This can be in the UK or overseas – I’m particularly interested in very traditional African weddings (or any other country!).

As I said this is a personal project, nothing to do with Natural Expressions Photography – if it’s what I am looking for then there won’t be a charge for the photography.

Please email me patrick@naturalexpressions.co.uk with details of the wedding

Here’s a selection of photographs taken on a recent portrait session with a very happy William.

Where was your wedding, and why?

Stowe School, Buckingham (near where we live). A private school set in stunning ‘Capability’ Brown landscaped gardens. We didn’t want a hotel or marquee wedding but somewhere a little bit different with beautiful rooms and outdoor space. The moment we drove down the drive we were sold!

Did you have a theme / style for your wedding?

We didn’t really have a theme; we just wanted to keep it simple and classical.

Where did you get your dress?

I chose a Lusan Mandongus gown from a lovely shop (www.onceinalifetimebridalwear.co.uk) in Stoney Stratford (near Milton Keynes). Bigger than I would ever have thought I’d have chosen, but perfect for the venue.

And your shoes?

My something old!

What jewellery /accessories did you wear?

Pearls and a bit of sparkle.

Who did you use for your hair & make-up?

My hair was done by my trusted hairdresser, Natalie,of Brown’s Hairdressers (www.browns-hair.co.uk/pages/salons)in Buckingham with a side tiara made by Halo and Co from Liberty in Love.

Tell us about your bouquet / flowers?

For Stowe we had gladioli, ‘twigs’ and snow berries in tall vases. The florist at Woodland Flowers, Buckingham (www.woodland-flowers.co.uk) spent some time convincing us we needed tall vases for the room, we didn’t want anything quite so elaborate, however she was absolutely right! The flowers were absolutely stunning. The bouquets had dusky pink roses, eucalyptus and thistles; I chose to keep them all quite small.

Who made your cake?

It was made by my very own fair hands. I did take to injecting the fruit cake with brandy using a needle and syringe!

Who were your Groomsmen and why did you choose them?

Sam has a lot of brothers so that was easy. We also had my brother and my nephew who was 8…he clearly outshone the others!

And your Bridesmaids?

My best friend from school and my best friend from my first degree.

Did you have any wedding favours?

I didn’t plan to have any, but my mum rocked up the day before the wedding with little pink bags of Ferrero Rocher (my absolute favourite) and jelly babies for the children. A really nice touch.

Where did you get your invitations & stationery?

Made ourselves, after many disasters and an excuse for Sam to buy himself a fancy new printer! I now have a loyalty card to Hobbicraft!!

What is your most memorable moment from your wedding day?

I don’t have one yet, but it was very emotional…. That’s not like me!

What is your favourite photograph and why?

This is a very difficult question, but two come to mind. A black and white photograph of Sam and I against the pillars. The other that comes to mind is a picture of Sam’s Dad staring out the bronze bust… hilarious! (See the photos below!)

Any comments about Natural Expressions Photography?

Perfect… I didn’t see Patrick for most of the day, in a good way. He knew exactly what I wanted from the day and knew exactly how to handle the posed family photographs (there were only about five!). I absolutely love the photographs, there were so many things I didn’t see myself but I can see the story behind them. He has captured the story of the day with skill and elegance.

Anything else you would like to add?

Despite my best efforts I didn’t manage to get Patrick on the dance floor!

Where was your honeymoon?

Dubai and the Maldives- enough said!

Where was your wedding, and why?

Our ceremony was at St Helens Church in Brant Broughton (Lincolnshire) where Rich grew up. His parents and his sister got married there too so there’s a long family heritage. As an added bonus, it’s a stunning church!

Our reception was at the lovely Doddington Hall (www.doddingtonhall.com)

Did you have a theme or style for your wedding?

We had a colour theme of yellow, brown and ivory to guide the planning. I’m from Singapore, but wanted to get married here in the UK rather than back home because I love an English wedding – old churches, summer gardens, first dance. So ‘English wedding’ was my theme by default.

Where did you find your dress?

By Elizabeth Fillmore from Brown’s Bride in London (www.brownsfashion.com) I bought it at a sample sale because it fit like a glove just as it was, but I’m not good at impulse purchases and did have to spend the next week convincing myself I’d done the right thing. (I now know I did!)

What about shoes and accessories?

Shoes were from a shop in Singapore which I love. I was last back in February and realised on the final day that it was my last chance to shop in Singapore for accessories, so I went to the local mall & bought my shoes and jewellery in half an hour flat.

As well as my Singapore-bought necklace and earrings, I wore a pearl and crystal hairband from Mirror Mirror in London (www.mirrormirror.uk.com) and my new mother-in-law’s engagement ring as my something borrowed, old and blue.

Who did your hair & make-up?

We had a lovely morning before the ceremony with two incomparable ladies, Charlotte Wesson (hair – www.charlottewesson.co.uk) and Faye of Blushes of Lincoln (make-up www.blusheslincoln.co.uk) coming to our residence to do mine and my bridesmaids’ and mother’s hair and make-up. They did an amazing job for all of us, and left us all feeling so pampered and relaxed ahead of the day.

Blushes of Lincoln in particular were amazing, staying till we got in the car to make sure we had perfect make-up, giving us little product samples for touch-ups and offering to do any last minute jobs, like nail polish or eyebrow tweezing if needed

What about flowers?

