Wedding at Abingdon & The Four Pillars, Oxford – A Sneak Peek

Nearing the end of the wedding season but some lovely Autumnal weddings still to go. We recently photographed the wedding of Vicky & Dominic. Kiti & I travelled to Abingdon where I dropped Kiti off with the Groom, Best Man & Ushers before travelling to The Four Pillars Hotel at Sandford near Oxford where the Bride was getting ready.Kiti got some shots of the boys getting ready & making their way to the church before taking some images of the guests arriving. I was with the Bride & bridal party capturing some shots of the Bridal preparations. Soon it was time to make our way to the church & a space was saved for me in the bridal car so I could spend the most time photographing & less time travelling! An expectant groom was awaiting his bride & so with no further ado Vicky made her way up the aisle on the arm of her very proud dad. It was a lovely service which was made so personal by a family friend who married them. They exited the church & mingled outside in the Autumn sunshine with their guests. It was soon time to make their way back to The Four Pillars for the reception. Once we returned back we took Vicky & Dominic to do some shots with the two of them & the lovely cars before we then did the group photos in the grounds of the hotel. After the group photos we borrowed the Bride & Groom for a little longer to do some more shots of the two of them in the grounds which stretch down to the banks of the Thames. Before too long we took Vicky & Dominic back to join their guests where they enjoyed a lovely wedding breakfast with emotional speeches followed by cutting the cake. It was then time for Vicky & Dominic to welcome their evening guests before hitting the dancefloor for their fantastically choreographed first dance. Then everyone joined them up on the dancefloor & it was time for us to wind our way home. Congratulations Vicky & Dominic, we hope you enjoy your sneak peek – lots more to come!

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!

Emily & James, Haddenham & Notley Tythe Barn A Sneak Peek

Recently we photographed the wedding of Emily & James in Haddenham & Notley Tythe Barn.Becky helped us out with a transport as we had some different village locations & village parking is never easy! Becky & Kiti dropped me off at Emily’s parents home where she was getting ready. Kiti wasn’t photographing James getting ready so they went to our favourite coffee shop conveniently located in Haddenham called Little Italy. I was very envious to hear they enjoyed a delicious slice of cake with their coffee too! Whilst the girls were chatting over a coffee I was photographing Emily & her bridesmaids getting ready along with the gorgeous Oscar. Becky dropped Kiti at the church where she took some images of James & his family before the guests started to arrive. They had a beautiful vintage Rolls Royce that took them in turns to the church & just as Emily & her dad were ready to leave Becky popped back & dropped me at the church so I was ready for Emily’s arrival. She made her way into the church on the arm of her dad with an expectant groom waiting for her.

After a lovely service the new Mr & Mrs Rhead made their way out of the church & were congratulated by their friends & families. They walked out of the churchyard to a flurry of confetti & we then did some group shots on the village green. We then made our way to Notley Tythe Barn where they were holding their reception. We did some of the larger group shots here before we took Emily & James off for some stylish couple shots. It was soon time for Emily & James to join their friends & families for the wedding breakfast in the beautiful barn. After the wedding breakfast it was time for cutting the cake & hitting the dancefloor, I love that Emily had a dance with her dad, her new husband & they were then joined by their son Oscar. Soon everyone joined them & Kiti & left them all dancing the night away.

Hope you enjoy your sneak peek Emily & James, Wishing you every happiness!

