I was recently fortunate enough to be asked to shoot a bridal photoshoot for a new local magazine “The Wedding Factor” which is set to be launched late in Feb 2012.  I would love to show you some images from the shoot but it’s all top secret still. So until then here’s a timelapse of the shoot.  It was taken over 5 hours.

Huge thanks to all those involved.

Lucy @ Jucy Lucy Cupcakes
Kellie @ Offshore Blooms
Dresses from The Wedding Collection
Gary for the mens suits.
Louise from Toast management
Sara and Zoe from The Wedding Factor
And not forgetting our models for the day.
Thank you.

A few of my favourite images from my final wedding of 2011. A beautiful day considering how late in the year was. Congratulations to Vicky and Adrian.
(A little bit shorter on the text for this post as I felt I was waffling on a bit in previous posts. I would rather let the images do the talking.)

Location – Cedars Inn Barnstaple (website)

Sometimes I sit here pondering for too long on where to start writing about each wedding I blog. Then I get writers block. Then it all goes wrong.
So here’s Lyn’s and Ash’s amazing wedding I was honoured to shoot last year. It was also the first time I had worked with Robert Whetton (http://blog.rjwhetton.co.uk/) as a second shooter.
Lyns and Ash got married at very cool little church in Berrynarbor then it was onto Sandycove for the wedding breakfast and evening reception.

It was a great day, huge amounts of laughter and fun were had.
There are a couple of things I should clarify about the images.

Yes, the bride had 3 pairs of shoes, well one pair were slippers!
Yes, there was a bridesmaids conga doing up the dresses. Very funny to see.
Yes Ash’s Mum is straightening his cravat, the church in front of everyone.
Yes, the bride was late, not by very much though.
Yes, the bride did get up on the decks and do a little bit of mixing!
And finally yes, it did descend into chaos in the photobooth in the evening after all those shots were consumed..

I wish you both, oh and Bentley, all the very best for the future. Congratualtions guys.
And huge thanks to Robert for being my second shooter. A pleasure to work with you sir. Looking forward to our next shoot.

I could waffle on about this lovely homemade wedding for pages and pages but you would all get bored. So I’ll try and keep it short and sweet. I had known about the location and some of the details about Rob and Anna’s big day for a while, but never got to meet them properly until a few days before as they both lived overseas working for the forces. They married at Stoke church at Hartland which is a huge very impressive church, the original plan was to drive to Hartland Quay and then walk to the marquee the coastal path which over looked a very secluded beach. But unfortunately the weather put pay to that, so a 4×4 ride down a very bumpy track was in order. From there is was to an impressively decorated marquee over looking the sea. Everything there had been pretty much homemade. Jams, breads, cakes, the works. Such a lovely touch. Some of the group shots were tricky as the wind was blown what felt like a force 1 that afternoon, but we managed it. The evening saw the guests rocking out to a cracking band, but not until after the couple dance their first dance to a song sung by the bride as a surprise to the groom. Very few dry eye’s in the marquee that night. Also as Rob had served on the front line some of his colleagues had got a video message sent over from a couple of people he knew and yes that is who you think it is.
I wish both Anna and Rob all the very best for the future. Congratulation guys.

It is not often I don’t get to meet a set of clients before their day but with their work commitments and time constraints I only got to chat with the couple on skype video calls a couple of times. But I knew from our first chat they were one cool set of clients and their big day didn’t prove my thoughts wrong.
The venue of the Tunnels Beaches is such a cool place it was really the only fitting venue for Susannah and Andy. Their love of VW’s, the surf and beaches all rolled into one. Perfect.
The day was just one non stop roller-coaster of fun and emotion. One of those weddings where I had to be on my guard at all times. Things just happened, without warning. For example in the evening, Susannah went missing for a while only to re-appear on the dance floor riding around on a motorised scooter complete with mini tardis and balloons. So random but so cool.
Thank you guys for one very memorable wedding. Wishing you both all the best for the future, wherever it takes you.

This isn’t really a “best of 2011″ post more of a retrospective look back at the year and what an amazing year it has been. The images I have chosen are a snap shot from weddings and engagement shoots I have shot throughout 2011 (and it’s not all of them, some I can’t share with you, sorry, respecting clients wishes and all that), all of them though, I am proud of but more importantly they mean a lot to me and say a lot about the couple or the day.

I have started with my favourite image from 2011. James May once spoke of a fizzing feeling (if you saw Top Gear you will understand), well that shot was the 3rd shot of the set at Ben and Jenni’s wedding and I have to admit it still makes me fizz a little each time I see it. The sky, the lighting and the composition, everything.. I just love it. I asked a guest to help me hold a light stand, he was neither a photographer nor an artist, an airline pilot I believe, the first shot was to test the lights, the second shot Jenni’s hand has hidden then this shot. Boom.. In the bag, smiling and heading back to the evening reception.

Anyway, after that shot I have selected a few from some pre wedding shots from last year, these sessions were great fun and allowed me to build some rapport with my clients, making the day so much easier and more relaxing for the couples.

