Marie-Isabel and Nicolas had a fabulous pre-wedding party in an even more fabulous venue - Chateau Chenonceau near Nimes to kick start their wedding weekend in France in September. The theme for the night was Russian Glamour.
A small and intimate ceremony and celebration with Canadian Elyse and Polish Sebastian who met and fell in love in London and were engaged in Mexico. They told me they were non-traditional from the start. He was there to pick out the dress and they started the day with close family and friends at their favourite coffee haunt, Bar Italia, in Soho before the ceremony. They told me 'we truly are best friends', and I think this comes out in the pictures.
A few months before Christmas I had the pleasure of joining a number of fantastic photographers for a workshop with the very inspiring destination wedding photography guys, Nordica Photography. They led us through a shoot in gorgeous autumnal sunshine with a real couple and spent two days sharing a wealth of knowledge and experience about the wedding photography industry. Two days of talking about wedding photography - what's not to love?!
This has to rate as one of my favourite weddings recently - for the people, the locations, the weather, the sheer magicalness of Yorkshire which is a county close to my heart as I went to university there many years ago. Despite the rain Joelle's sheer good natured loveliness shone through the entire day and Tom is definitely a very lucky man. We managed to squeeze in a shoot at Brimham Rocks the evening before and from there we could see the teepee illuminated in a ray of sunshine in a distant field on Braisty Estate. It was definitely a good omen - as was the stunning double rainbow that appeared out of the showers the evening of the wedding. The teepee was opened to the elements and the stunning views of the hills and guests moved easily between indoor and outdoor.
This was Clare and James' gorgeous winter wedding party at the grand Ill Bottaccio in Kensington, London. It was a crisp bright morning and I walked across Hyde Park to the studio where the girls were getting ready. The late ceremony meant that it got dark soon after the wedding but there was enough time to get a few shots on the street before the party got started. I have known Clare's family for about 10 years and so it's always such a joy and a proud moment to be so closely involved in a wedding like this.
Cat and Nick were guests at a wedding I photographed a couple of years ago in Tunbridge Wells - Katie & James - and contacted me last year to cover their wedding. I finally got a chance to see them again only a month ago when I went to photograph their engagement shoot at The Beacon Pub where they first met when working there as students. After the ceremony at St Mary's Church, Speldhurst near Cat's parents house we headed to Mountain's Country House in Hildenborough to be greeted by Cat's ex race-horse Merry. It was a beautiful day with wonderfully relaxed people and an outstanding best man speech!
I had the wonderful privilege of second shooting for the very talented international wedding photographer Nisha Ravji back in January and February in New Zealand. She got in touch with me back at the start of 2013 and floated the idea of us working together, which we have subsequently done in both London and New Zealand now. She has taught me so much both about life and photography and she continues to inspire me daily. When she told me about this wedding I jumped at the chance to second photograph for her - Ryan and Annelise are obviously absolutely gorgeous, the wedding took place in Annelise's family garden and it was like a fairytale. Such a fun wedding to photograph and I love shooting outdoors - beautiful light, space and the atmosphere is just so relaxed.
In my quest to add a few more destination weddings to my list of those around Europe and Scotland I jumped at the chance to have the opportunity to visit and photograph some weddings in New Zealand with my good friend Nisha Ravji. When she messaged to say she had found a wedding for me to shoot I was over the moon. After chatting over Skype Tasha and Andrew, both jockeys now living and racing in Macau, they booked me for their outdoor wedding at Belsaas Estate; a kiwi fruit orchard near Auckland. I’ve shot all sorts of weddings but I have to say that these two were quite possibly the most relaxed couple I have photographed! The whole day and the photography went so smoothly. Maybe it’s something about being in the outdoors – and not facing the craziness of the British weather (the last wedding I did before leaving the UK was in a horrendous downpour and gale force winds!). I’ve now got a real taste for destination wedding photography!
