Archive for London Weddings
Alex and Simon’s Civil Partnership at Eltham Palace
Posted by: | CommentsI’m guessing some folks may be wondering where I’ve been. Could it be a slow June or has Rob just forgotten to post on the blog. Neither in fact. It all started with the Jubilee and half term and a family trip to Center Parcs and 4 weddings in 8 days. So I’ve been neither slow nor forgetful…just flat out, trying to stay above water.
So lets start with Simon and Alex. Civil Partnerships have always been a favourite of mine. So far, I’ve done 4 with an even split down the gender profile. There seems to be something a bit magical about them. Maybe its the fact that everyone there really wants to be there. There just a vibe that I get and this was no exception. I knew from the moment I met S&A that things were going be fantastic. The planning, the vision…all of it pointed to something exceptional. I wasn’t wrong. Wow. What a day. I was so pleased to be there. Every minute of it. From the 9 Bridemaids all in a rainbow, to the choreographed entrance (how could they not with Alex being a former cruise ship dancer), the elaborately lit main hall and the video messages.
There will be a few more on my Facebook Business page. In fact, there’s been some there for a few weeks now. But I’ve added to it as well the ones below. So have a gander at the images below and then at the end follow the link to Facebook for more.
(BTW, I was without Darren for this wedding, but I did have the image making talents of Yorkshire Wedding Photographer, James Stewart. Now…I think that all of the images below are mine. I know for sure that everything up to the speeches are. Once we get there its all a blur with both of us moving around often shooting similar people at different times. There, I lose it. So he may well get some credit as well).
Don’t adjust your sets…I spent the first hour shooting women!
Sweet sights in the rear view :)
Girls of all ages
Windy
Finally…they arrive!
2 horseman of the apocalypse and a country and western singer (my own take on old Jonny Carson joke)
Proving Alex really IS ‘down with the kids’
Rehearsal…the time now is 2:35pm and the ceremony should have started at 2:30…
Talk to the hand
SHE’s BEHIND YOU!
Alternate lane traffic in the round room
Gauntlet of colour
Your Song…the Moulin Rouge version! Oh yes
Joleen, Joleen, Joleen, Joooleeen
What happens in the hats, stays in the hats
Rainbow Pride
eyePhoneIphoneograhy
At least his name wasn’t Matthew
Contributing to easiest the best original one liner in speech history!
Its raining….really, I hadn’t noticed
Now all I want is chocolate
Disco fever
Wow…what a venue!
As promised, more images from Simon and Alex’s Civil Partership at Eltham Palace over on Facebook.
Gill and Simon – Jewish Wedding in London
Posted by: | CommentsSometimes this job takes you to places you’ve never been. Sometimes you see things you’ve never seen. Sometimes you find yourself in situations you never expected to be in. Last Sunday I found all three. Walking through Spitalfields market on a Sunday at 5 trying desperately to find a toilet…luckily this wouldn’t be the only place I hadn’t been (or perhaps had been…if you see what I mean). Of course the real place I hadn’t been that deserves the kudos is the Sandy’s Row Synagogue. From the outside an unassuming and quite frankly almost miss-able location. Once inside that all changes. Add this to a midnight amble through Petticoat Lane and you’ve covered the places I’d never been. Now to seeing things I’ve never seen. Top of the list would be an entire wedding party, some carrying candle lanterns walking en mass through the streets of E1 from the Synagogue to the restaurant. Being a Jewish wedding you have to add in the clarinetist who ‘serenaded’ us all on our journey. Its days like this you learn to travel light. Finally, being in the situation you never really expected to be in. I suppose the fact that Gill is Claire’s mum would top that list. I photographed Claire and Richard’s wedding a number of years back and now I was back to photograph mum’s wedding. The Circle of Life? Maybe more a trapezoid. Either way I was flattered and grateful to be back amongst familiar faces and even some new ones…thinking specifically of Claire and Richard’s Benji.
With a 6:30 ceremony (yes…that’s PM) and a Sunday night finish I will say that the blog will be a shorter. How could it not? But I think what you find is still a lovely memory of a special evening.
a game I like to call…Where’s the Synagogue?
A tish…apparently
The Three Basses
London baby
The World Record Conga Line attempt fell slightly short
indeed…
Crazy dancing in what had to be the smallest space in crazy dancing history
Holly asks me to cover her eyes when the bad lady comes on the screen in Tangled…that is all
Showstopper
Rachel and Tom – Bromley Wedding Photography
Posted by: | CommentsWe waited all summer for…well…summer…and it chose to arrive just as we started Autumn. Oh the irony. It was sun like you almost never see and light that never stopped being there. Welcome to September in England.
Rachel and Tom came to me through Jess and Bob (who you will see later). A lovely referral from another wonderful day. Instead of the country setting in Cambridgeshire for Jess and Bob it was the little bit rural and a lot of town of ‘near’ Croydon and Bromley. Its one of those weird places that are in one county yet called London. I won’t pretend to understand.
For me it all began at the hall. No bridal prep means I get to see the whole build up before the ceremony. I got to learn a bit more about Tom’s side of the family. Not a bad thing as Tom’s father presented the ceremony. This was the second Jehovah’s Witness (Jess and Bob being the first) wedding I had photographed. Both experiences were so warm…warm in a cuddly way (albeit both day were actually quite sunny and warm). Its very personal, very passionate but at the same time thoughtful and well meaning. I’m fascinated by religious culture and the similarities and differences between them. I’ve been lucky to see Catholic weddings in Italy, Jewish weddings in Tel Aviv and Sikh and Hindu weddings in…well…London. Maybe its the not knowing exactly where you stand at any given moment. I’ve seen enough (and be in) Church of England weddings to know the game plan pretty well. I’m rambling.
