Sunday, December 24, 2006

Claridges, London.


With the fog cleared my last wedding of the year was at the beautiful Claridges. To walk through the doors of this very English hotel is like stepping back in time to 1920's. No doubt this is what persuaded Sam and James to host their wedding reception there.



After a very festive candle lit ceremony at the Grovesnor Chapel the couple and their guests spent the evening at Claridges where they enjoyed entertainment from the excellent The 3 Waiters and danced the night away on a Saturday Night Fever style dance floor.



The whole day was organised by Amanda Sherlock from Kathryn Lloyd Wedding Design who made sure that all the guests had an unforgettable start to Christmas.

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Fogbound Wedding


If we are to believe the tabloids, the country had ground to a stand still but nobody had told Carolyn and Chris or their guests, most of whom had managed to get through the fog and complete the long journey to Clearwell Castle in Gloucestershire.

Weather that was depressing for some was the complete opposite for us. If you are going to marry in the English winter then this is the perfect scenario; chilly, misty (all right, foggy!) but still bright enough to capture some lovely photographs.



The Bride and her Bridesmaids walked from their room at the castle down to the church just outside the grounds.




The newlyweds have left us all to a grey Christmas as they head off on honeymoon to Dubai and the Maldives.

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Sunday, December 17, 2006

Prince marries in Windsor


This Saturday I was in Windsor with my colleague John to Photograph the wedding of Emma Prince and Kevin Wrigley.

Following the ceremony at the Guildhall I went with the Bride and Groom to one of there favourite spots, the Long Walk in Windsor Great Park, so we could take a few photographs of them in the twilight.


Afterwards we grabbed a couple of shots at Henry VIII's gate with the cooperation of a very nice (although heavily armed) policeman.

We then rejoined the guests for the reception at the Christopher Wren Hotel down by the river.
The informal flavour of the day was underlined by the wedding breakfast which featured bangers & mash and an evening buffet of egg 'n bacon butties and hotdogs. Yum yum!

the bridesmaids prepare

Emma and Kevin at the Guildhall

outside the Castle

Monday, December 04, 2006

Fatima and Ni


Friday saw the wedding of one of my best friends, Nigel, to his girlfriend, Fatima.

Despite torrential rain and a stretched limo that lasted half a mile the 'exclusive' guest list of a couple of dozen close family and friends all had a great day.


The ceremony was at Leatherhead register office which, as those of you who are regulars to my blog will know, is a venue I have already covered this year.

The reception was held at Nutfield Priory, a gorgeous hotel on the North Downs where Nigel had booked a private dining room away from the riff raff!


There were several friends who had made the journey from Switzerland (where the couple met) and Fatima's home country of Portugal.


They are now enjoying a 4 week honeymoon, taking in Bora Bora, Auckland and Hong Kong. Have a great time guys and don't forget to bring me back a souvenir tie from Bora Bora!

Tuesday, November 21, 2006

Corsets


On Sunday i spent the day photographing some beautiful corsets made by Twin Cheeks in Ascot.

The shoot took place in a old large Victorian family house which is awaiting renovation by Trimount Properties and we like to thank Jeanette and Rae for allowing us to use the building.


Our models, Robyn and Katherine were subjected to the damp and low temperatures but still managed to look fantastic in the corsets which, although stunningly designed, didn't offer much protection from the cold. I was fine as I was wearing a nice thick hoody.




All the shoes were kindly loaned to us by the Jimmy Choo Couture collection and the stockings were supplied by Wolford.

We managed to shoot more than we hoped for due to a great team which included Art Director Becky Yong, hairdresser Des from Tony & Guy and make up artist Emilie Yong.





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Tower Bridge

Cold but bright! Another lovely autumn day; this time the veue was in London rather than the countryside of Surrey.


Larissa and Andrew held their ceremony and reception in the Bridgemasters Dining Room at Tower Bridge. With just 10 guets attending the venue was perfect and it was hard to believe that beneath our feet was the traffic and the tourists who, themselves were oblivious to the ceremony being held above their heads.





After the ceremony, presumably to work up an appetite, the wedding party went for a flight on the London Eye.

Monday, November 06, 2006

Cold day warm tart!


Outdoors is the place to be on a beautiful day like this!




