Marlborough Wedding Photography – Nic & Jono, A Sneak Peek

The other Saturday I found myself heading to Wick Bottom Barn near Marlborough for a wedding. It’s a little way out of my ‘normal’ area but as Mrs Lord is from the area its my home from home. We met there 11 years ago now when I was working at a photographic studio in Savernake Forest & Becky was a picture framer. I worked with a great team there & one of the team I trained was Nicola. We stayed in touch over the years, mainly thanks to Facebook & Instagram & have seen her family grow with her boyfriend Jono & their gorgeous girls Willow & Lottie. I was really thrilled when Nic & Jono got in touch & asked me to photograph their wedding.They did the legal part of getting married on the Thursday in Marlborough & the day on Saturday included a humanist ceremony in front of their friends & family. Kiti & I both started at the barn & we captured some images of Jono finishing off getting ready & with his Best Man & Ushers before welcoming the guests.
As their friends & families waited with an expectant groom, Nicola arrived in convoy with Willow, Lottie & the rest of the Bridal party. They gathered themselves together & made their way into the barn, with Nicola being given away by her very proud brother. It was a lovely service conducted by Jono’s step-brother John & Nicola & Jono made their way out to the congratulations of their loved ones. They had a really relaxed day & they mingled with their guests whilst drinking fabulous cocktails mixed by The Rovin’ Bar. Their younger guests (& some of the older guests!) had great fun on the bouncy castle & huge slide. We took Nic & Jono off into the countryside to do some shots of the two of them before coming back to get the girls to do some shots of the four of them. I love the shots of the girls looking back over Mum & Dad’s shoulders. Before too long we brought Nicola & Jono back to their guests for the informal wedding breakfast in the barn. The guests were sat banquet-style at long trestle tables as they enjoyed delicious hog roast & slow roast brisket. After the gorgeous meal it was time for some great speeches with lots of laughter & tears. Nicola & Jono were surrounded by their friends & families as they enjoyed their first dance before everyone joined them for a dance or two!

A Village Wedding – Katherine & Dave’s Sneak Peek

A couple of weeks ago I photographed the wedding of Katherine & Dave in Ewelme & Britwell Salome. I have known Katherine & her family for a few years now & was really thrilled to be asked to photograph her wedding.
My assistants & I started the day with a quick meeting to run through the details & timings for the day. We synchronised clocks on our cameras & made our way to our separate starting points. Beder started his day in a pub in Watlington with the Groom, Best Man & Ushers before making his way to the church. Richard started at the reception venue to get some shots of the marquee, flowers, table centres & all the important details before he too made his way to capture the guests arriving.

Meanwhile, I spent the morning capturing some lovely shots of Katherine’s bridal preparations with the ladies having their hair done with gorgeous up-do’s for the bridesmaids. I love the shot of Katherine’s mum Carol helping her with her dress & Dad Chris making the final tweaks to his speech. They all looked wonderful as they left home to make the journey to the church in Ewelme for the wedding. Becky was waiting for me so I jumped in the car & we made a quick get away to make sure we got to the church as fast as we could. It was then time for the Bride’s arrival on the arm of her very proud Dad & she made her way into the church to see her expectant groom. It was a lovely service in a beautiful church, afterwards we made our way to the historical cloisters to do some photographs of the two of them with some shelter from the rain. We didn’t keep them for too long as it their guests were waiting to shower them in confetti as they walked up the church path to their car to take them to the reception venue. The reception was held in a marquee in the gardens of the family home & was a lovely light filled space even on a rainy day. As their guests mingled we took the Bride & Groom away to do some shots of the two of them. It looked like the rain & drizzle were set in for the day so we took our white umbrellas with us. Katherine & Dave embraced the rain & really helped me achieve some great shots despite the conditions. We returned them to their guests as soon as we could to take the group photos, most of which were small enough to do under the covered area of the marquee. We all hope for perfect weather on our wedding day but we are in the UK so this can’t be guaranteed! It’s a good idea to consider where your photographer will photograph your formal group photos if the weather is inclement. Katherine & Dave’s marquee had a raised area outside which was covered which fitted my needs perfectly. It was now time for everyone to take their seats for the wedding breakfast & some fantastic speeches by the Father of the Bride, Groom & his Best Man, his twin – you are not seeing double! As so often happens as the evening came the rain cleared away to a beautiful evening & we took the opportunity to take Katherine & Dave away for a few more photos of the two of them in the evening light. They then returned to the marquee for their first dance & were soon joined by their friends & family. They had an excellent band who were fantastic & great at getting everyone up & boogying the night away. Lovely to see some familiar faces having fun on the dance floor!

Wishing you both every happiness! We hope you love your sneak peek Katherine & Dave, there are a lot more fab images to come.

