Melanie and Cieren, Send Church and Ramster, October 8th 2011

And now a quick trip back in time to October and to Melanie and Cieren’s wonderful wedding day. When I look at the pictures again I’m struck by the blend of captured moments and timeless elegance.

Black-and-white pictures are what got me into photography in the first place and the pictures here have that sense of beauty I’m always looking for – the picture of Melanie arriving in the car is one of my favourites.

Send Church is beautiful and from another time – and at the end of a single track lane, but thanks to some skilful ushering and considerable planning all possible logistical difficulties were overcome, with the added joy of a restored RT8 London bus. I’ve restrained myself on the bus pictures but it was a spectacular backdrop and a joy to behold.

The happiness of the day is clear in all the pictures

The Ramster pictures show just how much it has to offer and all in all this was a day with many, many wonderful elements that come together superbly. The happiness of the day is clear in all the pictures and I’m very grateful to Melanie and Cieren for their feedback:

“It was an absolute pleasure dealing with you” – I enjoyed every minute.

Rebecca and Dominic, Ramster, 22nd October 2011

You can never be sure of the weather at any time of year in this country – I’ve photographed weddings on Valentine’s day outside in the sunshine and spent the first Saturday in August trying in vain to protect my cameras from torrential rain.

What I like about Ramster is that whatever the weather does your day will be fine. Rebecca and Dominic’s day had a wonderful Autumn mix of arriving in sunshine, a ceremony in daylight, the warmth of evening light and a roaring fire.

My whole mission is to be something very different from the traditional wedding photographer – all the bride and groom have to do is enjoy themselves and leave the rest to me.

Many of my clients tell me they don’t like being photographed and Rebecca and Dominic made this very clear to me when I met them, but my whole mission is to be something very different from the traditional wedding photographer – all the bride and groom have to do is enjoy themselves and leave the rest to me. That’s just what happened here and the result is a set of pictures full of the joy, happiness and emotion of the day.

One final point – I’ve included the whole group shot because it is one set piece picture I’m frequently asked for. At Ramster it can be done outside if weather permits or as here indoors. To save anyone counting there are 153 guests!

Angela and Andrew, Gate Street Barn, 25^th February 2011

And now a post from this year… After the snow before Christmas I was delighted there no challenges in getting to Gate Street Barn for Angela and Andrew’s wedding. I always look forward to the first weddings of a new season and I had three wonderful weddings this February.

From the end of January the days start getting noticeably longer, giving the opportunity for more natural light photography, especially during civil ceremonies.

We were able to get outside during the afternoon – very useful for any group shots and if the bride and groom want to escape for a few minutes on their own.

We are so pleased with the shots, you definitely captured the atmosphere, venue and people. We can’t thank you enough.

Not everyone in the world like being photographed and Angela was very honest with me before the day – she loathes it, so I was particularly pleased to receive the following message from Angela and Andrew when they saw the pictures:

“Andy and I have had a really good look tonight – without me crying!!!! We feel there is nothing we would change… We are so pleased with the shots, you definitely captured the atmosphere, venue and people. We can’t thank you enough. The memories were definitely worth the pain (to be fair it wasn’t that painful!!). As we are soooo pleased with the shots, please feel free to put them on your website and if you need me to talk to other photo phobics I’ll happily sing your praises.”

Thank you both.

Gemma and Richard, St.Mary’s, Chiddingfold, and Ramster, 17th December 2010

My last post talked about the joys of winter light and Gemma and Richard’s day had it in abundance – with the added atmospheric benefit of snow.

Again too Gemma and Richard had wisely chosen a time for the service that had plenty of opportunities for photography before the light faded. The black-and-white picture outside the church shows the wonderful mix of deep blue skies and a light dusting of snow, whilst the setting sun as they emerged from the church gave a fabulous warmth to the pictures.

The photography at Ramster itself shows just what can be achieved in low light in winter – but enough from me. As ever at this wedding there were loads of very well equipped amateurs amongst friends and family and it’s very clear that many brides and grooms might be tempted to choose one of them to take their wedding pictures.

