The Memories Thru a Lens Blog

To everyone getting married, the actual marriage ceremony is obviously the most important part of the day.  To some couples however it is more about the whole day and celebrating with friends and family.

Once such couple I have had the pleasure to photograph was David and Anna, I do believe the ceremony to be the shortest I have ever witnessed, which is exactly what they wanted.  They chose the Hotel du Vin in Henley on Thames to host their short but intimate ceremony and drinks reception.

The Hotel du Vin is a lovely venue for those who aren’t looking for a church ceremony, its a converted brewery in the middle of Henley and the ceremony room is akin to a barn and even has a mezzanine balcony.  So its certainly true to say the wedding ceremony was packed to the rafters.

David and Anna held very much importance on their friends and family being a part of their day, they even wanted them included in the signature artistic portraits, that I take of all my brides and grooms on their wedding day.  It really did make the images a lot of fun as Davids brother relished being in front of the camera which lead to lots of laughs.

We headed off by the river in Henley and after stopping for an ice cream for the bride, got some really fantastic shots.

Later on it was off to just outside Thame to their friends farm, where they had a huge marquee and enjoyed the rest of their wedding reception with even more guests.

I knew it was going to be a merry reception when I saw the tables, the favors where bottles of spirits and shot glasses!  Needless to say there was definitely a state of joyful exuberance and some very high spirited guests by the time the wedding breakfast was over.

Here are some of my favorites from David and Anna’s wedding day.

Having been a bride myself I know that most brides would like their wedding to be remembered and be a little bit different to anyone else’s and one of the big conundrums for your wedding day its the favors.

Wedding favors are small gifts given as a gesture of appreciation or gratitude to guests from the bride and groom during a wedding reception, and its believed that it started with aristocrats giving a small trinket box filled with sugar cubes or delicate confections, as in this era sugar was an expensive commodity and it was believed that sugar contained medical benefits.  (Can you imagine giving sugar in this day and age people would think you where slightly bonkers and perhaps jealous of their teeth!)

As sugar became more affordable it was replaced with almonds as the bitterness of the almond and the sweetness of the sugar was said to signify the bitter sweetness of a marriage.

Today I think couples have gone well away from sugared almonds as most people don’t like them, except perhaps your Gandpa!

Favors have become a big part of the wedding reception planning and are usually picked to compliment the theme of the wedding.

So here are some ideas for the future brides and grooms who might be struggling for ideas!

At my own winter wedding which was in late December I had tiny stockings for everyone, thanks to my mum who painstakingly made them all….

Another good idea is a lottery ticket like this wedding I covered in Oxfordshire, I would be pretty happy winning a million courtesy of the good friend or relative who included me in their wedding!

A wedding I covered at The Tythe Barn in Oxfordshire gave mini-love spoons.

At snow covered wedding at Missenden Abbey the candy canes went down a storm.

One of my favorites is defiantly sweets and this wedding I covered at The Randolph in Oxfordshire gave everyone their own little jar of jelly sweets.

One wedding at The Friars Court in Oxfordshire had a really great approach to it, the wedding itself by purpose had a very non traditional theme and the favors where no different, the where bags of tablet (a scottish fudge type sweet apparently!) baked by the groom himself in a big basket for guests to help themselves… with a cuddly monkey for the younger guests!

And finally I think we all look forward to a wedding to see our friends or family member tie the knot and enjoy several drinks to celebrate, so what better favor than a shot, this wedding at The Hotel du Vin in Henley went a little further with the favors…. each table was named after a spirt and said spirt was on each table as the favor; but to be sure everyone partook in the favor the name places where shot glasses, I think the tequila table was the first to drain their bottle!

Whether you read my blog all the time or you have just found it, if your a guest, bride, amateur , professional or just enjoy reading the blog and looking at the images please do comment I would love to hear your thoughts!

I had the pleasure of doing a pre-wedding photo shoot at the Donnington Grove, Berkshire a few Saturdays ago.  Neil and Charlotte will be getting married there in July and wanted a pre-wedding photo shoot so they could get in the mood for the big day, plus there are so many good places to take photos at the Donnington Grove we needed to have a good walk around to see how long we will need on the day for their bride and groom portraits.

It was a lovely sunny day which is good and bad, its great because all of the colours there are so vibrant; the greens of the golf course against the blue of the sky, but also not so good because bright sunshine means harsh shadows which is not so good on faces, but I wouldn’t be much of a photographer if I didn’t know how to cope with that.

Im really looking forward to shooting Neil and Charlottes wedding, they are a fantastic couple to work with and the intimate touches in decor they have chosen for their special day will really make for a very special album.

Here are a few favorites from their pre-wedding shoot.

Working hard on a wedding day and capturing it as my client wants is something I work very hard to achieve, so when all is done and finished and the couple have their hands on their wedding album to look at over and over again; I am touched when they take the time to send me some words that I can use as a testimonial for future possible clients to read.

The latest such words are from Calum Scott, who’s wedding I photographed at The Friars Court in Oxfordshire, you will be able to see the images and the story behind their booking me in previous posts.

Thank you so much for our kind words Calum it means everything to me to know I have provided you with such a good service and images which you treasure.

Here is what he said….

