Tanya & Joshua Married in Malvern

Tanya & Josh got married on the bank holiday weekend at the end of August and just to prove we had some sunshine and blue skies, this is the grand setting of the Abbey Hotel in Great Malvern on the morning of the wedding.

Tanya (short for Tatiana) & Joshua currently live and work in Moscow so we had very few opportunities to meet up before the big day. Our pre-wedding shoot was rained off but on the day the sun came out and it was a glorious wedding!

Both bride and groom got ready at the Abbey Hotel (separately of course!) having flown in from Moscow only 2 days before. Tanya was looking after the rings so I sneaked in to get a shot, as well as some dress & shoe details before heading back down to wait with Joshua for the guests.

There were only a small number of guests but some had travelled a very long way due to Tanya's Russian and Joshua's South African origins, as well as the fact that they seem to have lived and worked all over the globe. Lucky things!

Josh & the guests travelled by specially hired coach to St. Joseph's church nearby to wait for Tanya & her sister's big arrival.

Just fashionably late enough to get them a little worried :-)

The lovely interior of St. Joseph's.

Both Tanya & Joshua did readings in the church, as well as the best man.

Taking the vows.

It's lovely when I'm able to carry on photographing during the actual signing of the register.


Heading out into the sunshine for the first time as a married couple.

We had time for a few shots of the couple in the church grounds before going back to the Abbey for the wedding breakfast and speeches.

The harp and flute duo added a nice touch to the drinks reception in the lovely little secret terrace garden, tucked away between the Abbey and the Malvern Hills.



The speeches were after each course so I popped in and out to catch these moments. Josh made a touching personal speech, thanking all the guests in turn before the main course and then the Best Man's turn.

The Best Man's speech having the desired effect on the groom!

They were heading off for a relaxed evening in an award-winning local pub after the dinner so we had time for some couples portraits before I left them to it.

This first one was Tanya's idea. Hope she likes the result!


Hope Josh's birthday and the honeymoon in Como were amazing and here's looking forward to some long-distance album design.

Gemma & Nas Married at Eastnor Castle

Gemma & Nas held their fabulous wedding at the sumptuous wedding venue Eastnor Castle back in June but I haven't blogged the images yet as they understandably wanted to be the first to see them!

Now we've had our viewing and I'm getting on with putting their album together, I wanted to share some of the pictures from their amazing wedding day.

I arrived early to sunshine and went up to meet Gemma.

Here she is having her make-up applied by Clare Bryce of Pure Pampering in the spacious Tulip bedroom while Chris Fordham does Gemma's mum's hair.

Gemma & Nas were having 2 ceremonies; a civil ceremony first, followed by a Nikaah Muslim blessing outside. That's an opportunity to wear 2 different amazing wedding dresses of course!

Finishing touches to dress no 1 from Mum.

Gemma and her Dad almost ready to go downstairs. I love this part of the wedding, after all the flurry of getting ready, calm descends as all the guests wait expectantly for Gemma's entrance! At Eastnor, the bride and her father get a chance for a practice run as they come down to meet the registrar while all the guests are waiting in the hall. The guests are then let in to welcome the bride at the bottom of the stairs on her second trip down the grand staircase. Gemma & Nas then lead the guests through into the ceremony room.

Exchanging the rings.

After the ceremony we went outside to make the most of the glorious grounds for the group pictures. I had to include this one of Nas and his family in their lovely colourful dresses.

This is my favourite from the day I think.

We got some lovely bride and groom portraits by the lake and around the grounds before heading back inside for the meal and speeches.


Then it was time for the second ceremony. A pair of Asian drummers set up on the terrace as the guests waited below and it was very exciting listening to their ryhthms filling the Herefordshire country air.

Gemma makes another grand entrance, this time on her own.

Nas looks on as the Nikaah ceremony gets under way.


Back inside for the dancing.

Then Gemma & Nas sprang a surprise on the guests to end the evening with a great display of fireworks across the lake.


It was an amazing day and I'm enjoying looking back on these images as I put the album together. We're hoping to meet up again soon to do a post-wedding portrait session as we never manged to get round to doing a pre-wedding shoot. We'll probably do that in London as Gemma & Nas come from my old stamping ground of East London and Essex. Looking forward to a trip up there some time soon.

Syma & Bill's Wedding

Seems like 5 minutes since the pre-weddding shoot and here we are for Syma & Bill's wedding at Belmont Abbey in Hereford. The Abbey is a great building and it was a wonderful day. No wonder Bill and best man Steven are beaming proudly here.

The bridesmaids and Brother Paul await Syma's arrival. A friend of Bill & Syma's from university, Brother Paul made a special journey to take the service.

A lovely entrance by Syma through the stunning grounds of the Abbey.

I don't think Syma stopped smiling all day. But then I don't think she ever stops smiling!

The start of the service and I was able to move discreetly around to catch all the different stages and angles. As Syma and her father made their entrance the heavens opened briefly. It gave the poor wedding car driver a bit of a soaking but looked great back-lit through the open doors of the Abbey as the ceremony began.


This one shows off the scale and grandeur of the building.

Married!!

Signing the register in the Lady Chapel.

Time for a few romantic bride and groom photos in the grounds before heading off to the reception.



I followed the wedding car to the reception at Hellens in Much Marcle and Syma's mum had put up signs along the route from Hereford to Much Marcle so the guests didn't get lost. Nice touch. With some of Bill's family coming from Canada and Syma's from Nottingham there was plenty of scope for losing some guests along the way but happily we all made it!

At Hellens, Syma & Bill had a Muslim blessing, read by Syma's father to celebrate the joining of their two cultures.


And then they were fed Indian sweets by some of the family! Mmm. Unfortunately I didn't get a chance to grab one!

All the assembled guests.

Just time for a little croquet on the lawn before dinner.

Then after the speeches we headed back out to explore the grounds for some more bride & groom portraits. I love this part of the day.




A lovely wedding day with two great venues, an amazing couple and loads of fun. I left them with the dancing in full swing and look forward to meeting up again after the honeymoon.

Syma & Bill Pre-Wedding Portrait Shoot

We've left it a bit late for Syma & Bill's pre-wedding shoot as they are getting married in Hereford this coming Saturday! After our first attempt was thwarted on Thursday by the wind and the rain we had another go on Saturday and it was worth the wait. We had a lovely relaxed time at their country estate in Kynaston. OK, it's not actually their estate but they've got the run of the place and that's just as good!

Here they are surveying the lands and the thoroughbred horses.


Bill has been working on converting city girl Syma to the country life style and this is a lovely place to practice!


After exploring the gardens we went for a little walk along the nearby lanes, much to the amusement of the local sheep.

Wonder if they can do this in the wedding dress!

These farm buildings made great backgrounds. Even with all the beautiful grounds it's still hard to beat a good old red brick wall!



Looking forward to the wedding now - which is very soon!