Lora & James – A Sneak Peek

Kiti & I photographed the wedding of Lora & James at Milton Hill House, Steventon near Oxford. Now, as a wedding photographer it is always lovely when the sun shines & it is even better when the wedding ceremony can be outside.

We arrived at the venue & I popped straight upstairs to find the bride. Lora was preparing for the day with her parents & five bridesmaids. The bridesmaids all looked lovely in navy dresses with small yellow posies of ranunculus & billy balls tied with stripey yellow ribbons. The bride looked lovely in a simple dress with beautiful tapework, delicate sequins & beading. She carried a larger version of her bridesmaids posies this time tied with navy stripey ribbon & adorned with an initial A for her new surname.

Whilst I was with the bridal party Kiti was with the groom to take some portraits with him & his Best Man, Ushers & family….and the all important ring shot!

As the guests gathered on the lawns in front of a lovely brick built pergola Lora accompanied by her bridal party made her way to meet her groom.

It was such a lovely ceremony in the sunshine & the Bride & Groom made their way back down the aisle with beaming sunny, smiles!

Then it was time for group shots in the grounds in the shade of some lovely trees before I took the Bride & Groom off for some couple shots.

Milton Hill House Hotel is a new venue for me but Lora & James were up for an adventure & we found some really varied areas from Italian sunken gardens to some fantastic barns which gave a textured, vintage feel to the images.

After our adventure it was time for Lora & James to join their guests for the traditional wedding breakfast. Lora, James & their friends & families had decorated the room with touches of yellow & navy from pom-poms to some seriously perfect bunting made by the mums on the back of each chair.

There were great speeches from James & his best man ……but I love the look on their faces during Lora’s Dad, Derek’s speech – priceless & very funny!

After the wedding breakfast it was time for the cutting of the cake & the first dance before everyone hit the dancefloor. Kiti & I left everyone dancing the night away

Congratulations Lora & James – wishing you every happiness. Hope you love your sneak peek as much as we do!

Kristina & Craig – A Sneak Peek

Recently I photographed the wedding of Kristina & Craig at Hedsor House. Hedsor is a beautiful venue & has been used as a location in many films & TV programmes such as Quartet & Spooks.

Kristina & Craig both got ready at the venue so once Kiti & I arrived we started taking photographs with the Bride & Groom. I always photograph the bridal preparations & found Kristina in the beautiful bridal dressing suite located on the first floor. It soon will be one of the largest bridal suites in Britain & certainly offered everything that a bridal party should need. It is always wonderful to be part of the day from the start to capture the all-important ‘ceremony’ of the bride & her bridesmaids getting into their finery!

While I was with the bride Kiti found the groom, best man, ushers & dad’s & got some great, stylish shots of the lads on the steps of the main entrance.

Now it was time for Kristina to make the short walk from the bridal suite to meet her groom in The Centre Hall where their guests were waiting in anticipation.

After a lovely service the guests followed the bride & groom to the lawns at the side of the house that has beautiful views across the grounds & countryside beyond.

During the drinks reception Kiti & I used the front of the house as a fantastically stylish backdrop for the group shots.

After the group shots we borrowed Kristina & Craig for a little while to do some stylish shots of the happy couple in the wonderful grounds of Hedsor House. Kristina is a veterinary nurse so loved the shots in the countryside with some four-legged friends.

By now it was time for Kristina & Craig to return to their guests for the wedding breakfast. Craig is a chef so you can imagine that the food was an important part of the day for him. The absolutely delicious dinner was prepared & served by the fantastic Liz & her team from Cavendish Events. They also did a hog roast for the guests to have later in the evening during the dancing. After the beautiful meal, speeches & performance by the flowergirls it was time for cutting the cake, first dance it was time to hit the dancefloor. Wishing you every happiness Kristina & Craig. Hope you enjoy your sneak peek & we will be in touch with your album proof soon!

Ruth and Stephane – A Sneak Peek

Most of my weddings are in Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire so it was with some excitement that Mrs Lord & I travelled to Kent to photograph the recent wedding of Ruth & Stephane in the beautiful late Spring countryside. We travelled down the day before so our day started with collecting my Antipodean assistant Kiti & we made our way to Tenterden.

All of today’s wedding locations were in close proximity so we planned to do a quick reccee of the wedding & first look locations prior to meeting the B&G. Rural Kent is a beautiful & looked wonderful at this time of year with the trees bursting into leaf & the cow parsley out in flower. After familiarising ourselves we made our way to meet our Bride & Groom.

Ruth & Stephane planned a day that was personal to them & this started with a first look amongst the vines of the famous vineyard Chapel Down. Normally I do my couple images with the bride & groom after the service during the drinks reception but it made refreshing change to do the photographs before the service & I think it was a special moment for the Bride & Groom to share.

