Just before Christmas I shot the wedding of Sarah and Ian at Sunninghill with a reception at Great Fosters in Egham. It was a lovely crisp winters day with some beautiful late afternoon light which the couple made full use of to help create some lovely images.
Here's a peek at Sarah and her little bridesmaids shoes and as ever their full wedding story will follow shortly.
I wish all my readers a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
The countdown list up till Christmas certainly does not take into account all of my favourite images from all my weddings this year but I hope it gives a nice insight into the ones I could fit in here. Obviously my thanks goes to all the lovely brides and grooms I've been lucky enough to photograph this year and I wish them all a lifetime of wedded bliss together.
My choice for Christmas day could only be a compilation of shots of the most important people in my life who have made this year so full of joy and happiness for me and my wife Katie and that's our wonderful kids Dylan & Rheya. Happy Christmas little ones.
Christmas eve is a bit like the bridal preparations in the morning before the wedding, it is all about anticipation and looking forward to the special event, getting everything ready in time and then forgetting about it all to just enjoy the day itself.
I love this picture of Layla getting ready. I was outside the room on the stair well just looking in when I saw the lovely opportunity presented to me. Layla sitting relaxed in beautiful light waiting for the nail polish on her toes to dry. The frame of the staircase adds some distance and guides your eye to the bride to create a beautiful getting ready image and an apt choice for Christmas Eve.
I remember shooting this image in the late afternoon at Nutfield Priory in Surrey. It's clearly not a documentary style picture and has it roots in the more traditional wedding portraiture but I still think it's one of my most striking pictures of the year.
The toning was done to give a feeling of it being a night time shot. Helen the bride was just a natural in front of the camera and although the shot is traditional in its set up, I like to think it's contemporary in it's result. I love capturing the special moments at every wedding but sometimes creating a moment and an enduring image can be just as special.
This image was taken after a service in Romsey Cathedral, during the signing of the register. The bridesmaid above was slightly away from the main group watching whilst the bride and groom and witnesses signed.
The cathedral had very little natural light in this area but through luck she managed to find herself in the only lit area where a non flash shot could be attempted. I only had time for one shot on a wide open lens with a slightly longer exposure than recommended for hand held but the result was well worth the gamble. I think the natural lighting on this shot and the shallow depth of field combined with the framing of the lovely bridesmaid and her flowers creates a truly beautiful picture. This is one of my favourites because it is caught through chance and is the result of really a shot in the dark in all senses of the word.
This picture was taken at a wedding which was full of children running around in their dresses, a lovely sunny day and a nice amount of green space for them to explore gave so many opportunities for capturing lovely moments of carefree kids at play. This is one of my favourites from that day because I think the two girls look like little fairies when they are so small against the green background and you just have to wonder what they have discovered around that corner.
I took this detail shot at my first wedding of 2007 and it still stands out as one of my favourite images of the year. I think it has a very simple yet beautiful feel to it and the toning and spot colouring do not leap out at you on first look, you have to look a little deeper. This is something I always strive for when I do anything like this to my pictures and why this image makes my favourites list.
As everyone knows there really was a wet summer in England this year. This wedding stands out for me because it took place in the sort of rain that just envelopes you and doesn't stop. However these girls just could not of cared less and just did everything they would of done at a wedding in the sunshine anyway. This is one of my favourites of the year as even though the weather was horrible the spirit of the couple and their guests just made the day as bright and fun as any could be.
Shot in the interior courtyard at Hampton Court the two flower girls watch on whilst the bride & groom pose for some guests snapshots. I love this image because you can see the relationship between the two girls - the older with her hand on the little ones shoulder. Additionally, the richness of the colours in the dresses, flowers and brickwork just makes this image come alive for me.
Did it rain on this day? Cats and Dogs and everything else too. This shot came as part of a hurridly set up studio shoot in Loseley Park's beautiful drawing room. This image is one of my favourite art shots from a wedding this year and thats why I enjoy weddings so much. You just never know what you are going to get on the day.
