Rhiannon & Gareth – A Sneak Peek

Recently I enjoyed photographing a sunny September wedding in Oxfordshire. Rhiannon & Gareth held their wedding in the gardens & barns at Friars Court, Clanfield near Oxford.

Rhiannon & Gareth actually did the ‘official’ part of getting married the afternoon before the big day. This meant they could have a friend officiate at the service & really added to the fun, relaxed feel to their day. I love the pictures of them laughing during the service as their ‘registrar’ married them.

You don’t assume that you are going to have great weather at anytime of the year but particularly outside of the summer months but Rhiannon & Gareth’s day was lovely which meant they could hold their service in the beautiful gardens under the rose arbour.

The bride arrived by car & then walked through the gardens with her dad on her arm accompanied by her bridesmaids, flowergirl & page boys walking hand in hand.

Whilst their guests enjoyed drinks & canapés I took the opportunity to take the bride & groom away to get some photos of the two of them using the backdrop of the Cotswold stone house & gardens.

Non-traditional Best Man’s speeches are becoming more popular & in my time I have seen slide shows, videos & many a costume but I wasn’t expecting Gareth to be placed in a set of stocks & pelted with wet sponges!!

After the speeches it was time to hit the dance floor & I left Rhiannon & Gareth dancing the night away with their friends & family.

It was a pleasure to photograph your wedding Rhiannon & Gareth & I wish you every happiness for your futures together. I hope you enjoy your sneak peek!

A Cotswold Wedding….

Emily & Phil had a romantic outside ceremony at Friars Court on one of the loveliest summers days. Friars Court is a privately owned family home & has been in the same family since 1917. Since it is a private venue you have exclusive use, which is lovely – no running into another bride on your wedding day!

Emily & Phil are both creative & had some fantastic touches to the styling of their day. I love the jam jars on the ‘pew’ ends with gypsophila & dhalias & the tissue paper fans hanging from the trees.

Flowers were by the always wonderful Charlie from The Flower Fairies. Charlie specialises in beautiful, stylish & unique flowers & are always immaculate.

Emily arrived with her dad in a vintage Morris Minor driven by one of the ushers, Tris & the happy couple travelled in style in the same car – with a few attachments! – to their reception venue Great Barrington Village Hall in the picturesque Cotswold village of Great Barrington.

Again, Emily & Phil showed their creative sides with a stylish spin on the traditional table plan with bottles & balloons, origami place card holders & a fab BAR sign!

After the wedding breakfast dessert was in the form of ice cream served up from Daisy the vintage ice cream van. I have been at a few weddings with Daisy & would highly recommend having her at your wedding or party. Daisy has a fabulous selection of handmade ice creams in delicious flavours & retro lollies like Fabs, Rockets & Screwballs.

Entertainment, apart from the dancing, came in the form of Sam Strange. I have mentioned Sam on my blog before as I a big fan! Sam is the coolest magican I have come across & am always astounded by his tricks.

It really was a great wedding full of love & happiness & I left them boogying the night away……

Angie & Simon – A Sneak Peek

A couple of weekends ago I photographed Angie & Simon to celebrate their big day.

Angie & Simon got married in Zante, Greece & decided to throw a party to celebrate on their return. A great idea so family & friends who couldn’t travel to your wedding can celebrate with you.

Angie & Simon held their party at The Jam Factory in Oxford. A great party venue The Jam Factory is a restaurant, bar & arts venue in the heart of the city. The building has a fabulous, industrial history & was the Frank Cooper jam factory between 1903 & the end of WWII. Frank Cooper’s marmalade was especially popular with dons and students in Oxford University. It was taken to Antarctica on Scott’s expedition to the South Pole & a jar was found buried in the ice many years later.

I was really pleased with the images we captured of the party in full people chatting & laughing. I also was able to get some great shots of the couple around & outside the venue. I love the contrast of the bride in her finery against the backdrop of the Victorian brickwork.

Their daughters performed Ho Hey by the Lumineers for Angie & Simon’s first dance. I think the images I took of the girls nervous beforehand to the exhilaration of the performance really captured the moment.

It was a great evening to be part of & I hope Angie & Simon enjoy their sneak peek. Wishing you every happiness for the future.

Another happy customer…..

Lovely Sunday morning despite the rain, just had a visit from one of my bride & grooms from earlier in the summer when they came to collect their wedding album. They gave me a lovely card which I’m sure they won’t mind sharing with my Facebook friends ‘Dear Mark, Just a little note to say a BIG Thank You to you for helping to make our wedding day such a special day. You have managed to capture the most wonderful moments & memories that we will cherish forever. We hope to keep in touch & hopefully use you for many more shoots to come. With lots of love Steph, Tim & Hugo’
Here’s a few of shots with the gorgeous Hugo, the cutest Parson Terrier ever & a lovely photo of Steph & Tim on Henley bridge.

#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

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.

Last minute #MothersDay offer #MotheringSunday

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

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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

It’s raining….. So what? #wedding #photography

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!

Pre-Wedding shoot with a bigger twist… #weddings #dogs

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. Portrait Photographer Thame-CCB-ML-IMG_7947_011_004