Monday, September 29, 2008

This blog has now moved!


All future postings are now being made at the new location for my blog. It has now become part of my main web site and you can either reach it by following the link on the front page of my website or by clicking the link below:
Click here to go to the new blog location!

Monday, September 15, 2008

Wedding at Ockendon Manor


Clare and Chris were married at the Holy Trinity Church in Cuckfield , West Sussex on what was probably the start of the, now, traditional Indian Summer. Clare got ready at her parents house nearby with her Bridesmaid, Issy, and had her hair styled by Nelson from the Sejour salon in Chelsea.




Around 65 guests joined them for the wedding ceremony during which we heard readings from Chris' Aunt, Brenda Tipper and Clare's brother Michael, the latter reciting 'The most Wonderful of All Things In Life' by Sir Hugh Walpole.




Then everybody walked through the village to Ockendon Manor for the wedding reception. The sun was really warm and the guests spilt out onto the terrace and the lawns to enjoy the weather.






After the wedding breakfast we had the speeches with an excellent one coming from Chris' Best Man, James.




Clare's dress was designed by Suzanne Neville and came with a detachable under skirt netting thingy...


As night fell the Bride & Groom and their guests danced away to their live band 'One Foot In The Groove'.


The couple are now off on honeymoon to Italy for two weeks... just as we get some nice weather here :-)

Show Time!


On Friday I was at Ham Polo Club for the wedding of Lucy Moorby and Kim Gavin. The Polo Club is beside the River Thames between Richmond and Kingston and is quite a unique wedding venue.


Despite it's peaceful setting it is a working polo club and whilst the ceremony and reception were taking place in the Club House the ponies were dashing past outside as they are exercised and trained.


Lucy and her Bridesmaids prepared for the wedding at nearby Warren House, a short drive across Richmond Park from the ceremony venue.


Not for the first time this year the flowers were from my friends at Euphoric whilst the bride's dress was designed by Jenny Packham.




Kim is a choreographer and show producer and during the wedding ceremony there was plenty of music and singing. He has worked with many well known names and the guest list included members of Take That and, I was chuffed to realise, the legendary Kid Creole.






Not surprisingly, the bride and groom's first dance was something special, although it has to be said that the dance floor was definitely the place to be all evening!


Thursday, September 11, 2008

Beautiful Inside My Head

Yesterday I visited the Sotheby's auction house in New Bond Street to take a look at the items on sale next week in the Damian Hirst auction.



Some of the pieces are quite stunning and it really was a unique opportunity to see so many of the latest works of this artist in one place.


My particular favourite was a piece called 'After the Flood', a large tank of sea green tinted formaldehyde containing a white dove which has an olive branch in it's beak. The guide price for this item is between £1m and £1.5m. Unfortunately at over three metres high it's just too tall for my office, otherwise....

The sale is next week but if you're quick you can still get along and see the works live!

Monday, September 08, 2008

The Wedding of Mr & Mrs Einarsson


On a showery day I headed down to Wiltshire to photograph the wedding of Nikki and Magnus.
The reception was held in the charming Manor House hotel in the village of Castle Combe and this is where the couple stayed along with family (Magnus' over from Sweden) and friends before heading off for the wedding ceremony at St Margarets church in nearby Yatton Keynell.



Nikki's hair was styled by hairdresser Acacio da Silva who had flown over from Berlin to be there and her gorgeous dress was designed by Suzanne Neville.




The ceremony was notable because as well as two readings there were also a couple of excellent musical performances.


First of all Nikki's cousin, Rebecca, played Elgar's 'Salut d'Amour' on the violin accompanied by the Bride's brother James on keyboard.


Then, James was again called into action, this time, to play for Magnus' cousin Lars as he sung Ted Gärdestad's 'För Kärlekens Skull'.



The wedding breakfast was an interesting mix of English and Swedish tradition and the newly weds surprised everybody later in the evening with their excellent first dance, which they had prepared for with some secret lessons.


Nikki and Magnus are now in Tanzania where they will be enjoying a weeks Safari followed by a relaxing week on the beach.

Wedding reception at Leighton House


Simon and Coquita picked two of London's more interesting but lesser known buildings for their wedding.



They were married at Fulham Town Hall in the splendidly ornate Victorian council chamber. With it's wooden panelling and stained glass windows it makes a really unique setting.


Around eighty of the couples family and friends joined them for the marriage ceremony after which everybody climbed aboard two Routemaster buses for a tour of Westminster and the West End.


The eventual destination was Leighton House near Holland Park in Kensington. Instead of sitting down to a wedding breakfast, Simon and Coquita allowed their guests to enjoy the great artworks on display whilst being served Champagne and canapés by the brilliant Bovingdons.



At the end of the evening everybody braved the torrential rain to wave Mr and Mrs Mills off as they headed into the wet night in their eco-friendly pedi-cab.



The newly weds are currently honeymooning in Borneo before starting their married life together in Sierra Leone where Simon is currently working.

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Country Wedding in Suffolk


Tom and Melanie were married in the beautiful country Church of All Saints in the Groom's home village of Wickhambrook in Suffolk.



Melanie's dress came from Pronovias who also got a mention in my last posting. It looked fantastic with it's understated veil.


As Tom and his best men were getting ready at his parent's house a mile from the church, Mel and her five Bridesmaids were preparing in the Bedford Lodge Hotel about 10 miles away in Newmarket.


The enormous cake came from the Vanilla Patisserie who are based in Suffolk


The stationery for the wedding was designed by With Love... and the whole event was co-ordinated by Bernadette from Dream Occasions.


The reception was held back at the house where a marquee had been erected by Weatherill Brothers Marquee Hire and decorated with amazing flower arrangements by Beverley and the team from Jade's Flower Design.



This week, as this was a 'country' wedding I decided that the b&w photographs would look good with a 'rustic' tone to them. I hope you like it...


The Bride and Groom are now on their way to Mauritius for a two week break.