Nikki and Nick at St Andrews Church and Deans Place
Nikki and Nick were married on the 5th of December last year. Nikki used Deans Place in Alfriston to get ready with her bridesmaids and then the wedding itself took place at St Andrews church also in Alfriston.
The weather was good for December and there was still plenty of Autumn all around. By that I mean Autumn colours and temperature!
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Many of the guests arrived via a lovely vintage bus and after the ceremony there was a receiving line and a bit of fun on the grounds.
There was a nice Christmassy feel at the venue and it acted as the perfect venue for the reception and evening celebrations.
For the first time ever I experienced a Cheese Cake, as in a cake made of cheese. Which i think is an awesome idea for an evening buffet…just be careful on the cheeses you pick!
Wedding Photography at the Wharf Restaurant Teddington for Jo and Gary
Before I start telling you about Jo and Gary’s wedding in Richmond this Summer I’d like to point out I’m doing this on Boxing day whilst my girlfriend and her mum are watching ‘Don’t Tell the Bride’ on the telly. So I’m typing this while hearing them going ‘steakhouse?!?!!’, ‘she looks slightly stressed’ and the classic ‘seriously? oh my good she’s going to flip’. I’ve already seen it btw which is why I’m not over there watching it myself.
I’m now also at that point where I’m eating for the sake of it with a cupboard of chocolate biscuits calling out to me.
Ooh and something else, merry Christmas everyone! I hope Santa brought you everything you wanted and if you didn’t leave him lemonade instead of Sherry next year
Let’s resume normal service now….Jo and Gary:
Richmond Registry Office
We’re heading back to June this year for Jo and Gary’s wedding which consisted of Richmond Registry Office and The Wharf Restaurant in Teddington. There were lots of vintage touches throughout the day starting with Jo’s dress which was a short 1950′s inspired number.
In the registry office the registrar was an almost spitting image of Len Goodman and he sounded the same too, which was a giggle.
Jo and her bridesmaids on the approach to the ceremony
Inside Richmond Registry Office
Note for photographers…Richmond Registry office has one window of note and it’s right behind the registrar, it doesn’t let in a lot of light and the main sources of light are the tungsten bulbs. So, a gelled flash is a must to match the bulb colour temperatures.
Between the ceremony and the sit down there was a little picnic in the garden opposite
The Wharf Restaurant Teddington
After the ceremony we all headed off to the Wharf Restaurant in Teddington. This is a lovely venue, really well laid out, professionally run and decorated. Before the actual reception itself there was a bit of a picnic in the field next door where some friends had raised bunting and put on a spread of nibbles and champers, we also took a lot of the group shots and more detailed formal photos there.
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The reception
After the picnic the reception began upstairs in the Wharf restaurant. The cake lady, ‘Cakes by Sugar’ had made a beautiful cake and lots of smaller cupcakes decorating an entire table in a vintage look.
The cake and little bits were from 'Cakes by Sugar'
The vintage theme continued throughout with the table decorations, flowers and small details:
Best table decorations I've seen all year if I'm honest.
The dinner, speeches and dancing continued on from there. It was a lovely June day with amazing people.
Here are some more images from the day:
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Jo's Tiara
Gary's suit detailing
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Just along the river by the Wharf in Teddington there are lots of little places to disappear for photos
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The reception was at the Wharf Restaurant Teddington
I love Christmas, it’s a time for reflection, a time for family and friends and a few days away from work to relax.
But, Santa doesn’t always step up and deliver some things because they are either difficult to find or just plain obscure.
So, in order to combat this I’ve bought myself a load of 35mm film to go with my old Canon 1V. There’s something about film that can’t be reproduced with digital. At least not yet anyway and although it’s time consuming, sometimes messy and always unpredictable there’s something quite genuine about it. Most of all, it’s fun and whenever I shoot it I find I keep looking for the non existent LCD screen!
Whilst always shooting digital when working I’m looking forward to killing time in the quiet parts of 2012 with some slide film and Velvia 50
Aside from this I’d like to wish all of those who follow my blog and well, everyone really a massive seasons greetings and prosperous new year. This year has been great for me personally and professionally and I couldn’t of done it without those who I’ve spoken to, taken advice from and worked for in the last 12 months.
The wedding car was awesome, a Morris Minor convertible
Ellie and Conor – Field Place Worthing
I did a lot of weddings in 2011 but one of my favourites was that of Ellie and Conor’s.
A Church wedding with lots of nice, well thought out touches, good people, good light and weather all made the day what it was.
I started off at Ellie’s parents for the prep side of things and during this time I also shot off to Conor’s parents to get some quick shots of him getting ready before returning to Ellie. When couples are close in location it’s always pretty cool to get both sides of the story. If there’s distance though I’ll draft in Laura.
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Ellie's dress
The Service
The church was St Mary’s Roman Catholic Church in Surrenden road Brighton. This is a LARGE church which holds this years title of ‘Biggest windows in a church’. It was great, all this lovely warm midsummer light entered the church. The Vicar allowed me relatively free reign with my photography and because of this, was able to get a large number of great, diverse images.
The church was large, well lit and the Vicar let me move around freely, (thanks, you're a star for letting me).
She's here, she's gorgeous and it is the best day of your life.
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Cameras during the service
Now I’m going to talk shop a little bit here with regards to cameras during the service. I often request that cameras not be used as the bride walks down the aisle and when the couple leave together.
For this reason:
It was so nice to be able to take this shot without a wealth of cameras on show
Absolutely out of the park beautiful, in every way.
You see, I don’t mind cameras, I can’t be in two places at once so welcome them, but…. imagine this shot where 90% of the guests are holding a camera up to their faces? Because everyone has a camera now this is all too common and impacts an otherwise great picture.
I loved the little flags with wording on them, such a subtle touch.
The Reception – Field Place Worthing
The reception was at Field Place n Worthing. Two great big barns joined together in an L shape basically. tucked into this L shape is a large flat lawn which suits Jenga, Croquet and other similar games. Inside Field Place was beautifully decorated with drapes and seats a really large number of guests.
Inside Field Place
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The Evening
In the evening we moved to the other annex of Field Place for the dancing and buffet. This part has a large stage, wooden floor and a tabled bar area. It works really well and completes it as a venue.
It was a pleasure being there from start to finish.
Ellie's bouquet
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The light was lovely in the church.
Field Place write the table plan on Blackboards
I managed to scoot over to Conors for the guys getting ready too.
This was to 'Don't stop,.....Belieeeevin,......hold on to that feeeeeeeliinnnn'
As it is known in France, stands in the heart of Coutances. The building is 5th century and I had the pleasure of being commissioned for some photos there a few months ago…when it wasn’t so cold and dark!
There’s something about an old cathedral that’s quite awe inspiring. The design and shape is meant to invoke emotion and reach inside you. Couple this with the huge size and it’s almost as if a giant is towering over you. A twinge of fear and respect hits you through the viewfinder.
The images I took were with the Canon 1ds3 and the Canon TS-E 24mm lens.
Known as Notre Dame Cathedral, but not in Notre Dame
Coutances Cathedral – Inside
Inside Coutances Cathedral towards the centre is the ‘Lantern Tower’ or main source of natural light for the building. It seems to go forever upwards (making you feel very short at the same time). There are pillars amongst pillars and it feels as if it’s a church inside a cathedral. While there is the central part to walk down there is also an outer perimeter with various extensions that reach out into separate rooms.
This was taken from the far end facing back towards the entrance of Coutances Cathedral
If you are in France and near Coutances the Cathedral is free to enter with decent free parking all around. I really recommend having a look at this (on a sunny day)!
