Cristina and Bill - Tying The Knot at Notley Abbey

I've driven past Notley Abbey on countless occasions and often wondered what lay beyond the impressive tree-lined driveway that welcomes visitors to this historic house. So when Cristina and Bill invited me to cover their wedding there I was delighted finally to have the opportunity to see the place at first hand. And I wasn't disappointed - they had chosen a wonderful venue, boasting excellent grounds, friendly staff and even fantastic weather!



This first image illustrates just how tantalising the driveway is. It hints at a marvellous house yet gives away nothing at all of what lies beyond:






My image of the house itself features at the end of this post. The next two shots showcase Cristina's beautiful wedding attire. First, her stunning dress:



And next, a touch of the sumptuous details adorning her gorgeous shoes:

Cristina suited her outfit perfectly and looked absolutely radiant:

As she made her final prepartions upstairs, Bill waited nervously for her arrival while the string quartet entertained their guests:

Here's Cris, just a few minutes later, as she makes her way to the ceremony with her attendants, Uncle Bob leading her along with Auntie Jean and Auntie Anne (my special pals for the day) keeping the train on the straight and narrow:

After the exchange of vows and rings, and after the group photos had been captured, we took a few images in this wonderful reception room:

Bill entertained family and friends with a truly wonderful speech after dinner, paying a warm tribute to everyone who had helped them prepare for the big day and a special and moving tribute to Cristina:

And then we took a stroll through the grounds in the late evening sun:

Finally, here's the image of Notley Abbey itself, taken just after sunset:

It really was a magnificent day and great reward for all the effort Cristina, Bill and their friends had put into the arrangements. Congratulations to you both - I wish you a long and happy marriage,

David

Lauren and Jon - The First of the Mohicans

This wonderful wedding on Friday featured a number of firsts for me: the first time I'd photographed at St Andrews in Woburn Sands and at the village green in nearby Eversholt; first time I'd shot a groom with a Mohican; and the first time I'd stumbled upon my dream car, an Aston Martin DB9, in the car park (made sure I got a few snaps of that)!

But it was the second time this month that I'd photographed the wedding of Lauren and Jon - not the same Lauren and Jon, of course. There were more similarities than just their names, though, not least a clear determination to have a lot of fun on their special day. And that shines through in this first image - you'd never guess it but as Lauren was having the finishing touches applied to her make-up she was looking out on driving rain, while a relentless drumbeat of thunder filled the air:



Giggly sisters, Lauren and Danielle, both looked gorgeous in their gowns:



When I parked up at the church I didn't recognise Jon at first as I'd not seen him sporting a Mohican before. Looks pretty cool, don't you think:



Here's a lovely study of Lauren as she pauses for a moment before making her entrance:



St Andrew's in Woburn Sands is a beautiful church and I was lucky enough to be able to photograph the ceremony from several viewpoints:





On the way to Eversholt, we stopped off briefly for a few photographs in the park at Woburn. I'd hoped to get quite a few shots here but the wind was unbelievable and the images I had in mind - especially a peaceful shot of Lauren and Jon with the deer grazing in the background - just woudn't have worked. We did, however, get this great shot of the newly-weds looking out over the park, with Lauren protecting her veil from the wind's attention:



It was much calmer at Eversholt where we posed this wonderful backlit image of bride and groom with their wedding car and reception venue:



To close with, here's a couple of the images we made at Eversholt that emphasise what a fun day it was. The first shows happy bride Lauren being supported by Jon and his entourage:



And this one is possibly my favourite from the day. I wanted to compose an image that really made a feature of Jon's hairdo, but which also showed off Lauren's beautiful eyes. This is simply crying out to be made up in canvas and hung on their living room wall:



It was a great day, helped along by the disappearance of the early morning rain and everyone's intent on having a fantastic time. Congratulations to you both, Lauren and Jon, and my very best wishes for a wonderful future together,
David

