Rachel and Richard's Wedding photographed at The West Wing, Ickworth

The following week we photographed Rachel and Richard's Wedding at The West Wing, Ickworth House in Horringer, Suffolk. This is the second time we have photographed at this venue this year and this time the toastmaster was a little better thankfully (that reminds me that I still haven't written up that story!)

The weather forecast wasn't so good for the day but someone must have been looking down on us favourably as we had bright sunshine and blue skies for most of it with just the occasional downpour. It certainly made for some dramatic skies!

I started with Rachel getting ready and love this one of her putting lip gloss on the flowergirl before we left.

I also love this one of Rachel in high contrast which was taken in her parent's back garden.

Here's just one from the ceremony that I loved as Rachel's dad hands her over

When we went for our wander we had bright sunshine and blue skies. I love this one which is done in Infrared and looks dramatic.

The only thing I miss is the bright blue sky so I've included a couple with that in.

This one I also love as they both are laughing and looking relaxed

When it came to the time of the cake cutting I think I have now seen the biggest cake ever. Here's a peek for you - I'd love to know whether they managed to eat it all!

With this wedding we stayed all day which was great and I love this dancing one taken later in the evening.

If you attended Rachel and Richard's Wedding and would like to view their wedding photos they are online now and I am sure they will give you the password to look at them.

Rachel sent me a quick e-mail on initially viewing their photos which read as follows:

'Hi Hayley
Had a look through the pictures, they are fabulous I love them. Can’t wait to arrange a meeting to put together our album. Will show Richard tonight.
Many thanks
Rachel'

I look forward to seeing them both next week to design their album with them. This is another couple who were lovely to work with and we wish them a lifetime of happiness together.

Joanne & Stuart's Wedding @ Yaxley Hall, Suffolk

The next wedding we shot was Joanne and Stuart's Wedding which we photographed at Yaxley Hall

The weather was a little wet and drizzly but it certainly didn't ruin the atmosphere of their day. Joanne's brothers both turned up in uniform which looked great and when Joanne arrived with her dad he was also in uniform.
With this wedding we started with the ceremony rather than the getting ready and here are a couple of photos as Joanne came in with her dad and the kiss during the ceremony.
After the ceremony it was raining quite heavily but Joanne and Stuart were happy to go out under umbrellas as they wanted a couple of photos in the car before it left.
Thankfully, after these were taken the rain past and it was mainly dry for the rest of the day so we could do all the group shots outside which meant we could use Yaxley's gorgeous grounds.
Joanne was actually just over 4 months pregnant for the wedding and I love these ones emphasising her bump and Stuart holding her


This one was taken in the hall itself as the couple specifically wanted to use the chandelier with the candles burning in their photos

I always love close ups of couples holding hands and here's one of those shots
There were 4 bestmen for this wedding which has to be a record! Stuart's dad was bestman for the ceremony (although he did also give a short speech) whilst the other 3 bestmen's main duty was the speeches. They delivered one of the best speeches I've heard in a long time so I thought I'd include a couple of photos of them


This was a lovely, small, intimate wedding that we very much enjoyed being able to share with the couple and their family. We can't wait to hear from Joanne and Stuart over the next few months with the progress with the bump. I know that it has started moving and that they haven't found out if it's a boy or girl (I think they're very patient - I think I would have to know if I was them!)

If you attended Joanne and Stuart’s Wedding and would like to view their wedding photos they are online now and I am sure they will give you the password to look at them.

Joanne and Stuart sent us a lovely e-mail after viewing their photos which read as follows:

'Well I don't know what to say!!! they are fantastic, you captured the day perfectly. Both sets of parents want them all!! We have passed your web address and password to all and everybody has said " I don't know how you will choose which ones?!" We had a wonderful wedding, it was more than we dreamt it could be, and memories to last a lifetime. The comments from family and friends have been great to hear not just about the day but also about all involved in making our wedding so perfect, we had lovely feedback for both yourself and David and would not hesitate in recommending you.We had a fab honeymoon just what we needed and we have lots of baby movement!
Once again thank you so much. Best wishes Joanne and Stuart'

Thanks for taking the time to send us this - we wish you all the best for the future and can't wait to hear more baby news over the next few months.

Jenny and Jasper's Wedding - The Oasis Centre, Norwich

The first wedding we shot in July was Jenny and Jasper's Wedding which we photographed at Thorpe St Andrew in Norwich.

