Claire and Adam Tie The Knot In Style

A couple of weeks ago I was fortunate enough to photograph Claire and Adam's wedding. In this job I meet lots of couples setting out in married life together and I think I've become a pretty good judge of what makes a special pairing. Claire and Adam fit this category perfectly: they get on so well together and it's easy for everyone to see that they share a really deep affection for one another. This shone through so much on their wedding day and I'm sure it will be a big feature of their life together.

For the wedding, Claire had chosen a beautiful gown, as you can see here:



Sam, one of Claire's bridesmaids, helped with the back of the dress - she also helped me out during the day holding the reflector in place and keeping everyone smiling, so thanks Sam!



Claire looked great in her dress, more of which you can see below, but I really want to show this image featuring her veil as it has a lovely intimate feel about it:



Adam was resplendent in his suit as he awaited his bride's arrival at St Andrew's Church, Great Linford:



The bridesmaids and page boys were on hand to greet Claire as she arrived, arm in arm with her father:



And so to the ceremony itself:



Afterwards, before departing for the reception venue, we took a stroll around the parkland that surrounds the church where we were able to make this beautiful image:



Time for a quick sip of champers en route to the Holiday Inn at Newport Pagnell:



Here's Adam rising to make his speech at the reception:



And finally, one from the first dance that shows off the wonderful detail in Claire's dress:



My congratulations to Claire and Adam. I wish you both a fantastic life together,
David

Claire & Chris's Perfect Wedding

I've no idea how many wedding photographers are based between Reading and Leighton Buzzard, but they must number somewhere in the hundreds. So for Claire and Chris to choose me to cover their wedding at Ashridge was a real privilege. And you really couldn't hope to meet a nicer, better suited couple.

The day began with the bridal preparations:



Here's Claire's beautiful bouquet, set against the backdrop of Ashridge's wonderful main house:



Claire looked absolutely stunning in her bridal gown:



Chris cut a dapper figure, too, and seemed very relaxed in his last few minutes as a single man:



With friends and family looking on below, Claire descended the magnificent staircase with her father to find Chris waiting below, just out of shot, for their ceremony to begin:

You may now kiss your bride:

After the ceremony, we took a few formal family shots before having a little fun with the bridesmaids and Chris's pair of Best Men:

How much longer before this guy sets down his load and tucks into the beautiful cake!:

Claire and Chris performed a fantastic dance for their guests. As Craig Revel Horwood might say - simply gorgeous, daaahlings!:

What a splendid day it was. Claire and Chris, I hope you enjoyed it as much as your guests did and I wish you both a wonderfully long and happy married life together,

David

Angela & Phil's Wonderful Wedding Day

Two weeks ago I had the pleasure of covering Angela and Phil's wedding on a rather wet July afternoon. Spirits were far from damp, though, and everyone was in great form. We managed to capture most of the family formals in the gardens at the beautiful Missenden Abbey but a lot of the day was spent inside, at times dodging the thunder and lightning!

This mini-gallery gives a good feel for how enjoyable the day was, especially the obligatory embarrassing of the groom during the Best Man's speech:

Congratulations Angela and Phil on a magnificent wedding day. I wish you both a fulfilling and loving married life together,

David

Elegant Ellie

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of photographing Ellie in her school prom dress. The idea was to create a set of images that showed off her elegant gown and jewellery, using a mix of studio and outdoor settings. And, of course, to show off Ellie's radiant beauty! We had a great time, and Ellie caused a few raised eyelids as we took our outdoor shots in the centre of Leighton Buzzard.

Here are a few of the images we captured, starting with three from the studio:

And then the outdoor images, all deliberately taken with edgy urban backdrops for more of a fashionable look:

This one is my personal favourite from the session - it has a very glamorous feel to it, yet the background is a scruffy-looking public loo!:

Well done, Ellie, for being such a great subject. I'm looking forward to your viewing soon,

David

Daniella's Urban Portrait Shoot

OK, I've got over the disappointment of Andy Murray's semi-final exit at Wimbledon now and am fully expecting him to put it all behind him by winning the next major, the US Open (which is on his favourite surface, so it's entirely feasible). No pressure, Andy!

