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9
May 13

Wiston House – Victoria and Tom’s Wedding

Mad, isn’t it.

Whenever I shoot a venue for the first time it’s a little bit like Christmas. This is because you don’t really know what you’re going to get out of it photographically, who you’ll be working with or what you’ll have available.

But whenever I do go somewhere new I try to do my very best… and I think I did with Wiston House.

This day was Victoria and Tom’s. It was an all day affair for me, covering the prep to the first dance. It was also a shoes in the fridge, floral head dress on the lampshades kind of day too.

They tied the knot at St Andrews Church in Steyning and spent the rest of the day at the House.

Wiston House is a venue full of potential which opens up in front of you the more you explore. The grounds alone are beautiful, but there is the Church aside the main building, the Orangery which to be honest I had far too much fun with, the garden, maze plus the main hall…it rocks.

We used pretty much everywhere for photos. But as it was a bit chilly the formal side of things were completed indoors…and just to prove you can do a large group shot indoors….

It can be done.

This was a great day with a fun couple. Special thanks goes to Amanda for holding my hand on the day. I really appreciated it because whilst you can take a lot of experience with you to somewhere new, nothing beats local knowledge.

The final part of the day was the star shot (first image on the post). This was a culmination of 80 individual shots overlapped and blended together. It only took 2 minutes of Victoria and Tom’s time but a few hours for me!

Here are some more images from the day:

Yes, that white furry thing is the dog.

I don’t know, they said to stand here….

Lovely lady

The address of Wiston House is:

Wiston House, Mouse Lane, Steyning, BN44 3DZ.

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10
Apr 13

Eva and Matt at Old Luxters Barn

Matt and Eva

Going by the above image you’ll probably suspect Eva and Matt’s wedding at Old Luxters Barn wasn’t a standard affair…and you’d be right.

They’ve been together for years and with two little ones alongside them everyone got ready as a family and to hell with tradition. Which isn’t a bad thing.

There were vintage touches throughout, retro furniture was brought in and the flowers, table decorations and pom poms, ( as well as other things) were supplied by the lovely Jay Archer http://www.jayarcherfloraldesign.com/

This was my first time at Old Luxters Barn and the B+B opposite was simply stunning and proved for photos. Even on this slightly chilly day the grounds were great to work with and the inside of the barn was well lit and spacious.

Other credits go to A Cup of Vintage for the China hire and the cakes were from The Yellow Bee Cake Company.

It was a great wedding and here are some more images from the day:

The address of Old Luxters Barn is:

Old Luxters Barn, Hambleden, Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, RG9 6JW and it is very easy to find with a Sat Nav.

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2
Apr 13

Nonsuch Mansion – Lindsey and Paul

Lindsey and Paul

Here’s the lovely Lindsay and Paul from a couple of weeks ago.

I have a few other blog posts to do but I’ve brought this one forward because it has snow and it’s April…and I can’t post it in July, you’ll all think I’m mad.

Because of the weather this was also one of the my most challenging weddings.

It was really cold, 0 degrees, a bit windy too. When I wanted it to snow it didn’t and when I didn’t want it to it did and so on.

I also challenged myself. I believe no matter what, I should be able to deliver in every single situation, with no excuses and we did.

So there was a walking confetti throw indoors, Check:

The formal shots indoors with Paul throwing me a ‘Hey Handsome’ look, Check:

Then there was the magazine lighting in the rose arch, in the dark, in the snow, Check:

I then drove the groom to A&E (almost):

and finally did the must have Cath Kidston flashlit umbrella shot with the Mansion in the background:

So I was busy. Most of this stuff I’d never done before and just because it was a challenge doesn’t mean that I didn’t enjoy every minute of it.

Being taken out of my comfort zone is a great way to grow and learn new things. Sometimes it works, sometimes not but it’s an excellent way to turn out original work and break new ground.

It helps to have a great couple to work with. Lindsey and Paul were a class act all day if I’m honest and were rock and roll throughout from when Lindsey rocked it down the aisle to when they both rocked out on the dancefloor.

A truly ACE day.

Here are some more images:

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9
Mar 13

Roxy and Jamie at Pangdean Barn

Roxy and Jamie in a Poppy Field at Pangdean Barn

Bang, we’re here. There’s a sense of spring in the air and the 2013 wedding season is also starting to make noises at me, a slow rumbling sound that builds and builds up until April where it clobbers me squarely on the hooter screaming ‘I’m heeeeere!’

And that folks is what it’s like every year. January and February are usually really quiet, one or two weddings.

Then around the first week of March it hits you that you’ve two weddings next week…. (and they’re going to be awesome).

This blog post though isn’t for me to ramble about the year ahead.

This blog is for Roxy and Jamie. One of the biggest weddings from last year.

Now when it comes to a wedding, ‘big’ can be interpreted many ways. You can have the biggest venue, number of guests, most expensive dress but when I say big, I mean ‘right’.

This wedding had a lot more details than your usual one. Everything was clearly thought about, put together and double checked. No details were missed and it was clear the Roxy and Jamie worked HARD to make this day the stunner it turned out to be.

Getting ready just a few doors apart I was able to run between them both for photos before leaving for St Johns Church in Brighton (The one on Knoyle road), an emotional ceremony, a great confetti throw and they released some white doves before heading to Pangdean Barn.

Pangdean Barn is probably one of the best venues in the Brighton area, they really care and keep their staff. Everyone knows each other well and have a great duty of care to everyone on the day.

They have a Poppy field across the road from the Barn which I visited four times to make sure the farmer hadn’t cut them down. The effort resulted in one of my favourite images from the day .

From this point there were the photos, canapes and drinks before leading to a dinner of Chicken pie and mash. Awesome.

In the evening the families danced together and there was a special surprise for Roxy from Jamie, Joe Cox (from the X Factor).

A lovely lovely couple and a third generation referral from past weddings. Which is especially nice.

Here’s some more pics from the day…

1. We’re really nice. 2. See? 3. Now you die!

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8
Mar 13

Horsted Place – Holly and Craig’s December Wedding

The wedding world is changing. Years ago May-October was wedding territory and rarely did people step outside of those months to get married.

But now because of our really quite (bonkers / insane / crazy / unpredictable <- pick one) weather couples are tying the knot at all times of the year.

Other than the last two weeks of January that is…when the sun tends to be out.

The winter months tend to be problematic for wedding photos, cold days, early sunsets and getting a balanced light from a single flash, matching the temperature and ambient light correctly (like the image above) can be tricky even if you know what you’re doing.

And I never said I knew what I was doing.

Such was the case with Holly and Craig’s wedding. Winter lighting is different from the Summer months, it’s warmer, has a slight orange glow to it because of the mixed lighting and in some ways it perfectly suits the Winter months when we all want to be wrapped up somewhere cozy.

Holly and Craig chose Horsted Place in Uckfield as their venue. They took it exclusively and had everything there.

The whole day was a relaxed and happy one. It was like being amongst old friends. Even Santa turned up at one point to hands out presents to the kids (big kids too).

At the end of the evening I set up a long exposure shot of the house and the stars. We were fortunate to have a clear night.

Great day, great couple, great venue.