It’s not often that my wife is more excited about a wedding venue than I am, but in this case she probably pipped me at the post. The absolutely beautiful Magdalene College in Cambridge was where she spent a very happy three years getting her degree. Like her, many of it’s alumni hold a great deal of affection for the college and some, like Ramsey, even decide to get married there years later. They commissioned me as their Cambridge Wedding Photographer for their wonderful wedding celebrations.

I had visited the college a few times before with my wife and had always wanted to photograph a wedding there so I was thrilled when Ramsey and Yoko invited me to do so in October last year. Magdalene College suits itself so well to weddings. There are plenty of wonderful old rooms for the bride to get ready, a pretty quad with the famous Samuel Pepys library at one end for the ceremony, a candlelit wedding breakfast in the grand Formal Hall and plenty of little gardens here are there for the guests to spill out onto afterwards.

Yoko and her bridesmaids got ready in one of the Tutor’s studies as the guests started to arrive downstairs. As a documentary wedding photographer I’m always delighted when the entire day is at one venue as I can quietly and unobtrusively capture both aspects of the beginning of a wedding. It’s hugely helpful in telling the story of the day that I am able to capture both a sense of the excitement of the bridal party and the hustle and bustle of the guests before the ceremony at the same time.

When everyone was seated, the bride made her way down the aisle escorted by her proud father. They got married in the shadow of the Pepys Library in a beautiful ceremony with readings from friends and family.

After the ceremony, champagne was served in the gardens next to the river under the shade of the fruit trees. I love this part of the day. As the bride and groom chat away with their guests, it is easy for me to do what I love most – blending into the background and quietly capturing little moments that help to tell the story of the wedding day.

The Formal Hall was a beautiful setting for the wedding breakfast. As there was such an international crowd in attendance, guests were asked to say little toasts to the happy couple in different languages from around the world – a really special little touch which led to a particularly enthusiastic toast which was my favourite photo of the day.

An afternoon tea with some magnificent looking cakes and lawn games in the Pepys Library garden rounded off a special day. I had such a great time capturing Yoko & Ramsey’s wedding. I hope you enjoy looking at the photos as much as I did taking them.

CONGRATULATIONS YOKO & RAMSEY!

Whilst every new wedding is an exciting opportunity for me and my camera, I was particularly looking forward to Anna & Pete’s day. I had never photographed a wedding at Kew Gardens before and when I woke up to blue-filled skies, I couldn’t wait to get out into the beautiful grounds and start snapping.  Having photographed Anna’s brother’s wedding the year before, it was great to see some familiar faces throughout the day.

Having started the day with the bride and her excited wedding party at a hotel nearby, I arrived at St Michael and All Angels’ Church where the first wedding guests were starting to trickle in. After a beautiful service we all boarded iconic Routemaster buses to travel to Kew itself. It was so much fun rattling around in the bus with my camera capturing the guests – people always have such a warm feeling about those old buses and really enjoy being aboard them.

At Kew, the reception was in a special private section of the grounds. I just love this part of the day. I’m a documentary photographer at heart, so I always relish quietly blending into the crowd capturing wonderful little moments that I know the bride and groom will cherish. It was one of my favourite receptions this year and I think the photos reflect that.

We then made our way to the Orangery for the wedding breakfast. What a beautiful space for dinner and a dance. After the meal, the party spilled out onto the beautiful terrace offering spectacular views of the grounds beyond. As I walked through the deserted moonlit gardens on my way home, I was already looking forward to my next booking at this very special venue.

CONGRATULATIONS TO ANNA & PETE!

As a wedding photographer I’ve been lucky enough to see many beautiful and special weddings at Micklefield Hall throughout the years. The team always make a big effort to ensure that each wedding feels unique and special to each couple and that was definitely the case for Hilary and Paul’s big day. They had planned a perfect party for the guests with cream tea, games on the lawn and even beat poetry to keep them entertained. To top it all, the weather was absolutely perfect.

