It was gorgeous weather for Alex and Catherine’s wedding at The Priory Christchurch, one of those cold bright days you often get at this time of year.  Low winter sunlight and a dusting of snow on the ground made it a stunning day to take pictures.  Winter weddings don’t get much better than this!

I’d been excited to photograph their wedding at The Priory Christchurch as it’s one of my favourite parts of the world.  The couple had planned to tie the knot at The Priory and then head to Rhinefield House Hotel in the heart of the New Forest for their wedding reception.

The Priory is such a stunning church to photograph in.  The church is huge and light was great and their vicar very kindly allowed me to shoot from the front which is always the best place to capture all the emotions and expressions during the service.

I loved their service – it was crammed full of smiles and emotions and some of my favourite hymns were sung.  The best part though was the looks exchanged between Alex and Catherine.  It was a real pleasure to shoot, especially the amazing sequence of images when Catherine walked down the aisle with her father.

I really hope I get the opportunity to shoot a wedding at The Priory Christchurch again, it has to be one of my favourite ever churches!

Before the wedding at The Priory Christchurch, I started the day with Catherine’s wedding preparations at The Kings Arms also in Christchurch.

I decided to split this blog into 2 parts so I could share more of the images I shot that day, here are some of my favourites in part one – Their Wedding at The Priory Christchurch…..

See Part Two Here – Wedding at Rhinefield House Hotel

Susan and David’s stunning winter wedding was held at the  Our Lady Star of The Sea RC church in Greenwich.  It’s great location next to Greenwich park means it’s easy to pop into the park for a few pictures.

I was luckily enough to be allowed to shoot from the front of the church, we is always my favourite position – it’s great to be able to see the faces of the bride and groom and all their friends and family.  Their ceremony was really lovely.

Afterwards we went over the road to shoot some images in Greenwich Park, the yellow leaves made for a nice backdrop.  It was quite chilly, so we only stayed a few minutes before we all headed off to the couples reception at The Chiswell Street Dining Rooms 

 Susan and David’s friends and family were treated to champagne and canapes before sitting down to a wonderful wedding breakfast.  The guests then made their way to another room where a band played and they danced the night away.

Here are a few images of their Greenwich wedding…

Congratulations Susan & David!

 If you were a guest at their wedding, you can register your email address here and when the couple have seen all their pictures and activated their gallery, you’ll be sent a notification to see all the pictures.

Anna & Yassar’s Mandarin Oriental Wedding was held in early September – probably my favourite month of the year.  I love how the leaves start to turn a golden colour and the sun is low in the sky – it makes for gorgeous pictures.  The preparations started at Anna’s and Yassar’s house and the wedding ceremony was held at the amazing St James’s church on Spanish Place, London.  The church was quite a surprise.  From the outside very unassuming but take a wander inside and you’ll find a wonderful example of a high church, with the most dramatic of interiors.  I could not fault the priest – who let me sit quietly in the choir stalls and snap away.  It makes such a huge difference to be able to shoot from the front.  I was quiet and respectful of the proceedings.  It was a stunning service with the most wonderful voices and songs – I had to bite my lip when Ava Maria echoed out – it was the song I walked down the aisle to. 

After the wedding ceremony we made our way to the majestic Mandarin Oriental Hotel in the heart of Kensington.  I love the Manadrin – the small amount of outside space at the back is well thought out and easy to work in.  I made full use of their beautiful planting in the pictures. 

The evening entrainment was a lot of fun – a traditional belly dancer kept the guests on their toes.  It was hard to keep up with her but I loved the high energy pictures her act produced!

Here are some of my favourite images from Yassar and Anna’s Mandarin Oriental Wedding…

 Congratulations Anna & Yassar!

If you were a guest at their wedding, you can register your email address here and when the couple have seen all their pictures and activated their gallery, you’ll be sent a notification to see all the pictures.

I was really excited to be shooting Tu Ahn’s and Tim’s wedding day at One Great George Street.  They are both big photography fans – which is always nice.  We’d already got to know each other a little at their engagement shoot and I knew shooting their day was going to be so much fun.  They even incorporated their pictures into the day – they had a beautiful guest book for their friends to sign, a slideshow running with their pictures and even used pictures on their order of service and favor boxes.

Before heading off to the wedding at One Great George Street, Tu Ahn got ready with her bridesmaids at the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge Hotel.  I loved her room, it was so bright and modern and gave me so many possibilities for pictures.   

Their One Great George Street wedding was followed by a traditional Chinese tea ceremony.  The couples parents were presented with tea from both China and England.