I've been busy with commercial work recently but did promise a few days ago to post some images of Daniella. So here they are:



Daniella was fun to work with, she has an almost regal look in some of that first image. Not quite so regal in the following shot, as the wind took hold of her hair!















More images to upload soon. Keep positive,
David

Urban Fashion Shoot with Sophie

This year seems to be rushing by and I'm not keeping up with my blog as well as I ought to be - though, at the moment, that's partly down to Andy Murray's performances at Queens and now Wimbledon. And it's so hot, too! I can't be the only one who is working a little slower than normal - can I?

I have two more weddings to do before heading off on holiday in two and a half weeks. We're going to Fethiye in Turkey, and I'm really looking forward to the break. There's an abandoned village nearby and I'm hoping to come back with some great shots to put on the blog.

For today, though, it's back to one of my urban fashion shoots. I took this set of images of the lovely Sophie about a month ago. The first one's about as smiley as Sophie wanted to get - as you'll see from her other images, the theme for the day was sullen and moody (obviously taking after the supermodels in Vogue and the like):

Sophie's friend Daniella came along on this shoot and I'll be posting some images of her soon for you to see. For now, time to start preparing for Murray's semi-final against Roddick. It'll be a tough one but I think Murray will win - let's hope so!

David

Jodie & Will's Fantastic Wedding Day

Ten days ago I had the privilege of photographing Jodie & Will's wedding in Milton Keynes. After a week of glorious sunshine and soaring temperatures, the skies filled with tumbling grey clouds and the heavens threatened to open and dump a month of rainfall on us in one fell swoop. Luckily, though, the deluge never materialised and we got away with occasional drizzle and a largely dry day! But I doubt if even a monsoon could have spoiled Jodie and Will's big day, it really was a great occasion and all present had a fantastic time.

I'm going to start this showcase with a shot of the engagement and wedding rings:



Jodie wore a beautiful off-the-shoulder gown and looked absolutely stunning:



The ceremony took place at St Mary Magdalene Church in Willen, Milton Keynes. There seems to be a beautiful church hidden away in every nook and cranny of Milton Keynes, and this is a fine example, built around 1680:



This image was taken shortly before Jodie made her entrance. It was taken by Stephanie who was my assistant for the day. Stephanie is studying for her A Levels and plans to go on to university to study photography. She has great potential, as you can see from this image in which she's captured a nervous groom and (oddly) an even more nervous-looking best man:



This shot from the rear of the church shows great happiness on Jodie and Will's faces, and I love the way the onlooking bridesmaids are so utterly engrossed in the action:



Here's another of Stephanie's shots, again capturing a wonderful expression:



After a few group shots, we captured a handful of images by the church door, of which this is my favourite:



Then it was time for the confetti 'tunnel of lurve':



This image was taken at the reception venue, Holiday Inn Milton Keynes East between MK and Newport Pagnell:



I set up a few fun shots in the hotel courtyard, though this one was shot by Stephanie as I captured mine - I chose this one becasue I like the way Jodie and Will are looking out of the frame, and their friends' expressions mirror one another perfectly:



Will's best man made an excellent speech, during which he embarrassed Will to the great amusement of all:



Will wasn't content with being embarrassed during the speeches - as was evident from the first dance which followed shortly. No, only kidding, Will! In reality, much preparation had gone into the dance, and it showed as Will and Jodie tripped the light fantastic around the dance floor, impressing their guests with their expert steps. Well done to you both!



And so begins another married life. It's a great pleasure to photograph people on their big day. I get to meet some really fun people, and Jodie and Will fall into this category. It's clear that they are wonderfully well suited to one another and I'm delighted to have had a chance to meet them. I wish you both a fantastic marriage and many, many years of happiness together.

David