After that series of images it’s the weddings themselves, no particular order, no preference, just shots I love from each wedding I can show.
It has been an amazing year seeing me shoot a lot of weddings, make a lot of new friends and do some incredibly amazing things that I never thought I would. Highlights for me were heading over to Lundy Island for 3 days to shoot a wedding then getting flown home in a helicopter, being told by the band at a wedding to put down my camera and mosh at the wedding reception (I left the party that night at 2.30am!! – Thank you to the Current-Uk and Sara and Dan) and seeing the bride mixing it up on turntables at here own reception!

Now obviously these images represent just a fraction of what I do, most of time is sent in a office editing, sorting, key-wording, metadata tagging and other boring but necessary workflow processes, plus album design, client meetings, commercial, editorial and PR shoots, plus the odd family portrait session or 2. It’s not all a rock and roll lifestyle being a photographer you know. I occasionally have to work in the rain, I once even had to take a pack lunch with me to a wedding!

Thank you to all my clients this past year for making it so memorable. Here’s to 2012, which already is looking set to be another amazing year with a record number of weddings already booked in.

Just a quick post before I wind down for Christmas and New Year in a couple of days. Rather than a standard traditional festive themed static image from me I have compiled a short video for you all.

It was made with limited video skills, very little editing knowledge and I had help from Mr Daniels. Despite getting a B in my media studies GCSE, I think I should stick to taking photographs.  Sorry to those of you who sit through it all, it may be 2.29 sec of your life you will never get back. I apologise for that.
I would also like to point out that I did not purchase the furry creatures in the video, they were sent to use by my Mother in law. She must really hate me I think.

But joking aside, I want to wish all my clients, past, present and future a very happy christmas and new year. Thank you for all your support.
Here’s looking forward to 2012 and with me being pretty much fully booked for weddings I know that next year is going to be a busy one.

Happy Christmas everyone.

Click Here >>>> Woolacombe Wedding Panoramic

The 5th of November normally conjures up images of bonfires, fireworks and wrapping up warm. But this year I spent that weekend doing something very very different. The Saturday was spent with my associate photographer, Howard, photographing a double wedding at the Watersmeet Hotel in Woolacombe. It was such a great day, a lot harder work than an average wedding but so much fun. But more on that in a separate blog post another time. One of the things both couples requested when I first meet them was they wanted to go for “swim” on the Sunday after the wedding. Being keen surfers I kinda knew where this was leading. So the Sunday saw me in a wetsuit, camera locked into a waterproof housing and preparing to hit the water as both couples, in full wedding gear, hit the sea. As the wedding and the day after the wedding was something altogether different, I thought it was only fitting to add a little twist to one of the shots. So here’s a full 360 VR Pano of both couples and entourage on Combesgate beach on the Sunday morning on the 6th November 2011. Someone was smiling down upon us that day.

The panoramic is in both flash and html5 so will work on nearly all platforms. But works especially well on your ipad. Go on give it a try.

And for those of you who reached the end of this little post here’s another 360 taken on the actual wedding day. Again both couples are in it. I’ll let you find them. Click Here >>>> Watersmeet Hotel Wedding Day Panoramic

My main wedding season maybe over but preparations for next year are well under way, with enquiries, bookings, meetings and pre wedding e-shoots happening all the time. In fact I am just as busy now as I was in the middle of the summer. That’s why I am stoked to be able to share with a very recent engagement shoot I had with an amazing couple who are getting married in one of the most picturesque venues here in North Devon. We meet at the manor house to discuss the plans for their big day next year then took a walk around the grounds to capture some photo’s. On the exposed grassland overlooking the coast it was a bit blustery to say the least but in the shelter of the woodland it was idyllic for a few more romantic tender shots. With the dull overcast weather on the day not really lending itself to such stunning vista type shots the use of a little creative off camera flash work brought some otherwise flat images to life.
I had such a great afternoon I now can’t wait to be part of Paul and Jennifer’s big day next year.

Having shot a lot of amazing weddings at this venue over the summer this year, I often get asked if I get bored of shooting the same venue all the time. Everytime the answer is the same. Clear and simple. Nope, don’t think I will ever tire of shooting at the same venue, either here or somewhere else. Each wedding is unique and different and that’s what makes each wedding special and keeps it fresh for me.
This lovely wedding was no exception. Caroline and Matt are really lovely couple. Slightly nervous about having their photo’s taken in our pre wedding shoot but on the day all that faded away and we have real fun and laughs. It’s was a really relaxing day and at times didn’t feel like the pressure of a normal wedding. Something I love about tunnels beaches weddings. What more can I add to this post that the images don’t already say? One thing that might be apparent from the images is the unique cake the couple had. Rather than the traditional, sponge, fruit and or cup cake, Matt and Caroline had a hand drawn cake on a canvas frame. The guests then wrote messages of thanks on the canvas. A very cool idea.
I wish them both all the very best for the future and thank you for allowing me to be part of your special day.