Wedding Shoot: Nadine and Craig

June 23, 2009 | Posted Under: , | 3 Comments 

So, all in all we were only shooting for a few hours at Nadine and Craig’s wedding starting with an early morning ceremony at Bournemouth Town Hall, some family shots in the Gardens and then a couple of hours at the reception venue, The Connaught. However, as Nadine and Craig had really made an effort to make their day full of personal touches we still managed to cram in a lot of lovely details and magical moments.

I knew Nadine was going to dress to impress and she wowed the crowds when she drove up to the front entrance with her Dad and bridesmaid.

As soon as the cars arrived everyone did a really good job of getting themselves settled in the beautiful Willows room giving Nadine a chance for a few moments before she made her grand entrance.

There was such a lovely, cosy atmosphere…

Complete with a few giggles when Craig went ahead to get the rings from his Best Man before being instructed to do so my the Registrar… They  just couldn’t wait to tie the knot!

After a few family portraits in the Gardens we managed to grab a few snaps with Nadine and Craig. The bridesmaid Vicky also stayed behind whilst the rest of the wedding party made their way to The Connaught to help with carrying Nadine’s dress train. We didn’t have long though as their car was hurrying us along (boo to you, Mr Driver).

I caught a glimpse of Vicky’s tattoo. It looked great with her black dress bright red peep toes!

There was a black and red theme going on. Once we got to the hotel we had a bit more time to finish off those details before our Brunch Break. Oh la la!

My favs from the day. Doesn’t Nadine look stunning? A touch of Flamenco Rock I reckon. Still can’t believe she did her hair herself. That fringe has enough oomph to make Dita Von Teese green with envy. I love it.

So whilst everyone had a little rest we captured the table settings.

Much later on in the afternoon we returned to the hotel for the speeches.

Nadine and Craig’s Dads did their speeches from their own tables, which I really liked. It made them so relaxed and jolly. A big thank you to Craig’s Dad, Melvin too who is also a wedding photographer based in Murcia (www.photographermurcia.es). He added us to the ‘thank you’ speech as he said; “wedding photographers never get a mention”. It was very sweet :)

The cake was cool! Made by a friend it was covered in shards of white chocolate. It had to be kept in the fridge to stop it from melting and was whipped out just before the cutting. We left Craig and Nadine shortly after to enjoy the rest of their day with their family and friends.

Posted with thanks and congratulations to Mr and Mrs Beasley

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Wedding Preview: Nadine and Craig

June 20, 2009 | Posted Under: , | 1 Comment 

Today we’re shooting the wedding of Nadine and Craig in Bournemouth. It was quite an early start and we were shooting at The Willows, Town Hall at about half nine this morning, dodging dog walkers, potentially drizzly clouds and people on their Saturday shop in Bournemouth Gardens. We’ve also been capturing some bits at the reception venue, The Connaught.

At the moment we’re leaving the wedding party to it whilst they sit down for their wedding breakfast so I thought I’d just post up a little sneak preview instead of twiddling my thumbs. Although I’m not giving away too much of course!

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Wedding Shoot: Lisa and Phil

June 17, 2009 | Posted Under: , | 1 Comment 

This was our first time at The Orchid Hotel, and we knew it was going to be something special. Not only is it a lovely, original venue unlike anything else in Bournemouth but we had already noted Lisa and Phil had put so much time and attention into the details of the day.

When I look back on the day I can’t help but feel a little frustrated. The morning started off so glorious with lovely blue skies and fluffy clouds. We had some plans to take a trip to the beach later on in the day and we were all looking forward to an outdoors ceremony. However, by the time it came to the ceremony the weather had turned so drizzly and extremely cloudy. It was such a shame as it really was just a one-off rainy day. It was a blessing we had so much scope with our venue though and Lisa and Phil didn’t let it spoil their time at all!

I turned up at the Orchid mid-afternoon as the ceremony wasn’t until later on in the day. The suite at the Orchid is a perfect place for brides and bridesmaids to get kitted out - so fresh and colourful. Of course, I headed straight for the shoes to warm up the camera!

