clare and Conor brought their 8 month old ‘Old English’ with them to the shoot, called Eddie! I was a little taken back when I opened the door but not quite so as our cat who sensed something large and hairy at the door and legged it upstairs.
We headed off into the nearby South Oxfordshire fields with Eddie and we all had a blast. I am very much looking forward to their wedding later in the year at Notley Tythe Barn
Here are a few of my favourite images from the shoot.
Since Christmas I have been very busy booking weddings for 2014 and 2015, meeting couples and shooting pre wedding shoots. Although the weather has been pretty shocking we have been very lucky on the days the shoots are booked for, with some nice winter light and some lovely wintery colours. All of my clients who book a pre wedding shoot near to my home are advised to bring wellies this time of the year. We can get away without going off road too much but some industrial rubber on the soles of our feet will mean we can venture further.
This is a picture of a footpath where I regularly take my clients for photographs so you can see suitable footwear is advisable!
Just over a week ago I had the pleasure of photographing one of my couples who’s wedding will be at The Tythe Barn later this year. Paula and Dan booked my services over the internet and then came to see me to discuss their wedding day and for their pre wedding shoot. Paula had given me the ‘heads up’ that they had a bit of a theme to their wedding and would be bringing a balloon to the shoot. How cool I thought! I am not going to give the game away before the big day but all will become clear when you see the wedding pictures I post later in the year. We were blessed with a beautiful morning for the pre wedding shoot and got some wonderful images.
Here are a few of my favourites from the shoot.
The vintage look I apply to some of my pictures worked really well at this shoot and the most important thing to me is Paula and Dan loved them. I am really looking forward to their big day!
See more of wedding photography and family portrait photography for Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire on my website http://www.marklordphotography.co.uk
Mark Lord Photography 
