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.

The best bouquet toss….ever

Sometimes, as a photographer, something amazing happens before your eyes in a blink & you’ll miss it kind of way. I stand there, heart in mouth, snapping away hoping the technology can keep up with my trigger finger. One of these moments happened at the recent wedding of Alex & Charlotte. Now, I’ve photographed a fair few bouquet tosses but this one was simply the best! Charlotte had a fab group of bridesmaids including her sisters Georgia & Natalie, her friend Ruth & her husband-to-be’s sisters Annie & Hollie. They all lined up along with quite a number of single ladies ready for Charlotte to throw the bouquet.

You may notice that Georgia & Ruth had a certain glint in their eyes not quite matched by the others.

What happened next was a display of fine acrobatics, determination & perhaps a hint of a rugby tackle. A flailing of arms & Georgia threw her arm up in triumph.

The following celebrations with her boyfriend & mum & the sympathetic handshake for her dad (& Father-of-the-Bride) were just fantastic.

Will the family soon be celebrating another wedding? Well, if you need a photographer…..

Charlotte & Alex – A Sneak Peek!

Recently I was thrilled to be asked to photograph Alex & Charlotte’s wedding in Weybridge, Surrey. To me the best testimonial of my work is to be recommended by my brides & grooms to their friends & families. About 4 or so years ago I photographed Alex’s sister’s wedding & I must have impressed to be asked again!

Alex & Charlotte’s day dawned bright & clear but the forecasted weather did make an appearance as Charlotte travelled to the church. Part of my skill as a photographer is to use the weather conditions to add something to the photographs rather than detract. As an example one of my favourite shots of the day is the bride photographed through the raindrops on the car window.

That being said, we were all pleased when the sun did shine & I got some really great shots of the bride & groom in the beautiful gardens of their venue Cherkley Court.

One of the joys of being a wedding photographer is the variation whether it is wedding to wedding or the moments you capture on the day. From the nervous reflection of the bride & groom before the wedding, the excited smiles of the bridesmaids to the laughter of the speeches & the fun of the dance floor. I am used to the traditional disco or band but Alex & Charlotte also had, due to Alex’s Greek heritage, traditional Greek dancing accompanied by Alex’s grandfather Bambos playing a bouzouki which is a traditional long necked stringed instrument a little like a mandolin. The moves on the dance floor were certainly very impressive & I was pleased with the images I captured.

The day also included one of the best bouquet tosses I’ve ever seen. It was so impressive it’s going to have its own blog post – keep your eyes peeled!

So, Alex & Charlotte here are your sneak peeks, I really hope you love them. Wishing you every happiness for your future lives together.

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….

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!

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 Inspiration Shoot

I was thrilled recently to be asked to take part in a wedding inspiration shoot to showcase some fantastic suppliers, including myself! The location was a beautiful barn in the Cotswolds, which is an amazing venue for any wedding. Merriscourt is a picturesque Cotswold stone barn near Chipping Norton & is located in some lovely rolling countryside. The barn was charmingly styled for the day by Rachel from Serendipity Weddings who gave the barn a whimsical feel. Cammie, our model, was dressed by Sally Lacock who is a London based designer of bohemian, vintage-inspired wedding dresses & had beautiful hair & make up applied by Katie Reay Scott. Stunning flowers were designed by Flowers 4 Weddings who are based in Finchampstead in Berkshire. I was delighted with the images I captured on the day & please see a sneak peek of Cammie & her ‘groom’ below. There will be lots more to come so do keep an eye out!

Pinterest – A Recent Project…..

A recent project at Mark Lord Photography has been to start a Pinterest page. For any of you who are not yet aware of it Pinterest is a social media site used for the collating of images. Loved by anyone who loves the visual, it’s a great way of gathering ideas. As you drift around the web you can ‘pin’ images of the things, everything from wedding flowers to dresses, you see to one central place onto the ‘boards’ you have set up. You can also ‘repin’ images from Pinterest & follow people you admire & their boards. Pinterest can be used to collect images of anything you love or are interested in but has won the heart of many a bride casting their eye around for inspiration. Searching for vintage wedding ideas? All you need to do is type vintage into the task bar & a huge array of images will appear. Another great idea is to type in your venue name, it is always interesting to see how others have decorated the same venue. It’s really simple to use & saves purchasing lots of bridal magazines only to cut them up!

We have set up a few boards & will keep adding more so please take a look at the page here. It’s a really eclectic mix of weddings, my favourite venues, some beautiful dresses & lots more…. Feel free to repin any of my images that inspire you!

If you are already on Pinterest please follow me & my boards, thank you!

Another 5 star review for my #wedding #photography services

It’s always lovely to receive a review from brides and grooms on the Guides for Brides website. Paula and Daniel got married in March and received their images last week. Here is there review!

‘Mark and his assistant Jack were truly amazing on the day – always in the background – but always there for the perfect shot – and always willing to listen to all manner of little requests. The photography results are stunning – and we are truly amazed all that they managed to capture. I would highly recommend Mark Lord – worth every single penny as we will treasure his amazing photos throughout the (hopefully!) many married years yet to come’

If you missed their sneaky peek posted last month on my blog then here are a few of their wedding pictures from their wedding at the Tythe Barn.

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…..