We started from the getting ready stages again and David (once more) went with the boys down the pub whilst I stayed with Jenny and the girls getting ready. On the walk from the pub to the church the boys decided to do a spontaneous pose for David whilst they walked.

I haven't included any of Jenny's getting ready ones here as most involved her in her undies and I'm sure she wouldn't want me sharing these more personal ones with you all (although they are lovely photos).

The church ceremony took place at Thorpe St Andrew, Norwich followed by their reception at the Oasis Centre also in Thorpe. This was one of the weddings in July where we were told we weren't allowed to take any photos during the ceremony which I always think is a shame as we are very quiet at the back shooting without flash that no one would even know we'd taken any. I don't know how it happened but I took a sneaky couple from the back anyway and I'm pleased I did. Here are a couple of those photos.

The grounds here were also beautiful to take photos although again we were restricted by the vicar putting up signs on some of the nicer areas saying you couldn't take photos there. Always a shame when this happens as the ruins would have made for a beautiful back drop. Still on the positive side we came out of the church to glorious sunshine which stayed with us for the remainder of the day.

We did most of the group shots at the church and a few of the two of them here as well. The confetti shots went really well with this wedding as there was very little wind so the confetti fell wonderfully. Jenny and Jasper had requested a black and white and colour mix of the confetti if it was possible and I've included that photo below for you to have a look at.

Back at the hotel Jenny and Jasper wanted to have a large group shot done which required me to crawl out of a very small window on the roof. Thankfully I'm fine with heights so this wasn't a problem. I was just grateful that the guests couldn't see me hitching myself back through the window which was above waist height and required some careful maneuvering with cameras!

Before going in for their meal I took Jenny and Jasper for a wander. They wanted to do a piggy-back pose (I've had quite a few requests for that this year) and then just some nice ones of the two of them. Here's a small selection.

A friend of the family made the cakes which looked superb - they must have taken hours to make!

If you attended Jenny and Jasper’s Wedding and would like to view their wedding photos they are online now and I am sure they will give you the password to look at them.

After the wedding we had lovely e-mails from Jenny and Jasper and from Jenny's Mum and Dad (Dee and Mick) who are also having an album. Dee and Mick wrote:

'Thank you so much for the gorgeous photos - I cannot choose as they are all so special. It was a beautiful day - perfect and seeing the photos has confirmed that feeling we all had.

If you need a recommendation to anyone (I'm sure you won't though) feel free to give our name.

Thank you once again - we will highly recommend you to anyone we know who needs a photographer.

Love

Dee and Mick'


As we've said before it's always lovely to receive such kind comments and we're just pleased that so many of you love the photos that you want to tell us about it. Thanks for taking the time to write it really is greatly appreciated.

Jenny and Jasper were a lovely, relaxed and fun couple to work with. I look forward to hearing from Jenny and Jasper soon now that they have their proof book and designing their photobook with them in a few weeks time. We wish them every happiness for their future together.

Where are the months going this year????

As always I seem to be slipping behind again with regards to writing up all that I have been up to. I know that many of you have commented on how much you enjoy reading this so I really will try to do some updates over the next few days (I also know that some of the couples I photographed in July are looking forward to reading their wedding summary on here).

As an overview and a small taster for you - what have I been doing with my time in July?????

Well 6 Weddings photographed in Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and Essex for starters so a lot to write about here, several album design meetings, future meetings and lots of problems (that weren't my fault but have taken a lot of time to sort) which include a proof book coming back missing a page, an actual book coming back trimmed wrong and one of my external back-up hard drives had an unrecoverable disk error (fortunately I always back the photos up in 3 different places so nothing was lost!) and that's just for starters!

The beginning of August hasn't been any quieter either - I've just been up to Scotland to photograph a wedding this weekend just gone and have got back to heaps of e-mails that I am working my way through. Another wedding in a couple of days and plenty more throughout August.

On the positive side we are still having a great time, meeting some wonderful people and getting some gorgeous images that I can't wait to share with you all.

I will write again soon (I hope!)

Julie & Debbie's Civil Ceremony, Stowmarket, Suffolk

The last Wedding I photographed at Stowmarket Registry Office took place in June and was aa short civil ceremony for Debbie and Julie. I only had a short day available on this date as I had already signed up to attend a summer charity ball in the evening which fitted in perfectly with the length of coverage that Debbie and Julie were after.

This day was blessed with blue skies and sunshine and a very happy couple. I don’t think I have ever photographed a couple who beamed through the whole ceremony, photos, confetti and were just extremely happy.