The started with both Hilary and Paul getting ready separately at Micklefield Hall. I love that this special venue enables couples to do this and it makes it really easy for me to quietly go around capturing all the action from putting on the dress to doing the buttonholes and the guests arriving.

They got married in a beautiful ceremony at the folly down by the lake. The highlight for me was Hilary’s goddaughter and her sisters playing the Star Wars theme tune on the cello, guitar and clarinet as Hilary walked down the aisle – it put a huge smile on everyone’s faces!

Drinks and canapés were served on the lawn by the ever excellent Kalm Kitchen before the guests were called into The Great Barn for a delicious looking cream tea. Everyone then spilled out into the grounds to soak up the early evening sun. Giant Jenga, Connect Four and Pick Up Sticks were all played whilst some guests enjoyed walks in the garden or simply taking in the view. As an alternative to a band, Hilary and Paul booked some beat poets who had the guests in fits of laughter.

Such a fun day to photograph – thanks to the happy couple for having me along.

CONGRATULATIONS TO HILARY & PAUL!

Nothing blows those January blues away like a wedding! Especially when it’s as fun as Natalie and Andy’s big day. They live in Greenwich and decided it was the only place to get married. I loved that the final venue of the day was their local pub!

Natalie started the day getting ready with her friends and family at her house. There were lots of people coming and going. As a documentary wedding photographer, I always particularly love capturing the excited flurry of the wedding party. From the moment I get there, it is very easy to blend into the background and capture the emotions leading up to the ceremony.

Afterwards I headed over to the beautiful Queen’s House in Greenwich. Home to an internationally renowned art collection, Inigo Jones’ architectural masterpiece is the first classical building in the UK and a stunning place to celebrate a wedding. I arrived at the same time as the guest of honour – Natalie and Andy’s dog Rocco, complete with a bow tie!

After a beautiful service, drinks were served in the Orangery with guests spilling out into courtyard with commanding views of Greenwich Observatory.

From there everyone walked over to the historic Trafalgar Pub for the wedding breakfast accompanied by speeches from the bride and groom’s mothers. A few tears were shed!

The evening finished off in the couple’s local pub, The Rivington, where lots of their friends had gathered to raise a glass and have a good dance.

It was such a fun wedding with lots of wonderful moments to capture. CONGRATULATIONS TO NATALIE & ANDY!

I felt especially honoured to be asked by Olivia to photograph her beautiful wedding in the Lake District as just over a year ago I shot her sister’s big day. It’s happened a few times in my career and it’s always so lovely to see the family again.

Olivia and Ben decided to get married at Malmerby Hall in the lake district near where their relationship began. It’s the perfect wedding venue: you can rent the hall and stay there with the family, there is a church at the bottom of the garden and big marquee in the grounds. I arrived as Olivia’s family were putting the finishing touches to the marquee, with her brother and sister climbing trees so they could tie the table plans to them!

Ben and his ushers welcomed the guests to the church as they all admired the beautiful view of the surrounding hills. Olivia and her wedding party made their way down the garden path from the hall for the service.

Afterwards, drinks were served outside the hall before everyone was called into to the wedding breakfast in the marquee. There was a really fun, informal atmosphere – perfect for me to blend into the background with my camera and get some natural shots of the party in full swing. I love finding unexpected moments that you couldn’t have planned like chancing upon the bride and groom practising their first dance – one of my favourite photos from the day.

The practise paid off and they glided across the dance floor accompanied by a Sinatra swing band. My night ended surrounded by guests Lindy Hopping away.

CONGRATULATION OLIVIA & BEN!

Micklefield Hall is one of my favourite venues and so I’ve loved photographing many weddings there this summer. The venue has so much to offer ensuring that every celebration feels unique to that couple.

Jess and Matt got married a few months ago. I started the day at the bride’s home. I’m a documentary wedding photographer so I always enjoy the organised chaos whilst the bridal party get ready. There are always so many little moments to photograph.