After the first look we made our way to The Great Barn, Rolvenden which was the venue for the day. The service was beautiful & it was lovely that Ruth & Stephane were placed facing their friends & family rather than the audience viewing their backs!

By now what had been a rather overcast day had turned into a beautiful sunshine & Ruth & Stephane mingled with their guests in the orchard. They planned a really individual day after the drinks reception the guests gathered back in the barn at long trestle tables for afternoon tea after which there was beer & wine tastings for the guests.

They decorated the barn in a fabulous rustic way with reclaimed wood signs & strings of fairy lights, the tables decorated with bottles with local hedgerow flowers.

By now the sun had softened into that lovely evening glow & I took the Bride & Groom away for a few more couples shots. I have recently been experimenting with shooting into the sun which offers a soft, ethereal feel to the images.

After a few more shots with the happy couple it was time to let them return to their guests for their very original first dance & as always Kiti & I left everyone hitting the dancefloor.

Wishing you every happiness Ruth & Stephane. Hope you enjoy your sneak peek!

Happy Anniversary Phoebe & Guy!

I can’t believe it, but it is already a year since I was in Cornwall to photograph the wedding of Phoebe & Guy at Pentillie Castle. As a Cornishman born & bred I love the opportunity to travel back down to my home county. Cornwall offers so many fantastic wedding venues & Pentillie Castle, which is on the River Tamar offers a photographer some beautiful opportunities for some stylish bride & groom photos.

Congratulations Phoebe & Guy on your first anniversary!

Kind words…..

Its always lovely to hear from happy Brides & Grooms & recently we heard from one of our couples who were married earlier in the year. We always send our couples a feedback form after the wedding as we are always looking to improve our service & their feedback is invaluable.

Claire & Richard were married at Somerton followed by a reception at The Tythe Barn, Launton.

‘Very friendly & professional, excellent communication, very unobtrusive on wedding day & stunning photos!…’

‘…Thank you so much for our beautiful wedding photos – we were very impressed by the professional service & unobtrusive style & would definitely recommend you to others!’

Keep an eye out on our website for the new added testimonials page coming soon!

Alex and Marie – A Sneak Peek

The day shone bright & clear the morning of Alex & Marie’s wedding as Kiti & I headed up the M40 to The Tythe Barn, Launton near Bicester.

The Tythe Barn is one of my favourite venues whatever the weather but it really comes into its own when the sun is shining & people can use the outside space.

I met with Marie at The Nook to get some shots of her, her closest girlfriends & her Dad & Brother. I took the opportunity to get out in the sunshine & took some lovely photos in the hidden courtyard.

The light was lovely & Marie looked beautiful with her short style dress with lace overlay. I love the shock of colour from her bouquet which contained freesia, ranunculus, anemones & one of the funkiest of flowers craspedia otherwise know as billy balls or billy buttons.

After the short walk through the garden to the barn it was time for Alex & Marie become husband & wife.

They left the barn in a flurry of confetti.

These are one of those moments as a photographer that you only have one chance to nail it. You can’t really say just as everyone has thrown their fistful of confetti ‘Excuse me can we try that again!’ I am really pleased with this shot, great expressions, fantastic flurry of confetti & I love the sun flare across the lens.

After the ceremony Kiti & I took the bride & groom off for a few shots around the grounds – always a nice time for the bride & groom to take a moment from the madness of the day.

Once the lovely couple returned to the barn it was time for them to re-join their guests as the celebrations continued…….including a drum solo from the groom!

We hope you enjoy your sneak peek Alex & Marie. Wishing you every happiness!

Emma & Paul – A Sneak Peek

We’ve had some lovely spring weather recently but we were disappointed to wake up to rain on the morning of Emma & Paul’s wedding. Luckily the rain soon passed & the sun shone on their day. Apparently it is lucky to have rain on your wedding day!

Emma & Paul’s wedding was in the beautiful city of Oxford & our day started by making sure we had the locations & routes for the wedding as we would spend most of the day on foot.

I love a classic military wedding & as Paul is a Navy Pilot he was wearing formal ceremonial uniform. Kiti met Paul at the hotel to get some shots of him getting ready before walking with him & the men to the ceremony. There was, of course, a quick pit stop at a pub for a swift drink or two!

You will notice that a furry friend accompanied the men. Jessie is Paul & Emma’s much loved dog & she played an important part in their day. She was brilliantly behaved throughout & was a credit to them.

I went to Emma’s mums house to meet the bridal party & to capture some getting ready shots of the bride & bridesmaids. It’s always a lovely part of the day to see everyone getting into their finery & starting off the day with a glass or two of champagne!

It was soon time for Emma to make the short journey to meet her groom. Paul & Emma’s wedding was held at Emma’s old school St Edward’s in Oxford & the ceremony held in the beautiful chapel in the grounds.

