Category: Bristol

Helen & James: A pre-wedding shoot amidst the bluebells and ransoms

Helen and James came up from Devon for their pre-wedding shoot. We were lucky enough to catch the bluebells and ransoms (wild garlic) and even some rays of sunshine!

They are a super fun couple that are really in the throes of wedding preparation, so it was nice for us to take a little time out from the madness and go for a stroll through some woodlands, which were carpetted with swathes of blue and white flowers, with wafts of wild garlic on the breeze. A huge herd of deer also passed our path…Bristol really is great for finding places, even close to the city, that are super peaceful.

I loved this shoot because it shows how much fun Helen and James have together, as well as love being abound amidst the bluebells!

They’ll be getting married soon at Westward Ho! so watch out for their wedding images 🙂

30 May ’15
Cherry & Duncan’s epic wedding full of fun – with added trampolining action!

Finally, I’m able to blog this epic wedding, so epic they couldn’t fit it all into one day!

You might remember their mammoth pre-wedding shoot – brimful of happiness and fun. Well, they had a wedding to match. Cherry, Duncan and their families are all active members of the church as well as the Chinese community. Friends and family travelled from all over the world (from Vancouver to Hong Kong) to witness their union. A rare chance for the bridal party to be together, they hired a house together and the wedding was in fact, just part of a week of fun activities that they had planned!

This wedding was a combination of both a traditional Chinese and a church wedding. Chinese weddings start with traditional door games and tea ceremonies. The ceremony took place in the church that Cherry went to at school, then I moved on with the bridal party for some photos at a park near Cherry’s home before everyone congregated for the fabulous banquet at Water Sky.

It was a wonderful day with a great sense of community – everyone being so happy for Cherry and Duncan. They are a really fun couple and when they are around, laughter and smiles are never far away. I’m so happy I could be there to record their wedding for them.

It was such a big event, I’m going to start off by sharing some pictures of Cherry and Duncan so they’re not lost in the blogpost. Sit back and enjoy!

If you’re not familiar with Chinese weddings, proceedings are kicked off with a series of door games, where the bridal party issue challenges to the groomsmen. This is then followed by traditional tea ceremonies, where the couple serve tea to members of their family. The morning started off relatively serenely with Cherry gettting ready…

In the flat next door, friends and family were gathering to prepare for the door games and tea ceremony…

Some door games are kinder than others. Looks like mischief is afoot here…

The boys have arrived!!

And the games begin! How determined are these groomsmen to earn access to the bride?

Pretty determined it seems! First up…dance challenge 🙂

Next, the taste challenge…

Some being nicer than others. Luckily for Duncan, the groom was entitled to delegate to his groomsmen. I thought Duncan was pretty smart having so many ushers!

Yes, Duncan thought so too!

Third challenge – no hands allowed! Duncan’s brother Terence came all the way from Hong Kong to show everyone how it’s done…

Followed by this brilliantly photogenic round. I’ll let your imagination get to work on what this challenge was all about! Needless to say it needed his very closest friends (including his brothers Terence and Darren) to step up to the plate!

I should probably explain the next photo! This round involved snorting….pepper, it’s just pepper folks 🙂

Mmmmmm, that feels good!

And the penultimate challenge? It’s a Chinese wedding, it’s about the money of course…Duncan, how much do you think Cherry is worth?!

Having paid a suitably high sum of money for such a fabulous bride, Duncan earnt access to the house. He then had to answer a series of questions and finally…he earnt access to his bride. And doesn’t he look happy about it?

But it doesn’t end there! Next….tea ceremony, where the couple kneel and serve tea to their elders. Their offerings are returned with gifts of money and jewellery and blessings for their future together.

Despite all that bling, the limelight was still stolen by Cherry’s newborn nephew

A whole new day. And all is calm…

The veil was handmade by Cherry’s friend. Amazing!

Meanwhile, over with the boys…

Uh-oh, cufflink down! Glue gun to the rescue…

All sorted!

The wedding took place in the church that Cherry went to when she was at school…

This was a super cute idea…guests signed and wrote messages on little wooden hearts which were dropped into a frame

Contender for biggest group photo ever

Despite the rain, the bridal party rocked it at this playground

Yes, Cherry climbed up onto the fort in her dress. Respect!