Once Jess was in her dress, I made my way to the church where the guests were arriving. I quietly took some photos of Matt and his ushers welcoming them and helping them find their seats. Jess arrived in a very stylish Bentley and the ceremony began.

It was a beautiful service and I particularly loved the local community choir who performed whilst the newly weds signed the register.

Then it was off to Micklefield Hall where the party got into full swing on the lawn in front of the house. As a documentary wedding photographer, being unobtrusive is always so important in order to get great shots that tell the story of a wedding. As the day unfolded, I really enjoyed capturing all the funny exchanges, animated conversations and touching moments so that Jess and Matt could relive their big day when they looked through the photos later.

After drinks on the lawn, a delicious-looking wedding breakfast by Kalm Kitchen and the speeches I finished my day photographing some serious dancing.

I just loved this wedding – I hope you enjoy looking through these photos as much as I enjoyed taking them.

CONGRATULATIONS JESS & MATT!

Sophie and Andrew’s wedding was wonderful to photograph. Andrew’s family are Greek and so they decided to bring in some traditional Greek touches throughout the day, especially with some fantastic dancing. As a documentary wedding photographer, I see it as my job to capture all the little moments that occur during the day, the little glances, the emotions, the humour and, of course, the dancing. Added together, they really tell the story of the day which the couple can re-live for years to come by looking through the photos. At this wedding more than ever, I just loved blending into the background and capturing the fun atmosphere of the occasion. It seemed like everywhere I turned there were moments just begging to captured.

I started the day, as I often do, with the bride and her bridesmaids getting ready at the Mariott County Hall Hotel. We then made our way to One Great George street for the ceremony up in the stunning Great Hall. Drinks were then served in in the reception hall and surrounding rooms in the shadow of the giant central staircase. I stole away with the happy couple for a few informal photos taking in Big Ben and then it was back for the wedding breakfast. The couple were announced into the Great Hall and then, in a nod to traditional Greek weddings, the couple circled the dancefloor three times. After the meal, the greek dancing continued into the night long after I had left.

I had a blast photographing their big day. Here are some of my highlights from the day – I hope you enjoy looking through them!

Congratulations Sophie & Andrew!

http://rps.org/ipe160

Micklefield Hall is one of my favourite wedding venues and I’ve been lucky to photograph loads of great weddings there this summer. I loved Francesca and Daniel’s wedding there earlier in the summer. The weather was perfect which allowed them to really take advantage of the beautiful grounds. As a documentary wedding photographer, wondering around a beautiful venue looking for moments to capture as the sun sets is my idea of heaven.

Francesca and her bridesmaids got ready in the new bridal suite complete. Champagne was drunk, the finishing touches were added to the makeup and hair, dresses were put on and selfies were taken. Meanwhile, the guests started to arrive outside as Daniel and the boys helped each with their button holes.

When everyone had found their seats down at the temple by the lake, Francesca was escorted through the rose garden by her proud dad. After a stunning waterside ceremony, the couple walked through a bubble line (rather than confetti!) and led the guests to the reception on the lawn by the hall. As a documentary photographer I just love this part of the day – getting lost in the crowd finding special little moments to capture.

After the wedding breakfast in the great barn, the guests spilled back out onto the lawn. In the late afternoon sun there was an impromptu game of cricket, a game of football and lots of guests strolling the grounds.

Here are my favourite photos from Francesca and Daniel’s Micklefield Hall Wedding. I loved taking them!

We are SO excited to have been selected to exhibit at this year’s Brides The Show exhibition. The show is a MUST for any discerning bride. The brides team has curated their favourite bridal experts who will be brimming with ideas on how to bring their expertise to your day. We’ll be showcasing our favourite weddings from the past year and will be on hand to discuss how our style of natural light wedding photography could work for you. You’ll leave feeling inspired, energised and armed with the skills to create your dream wedding day.