I love winter weddings and the combination of a lovely venue great people and a forecast of sunshine was the recipe for an amazing day, and what a day it was! I was joined for the day by a photographer friend Simon who is always fantastic to work with. We arrived early and we looked at some of the areas that I had earmarked for good light at the venue visit a couple of weeks before. We met the bride and her bridesmaids as they arrived and soon started to get some photographs of the Ballroom which was set up for the reception.

The theme for their big day was “Alice in Wonderland” with the traditional meal being replaced by a “Mad Hatter’s tea party”, what a great idea! There were also surprises booked, singing guests in the ceremony who stood up and sang whilst the register was being signed, singing waiters (who were very good!) and a caricature artist who was also very talented.

The ceremony room had lovely light and we took some great shots of the couple getting married, then it was outside for confetti and the drinks reception. Looking at the weather we decided to take the couple shots before the groups and make the most of the lovely winter sunshine, this decision paid dividends and we got some great photographs for the couple. We then took the group shots which we managed to get through quite quickly just in time for the start of the tea party.

The tea party was a great idea and all the guests loved it, the Alice theme was enough to add to the day without taking it over and the surprise singing waiters really stole the show and got everyone on their feet. Simon and I were singing along and waving our cameras in the air joining in with everyone else. After the cutting of the cake we took some time for some couple shots on the spiral and main staircases before the guests moved on to the evening event. This was the end of the day for us, but what an enjoyable day! I hope that you like the selection of shots below.

Photographing weddings is just great, I love meeting and working with people and the challenge of different venues and varied lighting, the job is made even better when you work with lovely people like Elspeth and Sam who had am amazing wedding day. My financee Angela and I shot the wedding together and were made to feel so welcome by everyone there.

The weather was unsettled with a forecast of showers, Elspeth was determined that she wanted an outdoor ceremony however the hotel were rightly concerned by the black clouds. They need not have worried, half an hour before the ceremony started the sun came out and shone down on the proceedings and Elspeth and Sam were married. Following the ceremony we took photographs of the drinks reception before the rain started and we had to go indoors. This did not last long and we were soon outside for the couple and group shots. The weather seemed to be on our side and the second shower of the day passed while the wedding party were seated for the breakfast.

Elspeth had planned two surprises for Sam, the first was the VW camper van that she had booked to drive him to the ceremony, the second was a VW ice-cream van! This went down very well, as did the free ice-cream that we all enjoyed!

Into the evening we took a few more couple shots as the sun set and then stayed for the first dance and the band. They had booked a great band and we didn’t want to leave but after providing nearly twelve hours coverage of their wedding tiredness was setting in and we said our goodbyes. A very enjoyable wedding.

Below are some of the images from the day, we hope you like them as much as we do!

A few days prior to Chris and Lauren’s wedding I met with them at Christ the King Church to discuss their final plans and went to see the field where the marquee was to be for the reception. The work they had done on the field was amazing, basically they had cut down the crops, flattened the area, grown an immaculate lawn, laid a pathway down the centre and put down a red carpet. This looked amazing, although I must confess that a reception with no buildings in sight caused me concern thinking that if it rained our wet weather options would be very limited. I need not have worried, the weather was just stunning, blue skies and a light breeze.

I was working with a photographer friend Adam who had travelled down to second shoot for me, he and I arrived for the bridal preparation pictures before I headed off to the church to meet the guys and get some photos of the venue before the guest arrived. In the meantime Adam stayed with Lauren and her bridesmaids to get some photographs of them once they were ready.

The ceremony was lovely, everything went very well and all of the guests enjoyed the service. Afterwards the couple left the church we took shots of the guests before moving over to the gardens where I organised the group photographs. It was then off to the reception venue where the guests enjoyed a drink and the amazing countryside bathed in sunshine. We took the couple off for photographs in a nearby field where the corn made a great location for some good photographs.

The evening soon came round, after a very good hog roast the evening guests started to appear and many of the guest headed to the marquee for the cutting of the cake and first dance. After we had photographed the first dance I took pictures of the sun setting at the end of what was a most enjoyable day. I hope that you enjoy a selection of some of the images;

Earlier in the week I wrote a post about James and Becky’s wedding, here is part two with some more images from their day. One of the many things I love about wedding photography is the great variety of people, locations and lighting. It is always good to plan for both good and bad weather, I had plenty of ideas for indoor shots at this wedding which fortunately I did not need. Coombe Lodge would work very well for a winter wedding, I would love to shoot one here and use the stairs, rooms and wood panelling as backgrounds with continuous video lighting and flash options.

James and Becky’s big day was sunny so we used the amazing grounds for their couple and group shots, below are a few more of the couple shots from the day. I think my favourites were the ones taken at sunset.

I first met Claire and Shakil at Claire’s cousins wedding last year, they liked my work and booked me which was great as they are such a lovely couple. They chose the same venues for their ceremony and reception as Claire’s cousin, not unusual but it was like deja vue when a lot of the guests were also the same!

The day started with bridal preparation at their house where Claire was getting ready, the weather was hot and sunny and the forecast showers seemed unlikely. After taking the preparation shots I drove to Poole Court in Yate where the ceremony was being held to meet Shakil and the other guys. They arrived and spent time trying to find Shakil’s video camera before realising he had left it on the roof of the car before they set off down the M32!

I don’t often see a ceremony with as much fun, Shakil’s humour and infectious smile had everybody laughing and the Registrar said that she rarely conducted such an enjoyable ceremony. After the confetti we left for the Grange, now known as The Jarvis Bristol North, as we drove over the sky’s started to darken and it started to spot with rain.

The happy couple arrived and after a drinks reception were seated for the meal which was followed by speeches. These were fun and enjoyable with Shakil again entertaining us with some good humour. Fortunately the weather gave us enough of a break for some group shots outside before the rain started again when we had to head back inside and use the stairs and landing for photographs of the couple.

The evening festivities commenced and after the cutting of the cake then Claire and Shakil headed to the dance floor for their first dance, this ended very romantically with Shakil down on one knee. As the evening continued the rain came down and by the time I left there was a small river running down the hotel driveway and flooded sections of road on the way home. It was a most enjoyable day with lovely fun people, I wish Claire and Shakil future happiness and look forward to presenting them their photographs.

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