Wedding Day for Sara & James

Last Saturday found me at the beautiful Crewe Hall in Cheshire. A stunning location, combined with glorious weather and a fun couple assured us of a great day !

James has been calling a few times in the week leading up to the wedding, so I knew they were excited and definitely up for some fun with the photos ... that certainly came true and really shines through in the selection here :)

Sara got ready, surrounded by her family and girlfriends, at her parent's home ... I was trying out my new 85 mm lens and she was certainly up for some bridal portraits ... I had a lot of fun finding just the right locations and light in order to get her looking great (like she needed my help LOL)

Then it was off to Crewe Hall to meet up with James and his guys, before Sara arrived and the ceremony got under way. Now, there is a mortifying story I must tell ... I promise, if you book me for your wedding at Crewe, this will never happen again ! The ceremony was well under way and I went to position myself a little closer for the "kiss" ... I moved, stealthily, across the bay window, pushed myself back so as to be a little more discreet ... suddenly, there was an almighty noise reverbarating around the room ! The registrar clutched at his heart, I jumped a couple of feet in the air, the whole room, including the bride and groom, looked around in shock ... then all eyes fell ... on ME ! I had inadvertently knocked the controls for the rather heavy window blind which had started to come crashing down the window ! Well, suffice to say the whole room rolled around in fits of laughter, I was absolutely mortified, but, as Sara told me later, it relaxed their nerves and helped get them through the last part of the ceremony ... PHEW !

The rest of the day went as planned, with fun and games for the photos on the terrace, then off to the wedding breakfast for some funny, some poignant speeches. I was fearful for Sara's makeup a couple of times ... and James's face when the bridesmaids raffled off his X-Box will stay with me a long time LOL

So, here are a few faves ...

Sara and James, I would like to wish ou both a very long, happy marriage ... and I wish you continued good health, Sara ... you go girl ! :)

Ellie

I spotted Ellie a few weeks ago in my local night club ... ok, I don't go all that often, LOL ... a particularly good looking girl, with legs all the way to heaven :) So we started chatting and I asked it she would be up for coming out on a shoot sometime.

We arranged for last Sunday, but anyone who lives anywhere near me knows we have have the WORST weather this last couple of weeks, and so we re-scheduled for this Sunday instead. We could not have planned it better had we tried :) The sun was shining, but there was the odd bit of cloud cover fl0ating around, giving me some options.

My assistant, Paul, had helped out at a wedding yesterday (keep an eye for that blog post soon !) and so he was still around and keen to come shoot Ellie with me. I found an industrial estate which was closed and private ... lots of grit, which complemented Ellie's great looks, what a contrast.

So, here are a few of my favourites ...

A couple from Paul ...

A few more from London ... and a new lens :)

After much consideration I finally decided to buy myself a new, yummy, scrummy, rrrrrrrrrrrrrr, 85mm 1.2 Canon pro lens ... I have been dying to get my hands on one since I tried a friend's mark I version out around 3 or 4 years ago ... so I treated myself to the mark II and I must say, initial indications are that this is one beautiful lens !

So, I lined up my usual subject, Tigger (singular subject matter this time - the other cat, Tom,was more interested in sticking his head in the pot of cream I left out for recycling !!) and shot a few to see what this lens was all about. I popped in the memory card and realised I had some shots from London still on there ...

It never ceases to amaze me, really, that photographers really are just a bunch of posers at heart LOL and when we all get together we practice poses and technique ... so here are a few taken in the Hoxton Hotel lobby (I think the one of me was taken by David, but not sure !)

Lemme know what you think ... leave a comment !

Oh, the final shot is with the new lens ... that's Tigger, looking veeeery happy about having his photo taken haha

Wedding Day for Kirsty & Ben

I first met Kirsty and Ben at their venue about a year before their wedding. I remember playing a slideshow with music from the Buffy musical ... it transpired Kirsty is a massive Buffy fan and so I reckon that sealed the deal LOL ... she signed off her retainer cheque as "Kirsty the Cheque Book Slayer" haha

Their wedding day seemed to come around fast ... don't they all ! Myself and my assistant, Paul, headed off to the hotel where everyone was getting ready ... with everyone in the one place, I was able to do some groom preps as well as the bridals I always get to do.

Ben was extremely nervous, not about getting married, but about doing it all in front of people - I find this a lot with my couples, they are such private people and to have to stand in front of everyone they know - in fact, Ben got so emotional during both his personal vows, and during his speech about his new wife, that she had to step in and give him great big hugs ... there wasn't a dry eye in the house (including me !)

Their wedding was held at Packington Moor, in the Oat Barn, a beautifully restored old building with vaulted ceilings and beautiful gardens ... perfect for a wedding. We managed to mostly dodge the rain all day (good old British summer weather LOL) and everyone had a lot of fun. The reception room was decked out with a Japanese theme ... apparently that's where Ben proposed ! Aaaah

Wishing you love and happiness for the rest of your lives together, guys !

A few favourites ...

Moody Models and Cool Cars

At a loss with no wedding to shoot on Saturday, I thought I was going to get lumbered with decorating the hall - boooo - then my phone beeped with a message from Tom, a guy I had accosted at his cousin's wedding the week before, asking if I was still up for a shoot with him - YES !

By chance, my assistant for Sunday's wedding, Paul, was staying with us all weekend and was mad keen to learn some new things - he also wanted to add a little punch to the shoot and so called up his friend, Ash, who came out to meet us in his super cool TVR Tuscan (car buffs who are not at all interested in the actual people here should immediately scroll to the bottom for a shot of the car !) - short aside - Ash owns a web design company and I am going to be working on a really cool project with him this week ... more soon ... trust me, very very exciting :)

I added in my other assistant, Delphine, for a bit of female interest - she came along in her also-cool Golf Cabriolet (man, is that thing clean !) and so we shot some of her with the car too.

Just a bit of fun ... a few of my favourites ...

Delphine ...

Tom ...

Ash ...

The car ... droooooool ...