Stéphanie & Tim – Henley On Thames – Sneak Peek!

There are some days as a wedding photographer that you particularly hope for great weather due to something on the day that depends on sunshine or at least no rain. My own wedding included a boat trip & walk up from the quayside, which wouldn’t have been possible in gale force 9!

Tim & Stéphanie’s wedding included a planned walk across the bridge in Henley from ceremony to reception venue so it was disappointing to wake to heavy rain on the morning of their wedding. But one thing for the British weather is that it is pretty changeable! By the time Stéphanie left the house to travel to Henley the sun had come out & the weather just got better & better as the day went by. And yes, we even made the walk across the bridge!

Stéphanie & Tim’s wedding was at St Mary’s the Virgin in Henley on Thames followed by a marquee reception in a friends garden on the banks of the river Thames. It really was a beautiful day & the gardens, house & bridge provided a great variety of backdrops for some fantastic shots. Guest of honour was Stéphanie & Tim’s dog, Hugo, who even made an appearance at the church!

Hope you love your sneak peek Stéphanie & Tim. Wishing you every happiness in your future lives together.

Sarah & Ben #sneekypeek #Bisham #Danesfield

Before any wedding I always ‘recce’ the venues to run through the journey for the day & check for any ‘issues’ that may arise; such a parking at the church etc. I went to Bisham Church, near Marlow for my usual look around a week prior to Sarah & Ben’s wedding & my wife Becky was baffled to see a No Fishing sign on the lychgate on entering the churchyard. All became clear to her a few moments later as we walked round the church to be welcomed by the sight of the River Thames in all its glory meandering its way past the churchyard.

The River Thames played a part throughout Sarah & Ben’s day. Sarah prepared for the wedding at the famous Marlow hotel The Compleat Angler where I have photographed many a wedding before she travelled the short distance to Bisham Church to meet her groom. After the service the bride, groom & guests (plus photographer & his assistant Kiti!) travelled to the renowned hotel Danesfield House for a drinks reception & dinner.

This wedding was truly to the adage ‘small but perfectly formed’ with only 14 guests but with all the lovely trimmings of a larger wedding.

Sarah looked absolutely beautiful in her lace dress & her ‘look’ inspired me with some new image styles. Inspired by everything vintage it gives the images an almost ‘milky’ quality rather than the standard black & white. These are applied post-production & whilst they will never be applied to every image add another variety to the styles that I offer. I am really pleased with the range of images in their sneaky peek, I hope Sarah & Ben love them as much I do!

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!

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

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.

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

Pre-wedding shoot with a twist…

Since Christmas I have been very busy booking weddings for 2014 and 2015, meeting couples and shooting pre wedding shoots. Although the weather has been pretty shocking we have been very lucky on the days the shoots are booked for, with some nice winter light and some lovely wintery colours. All of my clients who book a pre wedding shoot near to my home are advised to bring wellies this time of the year. We can get away without going off road too much but some industrial rubber on the soles of our feet will mean we can venture further.

This is a picture of a footpath where I regularly take my clients for photographs so you can see suitable footwear is advisable!

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Just over a week ago I had the pleasure of photographing one of my couples who’s wedding will be at The Tythe Barn later this year. Paula and Dan booked my services over the internet and then came to see me to discuss their wedding day and for their pre wedding shoot. Paula had given me the ‘heads up’ that they had a bit of a theme to their wedding and would be bringing a balloon to the shoot. How cool I thought! I am not going to give the game away before the big day but all will become clear when you see the wedding pictures I post later in the year. We were blessed with a beautiful morning for the pre wedding shoot and got some wonderful images.

Here are a few of my favourites from the shoot.

The vintage look I apply to some of my pictures worked really well at this shoot and the most important thing to me is Paula and Dan loved them. I am really looking forward to their big day!

See more of wedding photography and family portrait photography for Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire on my website http://www.marklordphotography.co.uk

The tears and emotion of a #wedding day @PhyllisCourt

Last year I photographed a wedding at Phyllis Court in Henley on Thames for Eric and Elizabeth. They had a civil ceremony in the Ball Room with their family and friends who joined them from all over the world.

Many of the pictures I am most proud of from a wedding are the ones I capture during the service or ceremony and this set of images sum up the emotions of a happy wedding day. I’m just glad I can hide my emotion behind a camera sometimes! It’s such a privilege to be part of somebody’s most special day of their life and to be a big part of it, taking those images that will be with them for the rest of their lives.