Where to even start with this one…?

You can come on up but it’s a little manic…

was what Miriam said to me when I called her from the front desk of Selsdon Park Hotel where she was getting ready.  And she wasn’t wrong.  Except maybe about the “little” bit.

To be honest, I’ve seen worse.  In fact, far worse.  Everybody was in the right place, things were getting down and most importantly there was lots of laughter.  I knew it was going to be a great day.

Over at the church of St Francis of Assisi in West Wickham, the guys were chilling out.

It would be uncharitable of me to explain quite why best man Gilbert was revising his speech.  Or how they found time to nip to the coffee shop.  After all, it’s a bride’s prerogative to be a little late…

And here they all are – ready for the ceremony!

Just as well, because a few minutes later it was time for Miriam to walk down the aisle and marry Michael.

After this, well the day was just a blur.  But we found a little time to stop at a band stand that Michael had arranged to be open for us.

And this time I’m not kidding when I say “little”.  My camera timed it at 9 minutes from leaving the car to getting back in…

And then….off to Langley Park Golf Club for the reception.  Which looked beautiful.

Which is just as well because everybody was ready.

And the after dinner speeches had everybody in stitches.

Before it was time for the first dance and for me to leave.

I know Miriam and Michael would love to read your comments and wishes below – or just hit the “like” button to post this to your Facebook wall.

I get asked some variant of this all the time.  ”What do you do on your day off?”  ”Do you still take pictures for fun?”  ”Do you carry a camera with you everywhere?”.

And of course the answers are “lots of things, yes and….no”.

But I did take a camera with me on holiday this year.  Since I work all through the summer I generally sneak a holiday when I can get it and that often means over Christmas.

And since I use the latest, fanciest, heaviest, and most expensive camera kit available, it’s sometimes nice to kick back and use something a little less serious.  Like this.  One of my first film pictures in a while.  Shot on a £20 plastic toy camera.

It’s nice to relax when you’re on holiday.

Did you catch yesterday’s gorgeous wedding at Farnborough Abbey?  If not you may want to check it out first – this is part 2 in a 2 parter and if you don’t look at the first then you’ll miss the whole getting married bit….

So where were we…..?  Oh yes, Hannah and Dan had just got married in the beautiful Farnborough Abbey and had spilled out into the warmth of a mild winter’s day.

Next step, lure the guests onto the buses.  Champagne and mince pies should do it.

I’ve had some strange requests at weddings.  So nothing much phases me.  But I was a little puzzled when a monk came up to me and asked if I’d like to take some pictures of the couple with Emperor Napoleon.  I honestly expected him to produce a dog or maybe even a goat (yes, stranger things have happened) called Napoleon.  But no, he meant Emperor Napoleon III.  Who was, err, downstairs.  In the crypt.  (No I didn’t know he lived in Chislehurst and was moved to Farnborough 15 years after his death – thanks Wikipedia!).

OK then.

And of course, when a monk offers to dust off a prayer chair for you.  Well…..

Anyway.  Back into the cars and off the the comparative normality of the Elvetham Hotel where the guests were waiting to welcome Hannah and Dan.

The wedding was in the depth of winter.  Sunset was a little before 4 pm.  But the Elvetham had been chosen partly for its beautiful grounds.  So we had to move!  Time for a few portraits on the lawns.

and of course

And then on to the reception.

As you can see, everybody took things very seriously indeed…..

….before champagne and speeches….

….and cutting the cake.

Of course everybody wanted to check out Hannah’s ring.

and even the terracotta warrior approved.

And all too soon it was time for the dancing.

But if you think that’s it, then you don’t know me very well.  Of course there was time for “just one more picture” in the dark.

If you look back at the start of part 1 you’ll see the Elvetham when I first arrived.  here’s how it looked when I left.

Yeah long LONG day – but very very enjoyable.

Please leave your wishes for Hannah and Dan below.  And if you’d like to share these pictures on Facebook then just hit the “like” button.

The last wedding of 2011 was always going to be a bit special.  Even though it’s quite a way out of Kent, I knew the venue the Elvetham Hotel well. 

I photographed the Madeline Isaac-James 2011 collection there a year or so ago.  I’d met Nikki, the bride’s mother (and several of her friends) when they had popped over to the gallery earlier in the year.  I even knew the dress pretty well (Victoria from the Madeline Isaac-James 2012 collection).

But when I set off for the venue on a dull morning just after Christmas. I hadn’t actually met the bride.  Or the groom.

Hannah was pretty easy to find.  She was in a vast meeting room surrounded by her “hand maidens” getting ready.  They were, of course, eating cocoa pops.

