Last Saturday we got our first taste of Christchurch Priory and then made our back along the East Cliff in Bournemouth for the wedding of Sam and James.

Things kicked off with me making my way to Sam’s parents in Parkstone for the bridal preps. All was pretty calm and relaxed with the usual hair and make-up and everything was all very organised.

Introducing the Bride…

And her bridesmaids who busied themselves getting ready.

Things were all going swimmingly until one of the bridesmaid’s zips broke on her dress (with 20 minutes until departure). All credit to Sam, all the girls and her parents they all kept very level-headed and managed to get hold of the dressmaker and arrange a very tight scheduled rendez-vous.

With the bridesmaids dealing with zip issues Sam got on with the preps and finished getting ready. Then it was a quick drive over to Christchurch for the ceremony.

Meanwhile, Ian met with James, the Groom at the Priory for prep shots.

James hearts Matt.

The Bridal car was absolutely huge. James had this particular model in mind and managed to track one down (if my memory serves me right it was a Rolls Royce Phantom). That chauffeur had driven down all the way from Birmingham that morning!

Christchurch Priory is breathtakingly massive. Sam had a very long aisle walk to contend with. I’m pleased to say all the bridesmaids were in attendance, fully-clothed and ready to enjoy the day.

The Rev. was the loveliest Clergyman we have ever met. With a distinct Texan accent he had a very relaxed and modern approach to things. He was also very up for us taking lots of photos from the front. As soon as I saw the flash of his Casio calculator watch peaking out from the sleeve of his robe I knew we were going to get along just fine.

Sam and James built up quite a crowd of onlookers (Christchurch Priory is near a busy high street and it was prime-time Saturday shopping time). A bit difficult though when you’re trying to round up folks for group shots and have no idea whether they’re part of the wedding or not. Hopefully, as we did a role call for each shot we haven’t got any randoms posing as distant Aunties.

Group shots done, the guests made their way over to the Cumberland Hotel. Meanwhile, we made use of the Priory Grounds and the Mill.

Arriving at The Cumberland.

The reception took place in the Oceana room with its LED-lit dome.

After speeches we had time for more couple shots. Sam and James really wanted to go down to the beach and it was a lovely evening for it.

The party was continuing when we made our way back to the hotel for the evening reception.

Loads more evening guests packed into the Oceana for the First Dance.

After a little while Sam and James invited their daughter onto the dance floor to join in with the dance. It was a lovely moment.

When everyone started tucking into the buffet we left them to dance their night away.

With congratulations and best wishes to Sam and James! x

Lisa and Ian’s custom guestbook arrived back from the printers this weekend and we’re really happy with how everything turned out. Designing for a guestbook is a little trickier than for a wedding album as we need to bear in mind the number of guests that will be attending the day. This means setting aside enough (but not too much) white space so the book looks full and happy once everyone’s penned in their best wishes. I think we’ve got it about right.

As Lisa and Ian chose to hire us for a dedicated Engagement Shoot (a preview of some our favourites from their shoot at Hengistbury Head in Dorset can be viewed here) they get this 12″x12″, hard-wearing coffee table book thrown in. We can’t wait to see how the guests react to it on the day!

This might be stating the obvious, but we’re strong believers that photos are there to be looked at. And while an archive DVD is undoubtably a worthwhile investment for keeping your photos safe and archived, there’s something special about being able to leaf through an album – something that watching an hourglass as Windows fires up Picture Viewer is never quite going to beat!

Our custom-designed albums and books can be passed around when the new in-laws come to visit, or make it possible for visiting friends who couldn’t make the wedding to get a real flavour of the day. And with discounts available for multiple copies, they make ideal thank-you pressies for parents!

Knowing how creatively-minded so many of you are, we thought we’d give you a bit of an insight into the process behind our books so you can see for yourselves exactly what happens when you’ve picked out your favourite photos…

No two weddings are the same, so it makes sense that no two books should be the same, right? We certainly think so, which is why we don’t template our books. Every book is designed to complement the colours, feel and theme of the wedding (and couple) within.

We don’t believe its enough to simply plonk photo after photo in a book and hand it over, preferring to put together a real story of your day with incidental shots, readings and any other details you’d like us to include. The photos themselves are all given our thorough spa treatment – whether they’re destined to appear as tiny cameos or striking double-page spreads – making sure the colours look as rich and vibrant as you remember them!

By the time we’re done, we’re confident you’ll love the results. But we want to make sure you get to have your say before we go to press, which brings us rather neatly to…

We know how overwhelming everything can be when you get back from your honeymoon… Inboxes haven’t got any emptier while you were away, you’ve got a mountain of “change of name” forms to wade through, and the 1001 tasks you put off doing in the week leading up to your wedding sadly haven’t gone away. So we’ve tried to make the book review process as painless as possible!

Once ready to view, you’ll see a link to your online book preview on your account page. Our preview system allows you to flick through the book page by page, grabbing the corner of the book with the mouse and turning it like a ‘real’ book. Why not give it a go with the demo below?

Not only that, but the review version of the book preview tool lets you zoom into pages for more detail, and leave feedback on a page-by-page basis. It couldn’t be easier – flick through the book, tell us what you think of each page, and we’ll make any changes you want. We give everyone the opportunity to make two rounds of comments, by which time the book is ready to send to the printers.

There’s always a sense of excitement here at Big Bouquet when the courier turns up with a book order! Sure, we know what it’s going to look like, but viewing photos on screen can’t really compare with the richness and tactile satisfaction of a printed image. Once we’ve given the book a final check and we’re happy it meets our rather particular standards we send it on its way. And then we start on the next one!

If you’d like to find out more about our book and album options, take a look at our Presentation Options page. Or you may be interested in our rather splendid Bellissimo albums – they really are something to treasure forever…

Don’t forget, albums and books can be ordered up to 18 months after your wedding, but we’d suggest not leaving it quite that long! If you’d like to talk about adding a photo book or album to your current presentation package, drop us a line at enquiries@bigbouquet.co.uk.

Ian – BB

We’re always looking to find new and nifty ways to show off your photos. Just take a look at our Presentation Options and you’ll find a nice selection of discs, albums and books as well as some individual gifts and prints. The latest addition to our portfolio is our Thank You Cards/ Save The Date Cards .

Priced at £60 for a pack of 40 (including white envelopes) you can work with us to create a greetings card with that personal touch.

These cards are superb quality (300gsm, UV gloss for any of you print addicts out there) and for the same price as you’d get on the high street it makes perfect sense if you need to bulk buy or would rather send something you can’t find in the shops. We’ll work closely with you to create a design your completely happy with, using the same proofing methods as we offer to clients ordering a photo album.

Our Greetings Cards will work well as Save The Date cards (we’ll use a shot of your choice from an Engagement or Portrait shoot). Or alternatively, you can pick a fav from your wedding to use as Thank You cards for all your guests (these will also make excellent Christmas Cards if you get your order in quick enough!). We’re able to print on all four sides of the card and can include text or leave the insides blank – whatever suits you.

If you’re interested in finding out more or to place an order, get in touch!