Prestwold Hall Wedding Photography – Vanessa and Tom

My first time at a great local venue in Leicestershire, Prestwold Hall. Unfortunately the unseasonable sunshine of the previous week was replaced by very seasonable gloom and cold, so this ended up being the first of my winter weddings.

I’ll avoid the usual blurb, but instead post the contents of a recent Thank You card I received from Vanessa and Tom:

“We’re not really sure where all of the time has gone but we are still meeting up with friends now who are talking about the amazing photos that you took for our wedding in October last year. You really captured the feeling of the day perfectly. We had such an amazing time and when we look back at the photos it brings it all back straight away.

I don’t think either of us expected you to capture so many perfect moments from the day whilst also being the on-hand ‘wedding expert’! Some are personal, some are beautiful photos in their own right, but all of them exceeded our expectations. You have given us an amazing photo journal of our day that we will keep forever.

Thanks so much again.”

Town Hall Hotel / Shoreditch House Wedding Photography – Rajinder and Paul

The second of my three visits to Town Hall Hotel in 2011, and what a lovely venue it is too. For the uninitiated, they took derelict and abandoned Bethnal Green Town Hall and converted it into a fantastic hotel, chock full of art and cool mid-century designer furniture. But best of all, they left the circular council chamber intact to use for wedding ceremonies.

The observant ones amongst you will spot that it was also my second wedding in three weeks to feature the same Jenny Packham dress. BLING!

The Bonham, Edinburgh Wedding Photography – Tatum and Anthony

This was my second Scottish wedding in 2011, and my first ever in Edinburgh. Tatum and Anthony actually live in Dublin, but came over the water with their priest (a member of Anthony’s family) for their big day. I always enjoy a Catholic wedding as I get free reign (within reason) to capture the ceremony.

After the ceremony at St. Peter’s church, the bride and groom departed under an arch of hurleys, then everyone jumped on a Routemaster bus to return to The Bonham hotel. As she had travelled over from Ireland too, Tatum’s hair and make-up artist had stuck around all day, and so was able to retouch her earlier work before the meal. A luxury many brides would kill for!

The day was rounded off by some very energetic shape-throwing, particularly when the band played ’500 Miles’ by the Proclaimers (see last shot). Should be a staple at every wedding.

Wentbridge House Hotel Wedding Photography – Rebecca and Mike

A rainy day in store for Rebecca and Mike’s wedding at Wentbridge House Hotel near Pontefract. Rebecca’s dad was in charge of the wedding car that took the bride up to St. Luke’s Church in nearby Darrington. His very own fully-restored Alvis!

Following a ceremony that I watched from afar (being asked to stay at the back of the church is an increasingly common request) everyone ventured out under brollies, and after a few greetings we all returned to Wentbridge House for bubbles and nibbles. The band prompted the odd early-afternoon dance from the livelier guests before everyone took their seats for the wedding breakfast, followed by the usual speeches.

Another rainy wedding passes off with hardly any interruption or inconvenience. I don’t know what people worry about!

WPJA Year End Contest Success!

We may be a quarter of the way into 2012, but the results of the last Wedding Photojournalist Association contest of 2011 have just been announced. This tends to be the trickiest of the four annual contests to succeed in as the photographers entering have a full years worth of weddings to choose from. But, I’m pleased to say I had six images achieve placings, four of them in the top ten!

First up are a couple of images from the speeches at Rebecca & Tim’s Ingestre Hall wedding and Clare & Francis’ Great Fosters wedding, both from last May.