The quandrant gave me some lovely opportunities for some stylish bride & groom shots & it was really interesting to use the architecture of the old building.

Emma & Paul had decorated the reception room with wonderful blossom trees that looked beautiful. They really added height to the floral decoration & certainly had a wow factor for all the guests entering the room!

After the wedding breakfast & speeches it was time for everyone to hit the dancefloor. As always Kiti & I left them all boogying the night away!

Emma & Paul – hope you love your sneak peek as much as we do! Wishing you every happiness for your future together

Nichola & Matthew – A Sneak Peek

Recently I photographed the wedding of Nichola & Matthew at Oakley Court.

Its always lovely to be booked through recommendation & even better when its by one of my previous brides & grooms. Several years ago I photographed the wedding of Matthew’s sister Suzanne & it was lovely to see her & her husband Kirk with their family celebrating her brother’s wedding.

Now back to Nichola & Matthew’s day. It was a really lovely family day & they had some very important people in their wedding party. Matthew was ably assisted by his pageboy, their son Chase & Nichola was attended to by their daughter Daisy as bridesmaid. Having their children take part in their day was lovely & offered some fantastic photo opportunities. I particularly love this shot of Matthew & Chase looking cool in their special socks taken by Kiti.

The whole wedding party got ready at Oakley Court, near Windsor before taking the short stroll to The Windsor Suite for the ceremony.

Oakley Court is a magnificent Victorian Gothic mansion, which is set amidst 33 acres of landscaped gardens, which go down to the banks of the River Thames. So after the ceremony & formal, & not so formal, group shots I took the bride & groom away to get some shots of the two of them together. I love the stylish shots of them on the pontoon.

We then left the river & we used the architecture of the historic building. I loved it when the Bride offered to climb into a trolley basket!

It was then time for the bride & groom to return to their guests for the wedding breakfast & speeches.

When photographing little ones it is always good to catch them when they are in the mood & during dinner I got some lovely shots of them as pageboy & bridesmaid.

After dinner, it was time for the evening guests to arrive & as always Kiti & l Ieft everyone on the dancefloor.

Nichola, Matthew, Daisy & Chase – we hope you love your sneak peek. Wishing you all a very happy future together…

Claire & Richard – A Sneak Peek

Last Saturday saw the wedding of Claire & Richard. Their ceremony was in the picturesque Oxfordshire village of Somerton in the quaint village church St James.

It was a bright spring morning as the guests gathered in the church decorated with lovely pew ends of spring flowers in glass jars.

Kiti & I took the opportunity before the brides arrival to get some shots of the groom, best man & ushers in the village & churchyard.

Then it was time for the groom to take his place before the bride arrived with her Dad.

Claire arrived at the church in a vintage Rolls Royce clutching a beautiful bouquet by the very talented Flower Fairies. The stunning springtime bouquet made up from whites roses, brunia, eucalyptus, grape hyacinths, pussy willow & wax flowers.

After a lovely service Richard & Claire left in the sunshine to make the short journey to The Tythe Barn, Launton for the wedding reception.

As always, I took the opportunity to take the bride & groom away from their guests for a little while to take some shots of the couple around the grounds of the barn.

The Tythe Barn have recently installed a crash pad for the bride & groom, a shepherds hut with, of course, one or two touches of luxury! Decorated in their normal chic style it really is a fabulous place for the bride & groom to stay after the party is over. Claire & Richard are my first couple to stay there so we made sure to get some shots of them outside the hut.

After we returned the couple to their guests it was time for the wedding breakfast, banquet style. It looks so beautiful all laid up & really adds to the celebratory atmosphere.

Music was supplied by Gigz Management who are suppliers of fantastic bands, dj’s, string quartets & much more. The band called Bring the Party were just fabulous & soon got everyone up on the dance floor. We left them boogying the night away with their guests very envious of their night of luxury in the shepherds hut!

We hope you love you sneak peek, Claire & Richard – lots more to follow soon! Wishing you every happiness for your future lives together….

Amy & Tom – A Sneak Peek

Wedding season is truly underway at Mark Lord Photography & last weekend Kiti & I travelled to the lovely village of Evenley in Northamptonshire for the wedding of Amy & Tom.

Kiti started her day with the groom at his family home in Evenley & I was with the bridal party getting some preparation shots before making the journey to the church. Its always an exciting part of the day & I always love the moment that Mum & Dad see their daughter in her wedding dress.

I love this shot of Amy & her Mum enjoying a moment before she walks into church on the arm of her dad.

After a lovely service we made our way to Notley Tythe Barn, Long Crendon near the border of Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire. The barn is in lovely countryside & offers some rural backdrops for some great couple shots.