Martin & Louise

Bank holiday weekend came and went as you know in a blur of weddings.  The second wedding that weekend was of Martin & Louise.

As you know I like to make an entrance but I don't normally make such a dramatic  entrance as I did at Louise's house. As the usher opened the door to let me in I tripped over the step and literally fell in through the front door, bashing my finger on the door frame and ending sprawled in a heap on the floor. Tres elegant!

The bridesmaids, who were all sitting elegantly in the lounge sipping champagne fell about laughing at my unconventional approach to breaking the ice.   Anyway, moving swiftly on:

I love roses, I think there is something really special about roses and Louise had decided to have lots and lots of them. They were gorgeous. Beautifully fresh and elegantly arranged, the florist (don't know who it was) should give herself a well deserved pat on the back.

Once Louise arrived back from the hairdresssers it was time to get the the make up on and into the dress. It always makes me laugh how one minute it's all calm and orderly and suddenly everyone is running round getting changed and wanting the bathroom at the same time, getting into their outfits and checking the last minute details.

Louise seemed to be very calm about it all. She was  a bit like a swan, all serene on top but flapping like heck underneath it all!  Here she is good to go and looking gorgeous and taking one last look in the mirror before heading off for the car waiting outside.

The ceremony and the reception were to be held at Mytton Fold and the plan was that the ceremony would take place outside. The rain had been threatening all day and right up to the last second it wasn't at all certain where it would take place. The hotel had set up for both an inside and an outside ceremony so the final decision was down to the bride and groom who decided.......

Outside.

What a good decision, it was wonderful.

The ceremony itself was very moving and the extra dimension of being in beautiful gardens, listening to the birds made it extra special. The rain decided to hold off and the sun even came out for a while. It was warm, romantic and felt almost tropical. Bob and me had never shot a wedding outside before. We were both surprised at how much we enjoyed it. The light was beautiful so we took full advantage of it and also the ability to be able to move around a little bit more and shoot from angles we wouldn't normally be able to.


After the ceremony Martin and Louise went for a ride  in their wedding car. I should say in their special wedding car as it was my old buddy Peter from Special Wedding Cars who was there that day with his lovely old Buick.

As Martin & Louise went for their much needed breather, Bob and me spent the time having a laugh with .. er.. cough... I mean getting lots of photos of the guests.

 There was a toast master there who I've never met before his name was Roland  and he was wonderful. he gathered people together for me, held my camera while I climbed up my stepladder for the big group shots and generally made sure everything ran smoothly.  I would highly recommend him if you are getting married, (just because I want a Roland at every wedding!). He was superb.

This little chap here, Martin's nephew, was in grave danger of stealing the show, he was so cute.

When Martin & Louis came back we went for a little stroll round the gardens to get our special shots. I love this part of the day, it's just the bride and groom with me and Bob and  we can all relax a little bit away from the crowd.  Usually this is when we get our best shots as we have a stroll and a chat as we walk. Maybe stopping on a handy bench for a few minutes.

This is one of my very favourite images of the day. The look of love in Louise's eyes makes me emotional every time I see it.

After our stroll we went inside to cut the cake. This shot, admittedly not a traditional cake cutting shot is my favourite.

The it was time for the wedding breakfast.  As photographers we feel that this is a time to leave people alone. No one wants to be eating their meal thinking that at any moment they will be snapped shovelling in  a mouthful of roast beef and yorkshire pud, it doesn't make for good photography and it puts everyone on edge so we get out of the way till it's time for the speeches.  We love the speeches. Bob specially loves them as he's picking up material for next year when he is going to be the father of the bride. He's been writing his speech for ages now. It should good .. or just very, very long.

During the evening a man turned up with a strange looking contraption. As he started to assemble it it became clear that it was a huge chocolate fountain.  Very impressive to look at and it certainly was very popular.

There were sweets, mini doughnuts, fruit and all manner of things to dip into the luscious, white chocolate.  We were invited to help ourselves but I was very good and managed to only have a strawberry.  I felt very virtuous!