We both feel very lucky to have been able to have you as our wedding
photographer, firstly because of your little one’s early arrival allowing
you back to work in time but more importantly because of the talent, skill,
creativity, enthusiasm and professionalism you bring to your work which has
given us a truly amazing record of our big day!  I remember trying to watch
you at our friends wedding a year or so before ours to try to pick up tips,
I recall having to actively look out for you as you seem to make yourself
almost invisible at times – I’ve seen a few who think that the photographer
is more important than the bride! We’ve had all sorts of comments from our
guests too, all saying how amazing your images are but also about how hard
you work on the day.  I think you must have covered a half-marathon round
our venue!

So we now have a fabulous album which really shows off your skill – a
brilliant reminder of the day.  Not only that but because of your package
with the files included we have a massive canvas of our favourite shot
gracing our lounge wall!

Any of my friends who tie the knot and are looking for a really artistic
finished product will be sent your way without a doubt!

The Randolph Hotel in Oxford to me is a bit of a photographic gem, so when Oliver and Ruth booked me after meeting me at the wedding fair held at The Randolph it really got my creative juices flowing. I exhibit quite a lot at the Randolph wedding fairs and I often hear the people questioning whether they will get many nice photos there, being in the centre of Oxford means that The Randolph hotel is not set in large grounds and does not have manicured laws for your drinks reception or indeed your wedding portraits but don’t let that fool you.

The Randolph is in the centre of Oxford, its inside has beautiful features not least a sweeping staircase and outside is the marvelous architecture which Oxford is famed for, so I believe countless places to get some really artistic and creative wedding photography.

Oliver and Ruth where a fantastic couple to work with, they where happy to follow my lead no matter how odd it might sound; when you suggest a bus stop for a backdrop it doesn’t ring the cord of traditional wedding photos! So I am very grateful that they put their faith in my creative mind and let me know do my stuff.

It was a wonderful day and The Randolph provided a lovely backdrop for their intimate ceremony, so to follow are a few of my favorites from the day… enjoy!

When it comes to anything wedding it normally means lots of options and even more decisions to be made, not least is the cake. Some couples envisage the traditional 4 tier wedding cake, others don’t want a cake at all as they want to shy away from the age old traditional of the cutting of the cake, and for those that are left somewhere in between it seems cup cakes have proved to be the most popular option.

Cupcakes in the form of a wedding cake really do make a modern statement with a fun twist, I mean who doesn’t love a cupcake (plus there is no paying the venue to cut it for you!). Cupcakes are also great to photograph too and they can really make a lovely background to your cutting of the cake album page; now don’t think you cant cut a cupcake at the crucial moment on your wedding day there are options that cover this too, a cake topper which is your more traditional cake on top of your cupcake tower can be used or just as fun is to actually cut a cup cake between you, I mean why not it may not last as long when you actually slice but I’ve no doubt it will get a laugh from your guests.

I was lucky enough to spend an afternoon photographing cup cakes the other day, Im not sure my expanding waist thought it was good news as I couldn’t stop nibbling on those butter cream topped beauties, of course this was much in part to the fabulous baking skills of Gazeli Bakes, their cakes are lighter than air and the butter cream is to die for, so if your looking for cup cakes I can’t recommend them enough, visit their website for more information at www.gazelibakes.com

In the mean time something to wet those taste buds… I give you the cupcake with no calories, of course a picture is a bit tougher to chew on!! Enjoy…..

In one of my last posts I explained how I add my photoshop magic to my wedding photography and portrait photography and this post will explain a bit more about my style of photography.

Anyone who is looking for a photographer to capture their wedding day of the wonderful memories of their child growing up will often be asked if they know what style of photographer they are looking for; indeed I will often be asked what style of photographer I consider myself to be so that the potential client can weave their way through the field of potential photographers out their and pick the one that best suits what they are looking to achieve in their photographs.

When asked what my style of wedding or portrait photography is I would say I am bespoke and artistic, but why would I say this.

Firstly lets address bespoke; the dictionary definition of this is “made to order” which I feel couldn’t describe my service better, to me each and every client be it for wedding photography or portrait photography is different and deserves to be treated as such.  So I don’t head off to a wedding shoot or portrait shoot with a list full of poses that I use each and every time, instead I judge on the day and the person and adapt how I take photographs to that, so therefore each and every shoot is made to order.

So that brings me to artistic; now the dictionary definition of this is “having a creative skill” do I have creative skill in my photography?  Well that would be a question for my clients but what I do know is that I certainly put my own creative mark on all the images I take.  First its the actual shot being taken, how I do this is something I find very hard to describe I simply look around, look at my subject then look through my lens and out the shot comes.  Luckily for me its the most natural thing in the world to capture a photograph, a skill which I certainly cherish.  Next I edit the photo adding my photoshop magic, I guess this is where my creativity really comes into its own to make the shot a work of art that when my clients see it will love it and be proud to hang in on their walls.

To follow are  some images that I really feel are artistic…. enjoy!

As promised in my previous post, now Calum and Hannah have had a good chance to look through their wedding day images here are some of my favorites from the day.

I photograph weddings because I love it, I truly enjoy my job and am privileged that couples book me for their special day so I can indulge my passion.

Below is a slideshow of the fabulous album I have just ordered for Mark & Diane, they have upgraded their Queensbury album to a fully digital album which is just being produced.