Her bridesmaids helped her out with a beautiful headpiece and one of the biggest veils of the year.  Then it was that moment.  When everybody else is busy.  And it goes quiet.  And you realise that with 85 minutes until the wedding.  It’s time to get ready for real.

And then just a few minus later, Nikki came back to help with the dress called Victoria and to get her daughter ready for her wedding.

Yep, looks ready to me….

That’s either the last “wow” of 2011 or the first of 2012 – depending how you count them.

There was some wonderful transport laid on for friends and family.  The bridal party travelled to St Michaels aka Farnborough Abbey by vintage Rolls Royces.  But the guests had some rather nice buses.

OK.  So I’ve met the bride.  Hannah’s instructions for the next bit were pretty easy.  ”Just go to the abbey and find the best looking guy in a bow tie.”  Simple.

In fact, the dress code was black tie.  So pretty much all the guys were wearing the same.  

And everybody else had their best skirt on……

I just hope it’s not too draughty.  The abbey is built of stone.  And on a winter’s day significantly colder than the balmy temperatures outside.  Still, as with everything, Hannah and Dan were prepared.

Then it was just a matter of waiting.

For that moment when Hannah walked down the aisle to marry Dan.

I knew there were going to be LOTS of pictures from this wedding – so I’m going to split it into 2 parts.  This is the end of part 1 with Hannah and Dan leaving the church.

Part 2 has Empress Eugenie, Napoleon, Terracotta warriors, eating, drinking and of course lots and lots of pictures.  You can see part 2 here….

Here it is.  My last wedding before Christmas and time for a trip across the water to Essex.  On one of the shortest days of the year we were always going to be racing light.  But as you’ll see, it all worked out beautifully.

At Jo’s house, everything was actually surprisingly calm.  Well, as calm as it can be with 5 bridesmaids, an uncle, the bride’s mother and the bride herself all getting ready.  But how about this for a lovely gift from her groom on her wedding morning?  Jo found a bear sitting on her doorstep all dressed up and ready.

And then of course it was Jo’s, turn…

And I’ve said it many times this year and I know I’ll say it at least once more this year…..”wow”….

…and then a short trip to Chingford Parish church where Dan and, well, everyone was waiting…

Jo walked down the aisle with her Uncle Bob to meet Dan Dare her groom.

From that moment on, I don’t think I saw Dan let go of Joanne’s hand all ceremony.

I said earlier that we were always going to be racing light all day.  This isn’t a problem as I’ve certainly worked on much darker days.  I also carry equipment for pretty much any eventuality.  But on Saturday, pretty much all I need was a camera.  Winter is looking a lot more like autumn at the moment.  Hard to believe it’s almost exactly a year since the one where it snowed.

Now here are the pictures you don’t see very often.  But I know they mean so much to everybody involved.  No matter how relaxed an fuss free you want your day, there’s always time for a group picture.  After all, it might be the only time for a while that everybody gets together in the same place.  I always make sure that we do enough groups to cover everyone – and do them quickly enough so that nobody gets bored.

If you’re a fan of Bear Grylls then there’s a treat coming up.  The reception was round at his place!  Actually, that’s only kind of true.  It was at Gilwell Park which is the headquarters of the Scout Association.  There are statues of Baden-Powell everywhere and most men at the wedding had fond memories of camping there as children.  But it really is true.  If you want to write to chief scout Bear Grylls, then his address is Gilwell Park.

Enough of the trivia…on with the pictures.

I said we had to be quick about it.  A couple of sunset shots at……3:45pm.  Worth it though.

Then it was time for the reception and wedding breakfast.  Deep breath…big entrance….

Dinner was rather nice too.

It’s not every wedding where the bride makes her own speech.  But if you’d met Jo you’d know she wouldn’t miss an opportunity.  Even if she was a lot more comfortable during the best man’s speech than her new husband.

And with the chocolate fountain and casino there was plenty of entertainment after the meal too.

But really everybody was there for the music and dancing.

That’s the last wedding before Christmas – but not the last of the year.  There’s one more special event just before my “summer” holidays.  I know Jo and Dan Dare would love to read your comments below.

I know I put some previews of Abi and Adi’s wedding in Chilham on the site a week or so ago.  I’m just putting the finishing touches to their images now and this one just popped up on my screen.

The happy couple are now back in the summer weather of Australia just as it starts to turn really cold here and I knew they wouldn’t mind me sharing this picture with you.

Remember Annabelle?  Hard to believe it’s the best part o a year since I photographed her.

Even harder to believe how much she’s grown since then!

She’s just as cute as ever – but now she can hardly stay still for 2 minutes.

She loves playing in the garden.  But some times….she just likes to think.