Then this awesomeness happened…

Finally, the couple get a moment to themselves…

We haven’t even got to the banquet yet! The Chinese Banquet…with amazing cake made by Cherry & Ducan’s friend

At Chinese weddings, the guest write messages on long red card or fabric

Cherry in her traditional Chinese bridal gown. Stunning embroidery and check out her newly acquired bling!

Ready for another round of tea ceremonies

Time for the second dress change

And a whoooooole lot of toasting!

An amaaazing day! The bridal party went on into the night, but I will just leave you with this shot…

Congratulations Cherry and Duncan. Thanks for having me along for the day, it was swell! Wishing you the very best of luck in your new life together. Good luck in Hong Kong.

With thanks to James and Gareth for helping me with this big, big day
If you’re interested in having documentary wedding photography coverage at your wedding, contact Marie

2 Oct ’14
Cherry & Duncan’s Bristol pre-wedding shoot with a lot of sunshine and laughter

What a pre-wedding shoot bonanza! This is a really special wedding as I happen to know the family of both the bride and the groom, Cherry and Duncan and they are getting married in the church I used to go to for school. We had great fun on their pre-wedding shoot, which turned into an almighty megashoot out – I’m sharing just a selection of the photos with you!

Having both grown up in Bristol, Cherry and Duncan wanted a mix of nature and urban locations and chose to be photographed around Ashton Court and the Harbourside. I include pre-wedding shoots as part of my wedding packages to help my couples get more comfortable in front of the camera. We also get to know each other and it’s my opportunity to see how the couple relate to each other. It soon became obvious that Cherry and Duncan have a lot of laughs together and I think this is evident in the images from our prewedding shoot. I’ve included some of the out takes, as the giggles they share are very heartwarming. I think this bodes well for their future life together 🙂

We were gifted with some golden sunshine and I think my favourite images are the silhouettes against the sun as well as the ones with the yellow background.

I’m really looking forward to their humungous wedding in a couple of weeks time!

PS. If you are wondering what is going on in ‘those’ out takes, Cherry started trying to chase a persistent bee with her shoe…!

And…I couldn’t resist including this one too! 😀 😀

If you’re interested in having an engagement shoot with Marie, drop her a line!

25 Jun ’14
Sophie & Ben’s Coombe Lodge wedding with accents of gold, sparklers and a silent disco!

What better cure to the the post-festive season January doldrums than the wedding of two fabulous people? Sophie and Ben got married at Coombe Lodge in Blagdon near Bristol, surrounded by all the people that they love; who were all ready to keep the festive party spirit going strong! I love that Sophie and Ben had declared that since English weather is so unpredictable, why not get married when they knew they could count on the weather to be wet and dark. However, despite their expectation of bad weather, it was actually dry for all the key moments so we could get out and about into the grounds – you can see it’s a stunning venue that used to be the Wills family home.

Sophie loves fashion and not only was she super elegant in her vintage gown, stole and black and gold Jimmy Choo shoes, but her bridesmaids looked gorgeous and sassy in the chic black dresses and gold shoes she had chosen for them, a suitable match for Ben and his dashing ushers! The gold theme carried on through the styling with plenty of gold glitter everywhere. Even the registrar had gold glitter on his face during the ceremony, though that might not have been intentional. I’d like to think that Sophie and Ben had help drinking the contents of all the vodka bottles that made up the the table centre pieces, which were a nod to their student days when they met working at a vodka bar. Each guest had a bottle of sloe gin with a beautiful leather label crafted by Sophie’s brother. There was a lot of love in the room and the speeches moved many people to tears – I’ve only included two pictures of people wiping their eyes dry in this blogpost, but there were in fact plenty more including the groom himself.

Despite being super camera shy (you might remember Sophie & Ben from our rooftop engagement shoot http://marieman.com/blog/2013/12/sophie-ben-an-urban-rooftop-engagement-shoot-under-stormy-skies/, which I’ve since learnt that they’d chosen because no one would be there to watch!) we had some fun doing some light painting shots – as Sophie is passionate about photography, she’s specifically requested that we play around with long exposure sparkler shots. We had so much fun doing those, that she asked to do more with her head bridesmaid…you can see one where they spell the word CUDE out – I understand there is a story behind it, but you’d have to ask them to tell you 🙂 I loved everything about this wedding, but I particularly love the picture of Sophie coming down to the banquet room and seeing her delight to see all the styling and favours in place for the first time. I also like the fun pictures of them eating the macaroons which their friend Niki had also made for them.

