Claire + Lee's Wedding at The Barn at Bury Court

Only six months ago I photographed Katie and Alex for their engagement shoot and then their wedding at Great Fosters, and last month I had the opportunity to photograph Katie's sister Claire at her wedding to Lee.  I'm quite disappointed that there are only two Lee sisters in the family as both weddings have been an absolute delight to photograph - obviously they are beautiful girls; but they also have a great style and taste. The venue for this wedding was The Barn at Bury Court in lovely leafy Hampshire, just down the road from my parents.  The rape fields were in full yellow blossom, there were horses in the fields next door and the church was picturesque.  The morning started grey and we had heavy showers throughout the day, but when the sun did break through it was glorious and there was lots of time for the guests to enjoy the fabulous grounds.

By the time I had arrived in the morning the grand main hall was already dressed.  Claire has such amazing eye for detail and had put so much time and effort into every little detail which were all deeply personal to them as a couple.  Every part of the day was touched by her creativity, generosity and joy and I am very grateful to have been a part of this lovely family's life again.

Claire was so relaxed all morning and even the rain didn't faze her.  It helped that she had such a great bridal party who kept the fun and laughter going throughout - Claire gave them each gifts from from Westwood Rocks, which along with the heartfelt messages in the cards brought a few tears.

Claire and her bridesmaids had use of The Oast Cottage on the grounds to get ready in which overlooked the gardens.  They had their hair done by their friend Catlin and make up by Christina Panzini.  Her dress was by Alfred Sung which she personalised with belt and straps herself.  Both the shoes and jewellery were from Mamfii Bridal.

The very natural English garden flowers were by The Lavender Hill Company.

The fantastically creative food was by Jacaranda Catering and we ate tomato tarte tatin with rocket pesto, caramel goats cheese and wild rocket salad followed by butterfly lamb and for desert fresh berry and elderflower jelly with lemon posset, crushed meringue and vanilla ice cream or millionaires chocolate shortbread pudding.  AMAZING!  (I'm so lucky I usually get to eat the wedding meal - massive perk of the job)

I was delighted to be working with Dan the videographer of From the Hip who also shot Katie's wedding.  Later in the evening Coco Photobooths set up a brilliant photo booth.

You can view the whole album from this wedding, and purchase prints here.  The password is Lee's surname.

Kate + Alex's Wedding at Great Fosters, Surrey

I have to confess; covering a wedding for a friend is quite possibly the most stressful assignment out there for a photographer.  I feel the pressure even more than usual to ensure that the photos are absolutely knock-out good (they know where I live), but this wedding actually turned out to be one of the most relaxed and calm I've been to all year.  The whole day from start to finish just flowed smoothly.  The team at Great Fosters were outstanding, with fabulous attention to detail and service.  And Kate and Alex simply radiated happiness and charm throughout. Kate got ready at her parents house, with make up by her friend Christina Panzini and then it was a short hop to the very lovely chapel upon a hill; St Edward the Confessor in Sutton Park.  It was pretty tight inside which meant I had to try and make myself even more discrete during the ceremony (at nearly 6 ft this is something I sometimes struggle with!).  Kate's composure dropped and her emotion came through as she entered the church on her dad's arm wearing a stunning gown designed for her by Forget Me Not Designs.  At the top of the aisle, Alex was tense in anticipation before he turned to see her walking down the aisle.  Oh, I'm welling up just writing about it! As everyone piled out of the church the sun broke through, accompanied by the pealing of church bells courtesy of one of the ushers, Mark, my brother (such wide ranging skills, who knew?!) and I pulled the couple away for a quick stroll up to the end of the church lawn and a few pictures. Back at Great Fosters we took a walk around the gardens where we had been a few weeks earlier for their engagement shoot.  Except for 30 seconds of rain (literally) it stayed bright and lovely.  I could have shot for hours with them, they are such a beautiful couple, but got them back to the Tythe Barn in good time for their grand entrance.   Usually at a wedding I will take a break during the meal (photos of people eating are never flattering), collapse in a corner, call my boyfriend and drink a LOT of water and when lucky be provided with the wedding meal.  Kate and Alex kindly squeezed me onto a table and I was sandwiched between newly weds Gemma (my brother's wife - wedding pics from Ibiza here) and Hayley.  Unfortunately for them I probably wasn't great company as I was hopping up and down every 5 minutes for shots but it was nice to grab snippets of conversation between mouthfuls.

The meal was delicious, salmon roulade, lamb and plum crumble and ice cream.  Cheese came in the form of a cheese 'cake' instead of the traditional wedding cake (made by The Lavender Hill Company who also did all the beautiful flowers).  After the first dance the awesome Ska band, Oomphf from Brighton kicked in, and parked outside was a photobooth taxi providing instant prints for guests.  Here is me and Dan the fantastic videographer from From the Hip trying it out:

If you were a guest at Kate and Alex's wedding you can view the full album here.  The password is their surname.

One Devonshire Gardens Wedding Photography || Glasgow wedding photographer

I woke up to the heaviest rain last Sunday morning - the perils of shooting weddings in Scotland and not LA I suppose.  Fortunately Lisa and Donnie had chosen to have their entire wedding within One Devonshire Gardens and so the need to dash from hotel to church to venue was avoided.  I don't mind it being grey, in fact I think the Scottish light can be quite lovely and flattering but when it is literally bucketing down the best thing is to stay inside.  Plus Lisa had to wear her dress again at their wedding party in a few weeks so I held back from thrusting an umbrella at her and suggesting we jump in puddles for 'creative effect'.  I'm thinking of getting some pink wellies to give to brides to wear for future wet weather days.  I usually suggest brides ensure they have a white parasol that matches their dress just in case.  My favourite wedding accessories shop, Melle Cloche on Byres Road in Glasgow, have a lovely range. Lisa and Donnie had chosen to have a lovely intimate gathering of about 30 close friends and family but had put in such a lot of thought into all of the wonderful details.  From the birdcage for guest messages, to the floral hankies to mop up any tears during the ceremony, the carefully prepared CD's as wedding favours and hand made and wrapped chocolates, the place was full of their personal touches.  I have to confess to making a mental note of the style of the dress which is one of my recent favourites - a lucky find on ebay.  The lovely flowers were by Sparrow and Rose.

Pimm's was served with wedding cake straight after the ceremony whilst I took Lisa and Donnie off for their couple shots around the hotel - they brought some great props with them.

They were such a cute couple - I always love listening to the speeches and hearing more about them from the viewpoint of their friends and families.  It seems poor Donnie has had to suffer no small amount of ribbing for being the younger man, including receiving colouring books as birthday presents from amused friends but there was also huge pride at his achievement of a first at his recent graduation.

And then they were off to Thailand and as I write will now be sitting on a beach reminiscing about their fabulous day.  I can't complain however as I am writing this from a gorgeously sunny Guernsey where I can see the sea from my window.

Lisa specifically requested a more 'vintage' look to the images which is why stylistically they are a little different to my usual look but I'm always happy to accommodate a bride's request.