A Few From The Family Album

At Christmas, we had a great family break in the Stable Mews on the Castle Leslie estate in County Monaghan, Ireland. Fionnuala and I needed a big rest as the last few weeks of 2008 had been hectic, to put it mildly. Castle Leslie provided exactly what we needed - a tranquil break away from it all so we could re-charge our batteries and head into 2009 refreshed and raring to go.

Here's the mews cottage we stayed in, seen at twilight:



A crisp early morning walk led me to this view of the castle across Glaslough:



Another walk, this time in the late afternoon, led us to nearby Kilvey Lake. Despite it being December, the lake had taken on a positively autumnal appearance:



The boys loved their holiday:

And finally, a whole family portrait. This was taken using the self-timer, with the camera mounted on a tripod:

David

First Wedding of 2009

My coverage of weddings in 2009 got off to a really great start with Anna and Bryan's special day at Woburn Sculpture Gallery. What a wonderful day it was! Anna was nothing short of radiant in her beautiful gown and Bryan was the very epitome of a model groom throughout the day.

I got to know Anna and Bryan when we did their pre-wedding shoot in Woburn earlier this winter. It was an unbelievably windswept day then, and their wedding day was one of equally challenging temperatures. You wouldn't know it, though, from their photographs. The warmth they share was clear for all to see and really bursts out of their pictures. It's evident that they are incredibly well suited to one another.

At the start of the day, I got some lovely shots of Anna's preparations at Flitwick Manor. This one shows Anna having her make-up done by Jo Saville who, I have to say, did a really excellent job:



We had a few minutes to capture some portraits of Anna and her attendants before I dashed off to Woburn. Here's Anna posing with the four-poster bed:



At the Sculpture Gallery, Bryan was waiting patiently for Anna's arrival:



And then on to the ceremony ...



... during which there were plenty of laughs:

Immediately afterwards, Anna and Bryan were presented with their first glass of champagne as a married couple (I'm not sure it was Anna's first of the day, given the number empty bottles in the room during her preparations - though she claims some were consumed the night before)!

Despite the wet weather, I lay on the ground to capture this shot of the bouquet, which also features a background comprising the splendid Woburn Abbey, our happy newly-weds, their stunning wedding car and a somewhat threatening sky:

Here's a very gallant Bryan helping his lovely new wife up a few garden steps:

Believe it or not, this classic shot was taken just 20 minutes after the one above with the threatening sky - just look at the difference!

Back inside (for it really was extremely cold) it was time for a few group shots before the speeches and wedding breakfast:

And finally, how's this for a real heart-felt greeting for Bryan from Anna as he stood up to make his speech:

What a fun day it was - congratulations Anna and Bryan on such a wonderful wedding. I'm sure you will enjoy a long and happy future together.

David

How To Freeze Your Fingertips

It's been absolutely freezing recently and that meant the ingredients for some cool winter landscapes were all in place. I shot this selection while my eldest son, Tadhg, was having his riding lesson. The sun had just dipped below the horizon once he was in the saddle, so I missed the beautiful sunset much to my dismay - still, Tadhg's gallop-and-trot is coming along nicely and the pictures I got weren't a complete disaster!

David

Rachelle and Lee's Wonderful Winter Wedding

Hello again and a Happy New year to everyone! 2009 promises to be a momentous year with lots of new and exciting opportunities that I'm really looking forward to. More of that over the coming days. For now, I'm catching up on the last of 2008's weddings in which Rachelle and Lee shared a magical winter wedding on a very cold late December day:

Rachelle got ready at her parents' home in Leighton Buzzard where there was an air of great excitement as the preparations unfolded. I think you'll agree that Rachelle looked absolutely gorgeous in her dress which was beautifully complemented with an exquisite bouquet:

Lee was equally relaxed when I arrived at the church. We had time to capture some great images, including this one which is one of my favourite portraits from the day:

The ceremony was held in St Baranabas' in Leighton Buzzard, a lovely light and airy church which was a delight to photograph in. Here's one of the happy couple looking thrilled that their big day had finally arrived - it's always good to see a bride and groom enjoying themselves so much during the ceremony:

Rachelle and Lee's Order of Service sheet is the main feature of this image, with the end of the pews and the aisle leading the eye to the newly weds in the background:

After the ceremony, we braved the cold for a few shots outside the church. I wanted an image that showed the blue clock faces in the steeple with the blue sky but which also featured Rachelle, Lee and their wedding car. The only way to achieve that was to lie on the ground with a wide angle lens on the camera. Lying down while I work is one of the perks of my job!

The reception was held at the magnificent Scuplture Gallery at Woburn. As you can see, it's a superb setting for a wedding that I'd happily recommend to anyone:

Before Rachelle and Lee made their entrance, we captured a few shots outside Woburn Abbey with the car:

And then some more portraits:

It was a splendid day and was greatly enjoyed by all the guests. For some curious reason, though, the wedding cake attratced a great deal of attention and found itself being photographed almost as often as Rachelle and Lee - can't possibly think why!

Congratulations Rachelle and Lee. I wish you both a truly wonderful life together and many, many years of bissful happiness.

David