Helena and Stuart's Autumnal Spring

From time to time, you meet people in life who can fill you with a great deal of inspiration. For me, Helena and Stuart fit that bill perfectly. Their wedding was a celebration not just of the deep, deep love they share, but of their strength of character, willpower and determination to overcome what has been an extraordinarily difficult year for them. I was thrilled for them both, and also for their family and friends who have shared in their trials and tribulations.

It was a wonderful day, with the gift of fine weather to boot! This collection of images starts out with Helena's beautiful shoes:



Helena made a stunning bride for Stuart and received many complements throughout the day - each of them thoroughly deserved:



The wonderful autumn colours in Helena's garden made a great backdrop for this shot with her beautiful bridesmaids:



Stuart's smile here says it all, as he poses with Dad and his two brothers:

After the ceremony, our happy couple posed for some classic church door images:

The reception was held at the excellent Horwood House, where the scenery in autumn is simply stunning. A stroll around the garden pond always makes for good shots at Horwood:

Now, here's a shot that simply oozes with the love that Helena and Stuart share:

A classic cake for a classy couple:

After cutting the cake, and while they were completely unaware that the camera was on them, I took this shot from across the room:

As the sun went down, I borrowed the wedding bands and was really pleased with this shot:

Helena and Stuart's special day culminated in a passionate embrace of a first dance:

My warmest congratulations to you both Helena and Stuart - I wish you both the happiest of marriages and a long, long future together!

David

Lisa's Trash The Dress Shoot

A week ago, I ventured out on a cold, damp Monday morning to do my first Trash The Dress shoot. It takes a certain kind of craziness to lie in the wet grass in the middle of October, so I was lucky to have Lisa as my seemingly waterproof model!

If you're new to Trash The Dress, allow me to explain. Irrespective of the weather on her wedding day, the bride is pretty unlikely to pose for any shots that might cause her gown to get particularly dirty. A little grime around the base of the dress is sometimes unavoidable but deliberately lying in grubby, albeit attractive locations is usually a step too far. In this fashion-conscious era, though, the Trash The Dress shoot has been ushered in to allow the adventurous bride to prepare her gown (and hair, shoes, jewellery, etc) for another outing - only this time, we can do the shots she would not have dared to do on her wedding day.

Here's a selection of the images we made in the woodland at Ashridge:











And then we moved on to a second location, this time within an urban setting:



Urban shoots are prone to being observed by the occasional workman - though it's not often they're as keen as these two to get involved in the shoot:





Discarded tyres beside a big blue container made for a particularly funky backdrop for this image:



It was a fun shoot and Lisa was a wonderfully cooperative model, happy to do pretty much anything that we could think of. That's the way a Trash The Dress shoot needs to be conducted to get the very best out of it. So a great big thanks to Lisa for being so game!

The final image isn't mine at all. It was shot by Elise, who is currently enjoying (I hope that's the right word) a fortnight's work experience with me. It's a real cracker which she should be incredibly proud of!



David

Sam & Chris: from Mauritius to MK

Last weekend I had the privilege of photographing Sam and Chris' wedding party in Milton Keynes. Having married in beautiful Mauritius, the couple laid on a party for their family and friends to celebrate their union. Just before the guests arrived, we had a chance to capture a few special portraits:













Congratulations to you both - I wish you a long and happy marriage!

David

Hannah & James' Groovy Wedding

It was a beautiful day when Hannah and James tied the knot at All Saints Church in Leighton Buzzard. After a rotten summer, it was refreshing to be able to photograph a wedding in the sun at last. Hannah prepared for the wedding at her parents' home, where I found this wonderful chair which made a great backdrop for more than one of my details shots - in this case I used it to show off Hannah's shoes:




Hannah wore a stunning bridal gown from multi-award-winning designer Ian Stuart of London and she looked absolutely gorgeous in it:



James went for pin-stripes, quite topical given the state of the economy at the moment! Here we see the detail in his outfit, in particular the cufflinks that Hannah presented him as a wedding gift:



And here's the handsome chap himself awaiting his bride:




That special "you may now kiss the bride" moment:



Having sealed the deal with a kiss, the happy couple wasted no time in signing the legal papers:



And then it was time for another kiss:



After photos in the church yard, the guests formed a tunnel of love by the gates and showered Hannah and James in confetti, much to their obvious enjoyment:



It's a rare thing to visit two churches on your wedding day but that's exactly what we did with Hannah and James. Hannah's local church in the village of Stanbridge has a special place in her heart, so we stopped off there before arriving at the reception for some shots. Here's one with a very romantic feel:



The reception was held in a marquee in Hannah's parents' beautiful garden. It's no small achievement to host your own daughter's wedding and Sue and Alan did a magnificanet job of getting everything ready and pristine for the big day - so a big "well done" to them for all their hard work. I expect they had plenty of support, too, from others. Everyone involved contributed to what was a wonderful day and a truly enjoyable reception. You can see here from Hannah's face, as she enjoyed her first dance with James, what a gloriously happy occasion it was:



I need to add a special word of thanks to Becky who came to my rescue when my glasses broke in the evening. Can you believe it, just a month after I bought them one of the arms fell off, and in case you're wondering it's not because I bought a pair of cheapo specs - far from it! Anyway, I made it through to the end, so thanks Becky!

The whole day was great fun. Congratulations to you both, Hannah and James, and my best wishes for a wonderful life together,
David

Sally & Terry Muncaster Castle Wedding

I had a hectic time over the weekend with the 3-day wedding fair in central Milton Keynes. It was a great show, with lots of excellent ideas for anyone planning their wedding and I'm sure that all the brides and grooms who attended found it thoroughly worthwhile. If you were one of the many couples who visited my stand, thanks for taking the trouble to view my work and for making it a truly enjoyable weekend. I hope to hear from many of you in the coming days and weeks. The impact of the wedding fair has been to put me a little behind schedule with my blogging, so it's catch-up time over the next few days.

This post is the second in a two-parter featuring Sally and Terry's wedding celebrations in the Lake District. After the pre-wedding shoot displayed in my previous post, it's time to focus on the big day itself. The ceremony was held in the sumptuous Muncaster Castle, near Ravenglass in Cumbria:



On the morning of the wedding, Sally got ready at the Pennington Hotel in Ravenglass where an amusing little episode involving mushrooms at breakfast time will, I suspect, remain part of our newly-weds' memories of the big day for some time to come. Anyway, putting that to one side for now, here's a shot that shows the fantastic detail in Sally's gorgeous dress:



As Sally was getting ready in the hotel, Terry and his groomsmen enjoyed a quick pint in the nearby pub which allowed me time to grab a few shots along the estuary:



The ceremony was a very relaxed affair, held in the splendid library at Muncaster. Here, Lewis is performing his ring-bearing duties with great aplomb:



The happy couple in a classic Muncaster Castle pose:



Not sure how many brides will have performed this stunning pose at Muncaster, though:





Not to be outdone, Terry struck a dapper pose himself as he safeguarded Sally's bouquet:



Here's a very happy family, with Ruby giving us one of her delightful princess smiles:



And finally, Terry's speech, delivered with the sort of self-deprecating humour that shows just what a gentleman he is. I think he was referring to the morning mushroom incident at this point, but I'm not going to disclose any details of that here. Those who know about it will know what I'm referring to, and those who don't will just have to wonder!



My warmest congratulations to Sayy and Terry and very best wishes for a wonderful future together. It was a real privilege being able to share in your special day.

David