The Wedding of Kirsty and Mike at The Guildhall and Custom House, Poole
August 6, 2010 | Posted Under: Custom House, Dorset photography, Hotel du Vin, Poole photography, The Guildhall, Wedding Photography | 8 Comments
Kirsty and I have known each other for around eight years now since we both worked on a fair few photography magazines together. I wrote the articles and she corrected my punctuation and improved the flow of my copy. During those days of flatplanning and late-night freelancing we bonded over a passion for sticky buns, chai tea, sparkly shoes and even later night jiving. So, for this wedding Ian and I doubled up as guests - rejoicing in the wedding of two of our good friends and seeing if it’s possible to shoot a full-blown day and enjoy some Bucks Fizz and Pimms along the way too.
Things kicked off we me meeting up with Kirsty, her mum and her Chief Bridesmaid, Jenny at Robin James hair salon on Poole Quay.
When I got there Jenny was busy prepping her after-dinner speech
and we both helped (or not) with feedback on hair positions.
With hair dos complete we made our way over to the beautiful Hotel Du Vin at the other end of Poole Quay to continue the bridal preps. Albeit for a quick jog back to the hairdressers after the Christian Louboutin’s were left on the cash desk!
The shoes were scolded by being hung up on taps.
The shoe fiasco continued when Kirsty got a very delicate heel stuck in a drain out on Hotel Du Vin’s terrace! It was a really close call that this bride didn’t have to walk down the aisle with a foot-long metal grate attached to her foot. I’m pleased to say after that, the shoes played nicely.
Whilst waiting for everyone to finish off their preps we snuck in some sneaky bridal portraits in the hotel lobby.
and Jenny got in on the action too.
Then we all made our way to the Guildhall with a short walk through Old Town.
A string quartet played both before the ceremony and during the drinks reception on the Quay.
The happy couple!
After some group shots on the sweeping Guildhall stairs everyone made their way to the Custom House.
Whilst we took a little detour for some more shots of Kirsty and Mike at Hotel Du Vin.
Mike’s Dad put this fantastic crate together which later doubled up as a flip-flop container so any weary heeled girls could rest their feet.
Kirsty and Mike did a great job on the simple but very pretty table plan. Oh, and check out the bouquets!
After a mouth-watering three-course meal it was time for the speeches.
And time for Jenny to share all the goss on Kirsty. She did a fantastic job.
The boys didn’t do too bad either.
By that time the rest of the evening guests had arrived ready to join us on a cruise around Poole Harbour on the Dorset Queen.
It wasn’t the sunniest of evenings but with a full bar on board everyone enjoyed themselves cruising to Studland and around the main islands including Brownsea.
Back on land we headed back to the Custom House to pose in the silly seaside cut-out, scoff on calorific doughnuts…
do a bit of gerning…
and watch the First Dance.
Many seaside buckets o’ love and congratulations to Mr and Mrs Spence! - E&I xx
Categories: Posted Under: Custom House, Dorset photography, Hotel du Vin, Poole photography, The Guildhall, Wedding Photography | 8 Comments
Wedding Preview: Kirsty and Mike
July 31, 2010 | Posted Under: Dorset photography, Hotel du Vin, Poole photography | 7 Comments
Yesterday we shot the wedding of our good friends Kirsty and Mike, whilst doubling up as guests too. Their ceremony took place at the Guildhall in Poole followed by a reception at the Custom House and a fun-filled boat trip around the harbour. They also had a room booked at the beautiful Hotel du Vin too for the bridal preps and some quick, couple shots whilst we were walking from one venue to another. Lots more to follow soon…
Categories: Posted Under: Dorset photography, Hotel du Vin, Poole photography | 7 Comments
The Wedding of Helen and Chris at Cafe Shore, Sandbanks
July 7, 2010 | Posted Under: Cafe Shore, Dorset photography, Poole photography, Sandbanks | 7 Comments
First of all I should probably make a public apology to Ian for telling him to run back up to our house just as we were leaving for Helen and Chris’ wedding at Cafe Shore in Sandbanks to go and put a tie on. It was a very, very hot day you see and we’ve always said it’s more important for us to be comfortable so we can concentrate on doing our job and being able to move around easily rather than being dolled up to the nines and suffering the consequences. I probably should have known better. I knew how laid back Helen and Chris wanted their day to be and no sooner had we got out of our car we spotted Chris, the Groom and Graham the Best Man looking extremely stylish but sans tie. Sorry Ian!
Cafe Shore is a lovely, modern, tasteful wedding venue and was closed off for the whole day and night from the public so all the guests had full reign of the joint. There are loads of little nooks and crannies, bold colours and gorgeous furniture not to mention an unspoilt view of Poole Harbour and Brownsea Island.
With all the guests seated Helen’s Mum kept an eye out for the bridal Hackney Carriage.
I ran inside to stand up the front during the wedding leaving Ian to capture Helen’s arrival, so when she walked down the aisle it was a nice little treat for me too. She looked amazing in her Candy Anthony dress, pearls, pink shoes and gorgeous netted veil.
Have you got the RINGS?!? I heard him say.
Rather than present us with a long list of formal family shots the bride and groom chose just to have one family shot and then use the time wisely to enjoy the party and talk with their guests.
We share a mutual love of Britpop with this couple. Not only were our ears filled with sweet sweet tunes throughout the day, but some essential albums were used as table names. Chris put together the most amazing playlist that pumped through the speakers the whole day without any repetition. Chris - you are our playlist hero! We probably won’t ever get the chance to shoot table settings to McAlmont and Butler ever again and that’s a real shame!
Whilst everyone had their reception drinks the ceremony room was turned around for the wedding breakfast.
The speeches took place after the main meal but before dessert which seems like a very good compromise between nerves and hunger.
Helen’s very special fossil hammer.
I won’t repeat what was said.
OK, so I LOVE cake but this has to be the most beautiful alternative- three tiers of cheese. It was just incredible!
Of course, a knife’s no good for cutting cheese like this. What you need is a cheese wire.
Once the meal was over we had just a bit of time to take some couple shots over the road on the beach and on Cafe Shore’s terrace.
It was here that we discovered Chris had matching pink socks.
The beach was pretty packed but we managed to find some nice quiet spots.
Then it was time to dance! The First Dance tune of choice was Radiohead’s cover of Carly Simon’s “Nobody Does It Better”.
Despite being a fairly cloudy day the evening ended with a dramatic, pink sunset. A fitting end to a lovely wedding.
With congratulations to Helen and Chris x
Categories: Posted Under: Cafe Shore, Dorset photography, Poole photography, Sandbanks | 7 Comments
Wedding Preview: Helen and Chris
July 3, 2010 | Posted Under: Cafe Shore, Dorset photography, Poole photography | Leave a Comment
Yesterday we shot the harbour-side wedding of Helen and Chris at Café Shore in Sandbanks, Poole. It was a day packed full of gorgeous details and lots of laughter. These guys set out to make their day their own and they pulled off a wedding that was relaxed, stylish and original. Just as a taster, check out the cheese cake - it’s a head-turner!
