Yesterday saw me shooting my final wedding of 2011 and I couldn’t have asked for lovelier couple or better December weather, even if it was a bit cold. Julia and Dan were married at Fanhams Hall Hotel in Ware and it was day full of love and laughter when they were joined by their family and friends. They were married in the Great Hall which is always a stunning venue and even more so at this time of year with the Christmas decorations up. Dan had even written and recorded a song for his ‘Princess’ and this was theme was enhanced by an astounding fairy-tale castle cake hand made by one of their guests – it certainly got my ‘Cake of the Year’ award!

Dan and Julia are leaving for a three week honeymoon tomorrow that will include Peru and St. Lucia, have a great time and here are just a few pictures from yesterday.

Yesterday I had a meeting with Matthew and Clare who are getting married next weekend at Hinchinbrooke House near Huntingdon in Cambridgeshire. After going through the final timings and plans for the day we had a stroll round Royston Heath to take some pictures so they could get used to being in front of the camera. Even though Royston Heath is only about 20 minutes from my house I had never been there before but I will definitely be going back, there are some great walks and stunning views – highly recommended!

Here are a few photographs and I’m really looking forward to the wedding next weekend.

Last August saw me at Kevin and Angie’s wedding at Crabbs Barn near Kelvedon in Essex and a few months later I had the pleasure of designing their album. I started with a very clean design but soon realised that a more boutique style would suit their wedding and the final version looked like this:

Just before Christmas last year I had the pleasure of being Laura and Phil’s wedding photographer at St Michaels Manor in St Albans although this was the day of some truly terrible blizzards – ooh I like a challenge! Fast forward a few months and it was time to design their wedding album and I decided to create a design that incorporated the sumptuous colours used at their wedding and to reflect the fun that was on had on that bitterly cold winter day.

The final design was through many iterations and I mention this not in a complaining, whiney style but to emphasise the point that all my albums are custom designed with plenty of input from the bride and groom (can your wedding photographer say the same?). For this design I used a deep purple colour on some of the pages that faded to black and then met up with Laura to discuss some finer points and I think this meeting lasted about 4 hours! A couple of design changes later and the final version was sent away to be published.

Even though I say it myself the final product looked pretty good and I know Laura and Phil were over the moon with it.

Here are the pages that I designed:

Yesterday I had a local wedding just a few minutes away in Ware, Hertfordshire when Natalie and Simon got married at The Sacred Heart of Jesus & St Joseph Catholic Church. Natalie was getting ready at Fanhams Hall and this where I met her and luckily we had fantastic weather considering the torrential rain we experienced the previous day in Ware. Wedding photography is always a pleasure but there are some days when everything just seems to come together and this was one of them as Natalie and Simon were a lovely couple to work with and when this was combined with good weather, great venue and friendly guests it all added up to a great day. I loved shooting in the church as it was light and airy and the priest hosted a magnificent service. A stunning vintage Jaguar then whisked Natalie and Simon to Ware Priory where the festivities continued into the evening.

From a wedding photography point of view the Priory is a fantastic venue as the grounds are quite spacious and tranquil with some small footbridges leading to the island at the rear of the premises and later on in the day we had some great light as the sun went down.

Natalie and Simon are heading off to the Lake District today for their honeymoon and I would like to take this opportunity to wish them well.

THE PERFECT WEDDING RECIPE

Take one superb venue, add a lovely couple and a generous helping of friends and family. Mix in a warm and sunny spring day and a good sprinkle of fun and laughter then garnish with an Aston Martin DB6.

Wedding photography does not get much better than this when you you have all the right ingredients and this is what I had yesterday when photographing Laura and Paul’s wedding at Parklands Quendon Hall near Saffron Walden in Essex. Yet again we were blessed with great weather and Laura looked stunning as did the bridesmaids. A friend of the family brought his concours d’elegance award winning Aston Martin DB6 which was the same colour as the one seen the day before at the Royal Wedding and he very generously allowed us to use it for a couple of quick photo shoots.

Everyone had a fantastic time and here are just a few images from the day, please leave a comment to vote for your favourite photograph and I will ensure Laura & Paul receive a print of the winning image.

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Yesterday I travelled up to Worksop in Nottinghamshire to assist fellow ISPWP member Simon Revill at Lucy and Mark’s wedding and I was up bright and early for the 7am start, again we were treated to another glorious hot day. The ceremony was in the truly splendid chapel of Worksop College which is an independent day and boarding school followed by the reception at the equally stunning Hodsock Priory just a few miles away.

Mark is an officer in The Rifles and this was to be a military wedding with many of his colleagues and friends in uniform although I did feel sorry for them as they must have been melting in the heat. He is also South African and many of his family had made the long journey to celebrate their wedding. The day was very relaxed with a lot of laughter and both Simon and I enjoyed it immensely even though we were wilting by going home time and I eventually got in about 11.30pm.

Here are a few of my images from the day.

Last July myself and fellow ISPWP member Simon Revill travelled down to Somerset to photograph the wedding of Simon & Katie. As part of my work with the Royal Anglian Benevolent Society we provided this service free of charge as Simon was quite seriously injured by an IED in Afghanistan earlier in the year and had been undergoing some intensive rehabilitation prior to his wedding.

It was an amazing day and I recently completed the album that was provided by SIM2000 in Hertfordshire and I must extend a big thanks to them for their generosity and support. Simon and Katie have received their album, they are overjoyed with it and I received this from Katie just a few days ago:

“Hi Colin

Just wanted to write and thank you so so much for the beautiful album. It’s utterly stunning and so much more special than I had imagined. Such a great reminder of a wonderful day. I couldn’t stop crying when we were looking through it! We have given the mini albums to family and they were all very grateful.

Simon and I can’t thank you enough for everything you’ve done. You’re kindness and generosity will be remembered by us always.

Thank you again.”

I must admit, I always get great pleasure when clients take the time to write and thank me but I’m sure you will agree this one is a little bit special!

Here is their final wedding album, I hope you enjoy it.

Yesterday saw me at the stunning Woburn Abbey Sculpture Gallery for Lucy & Colm’s wedding. For a wedding photographer this is an excellent venue as it provides many varied areas to take great wedding photographs and I was certainly spoilt for choice. Following their ceremony at St Mary the Virgin Church in Ivinghoe Lucy and Colm were driven in style to Woburn Abbey in a white Rolls Royce where they were joined by around forty close friends and family, many of whom had made their way from Ireland for the occasion.

As can be guessed from the name, the Sculpture Gallery has a wide array of statues and related artefacts ranging from quite small to enormous and we were able to make use of them on a few occasions. When we left the party was in full swing and Lucy and Colm are leaving soon for their honeymoon in Andalucia, Spain.

Saturday 12 March was the date for Stuart and Sam’s wedding and I was fortunate to be chosen to cover their wedding photography. Letchworth Hall Hotel in Hertfordshire was the venue and whilst Sam was getting ready in the large suite with her bridesmaids and mother Stuart was enjoying a round of golf at the adjoining course. The ceremony was in the stunning Great Hall and due to both families having a Scottish heritage a lot of the men were in kilts and this made a very pleasant change from my point of view.We managed a few portraits in the afternoon but unfortunately if was pitch dark by the time we came to the ‘proper’ portrait session but I think you will agree we got some great shots of the happy couple.

They are having a few days in Edinburgh and in a few weeks are off to Cuba for a well earned honeymoon.

Here are just a few of the wedding photographs, please leave a comment stating which one is your favourite and I will make sure Stuart and Sam receive a print of the most popular image.

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