Georgia & Sam, A Sneak Peek

Last week we showed you what happens when you catch the bouquet in the most epic bouquet toss ever. We also teased you with an image from Georgia & Sam’s wedding. Now it’s time for their sneak peek!It’s always lovely to book weddings through recommendation & lovely to know how our happy Brides & Grooms have told their friends & families about us. We photographed Georgia’s sister Charlotte’s wedding to Alex two years ago & before that had photographed Alex sister’s wedding. Kiti & I arrived in Weybridge in plenty of time for the wedding & recce’d the locations so we knew where we were going. You so often hear about wedding cars getting lost & cakes going missing. We always make sure that routes have been timed & we have an idea of where we are going in case the faithful satnav breaks down! I then dropped Kiti off with Sam & the boys to capture them getting ready. She got there just as they were having the obligatory full English before they were suited & booted….& some graffiti on the bottom of Sam’s shoes. I then joined Georgia & her bridesmaids at her parent’s home. I captured some lovely shots of the Georgia & girls getting ready. After getting ready upstairs Georgia made her way downstairs where her bridesmaids & Mum & Dad were waiting expectantly for her. I love the moment where everyone sees the Bride for the first time & Georgia certainly brought a tear to their eyes. After making the short journey to the church it was time for Georgia’s Dad to accompany her down the aisle to meet her groom.
It really was a beautiful service with lots of tears & laughter. It’s always wonderful to see a couple in love starting their journey together.After the service everyone poured outside & mingled with the Bride & Groom offering their congratulations. It was then time for a group shots before & the guests got their opportunity to cover the bride & groom with confetti.The Bride & Groom were then whisked off to the Burhill Golf Club with Kiti & I in hot pursuit! Georgia had surprised Sam with a steel band & I love the moment I captured where he first heard them as they were walking to the marquee. As the guests were mingling in the sunshine Kiti & I took the bridal party away to do some cool group shots. I love the large scale balloons that the girls had & they really added to the atmosphere of the shots. After groups the guys went back to the party & we did some more shots with the happy couple. They were really great & looked fantastic, we’re really thrilled with the images we took of them around the golf course. After not too long it was time for the wedding breakfast so we took Georgia & Sam back to join their guests. There were some great speeches & much laughter & tears. They are always fabulous to capture with some brilliant reactions! After the wedding breakfast it was time to cut the cake & the first dance. Georgia & Sam hit the dance floor & there was hardly a dry eye in the house. This was certainly true once she’d also danced with her Dad & her lovely Grandad! Now, when you’ve been part of the most epic bouquet toss its your duty to then pass the baton on so to speak. Georgia threw the bouquet & after a bit of a tussle & some spilled champagne her bridesmaid, Caroline, caught the bouquet. Could we be looking at a happy Mark Lord Photography Bride & Groom of the future?!
Everyone hit the dance floor & had great fun; the evening included a performance by Georgia’s sister Natalie & a group performance of Candy by Cameo by the entire dance floor! We left everyone on the dance floor having fun! We hope you enjoy your sneak peek Georgia & Sam, wishing you every happiness!

Wedding at Wycombe Abbey, Gro & Chris A Sneak Peek

Chris & Gro celebrated their wedding at Wycombe Abbey School in High Wycombe. I dropped Kiti off at the school & she started the day with Chris & the boys who were there getting ready. She captured the images of the boys suiting up & applying their buttonholes before making their way over to the chapel to greet the guests. Wycombe Abbey is a lovely school set within lovely grounds. I do a lot of their photography so am very familiar with the school. I am still always surprised that there is such interesting buildings & landscaped grounds so close to the middle of High Wycombe. It is only possible to have your wedding there if you have a connection to the school such as a former pupil or member of staff. Chris’ Mum is a House Mistress at the school so they were thrilled to be able to have their wedding there.Meanwhile, whilst Kiti was with the lads I made my way over to Chinnor to Chris & Gro’s home to photograph the bride getting ready. It was a lovely to be with the girls right from the start of the day & Gro was such a relaxed & happy bride. Once the glad rags were on it was time for me to fly back to Wycombe Abbey to make sure I was there & ready for the bride’s arrival. The chapel at Wycombe Abbey is lovely & has a mezzanine level where Kiti had located herself. This was perfect as it gave her a fantastic vantage point to capture some unobstructed views of the ceremony.

