Rachel & Rob's Worcester Wedding

So, blog posts are in reverse order here but last Saturday was Rachel & Rob's wedding day in Worcester. The blazing sun was in total contrast to their chilly (but lovely) pre-wedding shoot a few weeks ago so it made for a gorgeous Summer wedding by the river.

It's important to capture all the details at a wedding and to really tell the story of the whole day. Of course I always do this but don't always blog the detail pictures. So here's a couple of Rachel's shoes & tiara to start us off.



And a trio of black & white's. Hairdresser Julie helps Rachel with her veil.

One of the little bridesmaids making her first grand entrance of the day.

And a quiet moment for Rachel to calm the nerves before setting off for the church.

The ceremony was at St Stephen's in Barbourne, Worcester. Blue skies, sunshine and a vicar that gave me free rein in the church to get some lovely shots. What more could you ask for?

Rachel's Dad "giving her away" to Rob.

Looks like he needs a little help with the words here.

Rob and the groomsmen in one of the few shady spots.

After the group shots at the church we headed to Diglis House Hotel on the riverside in Worcester for the reception. Later this lovely cake was cut by Rachel & Rob with a huge military sword!

The little girls decided to attach some kind of sticky foliage to Rachel here whilst unsuspectingly enjoying a drink in the amazing afternoon sun.

Dinner and speeches were in the Diglis' purpose-built function room with large glass windows over-looking the river terrace. This made for probably the brightest indoor shooting conditions I'm ever likely to come across for the speeches. Makes a change to keep that ISO down.

Then with the help of videographer Shaun Foulds we made the most of the setting sun to get some really nice romantic images of the newly-wed couple. Hope I get to see his footage too.



Back inside for the first dance.

And Rachel's Dad showed off some slick dance-floor moves too!


I left them to enjoy the rest of the evening and I look forward to meeting up again to put the album together when they're back from honeymoon.

Katie & Jon's Pre-Wedding Shoot at Homme House

A searing hot Sunday afternoon greeted us as we headed to Homme House for Katie & Jon's pre-wedding portrait shoot. After a glorious Saturday for Rachel & Rob's wedding (blog post coming very soon), it was lovely to get more sun and to make the most of the amazing grounds around this wonderful wedding venue.

We started down near the water features in an area that makes a perfect getaway corner for the couple to snatch some quiet moments on the wedding day.


Beautiful backlight and a stray bluebell or two got us nicely warmed up!


I loved this little gate and archway with the sun streaming through so much that I couldn't decide which picture to post. So here's three!



Got to get a brick wall shot!

Then it was into the house, pausing to lounge on the imposing entrance steps.


Next time we take this shot Katie, you'll be in your wedding dress!

More amazing brick-work and arches.

Then we had a little look at the lake on the way down the mile-long driveway back to Much Marcle.


Katie & Jon are getting married at Homme House in October so they've got the Summer now to attend to all the rest of the planning. It'll fly by!

Anna & Nigel's Wedding at Hellens Manor, Much Marcle

On Saturday I was lucky enough to photograph Anna & Nigel's wedding, which was the first wedding ceremony to take place in the Stone Hall at Hellens Manor in Much Marcle. I've photographed wedding receptions at Hellens before but they've only recently started holding the ceremonies there.

We had perfect weather and gorgeous light.
Here's Nigel and his Best Man & ushers getting ready to speak to the registrar in the Stone Hall.

A "where are the rings" moment for Best Man Nick.

Married!
The beautiful setting at Hellens and a lovely blue sky.

Just enough guests to get a nice group shot around the keyhole at the front of the house.

Bridesmaid Sorcha entertained us with some flute playing between drinks and dinner.

Which the little ones clearly enjoyed!

Hellens has some great sculptures around the grounds like this wicker hammock. Anna & Nigel were only too pleased to feature them in their wedding pictures.



Some lovely afternoon sun in the grounds and streaming through the windows in the entrance hall. Perfect for showing off Anna's elegant dress.


I stayed with Anna & Nigel until they went for their meal in the wonderful converted barns. Looking forward to meeting up on your way back from honeymoon to re-live the day.

Rebecca & Rob Married at Ettington Chase

So a couple of weeks ago I was back at Ettington Chase in Stratford upon Avon for the wedding of Becki & Rob. Their pre-wedding shoot in Malvern was great so I knew this was going to be a good day.
Maid of Honour Larissa had been stuck on the other side of the world due to the volcanic ash cloud so it was a relief to everyone that she made it back in time. Here she is helping Becki get ready in one of the rooms at Ettington.
This is a great time on the wedding day when nerves and emotions are both plentiful! The girls and hairdresser Harriet all made sure things were running to plan and Becki stayed cool and calm.


When the ceremony and reception are all in one place I can zip around the venue dividing my time between the bride's preparations and whatever the groom is getting up to. Here's Rob and his entourage enjoying a bit of pre-wedding sunshine outside the front of the house.

These are the (two) Best Men getting into the posing spirit!

Married!

Larissa catching the bouquet. Actually she dropped it but we won't mention that!

Ettington Chase has some lovely grounds and we were able to sneak away for some shots of just the couple while everyone was enjoying drinks before the wedding breakfast.

Don't know what Becki said to Rob here but it must have been good!

I had my eye on getting into the pool so thanks to the Ettington staff for letting us in there and to Becki & Rob for being great sports and suffering the spa heat for a few moments in their full wedding attire! Love these shots.


This is one of my favourites. They're such a natural couple and Ettington has lots of great locations. Bounced the flash off-camera from the top of the stairs for this one.

Excellent choice of music for the first dance and onwards through the party.


I've delayed posting this one a bit so they're one of the first to see it when they get back from Hawaii. Looking forward to meeting up soon to look through the rest and plan the album.