We had personal flowers from an old friend of Rich’s who runs a florist in Hampshire called Flower Vogue (www.flower-vogue.com).

The venue flowers in church and Doddington Hall were by RJ’s Florist of Lincoln (www.rjsflorist.blogspot.com) who must have emptied the county of lilies for our day! RJ’s Florist very kindly agreed to loan us some of the pedestals for an extra day so we could contribute our pedestals to St Helens for their very special King James Bible 400^th Anniversary service the next day. I was thrilled the stunning flowers would get to be enjoyed twice.

Who made your wedding cake?

Made by my amazing mother-in-law. Rich’s 80 year old grandmother made all the stunning sugar flowers that decorate the cake

Who were your Groomsmen and why?

Rich’s groomsmen were old school friends, family (my brother and his brother-in-law) and former band mates. We missed the final member of Rich’s old 3 man band as he is now very successfully pursuing his solo career in Australia

What about Bridesmaids?

I rather unusually had 4 bridesmaids who didn’t know each other before I asked them to be my bridesmaids. My sister, a friend from childhood, a friend from University and a close friend from my early working life. I would have loved to ask my other sister too, but she gets married herself in a matter of months, and I thought it might all be too much!

Did you have Wedding Favours?

We chose to donate to the Alzheimer’s Society (www.alzheimers.org.uk) in lieu of wedding favours and they provided us with little cards we could put on each guests’ place setting. My grandmother was taken from us too early by Alzheimer’s and I wanted everyone to remember that she should have been with us that day.

Where did you find your invitations & stationery?

We made all our invitations and stationery ourselves. Our place-cards were photos of each of our guests, rather than their names and we really enjoyed watching their faces as they came into the dining room to discover this

What is your most memorable moment from your wedding day?

It’s a hard question! At the moment everything is memorable, ask us in 10 years…

At the moment, Rich’s is my arrival at the church.

Mine is the car ride back from the church to Doddington, when were alone and could chat about how everything had gone in the run up to the ceremony. Related to this, I have to thank Graham of Silver Spirit Cars (www.our-day.co.uk)  who not only has stunning cars, but is also the nicest, most personable and professional person you could hope to have driving you.

What is your favourite photograph and why?

We can’t name one! What I really wanted from our wedding photographs, and which Natural Expressions Photography deliver in spades, was to relive the wedding day and see all the bits that I missed from being busy catching up with guests or getting ready. I felt I only had a narrow vision of how the wedding proceeded until I got Patrick’s photos, but he captured the unseen moments among my guests, in the venue and the church, and even things I did which I didn’t remember until I saw the photos. They’re perfect.

Any comments about Natural Expressions Photography?

Wonderful (and not just because this is his blog!). Exactly the photos I’d hoped to have from my wedding, a calming presence on the day who got everything done with a minimum of bother, and I have to say that half the guests fell in love with him and how nice he is. Rich’s mom is still talking about how lovely he was with everyone!

Any helpful tips / advice for future brides?

Don’t worry about anything on the day – trust the people that you’ve asked to help you – and concentrate on just seeing and absorbing as many memories as you can. There are too many and too little time as it is!

Having a team like Justine’s at Doddington Hall certainly helped me do this, and I didn’t need to worry about a thing!

Where was your honeymoon?

We went to the Maldives for a perfect, but too-short 7 day honeymoon

There is a slideshow of a selection of their photographs just after the comments:

Where was your wedding?

We had our wedding at Doddington Hall (www.doddingtonhall.com). We loved the venue because of the stunning long gallery, the beautiful gardens and on the promise that the Littlehouse would be transformed (because they hadn’t even started work when we booked it!).

Did you have a Theme / Style for your wedding?

English country garden theme: bunting, antique crockery displaying beautiful English herbs and flowers, croquet on the lawn and Pimms for the drinks reception.

What about your dress, shoes, and accessories?

An Angelina Faccenda dress from Brides of Bailgate in Lincoln (www.bridesofbailgate.co.uk), silver shoes from Irregular Choice (www.irregularchoice.com), and I also wore an old pearl necklace and new pearl earrings.

Who did your hair & make-up?

I did my make-up myself and my hair was put up by Melvin at Lena Jenkins hairdressers, Scunthorpe

Who supplied the flowers?

Rachel at Catkin (www.catkinflowers.co.uk), the in-house florist at Doddington Hall. We supplied the vintage crockery and she created amazing table decorations, each individually based around the herb table names.

Who made your wedding cake?

Made by my Auntie Maggie!

What about your wedding favours?

We handmade lavender pillows and raspberry gin in miniature bottles

Who made your invitations & stationery?

We used the Card Gallery on line for our invitations (www.thecardgallery.co.uk)

What is your most memorable moment from your wedding day?

Saying our vows

What is your favourite photograph and why?

The photographs from the speeches tell a story in themselves. Hilarious!

Any comments about Natural Expressions Photography?

We were really impressed with the speed at which you got through the group photos. We never noticed you on the day, but clearly from all the great photos you never missed a single moment. We absolutely love all the photos, which really tell a story of the whole day.

Where was your honeymoon?

Hvar, Croatia