Last Saturday’s wedding was one with a difference. As although I still had my camera on me  (Ian was granted most of the day off) I was predominantly a guest with a new dress, haircut, heels and everything! Of course, it would be insane to let a friend’s wedding go by without offering to take some photographs for them. It was very exciting, this was the first wedding I’ve been too where I’ve known so many people and all the in jokes during the Best Man’s Speech. A total Busman’s Holiday.

Dom and Rosalind really wanted a relaxed day, taking things easy with a late ceremony at the Cumberland Hotel and plenty of time to enjoy the morning and the early afternoon with fry-ups and pub visits.

We started things off at 1pm with a visit to our favourite local, Daisy’s… Where everybody knows your name and they’re always glad you came! Dom is an ex-colleague of mine and this was a regularly frequented haunt for us and all our other work buddies, so it was a fitting start to the day. It’s also where Ian and I met! This place means a lot to all of us.

Dom, the Groom giving a pub lecture to the Best Man, Rob and other wedding guests.

You know you’re in a proper pub when the ceiling is adorned with old cigarette smoke and a bike.

Pre-wedding jitters sorted we made our way to the Cumberland Hotel, Bournemouth where the wedding took place in the Oceana Suite. The Cumberland has an Art Deco style with a twist. Sci-Fi Art Deco. The Bride and Groom are given the chance to choose a colour theme for the ceremony room with its crazy dome that subtly changes shade over time.

The lobby is a cool place for a wedding party to hang out! Here’s where the post-ceremony drinks were to take place…

And here’s the Reception room…

It made sense for me to pop up to take some Groom prep shots rather than the usual Bridal preps, good job I did as these guys had no idea how to prepare a buttonhole. Tssk.

There was time for a little pre-ceremony rehearsal before all the guests were seated. It was starting to get dark by now as the Ceremony didn’t take place until 4 o’ clock.

Rosalind’s Mum did a great reading, although interrupted once by a small voice in the back piping up “can we go now?”. Hehe.

You did a sterling job with the rings, Rob!

Rosalind’s Dad quipped to Dom “that’s the last time you’ll have the upper hand”.

In the reception room things were ready for the evening buffet and speeches.

There was a heartfelt speech from Rosalind’s friend. It was a lovely moment.

Always good to see a bride not afraid to take control of the microphone.

I know for a fact Best Man, Rob has always dabbled with the idea of doing stand-up. He proved he can deliver a well-paced and witty speech… you should do it, Rob!

After our buffet it was amazing how time had flown, it was 8 o’clock already, and you know what that means - First Dance!

After that, and once my camera had been packed away we set up our Photo Tent so all the guests could take their own photographs throughout the night. A bit like a Photo Booth (but without actually getting into it) folks are able to take their own shots using a timer-release foot button! It’s always great fun to watch as even the most camera shy of people seem to forget their inhibitions when they’re in charge.

Congratulations to Mr & Mrs Brookman x

The past couple of months have been a bit of a whirlwind as Ian and I married on the 2nd October. We’d set the date well over a year and a half ago when I had the brainwave we should get married on my 30th birthday (but we don’t talk about that).

Our engagement was pretty matter of fact. I seem to remember we just agreed whilst walking down Post Office road in Bournemouth. That pretty much sums us up. We knew right from the start what we wanted from our wedding. We wanted it to fit around us, not the other way around; we wanted a laugh, we wanted to be able to talk to our friends not be stuck with distant relatives we hadn’t seen since we were seven and most of all, we wanted to do what we wanted to do.

I’ve never been one to do things just because I’m told I should. With that in mind, I decided quite early on that I didn’t want to wear a wedding dress (part of that was the fear that I’d turn up photographing at a wedding to find a bride in an identical dress, wouldn’t that be awful? but mostly because I wanted to be able to dance and go to the loo by myself).

The evening was always a big deal to us as we knew we wouldn’t be able to invite many to the wedding ceremony and it was essential we should have the freedom to put on our own entertainment. As well as being my Big Bouquet pillar and website designing hero, my husband *cheers from the back of the room* is a very good DJ and remixer, making up one half of DJ duo Geek Chic Soundsystem. Not only that, but we have enough friends with CD-Js to put on an 84-hour disco-thon. Hiring a DJ was always out of the question.

A photographer was another matter though. For months I stubbornly suggested that I could do them myself. Thinking back, that was the most ridiculous idea. However, we were lucky enough to get acquainted with fellow local photographer, Phillip Allen. On meeting Phill one spring morning for lunch  it was obvious we’d found someone who we clicked with, and that we completely trusted to capture our day.

For a full write-up of our day and a chance to look at some crackin’ photography, take a trip to Phill’s blog. He’s done a much better job of explaining the day than I can.

We set up our own Photo Tent during the evening so our guests could take their own snaps without me whipping my camera out. Well… that was the idea anyway. In reality, we had way too much fun gurning at our makeshift Punch & Judy tent we kind of forgot we were meant to be entertaining our party. The Photo Tent is a work in progress for us, it needs a bit of perfecting and we’re trying it again at another wedding next month then hopefully, we’re going to be able to offer it as a separate evening service.

I wanted to keep this post quite short and sweet as it seems quite indulgent talking about our own wedding in too much detail, but I did promise lots of people I’d make sure I’d post a link up to our photos

http://www.misterphill.com/photography/weddings/bournemouth-wedding-photographers-emma-ian/

• Wedding Dress: Principles (the day it went bust - bargain)
• Shrug: Monsoon
• Shoes: Clarks
• Bag: Topshop
• Make-up: Myself
• Hair: Louise at Time of Boscombe
• Cupcakes: Butterfly Bakery
• Groom’s Suit: A Suit That Fits
• Photography: Phillip Allen (www.misterphill.com)
• Music: Ourselves
• Venues: Town Hall and Langtry Lodge