Sam and Stephen tied the knot on valentines day at St Audries Park, West Somerset. the grooms' eldest daughter lead the beautiful procession down the aisle, followed by the two men, hand-in-hand with their youngest daughter.
The Whitest of Weddings
Amanda and Charlie's wedding took place on the 18th December 2010... the day on which the Daily Mail reported "Coldest December since records began as temperatures plummet to -10C bringing travel chaos across Britain". For every wedding photogrpaher, travel is something which takes a lot of planning and thought, even on a good day. My journey to the church would take 30 mins, and knowing that snow had settled, and was predicted again that evening, I made the decision to stay with friends who live 10 minutes from the church.
My decision proved vital. As predicted, four inches fell and it was a job to dig my car out (luckily I had a willow broom on the back seat, a 'leftover' from a haloween party). My drive to the bride's house for the prep shots was dreadful. Ice was thick on every major road, and the minor roads to the house were worse still.
The service was beautiful - lit by candle light, Christmas carols for hymns and a christmas tree near the altar. The service ended at 3.30pm , by which time the outside temperature was -8C.
I had already made the decision for group photographs to take place indoors; Outside the snow was too deep for ladies' shoes and too cold for standing still. A decision I didn't take lightly. Fortunately the church was grand in it's archetecture and romantic with the candle light and bare stone walls.
There are always to be compromises on winter weddings when the elements close in. Sadly some guests chose not to risk driving to the reception. The journey was again tretcherous, the reception at the bottom of a steep quarry hill. For those who made it, a warm welcome, flowing drinks, gorgeous rustic fayre and a lively deilidh band awaited weary travellers.
A Very Norton Radstock Affair...
I was honoured to be asked to cover a blessing at the Chalice Well in Glastonbury. Spiritual blessing/hand-fasting photography requires a different point-of-view (excuse the pun) to traditional wedding photography. Fortunately my flexible, candid style lent itself well to adapting to the variety of blessings taking place during the morning of Julie and Paul's blessing.
Due to the early (8.00am) start, and the canopy of trees that encompass the Chalice Well Gardens, available light was at a premium and my two prime lenses worked very hard for me.
Julie specifically wanted me to capture nature's presence at The Chalice Well Gardens in their photographs.
Celebrations took place in the meeting house, located at the gardens. The dining hall was adorned with an 'English country garden' theme and splashes of shocking pink.
Paul and Julie treated their guests to three sumptuous celebratory meals throughout the weekend of their blessing.
