Fan & Martin's Horwood House Wedding

It was a wonderful sunny day when Fan and Martin tied the knot in June. Fan and Martin were great fun to work with a we took lots of photographs. Here's just a small selection from their very special day.

First, a scene-setter. The elegant Horwood House is a splendid wedding venue. Friendly staff, excellent food and a beautiful setting for photographs, both inside and outside:



Fan's Swarovski jewellery was stunning. Here's her necklace, set against her choice of fragrance, Coco by Chanel:



Fan and her matron of honour posed happily for photographs just before the ceremony:



Meanwhile, Martin and his best man were looking very relaxed too:



And so to the ceremony, where the exchange of rings is the key symbolic act. This shot catches the action in close detail, but also conveys the happiness of the moment by including Fan's smile:




After the formalities, we had a lot of fun around the gardens capturing a mix of relaxed group shots. Here's one of my favourites:



Fan and Martin took a stroll around the grounds together after the wedding breakfast. In the summer months, it's always good to have a few shots in the late evening sunlight. Just before sunfall, the light has a very romantic feel about it. This image was taken along the tree-lined avenue that leads up to the house:



And finally, here's Fan and Martin stepping out together in their new life as a married couple:



What a wonderful wedding it was. Congratulations to you both, Fan and Martin. May you enjoy a long a happy life together!

David

Kate and Steve's Wedding Party

Kate and Steve were married in sunny Mauritius and celebrated on their return with friends and family at the Kingfisher Country Club in Deanshanger. Their tans looked a little out of place as a steady drizzle fell throughout the evening. But that didn't dampen anyone's spirits and a great time was had by all their guests.

Fitting in the photos was tricky as time was extremely short, but we did manage to capture a good range of images:


Kate was absolutely radiant in her beautiful wedding gown:



And here's Steve in a momentary pensive mood. It's not unusal to have to ask the groom to smile every now and then. Not Steve - he simply couldn't stop beaming. As I like to capture a range of expressions, I consider myself lucky to have grabbed this shot:



And here's the happy couple together, sheltering from the rain along the walkway that leads to the Kingfisher's bedrooms:



Nice to see that the rain didn't spoil their evening. Congratulations to you both. I wish you a long and happy marriage.

David

The Fabulous Fulcher Family

June has been such a busy month, with lots of album design to do as well as a considerable amount of shooting. The blog has taken a back seat but it's time now to post some fresh images.

The first pair are from a portrait session I did over a couple of weeks ago at the Fulcher family home. Mum and Dad are moving to Geneva shortly, so it was a good opportunity to update their family portraits, examples of which from down the years adorn the walls in their home. It's always good to work with people who really value their photographs. The first image shows Mum, Dad, their two daughters Sammy and Becky and their respective partners, together with little Chase:

And this shot is a gem of the little man himself:

Chase was a star. His big blue eyes shone like sapphires. He popped his hand on his knee as if he'd been posing for a living for a lifetime - he's clearly destined for the catwalk!

Family portraits taken in the home are generally stress-free if you have tiny children, they feel comfortable and relaxed in their own surroundings. But if you're considering having a portrait session for your family, it's also great to use an outdoor setting as this offers a more diverse range of backgrounds. Either way, the main aim is to have some fun, and that's how it was with the Fulchers.

David

Sue-Gwen and James Tie the Knot at Stowe Landscape Gardens

It was my privilege on Saturday to photograph Sue-Gwen and James' wedding. The ceremony was held at the National Trust's Stowe Landscape Gardens, just outside Buckingham. If you haven't been to the gardens at Stowe I would strongly urge you to pay a visit - they are simply stunning. Sue-Gwen and James could hardly have chosen a better venue.

The day started with the bridal preparations, at the end of which Sue-Gwen looked absolutley fantastic:



James, too, was looking very dapper:



After the ceremony, the happy couple were quick to toast their day with a glass of champagne:



A wedding at Stowe includes a tour around the gardens on a golf buggy (which was splendidly chauffered by the National Trust's very own Lewis-Hamilton wannabee Issy). First stop was the Temple of Ancient Virtue which is bursting with photographic possibilities. Here's a favourite of mine from the day, taking advantage of the frame created for Sue-Gwen by the extraordinary architecture:



No wedding at Stowe would be complete without a series of shots around the Palladian Bridge. Here's one in which the architecture again forms a wonderful frame around the bride and groom as they indulge in a little kiss and cuddle. No posing in this shot, you know - well, almost none!



After a while, we retired to the nearby Villiers Hotel in the heart of Buckingham where wedding co-ordinator, Ellie, made sure everything ran smoothly. Here is James complimenting his new bride as he makes his speech:



And just to show that Villiers offers great photo opportunities, too, here's one of the shots taken towards the end of the day, this time using the staircase as a frame:



I hope you enjoyed your wedding day, Sue-Gwen and James. I had a lot of fun working with you and your guests (especially with your sisters, Sue-Gwen - they can give me a call if they ever feel like having a go at being a photographers' assistant again)! I look forward to seeing you on your return from honeymoon, and to showing you more of your pictures.