Words can’t describe how delighted we are with our wedding photos …you captured the beauty and romance of the day perfectly.

After the day, when Gemma and Richard had had a chance to see everyone’s pictures, I asked them whether they thought it had been worth having a professional photographer. Here’s what they said:

“Words can’t describe how delighted we are with our wedding photos …you captured the beauty and romance of the day perfectly.

From the first moment we met you, we knew you understood the style and mood we wanted you to capture and the end result is testament to your skill, ability to understand and read individuals, your timing and all your hard work.

You took some stunningly magical photographs in the snow that will forever be the most wonderful memories of our winter wonderland wedding. You were always helpful before the day with our endless questions and requests and patient during the tense getting ready moments and on the day you were unintrusive and never once did we feel that we having to have our photos taken.

We wouldn’t hesitate to recommend you to anyone looking for a reportage photographer. You asked if we were pleased that we’d had a professional photographer, not only is the answer definitely yes, but we are so happy that it was you!”

Thank you Gemma and Richard, that means a huge amount to me.

9^th October 2010, Vicki and Mark, The Church of the Holy Family, Heath End, and Northbrook Park

It’s still catching up time from the second half of last year and Vicki and Mark’s wedding in October  gave me the chance to return to Northbrook Park, a venue I’ve known for many years that has recently undergone enormous improvements and changes – it now comes with purpose built accommodation and loads of very discreet parking.

The old marquee is long gone and now the wedding breakfast is served in the Orangery with purpose built kitchens tucked out of sight at the rear.

My clients often ask me what I would like them to do – to which I always reply just enjoy yourselves and leave me to capture that.

This was a truly fabulous day and showed just what an Autumn wedding has to offer – wonderful rich colours in the subtle light during the day and then the warmth and intimacy of the fading light in the evening.

My clients often ask me what I would like them to do – to which I always reply just enjoy yourselves and leave me to capture that. Vicki and Mark’s sheer joy on the day has made for a fabulous set of pictures – their happiness shines out. Their guests too are clearly having a great time.

Thank you not only to Vicki and Mark but also to the two Best Men who helped me during the day – much appreciated.

Jo and Alex, Ramster 11^th December 2010

And now coming back up to date here are some pictures from Jo and Alex’s wedding in December – the 11^th was the Saturday it didn’t snow.

This wedding was a triumph of organisation by Jo – amongst the host of special details was a video during the speeches of Alex’s favourite song, mimed by many friends and superbly cut and edited. Look for the picture that shows Alex’s reaction. Alex contributed to the planning too – the first groom I’ve seen arriving at a wedding with his own personal survival kit of a bottle of Jack Daniels.

Alex contributed to the planning too – the first groom I’ve seen arriving at a wedding with his own personal survival kit of a bottle of Jack Daniels

As well as having elegance and beauty this wedding was also a lot of fun, which you can also see in the pictures. For those planning winter weddings it shows the special quality of the light in winter – in the pre-digital era my clients would often be concerned about wedding photography at Ramster in winter and whether the results would look dark.

The ceremony shots show there should be no cause for concern and the pictures from the speeches have a very attractive winter warmth to them, enhanced by all the details Jo planned so carefully.

So thank you Alex and Jo for a great day, I’m only sad it’s over.

Kirianne and David, Ramster, July 24th 2010

Remember summer? Sunny days and long evenings?

Catching up with the blog at long last on a cold autumn evening gave me a chance to remember another fabulous Ramster wedding. How often do you see the bride wearing red – here’s a chance to see how dramatic it looks.

If you put your trust in reportage photography you’ll be rewarded

Kirianne and her team got ready in the Stables at the top of the drive to Ramster and decided to make the most of the summer sunshine by walking down to the Long Hall. The result is the “Reservoir Bridal Party” picture – and as ever with my photography it was not posed, proof if any were needed that if you put your trust in spontaneous reportage photography you’ll be rewarded.