Isaac's Portrait Shoot

Late last week I had the pleasure of photographing little baby Isaac, son of Abi and Matt whose wedding I shot in 2007. As you can see, Isaac is extremely cute - he's also very inquisitive and spent much of our shoot absorbed in the studio lights and all the other bits and bobs about the place. After shooting in the studio for a while, we took the little man for a wander to the nearby park where we got some super shots. Here's a few from the day:


















You did a great job, Isaac. Hope mummy and daddy like your photos!
David

Lei & Simon's Dumbleton Hall Wedding Day

It was a beautiful day yesterday when I photographed Lei and Simon's wedding at Dumbleton Hall. The house is set in the Cotswolds, not far from Broadway, and is a glorious venue for a wedding:



As Lei got ready, I captured the detail shots, including this lovely image of her wedding shoes:



... and this close-up of her bouquet's stem:



Lei had chosen two dresses for the day, one in traditional western white which can be seen in this next image, the other a traditional Chinese design which complemented Simon's waistcoat:



More can be seen of Simon's waistcoat in an image below. This one shows our groom looking pretty relaxed just minutes before the ceremony:



Here, Lei shares a hug with her father before they make their big entrance:



Simon looks on in admiration as his bride enters:



Lei and Simon are parents of little Kim - we had great fun trying to coax a smile from Kim. Eventually, we managed a few, though this image features a rather more pensive look:



Here are Simon's friends getting into Reservoir Dogs mode:



And this is the shot that really shows off the evening outfits to best effect:



This is one of my favourites from the day:



And so is this one, showing Lei and Simon heading off hand-in-hand for a future of happiness together:



It was a very fine wedding and I wish Simon and Lei a long and fulfilling future as husband and wife,
David

Jana's Portraits

Here's a handful of images I made recently with Jana, who came into the studio for a shoot before returning to live in here home town of Brno in the Czech Republic. Jana was great fun to shoot, and as you can see here, has the most amazing eyes. She told me she was nervous but I never noticed it on the day, and there's no sign of it in the pictures either. I hope you like them:
















David

Lauren & Jon's Perfect Wedding Day

I had a great time on Friday at Lauren and Jon's wedding. Prior to their big day, we'd worked together twice on a pair of pre-wedding shoots. I'm a firm believer that the experience of a pre-wedding shoot helps me build an excellent rapport with couples and that this adds real value on the wedding day. In Lauren and Jon, I was blessed once again with a fantastic couple to work with. They get on so well together and are an ideal match for one another - even down to their complementary funky specs!

The day started off at Lauren's family home where mum put the finishing touches to Lauren's gorgeous wedding gown as the bridesmaids looked on, suitably impressed:



Lauren looked like a supermodel bride:



And, fittingly, there's something of the cool super hero about Jon:



The wedding ceremony was a really happy affair - just look at these uncontainable smiles:



Having fun was an important part of Lauren and Jon's day which is one of the reasons they opted for these amazing Beauford wedding cars. Owner Rod Robinson has adapted the vehicles so they blow bubbles out of the back as you drive along. It creates an amazing spectacle which the guests love, especially children! This shot shows the newly-weds and their bridesmaids arriving at Knebworth, venue for the reception:



Here's Jon with the lead car:



For more information on Rod's wedding cars, visit www.wed1n.co.uk.

This image shows Lauren with her wonderful bouquet in the beautiful gardens at Knebworth:



Jon had hired a separate car to make his way to the church, an Aston Martin Vantage. The classic British car, Aston Martin is my favourite marque, so we made several images with the Vantage, too. How cool is this!



I always like to shoot a close-up of the rings at a wedding. This time, I arranged them on the cover of the wedding guest book:



And finally, here's a full room shot taken during the Father of the Bride's speech:



It really was a fun day and I know everyone enjoyed themselves a great deal. Congratulations Lauren and Jon on a wonderful wedding, and my very best wishes for a long and happy marriage,
David