David

Helen and Paul's Sunny Wedding Day

For most of the week running up to Helen and Paul's wedding there was rain in the air - it seems to have been that way for all the weddings I've covered this year. But on the big day itself, the sun was out and it made for a very happy day. Paul had spared no expense in making this a special day for his lovely bride and he was full of excitement as he waited in the church for Helen to arrive:



Helen was radiant and enjoyed posing in the bridal car before the ceremony:



The ceremony itself was packed with humour:



The reception was held at Putteridge Bury, Hertfordshire. It's one of the region's finest venues and Helen and Paul were happy to spend a little time strolling round the grounds making the most of the photo opportunities it offers:



The wedding cake reflected the humour of the day. Here's a shot of one of the three tiers:



Helen's mother made a very moving speech which, as you can see here, was much appreciated by her daughter:



The evening entertainment began with a very atmospheric first dance. I was almost drowned in dry ice as I lay on the floor to capture this shot:



What a fun day - and I'm sure the evening was great too. Helen and Paul, I hope you get a chance to view this while you're on honeymoon in the Maldives. Thanks for being great to work with and I look forward to seeing you both when you get back.

David

Laura and Ben's Bump Shoot

Little beats the buzz of knowing a baby is on the way, and it's a great excuse for a photo shoot. Photographing Laura and Ben's bump in their stunning home last weekend was a lot of fun. Their modern decor made a great backdrop for a range of contemporary images:



Ben has some great tattoos and Laura asked me to make a feature of them in the photos:





I couldn't resist using their art work as a prop, especially with the appropriate wording on their mini canvas:




I'm sure Ben won't be as keen to listen out for little noises after a few sleepless nights:



For a photographer, there are fewer greater joys than photographing a beautiful expectant mother in fuli bloom - it's such a special time and great to be able to record it in this way:




I've really been blessed this year with the people I've worked with. Once again, with Laura and Ben, the shoot was a real breeze. I can't tell you both how great you were to work with. It was a real joy, and I look forward to seeing you again very soon,

David

Lauren & Jonathan

Lauren and Jonathan were one of the lucky couples who won a free Engagement Shoot when they entered my prize draw at February's wedding fair in Central Milton Keynes. We had a great time as we strolled around Woburn a couple of weekend's ago. It's a favourite place of mine to do outdoor portraits - there are so many different backdrops to choose from and despite being a popular tourist destination it is surprisingly easy to find quiet places to shoot.

Lauren and Jonathan were very easy to work with, nice and relaxed in front of camera, as you can see in this first image:



This is a variant of a shot I often capture at weddings. The main difference is that I usually have the groom hold one wedding ring and the Best Man holds the other - and they're not usually standing quite so close to one another!!!



An engagement shoot is as much about fun as showing the love and romance the couple share:



A couple of individual portraits:






Anyone who had their engagement shoot in the early part of the year missed out on lying in the grass due to the rain. Here's a couple of examples of my lazy shots - so-called because this is where I get to lie down on the job! The light in Lauren's eyes is stunning here:





And the final image is all about the reflection:



It was great fun working with you, Lauren and Jonathan. I hope you like the shots here and look forward to seeing you both soon.

David

Joseph's Baptism

Back in March I posted a handful of images from Zuzana and Gary's maternity shoot. The two of them have become really good friends of ours over the last couple of years and so it was a real privilege at the weekend to be able to capture some images of little Joseph's baptism. It was a fantastic day and Joseph looked like he was enjoying every minute of it - that is until Fr John poured copious amounts of holy water over his forehead! Needless to say, Joseph responded with floods of tears. These were eventually stilled and we had a splendid afternoon back at Gaz & Zuzaz's house.

To kick off with, here's a reminder of the bump:

Jospeh's well and truly his own little man now. Here he is enjoying the attention in the early part of the Mass:

The flood that prompted the flood:

All smiles again:

Very proud (and happy) grandparents:

And our happy little family - well, mum and dad are happy enough, though I think Joseph was more in the mood for food than photos at this stage:

Zuzana's parents weren't able to make it over from Slovakia but hopefully they'll see these photographs and it'll help bring them a little closer to the day.

Congrats to you all and see you very soon,

David

My Special Boys

One of the great advantages of being a photographer is building up a portfolio of wonderful images of your own children. A few weeks back I attended a wedding as a guest. Naturally, I had my camera with me and I can tell you it was quite difficult to resist the temptation to shoot away all day. It was also interesting to see the hired pro at work from the guest's perspective.

My main aim for the day was to get some great shots of Tadhg and Finn, my little treasures. Tadhg is seven, and Finn two. Having an opportunity to photograph them in some smart clothes instead of football kit is quite a rarity! Here are three images from the day. There's every chance the final image may find its way onto a wall in our home pretty soon:







David