After a beautiful service everyone gathered outside for a drinks reception & we did the group shots of the steps of the chapel. When I first moved up country from Cornwall I worked for a photographic studio who used a local picture framing company. I continued to use the same company for all my framing (once my lovely wife had stopped being a Picture Framer!) for many years. It was a fantastic, bespoke framers & the owner was Chris’ granddad Neil. He left after the service but it was great to see him & get some shots of the proud grandfather with the bride & groom!We then organised the guests to line either side & the chucked the confetti & blew bubbles as Gro & Chris wandered along!Whilst the guests mingled Kiti & took Gro & Chris into the grounds to capture some stylish shots of the two of them. We then went back to the main hall for the wedding breakfast. There were some fantastic speeches including musical performances, poetry & thanks to Gro’s Swedish heritage a schnapps toast! After the speeches it was time for the another musical performance, this time by Chris’ brother, first dance & then everyone hit the dancefloor. We made our way home as they were dancing the night away!

A Colourful Tipi Wedding at Rushy Meadows, George & Kerrie – A Sneak Peek

A beautiful late Spring morning saw Kiti & I heading off to the wedding of George & Kerrie in sunny Garsington & Eynsham.I dropped Kiti in Garsington where she was to capture some images of the groom getting ready with a difference – we’ll come back to that later. I headed off to the little village of Thrupp just north of Oxford where Kerrie, the bride, was getting ready. Kerrie’s family are from North Yorkshire so had hired a lovely coach house to stay in which was the perfect place for Kerrie to get ready in. I captured some lovely images of Kerrie & her family getting ready but before long & I had to hop back into the car to get to the church before the bride. Kerrie was travelling by vintage VW camper van so I knew we wouldn’t be travelling at the same speed but the driver made excellent time & Kerrie arrived at the church on time.Meanwhile in George & Kerrie’s lovely cottage in Garsington where there was a houseful & the party had already started! George is originally from Cyprus & there are some important traditions to be celebrated before the service. The Best Man shaves the Groom in the presence of his family & friends. He then dresses the Groom in his shirt, waistcoat, tie & suit while music plays. His friends & family then take turn to wrap a red scarf around the Grooms waist as a symbol of his fertility. The images Kiti captured really show the emotions & celebrations of this part of the day. By now an expectant groom was waiting at the altar for his bride. The Best Man & Ushers were waiting outside as we arrived & they accompanied the bridesmaids up the aisle followed into the church by the Bride & her father. Unusually, at the last minute we found out we would be unable to take any images in the church due to the rules of a visiting vicar. After the service everyone poured out of the church followed by the Bride & Groom who exited to a flurry of confetti! The Bride & Groom, their friends & family mingled in the churchyard with champagne before setting off the venue. The reception was held in a tipi at City Farm, Eynsham. City Farm is a beautiful location & is also know as Rushy Meadows. At Rushy Meadows there are 3 separate huts for glamping which you kind find on Canopy & Stars but they also hold weddings there. It’s a beautiful area with big mowed parts perfect for pitching a tipi in front of the lake & of course, the Bride & Groom can stay in one of the beautifully appointed huts right next door!George & Kerrie arranged a beautiful, relaxed, colourful festival wedding & the sun really shone for them! During the drinks reception Kiti & I took them away for some shots of the two of them with the fab campervan & lake offering perfect backdrops.
George & Kerrie were announced into the tipi with a round of applause & it was time for the speeches.

I love the emotions, the fun & the laughter in the images & just what was the Best Man telling Kerrie for the Groom to react like this!

It was a lovely relaxed wedding & the large tipi was fantastic with firepits where guests could toast marshmallows. The whole day was a lovely celebration but before too long it was time for the Bride & Groom to cut the cake & then hit the dancefloor for their first dance.

As always we left everyone dancing the night away under the stars……

We hope you enjoy your sneak peek George & Kerrie, there are lots more to come!