It’s not too late to arrange a family photoshoot before Christmas – but it will be soon.  Get in touch if you’d like to arrange yours.

Tough job being a fashion model.  This is actually a fairly typical behind the scenes shot for me.  Naomi is modelling the entire House of Nicholas 2012 collection in a single day.  Emma (camera right) is touching up her makeup while Marina is putting finishing touches to her hair.  In about a minute’s time they will both step backwards behind the camera and I’ll start taking “real” pictures.

I’ll flip the camera to portrait orientation and fire off about 30 frames talking Naomi through a variety of frontal, profile and of course back of the dress pictures.  I’ll be coaching her to move by inches so that the light hits her exactly right.  Although she’s an experienced model nobody else in the room has the camera view that I have.

5 lights will fire all together by radio control and within minutes we’ll have images full screen on a 15 inch laptop.  We can zoom in to 100% to double check Emma and Marina’s work.  And then the next dress.

And….repeat.  1 day, 1 model, 20 dresses.  Tough job.  Really.

And just in case you thought it was all glamour working in high end studios.  Here’s the pull back.

One roll of paper, lots of lights and an ugly office.

I said last week that no two weddings are the same.  Then I was talking about a wedding that I was hired for 2 days ahead.  Some people like to plan for a little longer than that.  OK much longer.  Like Abigail Coles….

I’d been swapping emails with Abi in Australia for almost a year so it was with some anticipation that I checked the weather for the wedding.  Looked like it was going to be nice.  And then I got to Chilham on the big day and it was looking like this…

Yes.  It was going to be a beautiful day!

Over at the cottage where Abi was staying everything was underway.

And Lucy Jayne was on hand to add the finishing touches.

Chilham is a lovely little village and pretty much all the various venues were a short sprint away.  So I went over to the other cottage where the boys were.  But not before sneaking a peek at the dress…..

Hmm, that might look nice.

And then over to the groom, Adi, and his best men.

And of course a very proud father.

Now often I talk about a bride’s “wow” moment.  Abi was no exception.  Except with a beautiful bride, gorgeous attention to detail and the fabulous Autumn light it was more like a WOW!!! moment.

See what I mean?  But everyone knows you can’t have a bride without bridesmaids.

So.  The cast is assembled.  let’s walk to the church.  And yes, we rally did set off at 2:26pm.  Just like it said in Abi’s plan.

We walked past the tourists and through the light to Chilham Church where everything was ready.

And there in a beautiful centuries old church, Abigail Coles married Adrian Slaughter…

And everybody wanted a picture…

Now with sunset happening at 4:09 (I did mention we’d planned this, right?) we had to move.  But since everything in Chilham is close together we had plenty of time to play in the late light.

Including some of Mr and Mrs Slaughter.

And the last colour in the trees – obviously.

And then it was just a short walk to the village hall.  Which had been stunningly decorated with, well you take a look….

And even the food from Chives fitted right in.

Way too many memories of this fabulous day to include in this post.  But I think one bridesmaid was pretty happy to catch the bouquet.

And then….first dance…

Abi and Adi are toughing it out on an exotic beach before the trip home to Australia but they will see any message you leave for them below.  And don’t forget to hit the “like” button to post this to your Facebook.

But….did you think I’d finish without “one more picture”?  In the dark?  Not when there are sparklers….

One of the things that I’ve learned about weddings is that they are all different.  Just like people.  Some clients like to book me 2 years or so in advance for 400 guests in a castle.  And then there are other clients.  Like Olajumoke and Phillips.

They called me on a Wednesday afternoon to ask about my availability for a small local wedding.

Sure – where is it?  ”Wellington House in Canterbury”.  Great news – that’s my local register office.  I’ve covered weddings hundreds of miles away so it’s nice to have one I can walk to.

How small?  ”Just the 2 of us and 3 guests”.  No worries.  The smallest wedding I’ve ever covered was 4 people and the biggest was over 1,000.  There are no rules.

Oh, when is it?  ”10 am.”  Um, when?  ”Tomorrow.”  Easy.  the diary is free, I can put the cameras on charge and be there with no drama.

And so, just a few hours later I was on my way to Wellington House Canterbury on a wet Thursday.  Olajumoke and Phillips had selected a very no frills package for their wedding.  Here are the bride and groom together in the waiting room before the wedding.

It took place in an upstairs office rather than the grand ceremony room downstairs.  Just as well there were only 3 guests – it only holds 6 people including me!

But that’s plenty of space for a few close friends.

And of course in autumn…even the carpark looks pretty good for pictures.

At most weddings I try to get all the guests in one or two shots.  Here it wasn’t so hard…

And then briefly on to the Victoria Hotel for a small intimate reception and a final couple of pictures.