Wedding Photography

West Wycombe house and village from the air! #NCW13

Recently I was asked by EJ Churchill a nearby clay pigeon shooting ground to do some aerial photography of their ground from the air. I was reserved a helicopter with a local helicopter company & the door was removed so I did not have any glass to contend with. I was belted and gaffer taped in and off we went! We were only up for 20 minutes but long enough to get some great shots of EJ Churchill and then a few pictures over the magnificent West Wycombe Park and House.

Only two years ago I had never worked at West Wycombe but I have now photographed several corporate events, schools leavers balls, gun dog events and The Prince’s Countryside Fund charity events there. The house offers England’s finest example of Palladian architecture set amongst Rococo follies and temples in an area of outstanding natural beauty. It is truly a breathtaking place and an amazing venue for weddings!  If you are getting married at West Wycombe house and looking for great wedding photography then please get in touch by clicking here.

Here are a few pictures from the air of the house to whet your appetite for a great Buckinghamshire wedding venue! To find out more about having your wedding reception at West Wycombe house please take a look at their website by clicking here.

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Danielle and David’s sneaky peek of their #wedding @GreatFosters

Earlier in May I had the pleasure of photographing Danielle and David’s big day at Great Fosters, Egham, Surrey.

Having only ever photographed at Great Fosters once before I was really keen to go back as it is a stunning wedding venue.

Great Fosters has a great past with more than four centuries of celebrated history having enriched Great Fosters with a remarkable heritage. Probably built as a royal hunting lodge in 1550 and very much a stately home since then, Great Fosters is now a prestigious 43 bedroom hotel.

Sympathetically converted in the 1930s by the Sutcliffe family, who are still its current custodians, the hotel possesses a plethora of original details and features including mullioned windows, Jacobean fireplaces, a rare oakwell staircase, authentic tapestries and moulded ceilings.

Danielle was lucky to get ready in the Tapestry Room, a stunning large room with tapestries adorning the walls giving a very regal and historic look to the getting ready photographs.

After a lovely civil ceremony in the Orangery guests were able to stroll around the gorgeous grounds of Great Fosters enjoying the formal gardens, lawns, moat, Japanese bridge and more whilst also enjoying the sunshine!

The wedding breakfast was served in the Tythe Barn followed by some hilarious speeches by mother of the bride, groom and then two best men who gave David a good ribbing!

All in all a fantastic day. Congratulations to Danielle and David and here is a sneaky peek of their beautiful wedding day……

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A few kind words gratefully received from Danielle and David this morning

‘Just wanted to say thanks so much to both you and Jack for all your hard work on the day – everyone commented how lovely you both were 🙂 It was such a long day and your energy levels were both amazing all day!! ‘

 

Last Saturday, what a day.

Firstly I awoke to lovely weather. The 1st June – ‘Is this the start of Summer’ I asked myself?

On Saturday Sarah (one of my assistants) and I photographed the wedding of Kathryn and David at Christ Church, Henley on Thames and then onto one of my favourite Buckinghamshire wedding venues, the magnificent Hedsor House. When I initially got an enquiry from Kathryn for wedding photography and was told it was a Hedsor House I was thrilled. You only have to look at the Hedsor House website to realise how fabulous it is with all of the awards and accolades awarded within the wedding industry.