The lost art of bouquet throwing. With flowers and bouquets becoming ever more beautiful it's totally understandable when the bride decides they'd rather keep their flowers. But it sure is fun when the bride Anna decides at the last minute to throw caution to the wind and the bouquet to the scrambling masses. It helps if Hampton Court is looking on in the background too.
It's always nice when a friend is at one of my weddings and even better when she's the sister of the bride. After she recommended me to Layla her sister the least I could do was make sure there was a lovely shot of her from the wedding. I think the slight backlight catching her hair and her expression make this image. I knew I'd caught a picture she was happy with when I heard it now graces her Facebook profile. After all that is what wedding photography is all about and why this image has made my favourites of the year list.
This is a very simple set up for a bridal portrait lit only by the hotel window light. The soft lighting works perfectly against the lavish make up and jewelery that just demands attention. I think with jewelery like this you are in danger of losing the bride and even though the light seems to draw focus to the jewels I think it is the bride who effortlessly shines through in this picture. Sometimes the simplest set up gives the best possible results.
This little flowergirl was having a whale of a time at the wedding - dancing, bouncing, posing, running and some gymnastics thrown in too. When I saw her with her Grandma it was one of the only times I saw her being relatively still. This picture suggests to me the connection you can have with your grandparents and the colour toning made this image feel more timeless to me, an image that could represent the protection offered you by your family for years to come.
It seems that Christmas is the time for reflection and the ubiquitous countdowns or best of's, greatest hits etc. Call them what you will I'm jumping aboard this Christmas with a selection of my favourite images of 2007. These are not in any particular order just a few memorable shots from the weddings I've shot and a little reason why included too. I'll post a new one each day till Christmas day, not quite an advent calendar but as close as I'll get.
So to start with today with 13 days till Christmas
I'm sure if you visit my website you'll already know this is one of my favourites as it's been on my home page for a while now. Anne is French but had her wedding at Sandbanks in Poole, it was the day after my birthday and was a fantastic sunny day. Just before they sat down for a late dinner I asked the couple to make use of the magic hour light (which was a little earlier than usual as a storm was rolling in off the sea) Anne was more than happy to get some sand in her toes and walked off to the sea to await her groom. I hung back and captured this just before Brian the groom caught up to us, it wasn't planned but I look at it now and think beautiful bride, beautiful beach, beautiful light. It could of been taken in a far more exotic place but what makes it special to me is that it wasn't.
On Saturday I photographed the beautiful wedding of Victoria & Mark in Godalming, Surrey. They got married at their local church and had their reception in three marquees in their parents home. Although the weather was at it's worst the wedding had all the special elements to create a fun and very memorable day.
As ever their full wedding story will follow shortly but here's Victoria's Jimmy Choo's to be going on with for now.
Beverley and Ron were married in the beautiful town of Henley at the Hotel Du Vin by the river. The weather was kind which allowed a couple of trips down to the Thames for some lovely family shots during the course of the day. With Beverley getting ready at the Hotel in a room which had a bathroom that had to be seen to be believed (enormous) there was plenty of time to capture all the preparations and all the guests arriving too. The service was a very intimate candlelit occasion and was followed by a lovely meal and jukebox lead party into the early hours.
Beverley's beautiful dress
One of the lovely bridesmaids
The other lovely bridesmaid has some make up applied
Beverley almost ready before the dress goes on
Ron and his girls have some pictures by the river
Ron gets a head start on the jukebox music selections
Beverley shares a joke with one of her best friends
The beautiful bride
This bridesmaid was fascinated by the outdoor bath and just had to get in!
The two bridesmaids just before the main event
The lovely design of the reception room, complete with fake people painted on the walls, surprizingly effective
The guests await the brides arrival
The happy couple
I really like this backlit shot of the ring bearers big moment
Husband and wife
Ron and his girls
Beverley by the river
Ron's speech gets under way
The party begins