There will be a link to a few more images on my Facebook Business gallery…that link will appear at the end of the images below. So scroll, look and click.
I was the first person there. Call it insurance when dealing with the M25
Wonderful light…with a fill light to boot
This little archway was just spectacular for light shaping. PLUS……
…the other side bounced light back to those walking towards it. Life is a studio as they say.
Movember came early
I don’t know
Throwing a brick at the couple isn’t exactly what I had in mind
Babe-o-rama
Never trust a man you find in an alley — or a tennis court
Its like Close Encounters in there
Table diamontes should come with a health warning (bottom two images)
First day with his new hook! You had to be there
I leave those kids for 5 minutes and I come back to a line dance
OK…well…this was a test. Only a test. I had seen this idea before but hadn’t ever tried it. With winter on the way it seemed a good time to find something for those dark nights. Not knowing if this would work or just be a waste of time I borrowed Jess and Bob figuring if it didn’t work then I hadn’t wasted any of the Bride and Groom’s time (not that Jess and Bob’s time is any less valuable but it wasn’t their wedding day…you know what I mean). Well…it did work. Thanks to Jess and Bob!
As promised, you can find a few more images from Rachel and Tom’s day on my Facebook Business Page
Wax Lyrical – A Testimonial
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Joanna and Earl – A London Wedding
What’s most impressive about this short comment is that it came from Earl. Earl is a man of very few words. He’s not rude or elitist…simply quiet, reserved and measured. To get this from him was like getting a thousand words from Stephen Fry.
“Great work Rob worth every penny. My mother was so pleased with the shots you got and you seem to have caught almost everyone 230+ guests that’s amazing. Jo searched for 3 months to find the right photographer and boy did she pick right.”
To view a slideshow of Joanna and Earl’s wedding, click here
Dulwich and Eltham Palace Wedding – Stephanie and Jonathan
Posted by: | CommentsLondon….concrete jungle where dreams are made of. Or was that New York? Someone should really do a London version. Speaking of which have you seen the Newport version. Me love Dulwich. Its in London and you can park. Go figure. I kind of described the wedding, its awesome vicar at Christ’s Chapel and the wonderful Eltham Palace on the Just One post. So its a bit redundant to do it again. What I will say is that I (in fact, we) loved being a part of the day. Some great folks who had a great time. It was great to see Lucy and Matt (who had their wedding a year ago to the day — well Saturday). Thanks again to them for recommending me.
As usual, there are loads more images on the Facebook Preview Gallery.
12:14 — prunes wrapped in bacon
Cheeky – and she knows it
Settling down to a good book
She’ll probably kill me for this…but I’ve always wondered why girls fan themselves a crying prevention method. Strangely, it seemed to work…so much so….
…she she swiftly went from emotion to “baby you look good!” in seconds
on learning that only red wine would be served at the tables and NOT milk
Proof you can tune a piano but you can’t tuba fish
A proud moment for all mothers
The first step to solving the problem is first admitting you have one
Cheers
“Seriously…I could take you”
…on learning of his infatuation with steak on a stake
Steph…elegance defined
I almost never include both a colour and black and white of the same image in a set of photos…but this one is an exception. Naturally I’m not actually showing you the colour here…but it will be in the Facebook Preview Gallery
He goes by the unforgettable name of the man they call the Master D
Along with Mac fans worldwide, Steph find anything Windows a great laugh
Makin’ momma happy (well, both mommas)
Banjöhead
Small venue, but we made it work :)
At least she got it
And Now A Few From Darren
Honestly…its not polite to laugh about orange trousers
The Penguins from Madagascar
Happy Penguins
Eltham Palace…it has a moat. That really perplexed Darren all day!
Doppleganger….David Gray?
You…on the left. What’s more interesting than me hanging my butt out the window?
“make you feel brand new! New York, New York, New York”
Don’t forget, there are loads more images on the Facebook Preview Gallery.
Eltham Palace Wedding Photographer – Stephanie and Jonathan – Just One
Posted by: | CommentsTravelling to London during a Papal visit is no mean feat. Thankfully I stayed far enough south and east to avoid most of the hoopla. I started in Dulwich. One of the few bits of London I reckon I could live in. I suppose because it feels like a village. I reckon affording it would be a different prospect. I mention Dulwich mostly because of the most wonderful chapel, Christ’s Chapel and our vicar for yesterday’s wedding, Anthony. What a top chap. Recognised that experience professionals know what to do and let us act professionally. Can I ask all photographers who read this blog to stand up and salute him NOW!
Today’s Just One comes from Eltham Palace. After trudging through the whole of south London and eventually arriving at Eltham I felt that this would not be a place I would hanker to return to. Not because its not beautiful. Not because there aren’t some fantastic places for folks to be in which means great photos. Just that trawling south London often would, literally, send me over the deep end. Then we left…and by golly its only 6 miles from the M25…and quite a few of those are a dual carriageway with no red lights. Suddenly I can’t wait to get back to Eltham Palace!