A Wedding at Notley Tythe Barn, Joanne & Geoff A Sneak Peek

You can plan every detail of your wedding but the one thing you have no control over is the weather. Just because you book a wedding in June doesn’t mean that you can guarantee back to back sunshine…..but when can we with the British weather?! Joanne & Geoff’s day was still full of sunny smiles & happiness despite the weather!We photographed their wedding at the lovely Notley Tythe Barn near Long Crendon. We captured images of the Groom, Best Man & guests mingling in the barn before they took their seats & awaited the arrival of the bride. We always take images of the rings before the service but Joanne & Geoff’s were beautifully made by our very talented friend Lisa Marie who is Designer Goldsmith. We love her work so much she made our engagement & wedding rings!Joanne looked beautiful when she arrived & there was barely a dry eye in the house as she walked down the aisle. The buttonholes, Brides & Bridesmaids bouquets & flowers were grown & arranged by the wonderful Rachel from Green & Gorgeous. They really were a wonderful mix of everything ‘June’ Love in the Mist, Poppies & Peonies. Mark has been doing some photography for Green & Gorgeous so we visited on the day before the wedding & captured some images of Rachel picking & arranging the beautiful flowers. After a lovely service in the barn we photographed the group shots during the drinks reception before Joanne, Geoff & their guests were seated in the main barn for the wedding breakfast. Due to the inclement weather meaning we couldn’t go outside for the shots of the Bride & Groom I returned the barn in the early evening. As I got back they were doing the speeches so I whipped the camera out & took a few of the laughs & emotions. I then took Joanne & Geoff outside for some shots of the two of them. We couldn’t go to far afield as the ground was so wet but I am really pleased with the images I took of them in the wonderful rural setting of the barn. I left the couple enjoying the rest of their wedding day. We hope you enjoy your sneak peek Joanne & Geoff. Wishing you every happiness!

A Wedding at The Tythe Barn, Tegwen & Tim A Sneak Peek

So pleased as a wedding photographer when the summer finally arrives & the sun comes out. Kiti & I wound our way to the The Tythe Barn with sunglasses as well as smiles on our faces.We were there to photograph the wedding of Tegwen & Tim. Kiti started at the barn capturing the flowers, the outside space where the ceremony was to be held & the guests arriving. I made my way to The Nook where Tegwen, her family & bridesmaids were getting ready. The Nook is a wonderful secluded spot where the bridal party can get ready together in comfort & close proximity to the barn. The Nook is divided in to two main rooms – one side caters solely for the bride whilst the other room has been created to offer a large space for the bridesmaids, mother of the bride, flower girl, page boy and so on. Both rooms have been carefully thought out and the needs of the bride and her attendants have been considered at every stage.

Emotions on a wedding day run high & I love the moment when the Father of the Bride sees his daughter for the first time. It’s a really touching moment & I love the images I captured of Tegwen & her Dad. By now the guests had gathered in front of the large oak doors in the sunshine & the expectant groom stood with his best man awaiting the arrival of his bride.Preceded by her bridesmaids Tegwen & Her Dad made their way through the wisteria arbour to meet her groom.
An outside ceremony is lovely, when the weather allows & added to the celebratory, relaxed feel of Tegwen & Tim’s wedding. After the lovely service the Bride & Groom made their way back through the arbour to a flurry of lavender & then joined their guests for a drinks reception in the garden. We did the group shots there with the barn as a backdrop before taking Tim & Tegwen away to do some shots of the two of them. There are some great places around the barn for shots, the folly, shepherds hut & tree lined driveway to name but a few. They even have this new vintage landcover that can be used as a drink station but is also a fab backdrop for your photos!We then made our way back to the barn to join their guests for the wedding breakfast in the wonderful vaulted space. After the speeches & cake cutting the guests spilled out onto the lawns with tea & coffee before they made their way inside to the dance floor. After Tegwen & Tim had their dance everyone joined them on the dance floor & they boogied the night away…… Wishing you all the best Tegwen & Tim, we hope you enjoy your sneak peek!