The day was rounded off with a silent disco, where everyone had headphones and a choice of playlists – cue some funky dance moves and limbo. I was sad to go, but it does get to that point of the night when it’s kinder for me to go 😉 I had been really looking forward to this wedding as Sophie & Ben are much loved by their friends. Everyone had a really great time, so much so that eight of their best friends joined them on their skiing honeymoon to celebrate! That pretty much sums up the spirit of how awesome and much-loved a couple they are. Sophie & Ben, you rock!

Hair: Hobbs, Bristol
Makeup: The girls’ own work!
Shoes: Jimmy Choo
Macaroon Tower: Niki Downs at The Primrose Pantry http://theprimrosepantry.tumblr.com

With thanks to Matt for second shooting with me. Check out this bumper crop…

12 Feb ’14
Sophie & Ben: An urban rooftop engagement shoot ‘neath stormy skies

When I met Sophie and Ben over a year ago – their wedding at Coombe Lodge (which will be my first of 2014), seemed so very far away. But 2014 has come around super fast! Sophie studied photography herself so it was really important to her to find the right photographer and I was honoured when they chose me 🙂 When they admitted to me that they didn’t have any ‘proper’ photos of them together, the challenge had been set!

Sophie and Ben chose to be photographed close to where they lived, which is an urban area that has a great mix of industrial and residential buildings with more than a dash of street art – the Urban Paint Fest (UPFest) is hosted nearby. As they are both somewhat camera shy, they chose somewhere away from the crowds and we went up…high above the people! Airpoint gave us permission to shoot on their rooftop which has a gym and running track, then we popped downstairs to make use of some fab textures (I’m sure every photographer likes a good brick wall and a bit of brushed metal!) I had hoped for golden winter sunlight, but of course we had wind and rain instead. No problem though as stormy skies make great backdrops though as you can see in the pictures.

I’m really looking forward to their wedding – I think it will be a lot of fun and a welcome rescue from the January doldrums for their guests. Enjoy the pics. Happy Christmas folks!

21 Dec ’13
Jess & Simon: A walk in a Victorian Cemetary: Bristol engagement photographer

It might sounds strange, but when Jess and Simon asked for their engagement shoot to be in a cemetary, I was totally excited.

That’s because Arnos Vale cemetary is a beautiful Victorian garden cemetary, with acres of forestland and beautiful grave sites, not dissimilar to Highgate. In fact, it’s so beautiful that they have their first wedding taking place at the cemetary this year. I recommend to my couples that they choose a location for their engagement shoot that it special to them and Jess and Simon chose Arnos Vale because they live nearby and often go for walks there with their daughter, Eliza. It is a site that has lots of contrasts as you can see from the shoot – leafy, shaded walks, Victorian gothic architecture, classical memorials and some street art thrown in.

Jess and Simon met at a pub quiz, which we deduced that I may have been at too! Jess makes great (and I mean totally awesome) knitted monsters and Simon develops websites.

Jess claims a frown is her natural photo expression, but I didn’t see it…until I asked Simon to think of a moment that she made him proud and he couldn’t think of anything. She suggested perhaps the moment she gave birth to his baby 🙂 They were great fun to shoot with, even when I started calling Simon by the wrong name pretty consistently for the last ten minutes of the shoot!

I’m totally looking forward to sharing their their literature-themed wedding at the University and Literary Club with you soon!

16 Oct ’12
Bonnie & Will: pre-wedding photography in Clifton, Bristol

Bonnie and Will are getting married next month.

But it almost didn’t happen.

Like many of Bristol’s couples, they met at one of the fine nightclub establishments of our fair city . All too soon, the night came to an end and they arranged to meet the next day.

Sadly by the morning, Will had forgotten all about said arrangement. Luckily a venue hadn’t been agreed, so Bonnie wasn’t kept waiting…but the wrong telephone number had also been given so they couldn’t contact each other. Yet against the odds, they made contact. Soon after, they both had operations and spent their shared convalescence meeting for walks around Clifton Village and the budding relationship blossomed!

Tipping a hat to those early dates, they asked to be photographed around Clifton Village and Brunel’s suspension bridge…

I love that this one seems so dreamy and far away, when it’s just round the corner from the bridge…

On top of the world

Spinning love stories!

On the move

Taking a stroll…

Those are just a few of my favourites from a great shoot. Thanks to the very lovely couple, Bonnie and Will – can’t wait to photograph their wedding!