“Vogue’s Dream Wedding Venue”
VOGUE
“Wedding Venue of the Year”
The Wedding Industry Awards Shortlist
“UK’s Prettiest Summer Wedding Venue”
Wedding Day Venues
“Top 100 Wedding Venues in the UK”
Brides Magazine 
“No.2. Royal Wedding Venue in the UK”
The Times
“No.1 Top Venue”
TATLER
“No.1 Wedding Venue in Buckinghamshire”
Brides Magazine
“Marie Claire’s Top Wedding Venue”
MARIE CLAIRE
“Top 10 UK Film Locations”
The Telegraph
“Event Venue of the Year”
Eventia Awards
If you have got this far then you may wish to take a closer look at what Hedsor can offer for your wedding day.
Kathryn got ready at Hotel Du Vin in Henley on Thames with her bridesmaids whilst David travelled up to Henley from Winchester on the morning of the big day. The service was a very special occasion at Christ Church, Henley on Thames as the church was very personal to Kathryn’s family. Her parents got married in the church and her grandfather was very involved in the church and even made the weather vane that adorns the church spire!
After a lovely service, the bride and groom went in a beautiful Bentley supplied by Christophers whilst the guests were all taken to the venue by coach.
On arrival at Hedsor House I heard comments such as ‘Its like something from a fairytale’ as the entrance to Hedsor House is so grand, long sweeping driveway, through the beautiful gardens and parkland before passing the highland cattle and finally seeing this magnificent house in front of you. With a beautiful blue sky it really was like something from a fairytale.
Entertainment was provided for the guests in the form of a Dixieland Jazz band playing in front of the house and a very popular Ice cream trike on the terrace provided by Benecci Ice Cream Bikes The beautiful flowers were all supplied by Hot Flowers and Art at nearby Wooburn Green, and the sensationally delicious catering by Caper and Berry.
The whole operation was meticulously organised by Kathryn with the help of Rachael from Serendipity Wedding Planning who did a fantastic job at keeping proceedings going as well as organising some gigantic balloons!
So without further ado here is Kathryn and David’s sneeky peek. I will be working on their images over the next few weeks and hope to show you all some more soon.
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Ohh…. and the dress…… A beautiful Ian Stewart – one of my favourite wedding dress designers.
What a day – hey?

 

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#MerryChristmas to you all

Prince’s Countryside Fund charity clay shoot – West Wycombe estate

Earlier this week I photographed a charity clay pigeon shoot for The Prince’s Countryside Fund hosted by Sir Edward Dashwood at his West Wycombe home. E J Churchill put on a superb display of targets for the guests to shoot in the grounds of West Wycombe Estate. After a breakfast served in the hall the 9 teams had an eventful morning shooting in their teams of 4 guns over the various stands. England rugby star Phil Vickery, the new ambassador of The Prince’s Countryside Fund was there demonstrating his sharp shooting eye and support to the other guests and the PCF.

West Wycombe House – an ideal venue for a clay shoot or a wedding!

With teams from various industries that support the PCF competing the final winners were Samworth Brothers and runners up Dovecote Park who had their awards presented to them by Sir Edward Dashwood, Phil Vickery and Managing Director of Waitrose, Mark Price. With other notable figures in the teams it really was a great fund raising event for the PCF and raising awareness to help rural communities across the UK.

Phil Vickery, ambassador to the PCF and all round nice guy

To find out more about the Prince’s Countryside Fund and to support the Great British countryside and it’s people please click here.

Here are some of my favourite images from the day.

Spinning Flowergirls…

A great memory of a summer’s evening at a wedding in Essex. The groom was whisked outside by the flowergirls for them to show him their spinning……. Oh and also to hold their shoes!

Later that evening as the sun went down I quickly grabbed the bride and groom and took this romantic shot of the two of them. Love it!

Wet Wedding? Don’t panic – your picture will still be fab!

With all this wet stuff coming down its understandable the couples will worry it may rain on their wedding day – I am one of those people, getting married next month myself and wondering how the photos will look if its raining. However in the last 15 years of photographing weddings I have never seen it rain all day long, usually there is a gap in the day when the bride and groom can slip outside with their photographer for some great shots of the two of them together. Above are a few pictures from over the last few years of pictures taken in the rain at weddings. There may not be any bright sunshine but these pictures have atmosphere! So if its a bit wet on your wedding day, never fear, im sure your photographer will be able to get some truely memorable pictures.

In my opinion the best weather for weddings is a bright overcast day with a slight breeze. With a layer of cloud between you and the sun the sunlight will be diffused so no shiny patches and the slight breeze will keep you and your guests cool and even blow that veil a bit for some lovely veil pictures.