Weddings

Anne & Matt got married, on a rainy day in May at the gorgeous Bradbourne House in Kent. A great day surrounded by familiar faces as I know many of their guests from Helen & Adam’s wedding last August – Such a lovely bunch! Anne & Matt, of course, are the main stars here though & after their engagement session. I was really excited for their wedding day – and it didn’t disappoint.

I had my friend Stuart James shooting with me for this as Anne & Matt wanted coverage of both sides of the mornings preparations. I started the day with Anne & the girls; while, Stuart was shooting the boys.

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Nic and Will’s stunning Notley Abbey Wedding received a lot of media coverage, including a wonderful feature on the popular wedding blog Rock My Wedding. Nic wrote a wonderfully detailed account of their special day, and on the subject of wedding photographers, she had this to say:

“(Simon’s) pictures have such an ethereal feel and captured the relaxed, fun vibe of the day perfectly. It also helped hugely that he’s SUCH a brilliant person, someone that we could feel completely at ease being a major part of our big day, and he definitely didn’t let us down. We couldn’t have been happier with the results…”

The entire article is well worth a read if you’re planning your own Notley Abbey Wedding.

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Nic and Will celebrated their very special day at the inimitable Notley Abbey on the Oxfordshire/Buckinghamshire borders, (A stones throw from the Cotswolds) the venue is such a chic and sophisticated location, but also incredibly relaxed and not too formal, so it was the perfect venue for Nic and Will to celebrate their wedding. The house has such a long history of incredible parties – owing in no small part to it’s former life the home of renown socialites Sir Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh – Previous guests at this incredible venue are said to include King Henry the VIII and in more recent times, Marilyn Monroe – So to say Nic and Will were in good company in their venue choice is a complete understatement.

After their engagement session it was obvious their wedding was going to be amazing, They’re both so relaxed & easy to get along with. Nic is an avid reader of Rock My Wedding, (which is where she found me actually!) and whilst she took lots of inspiration from there (details galore!), it was still a hugely personal and intimate celebration; a lovely, relaxed day, brimming with character & personality! A day that was all about fun & friendship, a day that was amazing to witness!

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Mary & Will had a beautiful wedding at the Bingham riverhouse hotel in late November. The Bingham is a lovely boutique hotel in a Georgian townhouse (With lovely bow windows, as I was informed by Will’s dad!) tucked away in Richmond-upon-Thames, in fact, it’s literally on the banks of the Thames. I love photographing weddings in Surrey, there are so many awesome venues, like Pembroke Lodge and Ham Polo Club – both of which are literally stones throwes from The Bingham, but this was my first time at The Bingham – it’s funny, I’ve been a wedding photographer for 14 years now, yet I’m always discovering something new!

The Bingham riverhouse lends itself to terribly sophisticated affairs, from its beautiful terraces overlooking the river to the sophisticated decor to its impeccably styled food – every last detail was taken care of. Mary & Will wanted to celebrate with their family and friends and know that everything was completely under control, so the Bingham was the perfect venue. As their wedding took place in late November at 4pm – we didn’t get much of a chance to head outside, but with the abundance of wonderful indoor space at The Bingham, we had plenty of options.

Our coverage started a little before the ceremony in a gorgeous suite at The Bingham, where Mary got ready, wonderfully assisted by her Mum and two best friends – who also had the none-too-small task of affixing ribbons to the many favour baubles – a treat for the guests just in time for Christmas.

Mary wore the most stunning Jenny Packham dress, paired with a gorgeous pair of silver shoes and you could tell Will was holding back the tears as Mary walked down the aisle.

After their lovely, intimate ceremony everyone headed out onto the now dark terraces, to enjoy an evening of beautiful live music, amazing company and immaculately present canapés – all under the warm orange glow of the patio heaters.

Mary and Will are unbelievably friendly, relaxed people – it was a pleasure to get to know them, and alot of fun to be a part of their day.

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Emma & Matt’s wedding at Hampton Court House was a lot of fun, really lovely people, a great atmosphere & an amazing location.

• The bride got ready at her parents house.
• The ceremony and reception were at Hampton Court House.
• The views over Bushy park during the ceremony were amazing.
• They had Champagne & Canapes on the lawn in front of the House.
• The meal took place in Hampton Court House’s Red Dining room.
• They danced the night away in the Conservatory.

I photograph a lot of weddings in Surrey, and a Hampton Court House wedding is always a treat – it’s definitely a top venue and one I love returning to.

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Helen & Adam got married at the fantastic St Michaels Manor a lovely hotel in At. Albans, The weather was lovely for a few minutes here & there – but not so good the rest of the time, but the rain couldn’t dampen the spirits of anyone.

I love weddings that all take place in the same location, not having to travel between multiple venues always seems to make the day more relaxed (for me as well as the guests!) – although after having spent the day with Helen, Adam & their friends & families (including the wonderful Anne & Matt – whose wedding I photographed in Kent!), I couldn’t imagine it being anything but a relaxed, fun day, regardless of the backdrop!

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Wiston house weddings are great, not only is it a really nice venue, but it’s only twenty minutes drive from my house =) It’s a magnificent country house – architecturally similar to Rhinefield House or Wadhurst Castle, nestled in Sussex’s sweeping hills just outside of Steyning and with the most wonderful sweeping drive and loads of lovely manicured gardens.

Wiston House wasn’t the star of the show this day though, that honour went to Lucinda, our lovely bride & Malcolm – our ultra cool groom. why is he so cool you say? he wore batman cufflinks. enough said.

Lucinda is the kind of bride that’s been planning her wedding since she was a little girl, She’d picked out her church from an early age & sang with the choir, to make sure they were up to spec for the ceremony (they were!)