Full set of pictures over on the Facebook Page

24 Jun ’11
In the mood for…film noir

I’ve been kept quite busy with wedding documentary and fashion photography recently, so it was great to be invited by Rob Heslop to something that was ‘just for fun’. He invited me to a film noir shoot where the photographers got to play with lighting and directing, the models got to act and that post processing was easy!

We could have done with a smoke machine but this was still brilliant fun and took me back to my days as a media student, making films.

I love that the film noir tradition uses very simple light setups to show shape, form and character from out of the shadows. Characters that we all know well – the jaded detective, the femme fatale, the mafia boss and his moll. I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves, but I love that these images are alive with their moodiness, atmosphere and mystery.

With thanks to:
Rob Heslop
Cam
Peter Tecks

Models:
Conner McKenzy (www.connermckenzy.com)
Kate Davies (www.modelmayhem.com/1777728)
Iain Gorrie (www.modelmayhem.com/1701420)
Helen Drew (www.modelmayhem.com/611129)

22 May ’11
Paintworks, an urban wedding – Bristol wedding photographer

So I sit here watching our right Royal Wedding – an amazing spectacle that has made me become a wedding junkie…for the day. What better celebration of the wedding tradition than the fairytale story of an every day girl marrying her Prince Charming for love?

And what better can a wedding photographer do on this wedding day of all wedding days than blog a wedding 🙂 James Garrett and Isabel Sealey came together to seal the deal after a decade of love together. Isabel is a teacher and textiles whizz whilst her Prince Charming James is a DJ (DJ Ironside) well known on the local club circuit (http://www.myspace.com/dj_ironside). In addition to this, James’ brother works in the music industry and his best man was a musical maestro (and engineer). James’ clubbing mates all spruced up very well for a relaxed with a BBQ buffet…and onward to the music!

At Paintworks, you get married, eat, dance in the same area – an industrial building shared with BocaBar upstairs and an outdoor courtyard. Honourable mention for David Hawkin’s best man speech which was one of the most entertaining I have heard, outting James to his mates as a trainspotter!

The official photographer was Kate Kirkby (www.katekirkbyphotography.co.uk), I provided additional coverage and behind-the-scenes shots.

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29 Apr ’11
Harmony, an urban wedding – Bristol wedding photographer

Kelly and Paul had a fabulous wedding that celebrated Bristol, the city where they had met and fallen in love. I knew they had been planning a fairly no-nonsense wedding, so I was surprised when they announced that as well as the church and brasseries, they had booked…a megayacht! The wedding played out at several locations across the city, starting close to where they lived, in fact Paul managed to fit in a swift pint at the pub before heading to church!

The megayacht was a fantastic venue and after several frosty weeks, we were all delighted to see the sun come out to greet us which meant the guests could revel on the yacht’s huge upper decks, although I personally thought it was a shame that no one wanted to take a dip in the hot tub. Although huge (with a lounge, dining room, several decks, dance hall, bedrooms and more!), working onboard did provide some photographic challenges in terms of space and lighting on the lower decks, so we had decided to do the couple’s shots at a park near their home. Actually they loved having this part of the day to themselves, having a moment to cavort and bask in the sun and also take in the reality that they had done the deed. Shooting in the park was a fun experience with local ‘wildlife’ dressed in varying shades of neon wandering through our photoshoot. Gotta love Bristol.

I loved the moment during his speech when Paul revealed that when he first met Kelly, he had thought “this is the woman I want to marry.” The stuff that fairytales are made of. Weddings are such huge events, I feel privileged as a wedding photographer to share the rare moments that a couple spends away from the madding crowd. As part of my signature style, I work with the couple to create key creative images that they would like to put on their wall in its own right, wedding picture or not. From this shoot, I particularly love the series of pictures of them walking through the trees because their house is in the distance and has that much more meaning to them. And of course, the images of Kelly, walking along the harbourside, radiant and buoyant with her love for Paul 🙂

As usual, here are a few of my favourites, full gallery at the bottom.

Preparations at The Greenhouse Salon

Classic styling

Diamante is a girl’s best friend?

A church with a view

…I thee wed

One for the family album

Blessings from above

In nature

A rare moment of solitude

Swept away

Half-full 😉

Ready and waiting

Finest dining

Sparkles and petals abound

The good stuff

Walking on air

Little Miss Sunshine

Striking a pose

All aboard!