A Cornish Festival Wedding – A Sneak Peek – Leanne & Tim

Most of our weddings are in Oxfordshire, Berkshire & Buckinghamshire so it was with great excitement that we travelled down the A30 to my native Cornwall to photograph the wedding of Leanne & Tim.I started the day in Falmouth with Leanne, her bridesmaids & Mum & Dad at their family home. It was a lovely part of the day, I know them well as Leanne’s Mum Dianne is my cousin! I photographed the girls when they were young before I left Cornwall but it was lovely to catch up. I loved the images I captured of the girls getting ready & Leanne’s Dad keeping out the way in the garden!

Before long it was time for Leanne to get into her dress & make her way down the stairs to see her family. I love the emotion of this moment of the day when a proud dad glimpses his daughter in her dress for the first time. I then whisked myself off to the reception venue to make sure I was there in readiness for Leanne & Andrew’s arrival. Meanwhile my assistant had been photographing Tim & the guests arriving. Even my assistant at this wedding was a blast from the past! Many years ago when I was starting out I assisted a very talented photographer called Bjorn. Fast forward a few years & the roles had reversed & Bjorn was helping me out for the day. It was great working with again & we had a blast! Back to the wedding, by now a expectant groom was waiting for his brides arrival. He didn’t have to wait too long before she arrived on the arm of her proud dad.

After a beautiful ceremony we all made our way outside & Leanne & Tim appeared with a flurry of confetti.After the group shots in the Cornish sunshine we enlisted Becky’s help to drive the photography crew down to the beach for a few shots. Leanne & Tim made their way in style in a very cool VW camper. We really wanted to get some shots of them with the camper with the sea behind them. Now being a Saturday in July it wasn’t guaranteed but with a very helpful driver & a couple of signs being ignored we captured the shot!Leanne took off her shoes & we made our way onto the beach to do some shots of the two of them. We certainly caused quite a stir! We didn’t want to take too long so we then made our way back to the reception venue Penmorvah Manor just outside my home village of Budock Water. Leanne & Tim then enjoyed a fabulous wedding breakfast surrounded by their friends & families. There were some fabulous speeches & it was fantastic to capture the emotions – the laughter & the tears. The highlight certainly was at the end of Andrew’s speech when their friends & family all joined in with a rendition of All You Need is Love – kazoos & all. This was a complete surprise for them both but there was quite a few more surprises to come! After the wedding breakfast a vintage coach turned up to take all the guests to the next venue for the evening festivities. Leanne & Tim are both massive festival fans having got engaged at one & they both worked really hard on arranging a fabulous festival wedding! They had great attention to detail with fantastic signage, a hand built stage with live music & even a camping field for the dedicated festival goers! It was a fabulous evening & was enjoyed by all. It was great to photograph a wedding surrounded by so many of my family too. It was so great that I couldn’t seem to put my camera down, it might have had something to do with all the surprises too! One of which was when Leanne & Andrew were announced onto the dancefloor for their traditional Father & Daughter dance….or so we thought! Check out the photos as they busted some serious dance moves. It really was a fantastic day from start to finish. Wishing you every happiness Leanne & Tim. We hope you enjoy your sneak peek, there are lots more to come!

Caroline & Phil, A Tythe Barn Wedding – Sneak Peek

Last week Kiti & I returned to one of our favourite venues The Tythe Barn, Launton to photograph the wedding of Caroline & Phil. 007-CPM-MLP22183-7 The sun was shining brightly as I made my way to The Nook, which is the Tythe Barn’s dedicated bridal preparation area. No need to get ready in a hotel room with not enough room or mirrors before then squishing you & your dress into the back of the car for the journey to the venue. The Nook is a beautiful space full of style & elegance & is a wonderful place for bridal preparations. It must also be a favourite of many a wedding photographer as it certainly adds to the getting ready shots with some fantastic backdrops & great lighting. Whilst I was with the bride, Kiti was photographing the groom & guests arriving & all the details in the barn. Before long the guests were all seated & all were expectantly awaiting the arrival of the Bride. After getting ready in the peace & calm of The Nook Caroline & her Dad made the short walk across the garden under the pergola to meet her groom in the barn. The ceremony was lovely & Caroline & Phil made their way out into the sunshine where they were soon joined by their friends & families. As the guests mingled they enjoyed a beautiful trio of ice creams that certainly made the mouth water!

We tore the guests away from their chatting & ice cream so we could do some group shots against the beautiful sandstone walls of the barns.

We then took the opportunity to go out into the grounds of the barn to do some stylish bride & groom shots. It really is an honour to share the couples first few minutes of wedded life. We think it is a lovely to time for the bride & groom to take a few moments out of the craziness of the day. I am really pleased with the images we got of Caroline & Phil, the lovely summer sun added a certain je ne sais quoi to shots. We made our way back to the barn & stopped off for a few more shots with Phil’s Dad’s VW Camper before Caroline & Phil joined their guests for a delicious afternoon tea.