Lisa and Andy were married in their local church (200 yards away!) in Coldharbour set in the Surrey Hills.

The ceremony was attended by just close friends and family and, as you can see, the weather was fantastic, a sunny autumnal day.






From the church we all set off to nearby Shere where the reception was held at Kinghams restaurant. Kinghams is based in a 17th century cottage and it's intimate atmosphere really suited the wedding. The food was fantastic and I would like to thank Lisa and Andy for inviting me to eat with them.






Below is my choice of sweet: warm chocolate tart served with a white chocolate and Grand Marnier ice cream!

Wednesday, September 27, 2006

Pennyhill Park

Gail and Chris had an intimate wedding in the beautiful suroundings of Pennyhill Park in Surrey.


Just eleven guests were present as they made their vows and afterwards Champagne was served on the terrace as we all enjoyed the Indian Summer that is making September bearable.


The newlyweds are now off to Mauritius for 2 weeks to relax and play golf

Monday, September 25, 2006

One Whitehall Place

On Saturday I photographed the Civil Partnership of Hendrik and Paul at One Whitehall Place in London.
The theme for the day was 'FUN' and the lead was taken by the guys when they walked up the aisle, along with their flower girl, to a string quartet playing Wagner's 'The Wedding March' (Here Comes The Bride).


After the ceremony in the Whitehall Suite the wedding party climbed the opulent staircase to enjoy a wedding breakfast in the spacious Gladstone Room.

Entertainment was supplied by the London Gay Men's Choir who performed for half an hour followed by one of the best bands I've seen this year, Frank the Cat.
The whole day was arranged at coordinated by Henrietta at Place Events and I bumped into an old friend of mine, Toastmaster Richard Birtchnell, who I used to work with many moons ago when he was head of marketing and events at The Burton Group.


The happy couple are now off to Tahiti and Bora Bora for 3 weeks to honeymoon and relax.

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Sunday, September 17, 2006

Arranged Marriage


According to the Bride's Father, Andy, this wedding was 'arranged' by the couple's parents. Nicky and Neill seemed blisfully unaware if this but, when informed, didn't seem to care anyway.





For the second week running i found myself in Sussex, this time near Eastbourne.
The ceremony was held at St Mary the Virgin church in Willingdon followed by a reception at Broyle Place, an Elizabethan Manor near Lewes. The weather was perfect for a wedding; dry, bright and not too hot.





The two Best Men gave a joint speech during which, to Neill's delight, they produced photographs of the Groom as a child looking very smart in various guises including a cowboy outfit and a dapper raincoat.


Nicky shares Neill's appreciation of fine Ale and there was plenty of their particular favourite, Harveys (a local brew, I believe) on offer.
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Monday, September 04, 2006

There's no business....

The most famous Register office in the country has to be the Kensington and Chelsea Register office in the Kings Road and it was here, on Saturday, that actress Olivia Caffrey married Casting Director Carl Proctor.



Around 40 of their friends filled the ceremony room and as the bride made her entrance she was greeted with applause and loud cheers!



There were three Bridesmaids and two Best ‘Women’, and the readers included Theatre Director Sir Trevor Nunn and actress Imogen Stubbs.


Among the guests were actors Jane Horrocks and Julie-Kate Olivier.




The wedding party spent around 30 minutes on the familiar steps of the Old Town Hall chatting and posing for photographs before being whisked off in a fleet of people carriers to Soho House for an afternoon reception.

Later that evening the wedding breakfast was held in the Private Room at The Ivy.

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Monday, August 28, 2006

Zoe and Jon - Hampshire


My second wedding of the weekend was in a small Hampshire Village called Broughton. Zoe and Jon held their reception in a marquee in Zoe's parent's garden.





The ceremony was a couple of miles away in the tiny St James' church in a hamlet called Bossington.

The church is situated some 150 yards from the main road and is accessed via a winding path. It is worth the walk as the church, although small is really cute; a bit like Kylie Minogue, I guess.





The minister was a friendly chap and was more than happy for photographs to be taken inside and outside the church.

So, without apology, this posting centres on the two highlights of the day for me; the church, certainly the prettiest I have seen for a while, and Zoe, who was definitely one of the more 'easy going' Brides i have worked with.