Similarly with the Ceilidh pictures, there’s a spontanaeity in the joy and happiness that just can’t be engineered in a posed shot – and I love the emotion of the pictures during the ceremony. I’m always being asked “what do you want us to do” and my answer remains the same – just be yourself and enjoy the day.

Stephanie and Warren’s wedding at Ramster, 16th October 2010

Stephanie and Warren’s wedding at Ramster in October was a good example of just what our climate can offer – after an unpromising start they ended up walking through Ramster’s spectacular gardens in warm Autumn sunshine and it was the sunshine that reminded me of my first wedding at Ramster fifteen years ago.

In those years Ramster has seen many changes – part of the courtyard being paved, wonderful new loos, the Stables being made available for brides getting ready at Ramster and a purpose built extension for new kitchens – all of which have made it a highly popular and successful wedding venue much in demand. Throughout those fifteen years wedding photography at Ramster has been a constant joy and I’m delighted to see more and more clients wanting to go into the gardens for some special photographs of just the bride and groom – they make a fantastic backdrop.

Every wedding is different

Stephanie and Warren’s pictures show the wonderful colours of the Autumn leaves at their best and the range of great photographic opportunities at Ramster – from the intimate and emotional moments of the ceremony through to the range of light and colours in the light in the Great Drawing Room. The pictures show what can be captured by photographing the speeches – great informal moments – and the range of reactions during the evening and the first dance.

They also show how every wedding is different – this was a day very much in their style reflecting their choices. It was a day of enormous happiness and great joy that was hugely enjoyed by all, including the photographer.

Rachel and Michel, Ramster 24^th April

Getting ready for a wedding can be stressful at the best of times – I remember standing in Jermyn Street the afternoon before my own wedding having just collected my waistcoat and feeling daunted by the number of tasks to be done by the following day.

For Rachel the situation was complicated by a large volcanic ash cloud in European airspace and the fact that  many members of her family and friends were coming from Canada. Even early in the week of the wedding the situation looked grim, but by Saturday virtually everyone had made it and the sun shone to give a classic English spring day.

They both fell in love with Ramster from their first visit and chose to use the grounds for these set piece shots – which left me free to be a fly on the wall during the reception.

Rachel and Michel were both keen to have reportage photography during the reception and so made the decision to have some family group shots before the ceremony. They both fell in love with Ramster from their first visit and chose to use the grounds for these set piece shots – which left me free to be a fly on the wall during the reception.

Their strategy paid off handsomely – the groups were stress free and quickly achieved, using the beautiful backdrop of Ramster Gardens, whilst they had all the time of the reception to spend with their friends, not the photographer.

Thank you Rachel and Michel for the glowing feedback and comments. Here’s a selection from their day.

3rd December, Gemma and Redmond at Great Fosters

Another return to one of my very earliest wedding venues – I photographed here almost 15 years to the day and on that occasion took studio lights and a softbox to illuminate some family group shots. For these I had a Hasselblad with a waist level finder on a tripod.

Fifteen years later I was working with a selection of digital cameras and a variety of lenses to be able to shoot in low light with virtually no flash at all – and Gemma and Redmond were adamant they wanted no group or set piece shots at all, but instead absolutely everything photographically was to be reportage or fly-on-the-wall, with definitely no posing.

The ceremony room, the Orangerie, is helpfully bright – with glass on two sides it lets you make the most of the light on a December afternoon, whilst the reception area, The Painted Hall, had just – only just – enough light to use no flash for some of the pictures.

Thank you for all your hard work yesterday. Our friends and family commented on what a lovely person you were and how relaxed they all felt with you.

Gemma and Redmond spent the day doing exactly what they wanted, being with friends and family, whilst I was left to capture the day.

They were kind enough to send an e-mail the next day: ‘thank you for all your hard work yesterday. Our friends and family commented on what a lovely person you were and how relaxed they all felt with you’.

I often think this dimension to wedding photography is left out by too many people – you spend a lot of time with your wedding photographer on your wedding day and what he or she might be like to be with is not going to be obvious from ‘shopping around’ loads of websites.