Whilst planning for Tu Ahn’s and Tim’s One Great George Street Wedding, they decided to build in some time for the photo shoot of the two of them.  This is always a great idea and allows you to get some beautiful images whilst spending some time away from your guests.  We went to St James’s Park for some pictures – the light was great and I really enjoyed playing with the gorgeous surroundings.

I really hope I get to work at One Great George Street again – I loved it as a venue! 

Here are some of my favourite pictures…

     
Congratulations Tu Ahn & Tim!

If you were a guest at their wedding – you can register your email address and be notified when the images are ready to view.  Tim & Tu Ahn will request their gallery to be activated, after they have seen their pictures.

Im a regular wedding photographer at Fulham Palace and I was really excited when Audrey and Chris asked me to cover their wedding at Fulham Palace.  From the first conversation with Audrey, I could tell her wedding was going to be beautiful and their wedding was certainly that.

A Fulham Palace wedding is not without it’s challenges – the venue is nestled in Bishops Park which can sometimes mean the park can be busy but on this day, it was fairly quiet which made the time we had for pictures was very relaxed.

The whole wedding at Fulham Palace had a very relaxed feel.  Audrey and Chris were surrounded by some wonderful friends and family who made me feel really welcome and I had such fun capturing them all.  The day was catered by the totally fabulous Bovingdons – my favourite catering company.  The food, as always, was superb and the effortless service made it even more of a memorable occasion.

I particular enjoyed playing with the evening sunlight we had that day – I love the look of low evening sunshine at this time of year, it can be such a flattering light to work in.  Audrey looked beautiful in her amazing dress and she didn’t stop smiling all day!  They were both so great to work with.

Here’s some of my favorite wedding pictures shot at Fulham Palace…

Congratulations Audrey & Chris!

Their gallery will be open once the newly weds have seen their images!  You can register your email address here if you were at guest at their wedding and you’ll be notified when the gallery is open.

Alex and Will’s love story started when they were travelling in opposite directions on board motorbikes in India.  It was love at first sight!  With a start like that – I knew their wedding day was going to be really very special.

There’s something so magical about weddings near Christmas time and Alex and Will’s wedding was no exception.  The couple invited close family and friends to share their wedding ceremony at The Kensington & Chelsea Register office in London.  Alex looked stunning in her gorgeous dress made by the super talented Angela Stone her little coat was a gift from an elderly lady a friend of the bride.  Alex told me she was not longer with us – and it would have made her smile to know Alex wore the coat on her wedding day. 

After a really sweet and touching ceremony Alex, Will and I headed over the Hyde Park for some pictures.  I used the canopy of trees to make a stunning backdrop.  We were also in luck, as the Christmas market was on and I asked Alex and Will to take a wonder through the crowds and the pretty Christmas lights gave us a magical setting.

Their reception was held at the exclusive hotel and private members club Number 11 It has such a great intimate feel about it.  Described as a “home from home for aristocrats, politicians and celebrities”, you certainly feel the understated glamour and history surrounding you.  Gorgeous surroundings, fantastic food and even better company – Alex & Will’s day was a joy to be a part of.

Here’s some of my favourite pictures from their day…

Alex’s headband really worked well

Stunning!

Congratulations Alex & Will!

If you were a guest at this wedding – you can register to see the pictures, once Alex & Will have seen them by registering here

Kate looked like a film star on her wedding day – her pretty red hair was teased into a glamorous up-do which showed off her beautiful chandelier earrings.  Her gown had lace detailing and complimented her tiny figure perfectly. 

Kate and Bob got married at the gorgeous church of St George in Campden.  It’s a beautiful church and the priest was really, really lovely and let me shoot throughout the ceremony.  Kate’s florist was exceptional and the flowers were breathtaking. 

Their wedding reception was held at Fulham Palace.  I was really glad that caterers Bovingdons were at the helm – their lighting guy transformed the Palace.  People often think that great photographs are made with great locations – great locations can no doubt help but great light is far more important.  Give me light over location any day of the week!  We did not have the luxury of beautiful weather – it poured with rain for the entire day and none of the pictures (apart from the brides arrival!) were shot outside.  So in order to create something with the Wow factor, I had to think outside the box.  The great combination of artificial coloured light and candles inspired me this week.  If you’re having a winter wedding – invest in these things and  it really won’t matter what goes on outside.

Here are some favourites of their Fulham Palace wedding…

 Two birch trees laden with lanterns and florals decorated the church, they were later taken to Fulham Palace for the wedding reception.

 I loved the use of feathers in the buttonholes

 How cute are the table decorations!