Radiance

Through the looking glass, in the spotlight

Starboard

Disco 2000

Survivor

Sweetness

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28 Sep ’10
“I left my soul there, down by the sea”*

The flames fanned by the Photography Parlour shootout, and wanting to learn more about working with flash, I looked up my local Strobist group. Strobism is another name for off-camera flash use.

I really knew close to zero about working this way and turned up at Clevedon Beach to learn what I could and without knowing what to expect. The guys set about their business, enthusiastically setting up their lights so they could shoot the models, who were mainly girls in their swimsuits. Most were more than willing to let me get pitched in with them, which in many ways was brilliant and in other ways, I was in at the deep end! Following a ghastly day, we were lucky as the weather was extremely kind to us with a beautiful sun set to boot.

The models did really well, especially those for whom it was their first time modelling. It was also a good experience to direct first-timers. I enjoyed directing two models to look like a couple in love when they’d only met 10 minutes beforehand and trying to making the most of the flare from the setting sun.

I love to be by the sea and would love to do some more beach shoots somewhere like Cornwall. Although I very much like the pebble beach and rugged cliffs of Clevedon, I wouldn’t have thought of it as a modelling location, but our models bought a touch of glamour and romance to the ordinarily mumsy destination. Actually, I think it could pass for California or Ibiza in some of the shots!

Huge thanks to the Strobist team for their baptism by fire (or flash…) and the great models who were all so accommodating. I was surprised to get some usable shots from this shoot, a bonus!

With thanks to all who collaborated, including:
MUA
Cat Parnell http://www.modelmayhem/1518216
MODELS
HanahMarie (finalist in Bristol’s Next Top Model 2010!) http://www.modelmayhem.com/hanahmarie
Ryan Spong
Iain Gorrie http://www.modelmayhem.com/1701420

Ami Tipps BubbleFaery http://www.modelmayhem.com/816798

*And the blog title? From the Morcheeba song…

5 Sep ’10
A country affair: eco, rustic wedding at Folly Farm

**AS FEATURED IN WEDDING IDEAS JAN 2011 ISSUE!**

A day in the country
Bunting, haybales, teepees, a hogroast and bluebells…this was a truly country affair. The Avon Wildlife Trust’s glorious Folly Farm [www.follyfarm.org] bathed in surprisingly glorious sunshine, atop the Mendips, was the perfect venue for this rustic wedding, embellished with plenty of lovely decorations handmade by friends and family and a fabulous dress made by the seamstress extraordinaire Gill Cockwell of Gilly Woo Couture (www.gillywoo.com).

A fortunate accident
I wasn’t even meant to be there. Someone else’s misfortune had turned into my good fortune; Faye and Dave’s wedding photographer pulled out a month before the wedding. Without a contract to protect their investment, they were left in the lurch. With little notice, they had to find a new photographer. Photographs for several feature articles had to be delivered. As the wedding promised lots of handmade touches in a rustic setting, I originally recommended Rosie Parsons [www.rosieparsons.com] and Owen & Charis at O&C Photography [www.oacphotography.com], with the intention to second shoot. It would have been an honour to work with either of them.

A different challenge
In the end, Faye’s friends, Chris Marshall and Mike Clarke, took up the gauntlet and then she asked me to come along too. Between them, the videocameraman and yours truly, things were…interesting. The main challenge was keeping the others shooters out of the frame! For me, my favourite shot of the day came at sunset. I always carry an extra wide angle lens in my bag, but rarely put it to use at weddings. The couple were sitting for some of Chris’ pictures on a bench by the pond. Suddenly the pond was filled with all the colours of the sky and I realised that having very few minutes before the sun disappeared, I cleared everyone out from around the pond and got my shot.

Added bonus
Faye kept the cost of her wedding to a minimum by trading off goods, services and favours (!) against the promise of press coverage. I was more than happy when she selected my pictures to be submitted to Wedding Ideas magazine [www.weddingideasmag.com] , which were featured in the January 2011 issue, to be followed by further publications.

Some of the highlights (scroll down to bottom for full gallery)

Folly Farm Orchard

Bunting galore

Hats off to you kind sir

The arrival of the bride

Traditional decor

Delicious nibbles prepared by a chef friend shipped over from New Zealand

The bride arrived in style

A wonderful gnarly tree standing atop the hill

Faye, the blushing bride

Cute bunches of local blooms

Centrepieces made by the talented matron of honour

What character!

Heavens above

Into the night

Illuminating

Spellbound

Ole!

Gleaming smile and ring

Knees up!

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7 Aug ’10