Both the bride and bridemaid’s bouquets were amazing! They looked like bird cages!

Time for make up and hair dos. I just love the bridal preps!

Lisa had two bridesmaids to get ready and her brother kept us up to date with whether or not the ceremony was to take place outdoors or indoors… First it was in, then it was out, then it was in, then it was….

Meanwhile, outside Ian caught up with Phil as he arrived in his silver Aston Martin! Swish!

Lisa’s bridemaids looked lovely in their vibrant purple dresses. In fact, the entire colour scheme was bright and sunny and really complemented the hotel.

It was an intimate ceremony and had a real cosy feel …

Then after some family shots we had a bit of time to make use of Hotel again before the early evening wedding breakfast.

The rain was really annoying throughout the day. Although as it only drizzled in spits and spurts we were able to get a few shots in the hotel garden.

Lisa and Phil’s reception room was so beautiful. Everything had been thought of; from the doily-esque cupcake cakes to the matching ‘bird cage’ centre pieces. The Orchid is an Eastern-inspired hotel so the name places and choice of flowers and colours worked so well.

Apparently Lisa is a bit of a shoe obsessive. So, during the speeches Phil surprised Lisa with a surprise package.

I didn’t quite catch the unpacking as I was too busy clicking, but I’m 90 per cent sure they were Jimmy Choos.

Time for more presents. A pineapple! (there was a running Del Monte joke throughout the day thanks to the light linen suits - ‘The man from Del Monte he say “yes”).

After the wedding breakfast it was time to move back to the ceremony room which had been turned over for the disco.

Indoor sparklers - brilliant!

Then we were treated to Lisa and Phil’s expertly choreographed dance. They put Ginger and Fred to shame!

Posted with thanks and congratulations to Lisa and Phil

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Smooch Rings

June 10, 2009 | Posted Under: | 4 Comments 

Last week we had a rep from Smooch Rings pop round to our house as we figured it was time for us to pull our fingers out and sort out our wedding rings! It was such a good experience (although, we’ve yet to see the end results) that I thought I’d share with you all.

I first got word of Smooch in November last year when we shot the wedding of Tracey and Jake at Clandon Park and it was only when we were going through our Almanac book with Lisa & Phil (whose wedding we’re photographing at The Orchid Hotel this Saturday) and they mentioned they got their rings from Smooch too that we twigged it was a home appointment service.

As we’re normally out and about at the weekends and don’t have much time in the week (add to the fact that I hate walking around shops) it really suited us to have someone come over to our house so we could look through the different ring selections at our leisure. I made an enquiry online and the rep called me up to confirm a suitable date and time within a couple of days.

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect as I knew the adviser would be turning up with a selection of around 250 rings! It was a little bit of an eye-opener when he plonked the trays down on the coffee table, but adamant we were going to find something we ploughed through them.

I’m notoriously a little fussy when it comes to clothes, shoes, jewellery etc. so I was a bit sceptical I’d find something I’d like, but working through the palettes I cut the selection down to about five pretty easily. Ian managed the same!

Once we’d pretty much decided on the styles we liked we were then free to tweak the appearance slightly. So, the ring I tried on was 5mm, but as I wanted something quite dinky I was able to request they make it a little smaller (3mm). Similarly, the ring Ian liked was polished yellow gold for the display purposes, but he was able to place an order for the same shape and size in brushed white gold. Bosh! We were done and dusted within the hour and the rep was really good at going through all the prices. He wasn’t pushy at all didn’t try and sway our opinions to get a more expensive order.

We had to put down a deposit, but in about 6 weeks I’m expecting a call letting us know our rings are ready! And another extra perk - if we ever need them resizing, polishing etc. we can get it done for free with a lifetime guarantee. There are plenty of rings with diamonds too, and if a stone goes missing they’ll replace them without cost as well.

So there you go… It was an exciting night and we’re so pleased to have found some that are absolutely perfect for us.

I’ll post again when they arrive to let you know how they turn out and whether there were any problems. I’ll also post a little pic!

You can check out Smooch Rings at www.smoochrings.co.uk

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