These three photos were taken during their ceremony. In the last one Debbie’s ring wouldn’t go on easily as it was so warm her hands were a little larger than usual.

This one was taken after the ceremony outside the registry office.

Here’s their guests throwing confetti on the lawns outside there.


When I originally met with Julie and Debbie they had seen a photo they really loved of another civil ceremony (Laura and Naomi who I photographed back in 2006) where the dresses had come out of the photo frame. This was a little tricky to do with their photos as both Julie and Debbie had chosen to wear trousers. I have attempted to do one similar for them though with them walking into the frame which I hope they like.


This was a small and intimate day (less than 20 people) so whilst the guests went on the reception I spent a little time just photographing Debbie and Julie on their own together. I love this one of the two of them.


This last one was taken at the reception (The Limes Hotel, Needham Market) just before they went in for their meal and I left them to enjoy the rest of their day.


It was really nice to do a small wedding to end the month’s wedding and it was lovely to work with such a bubbly, happy and friendly couple. I hope that they have many happy years together. I am expecting your proof book back any day now. Once it arrives I will send this to you together with some album suggestions and we can then sort a date to get together and design your album (I’m looking forward to seeing you both again).

If you went to Debbie and Julie’s wedding and would like to view their wedding photos they are online now. They have the password which I’m sure they’ll give to you.

Jo & Mark's Wedding @ Wells-Next-The-Sea, Norfolk

The following week I photographed Jo and Mark’s Wedding at Wells-Next-TThe-Sea on the North Norfolk Coast.

Again the weather forecast wasn’t so good but in between the drizzle we did get breaks to do photos outside and we had a lovely time.

I started again with the bride getting ready whilst David again spent his time done the pub with the boys.

I love this one of Jo getting her dress on.
I also love this high contrast one of her on the stairs before we left.


It’s always the way on a wet day (especially when you are walking to the church) that it would start raining (more the sort of drizzle that soaks you unexpectedly) just as we were heading over for the ceremony - something known as Sod's Law I think!!! Fortunately we always carry a couple of giant white umbrellas for such occasions so, no catastrophe occurred, we got one out for Jo and kindly one of the ushers kept her dry.
Here’s Jo and her dad before they walked up the aisle.
The ceremony was lovely and they even had a touring Belgium choir sing for them. After the service Jo and Mark had hired two old fashioned red double decker buses to take guests down to the beach for ice cream. Like all good plans, the rain meant that we weren’t sure if they would get to eat their ice creams on the beach so instead guests were given them as they got on the buses. Here’s some taken on the buses.


Once we arrived at the beach it was still drizzling. Although Jo and Mark were happy to still go down to the beach they weren’t so sure their guests would want to get wet so I did a group shot of them in front of each of the buses and the guests waving from steamed up windows!


They needn’t have worried – their friends and family were happy to come down on the beach anyway and thankfully although it remained overcast the rain stopped for a while. For anyone who knows Wells-Next-The-Sea you will be aware that in the height of the summer the beach and car parks etc can be heaving with people. Here’s where a wet day really helped us, due to the rain most people stayed away from the coast which meant it looked like this was their own private beach! Here’s just a small selection to have a peep at.





I love this black and white and colour mix with the beach huts. We also used the beach huts for some of the group shots.


When it came to photographing Jo with the bestman and ushers they decided they wanted to pick her up. I love this photo of them. Needless to say Mark didn’t want to be left out so we did the same shot with him and the bestman and ushers which was very funny.



After we’d spent a little time on the beach we had to make our way back to the buses which drove us to The Crown (also at Wells) where the meal and evening entertainment was taking place. As we arrived back for the reception, a couple of brave guests threw a little confetti which thankfully I managed to catch on camera.


In the evening I took one of Jo and Mark without flash to capture the atmosphere and the glow from The Crown which worked really well.


This is another wedding where although it was a very long day (we had to set off at 8am in the morning and weren’t home again ‘til gone midnight) it was well worth it and we enjoyed every minute of sharing in their celebrations. Again, another wonderful couple, great guests and a brilliant time had by all. I’m really looking forward to designing the album with the two of you when you are back this way at the end of August. I am expecting your proof book back this week so will be sending you this soon together with some album suggestions.

If you went to Jo and Mark’s wedding (or you couldn’t make it but would still like to see the photos) and you would like to view their wedding photos they are online now. I’m sure they’ll give you the password to have a peek at them.