 Stunning!

 I used the refelections in the plastic marquee wall covered in rain drops and the artificial lighting to make this vibrate backdrop to shoot a few portraits of Kate and Bob.

 Bob makes Kate laugh – a lot!  It was so lovely to see teo people laugh so much.

 I love this picture!

Beautiful Kate.

 I had fun with the lighting and shadows created by the birch trees.

Congratulations Kate & Bob!

If you were a guest at their wedding and would like to register to see the pictures after Kate & Bob have seen them you can click here.

Jodie and Andrew had chosen the beautiful Nonsuch Mansion in Surrey to hold their wedding reception.  I love this venue, the grounds are stunning and there is such a variety of locations, I never run out of ideas!  It’s a joy to work there and I hope I’m back again soon.

Here are my favourites…

I loved Jodi’s choice of Jimmy Choo’s – so glam!

I thought Jodie looked amazing.

There was a last minute sprint for the church after these guests spotted Jodie arriving in her horse and carriage!

Jodie chose this gorgeous bouquet which complimented the season

Beautiful Nonsuch Mansion

What an unusual idea for the seating plan – I love it!

This little bag contained creams and soaps all made by the bride.

I love this picture – you can almost hear it!

Jodie and Andrew used to run together through Nonsuch Park, so when Jodie sprinted off down the arbor I was glad I was fast enough on the shutter to catch this image.

Anyone who visits this blog on a regular basis will know how much I adore shooting in beautiful light.  You can feel the magic in the air when the sun is low and soft and combined with a couple in love – is there anything more beautiful?  Not for me.

I love Jodie’s confident pose and expression in this picture – stunning.

 Congratulations Jodie & Andrew!

If you were a guest at their wedding you can register to see the pictures when Jodie and Andrew have seen them by clicking here to register.

Jo and Jeremy were fantastic to work with and I really enjoyed sharing their amazing wedding day with them.  I loved Jo’s choices of bridesmaid dresses, the colour orange worked so well with the Mediterranean feel of the venue.   Guests were treated to colourful cocktails while listening to a fantastic Mariachi band in the sun.  It was great fun to shoot some of the Jewish traditions that made up part of the day. 

Here’s a few favourites from Kensington Roof Gardens.

 
I love this moment when Jo’s Dad sees her in her wedding dress for the first time.

Jo looked so elegant, her style was reminiscent of a 40′s movie star – so simple and classic.  Her beautiful fishtail gown was by designer San Patrick.

Married!

The choice of orange for the bridesmaids was fantastic and really added to the vibrant Mediterranean feel of the whole wedding.  These dresses were from Monsoon.

Guests dined outside on the roof top

I love the colours at Kensington Roof Gardens, there are so many possibilities for great wedding pictures.  Jo, Jeremy and I spent 5 minutes shooting a few quick portraits of the the two of them before they went sat down for their wedding breakfast.

I really enjoyed working the light in these portraits.  Regular followers of my blog, will already know my love for soft romantic light – it’s so flattering.

Jo and Jeremy’s guests were treated to a delicious barbecue.  The barbecued fish was particularly good!

Jeremy’s brothers (his best men)  took great delight in telling some outrageous tales about him – I think their approach was to never let the truth get in the way of a good story!

If you were a guest at this wedding you can register to see all the pictures once the bride and groom have seen them by clicking here

Venue website – http://www.roofgardens.virgin.com
Caterer’s website – Kensington Roof Gardens
Bride’s dress – San Patrick
Bride’s shoes – Jimmy Choo
Bride’s make up – Bobbi Brow
Groom’s Suit – Gieves and Hawkes
Groom’s Tie – Hugo Boss
Bridesmaid’s dresses – Monsoon
Bridesmaid’s jewellery – Dinny Hall
Flowers – FlowersbySasha
DJ/Band – Mariachi Mexteca www.mariachimexteca.com
Stationery: Ditsy Chic www.Ditsychic.com - Watch this space for more info on Ditsy Chic, I’ve used them for my wedding stationary and will be featuring them on the blog very soon!

Cannizaro House on Wimbledon common is somewhere I’ve often shot at.  It has a large area of pictures, as it backs onto a public park. 

Ruth and Ben were really lovely to work with, both really relaxed and I don’t think Ruth stopped smiling all day! 

Here are a few pictures from their day… 

 The flower girls weren’t that keen on the hair straightening!

 I love this picture of Ruth – stunning!

Congratulations Ruth & Ben!

If you were a guest at their wedding – you can register to see the pictures when they have seen them by clicking here