It’s genuinely been a pleasure to be their photographer – from their pre wedding photography session earlier this year, to sharing their wedding day – It’s been great getting to know them, so it’s my pleasure to share these photos =)

The day started in Shoreham, at Lucinda’s parent house:

(but don’t worry Anne (Lucinda’s mum), I’ve kept the curler photos to a minimum =) It was a fabulous look though…)

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Karen & Adam had a wonderful Horsted Place wedding in September – I met Karen & Adam through their friends Amanda & Glenn, whose wedding I photographed in Sussex last year, So I knew what sort of crowd to expect at their wedding – I’m not sure I’ve ever met such a lovely, lively, fun, crazy ( & totally fabulous!) bunch!

Horsted Place weddings are wonderful, it’s a beautiful country house hotel wedding venue, nestled in the heart of Sussex and surrounded by some of the most wonderful countryside, it’s such a perfect spot to celebrate a sophisticated, yet relaxed wedding – not too formal but certainly with a great sense of occasion. A perfect match for our Bride and Groom – Karen and Adam.

To say they are popular is an understatement, they are clearly loved by many and Adam is a rugby player, so a large portion of the crowd were professional rugby players, and lets just say these chaps know how to let their hair down.

Karen is a supremely stylish lady, and opted for the most wonderfully sophisticated black and white colour palette for the day – outfitting her bridesmaids in very classy black dresses which set against her own gorgeous sweetheart neckline dress and silver shoes.

As the day passed more colour was gradually introduced into the palette – culminating in the most delightfully colourful and well stocked sweet table we’ve ever seen, fueling the guests long into the evening on one of the most energetic dancefloors we’ve ever witnessed.

Our coverage starts with Karen and the girls getting ready at Horsted Place, a wonderful spot to prepare for a very special day and an immensely close, yet welcoming group of ladies who were a pleasure to work with – these ladies have grown up together and have been bridesmaids for one another – so to say they are close barely covers the whole story. Karen clearly experienced pre-wedding nerves, but the combination of her bridemaids influences and the distraction of getting stung by a bee (!) helped keep her calm. (Although I wouldn’t recommend a bee sting in future, if it can be avoided!)

The girls closeness was only rivaled by the Adam and the chaps – rugby players spend so much time together, they form their own tighly-knit family – a family that knew everyone else’s secrets and (embarrassing) stories, and were certainly not shy about banter – or the occasional bit of heckling!

I had my associate SJP working alongside me & as always, it was brilliant to work with him.

Thanks to Karen & Adam for having us along for the ride.

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Greek weddings… wow.

This was my first greek wedding & wow was it awesome, it wasn’t quite a ‘full fat’ greek wedding, as Ty & his family are from South Africa, so it was coined as a ‘Big Fat Greek South African Wedding’ – whatever it was, it was amazing!

Readers will recognize these guys from their engagement photos posted the other week, I knew their wedding was going to be cool from that day, the day when they described greek ceremonies, customs & traditions over gallons of pimms. As I’d never shot a greek wedding before it was ultra important that I knew was going to happen in advance, so I could plan ahead – but no amount of planning truly prepares you!! There was so much going on, but it was mega!

They got married at the Twelve Apostles Greek Orthodox Church in Hertfordshire & then headed over to Fanhams Hall for their reception.

A massive thank you goes out to Maria & Ty, & their family & friends for having me along for the ride! I loved every minute! & would love to shoot a million more greek weddings!! We utterly love weddings from different cultures, with a lot of experience in Asian weddings and Jewish weddings, Greek weddings were a new one for us, but a truly wonderful first experience – it’s always a pleasure to learn about a different culture through the lens of a wedding day!

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Victoria & Tim got married earlier this year & it would be a gross misrepresentation to say it was epic. it was more than epic. it was incredible.

Great People? yup! Mindblowing Castle? yup!! Fantastic Fireworks? yup… ear crushingly loud Canon Salute? errrrr….. Oh yeah! (the ears are still ringing from that one).

They had their ceremony at Stibbington Church, both the church & the area have a lot of family history attached, before heading onto the nearby county of Rutland, and the delightful Belvoir Castle for the reception. A long-distance from my usual Sussex Weddings, but a truly enjoyable day to be a part of.

I first met Victoria and Tim back in the spring, in Surrey – while they were visiting family, and it was there that I learned that Victoria, Tim and virtually of their guests are doctors – and it’s true what they say, Doctors know how to have a good party – from early in the morning late into the night these guys were full of the magic, energy and excitement that makes a great wedding.

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(These photos have been featured on Ruffled, Rock My Wedding, Whimsical Wonderland Weddings & various international blogs.)

A few weeks ago I photographed a wedding. It was a very pretty, totally relaxed & utterly vintage day. It was the wedding of Victoria & Graeme.

When I met V&G… They told me their plans to have a vintage wedding theme – a 20’s vintage picnic type affair to be precise & I loved the idea! After our meeting they invited me to hang out & play Little Big Planet on the Playstation3 , which was awesome… & after our meeting/chatting/gaming session – I knew these were absolutely, 100% my kinda people, So when they booked me to be their wedding photographer I was very excited!

Over the following months I had the opportunity to get to know them a bit & the more I got to know them, the more I loved them & their plans for their wedding!

Then we had their gorgeous engagement session, on that hot day in June, (you know – the only one we’ve had this year…) Where their taste in vintage loveliness came through even more – So, the wedding was shaping up to be pretty amazing!

Now we start our story, on a different day to that of the actual wedding.

V wanted some pictures of her shoes & dress, but the schedule of their day didn’t allow for this, So I offered to start my coverage a few days early & get some details in the bag!

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