Category: Reportage

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
Kate & John’s sun-filled Chateau wedding…in the Worcestershire countryside

I’m soooo behind with my blogging! But here is a fab wedding from earlier this summer – a surprise day full of sunshine in between rainy days that ended with a glorious sunset which meant we could take advantage of the beautiful grounds at Chateau Impney. Chateau Impney is a French-styled chateau that the original owner decided to build…in Droitwich, Worcestershire! It is currently undergoing renovation, bringing the bedrooms and suitably Rococo interiors up to par with the exterior.

Unusually, I hadn’t met Kate or John before the wedding as I had to step in quite late in the day. I absolutely loved covering the bridal preparation – Kate and her close friends knew each other so well and were having a riot. They were super welcoming and I had great fun with them as they got ready, even though I had to turn down the several glasses of champagne they offered me 😉

Kate and John met on a night out in Leamington Spa and have been together ever since. Kate works in HIV research and in lieu of wedding favours for the day, they made a very fitting donation to the National Aids Trust http://www.nat.org.uk/. There was a lot of love in the room that day – all their friends were so happy to see them unite, including bridesmaid Anita who had detoured enroute from the Middle East to America to be there! After a dreamy sunset, the day was drawn to a close with a fantastic live band, including a set by John’s brother.

Kate and John’s love for each other brims over throughout the photos of the day, a few of which I’ll share with you now!

Credit where its due…
Dress: Bea Bridal Southampton: http://www.beasbridal.co.uk/
Hair and make up: Angela Fergusson https://www.facebook.com/AngelaFMua
Other wedding beauty: Lou and Hannah at Halcyon Beauty: http://www.halcyonbeauty.co.uk/
Cake: M&S with amazing sugarcraft flowers by bridesmaid Rachael!Florist: http://www.the-wedding-house.co.uk/the-flower-house/ (Kate and Wendy)
Wedding stationery: http://www.bydonnablundell.co.uk/

With thanks to my second shooter Kerry.

If you’re interested in stylish documentary photography for your Chateau Impney wedding or event, get in touch with Marie.

18 Aug ’14
Zoe & Michael: Zoers and Lammers get hitched in a haunted house

I’d been looking forward to Zoe (Zoers) and Michael’s (Lammers) wedding all year.

It was a gloriously sunny day at a very special venue – Woodchester Mansion, one of my favourite places. Zoe and Michael chose Woodchester because they wanted somewhere local that was a bit different – that they could also take over and make their own for the day as many of their friends were coming from further afield. In a secluded National Trust valley, the house was never finished. As a result, there are fireplaces in mid air and floors that were never put in. A charitable trust was set up to save it from ruin and the team are now working hard on restoring it back to the state it was in when construction stopped. It is the kind of place that you want to explore as soon as you see it and so Zoe and Michael gave the guests time to have a look around the mansion before the ceremony – the mansion only had a basic track leading down to it, so guests had to be ferried by minibus down to the mansion.

Zoe’s sisters live in Australia and America and are rarely together, so Zoe’s family hired a gorgeous house in Wooton-Under-Edge for the week. She got ready at Edge Beauty which was just next door with her sister Amy who was head bridesmaid. In the meantime, Michael was at a cottage in Ozleworth with his son and his ushers. You can see from the pictures that they took advantage of the lovely weather to bask in the sun amongst the lavender and butterflies.

The wedding had lots of personal touches with their very own kegs of beer that Michael had brewed especially for the wedding, home-made favours and tables named after their favourite local places. They had been looking forward to the paella for a long time. So much so, that they were quite disappointed when the weather turned out to be so good that everyone was outside enjoying the sun instead of seeing the ‘live theatre’ of the paella being cooked. They couldn’t complain about that too much though as it made the setting so idyllic! And I can testify that the paella was very nommy indeed, equalled by the hogroast that fuelled people dancing into the night.

Michael’s son Joe had a great time and pretty much stole the show with his speech and later on with his dancing too! But by far and away, the thing I totally loved most was that Zoe and Michael are simply a super awesome couple and it was clear how much they loved each other, and it was clear all their friends think they are awesome too. I love that you can see in their photographs just how happy they were to get married – you can see them giggling at each other and then dancing their way into the wedding banquet. In fact, there were plenty of laughs and giggles throughout the day. Thanks for a really fun day!

Most of my coverage for the day is documentary, but as an experienced fashion photographer I also offer my couples the option to get more creative with the posed shots. As this was such a dramatic venue, I went for a variety of bridal portraits – I really wanted to shoot inside the mansion, so we went up into the roof, traversed scaffolding to shoot by the stunning rose window in the chapel, got creative with smoke and lighting in the scullery and still fitted in some natural shots outdoors. What a portrait bonanza! I hope you like them. Special thanks go to Morag who was helping me out that day. Without further ado, here are their photos (and apologies for lack of blogposts recently…lots of weddings will be posted soon!)

If you are interested in documentary wedding photography, drop Marie a line.

21 Oct ’13
Vinopolis, Southwark – photographers’ meetup

At the end of August, talented London-based photographer Kirsten Mavric (www.kirstenmavric.co.uk) organised a get together of photographer friends. Thirty-four super talented photographers from around the UK descended upon the Cantina Vinopolis for a fab evening of great food, wine and the very best of company! Nearing the close of a busy summer season, going to London to catch up with friends old and new was more than worth the trip from Bristol. I’m soooo behind with the rest of my blogging but here’s a few snaps from our night out.

Big thanks due to Kirsten for organising the get together. A great job well done!

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FEATURED IMAGE ABOVE: Cam and Pen McKinley Rodgers have a giggle with Marianne Taylor

BELOW: Christina Brosnan of Brosnan Photographic travelled all the way from Ireland! Christina shoots romantic wedding photography www.brosnanphotographic.com

Marianne Taylor in conversation with Anushe Low. Marianne’s weddings have great creative flair www.mariannetaylorphotography.co.uk

Vicki Knights of Knights Photography in Surbiton specialises in natural light portraiture www.vickiknights.co.uk

Eddie Judd striking a pose. Based in Surrey, Eddie’s portraits and weddings are full of colour and nature www.eddiejuddphotography.com

Chloé Brown of Caught the Light (natural, feminine wedding images www.caughtthelight.com) talks to Dasha Caffrey of Exhibit Emotions (emotive contemporary wedding photography www.exhibitemotions.com) and Christina Brosnan.

David McNeil (relaxed contemporary weddings www.davidmcneil.co.uk) catches up with Shella Gozali of Shell de Mar Photography (fun and quirky weddings www.shelldemar.com)

Wish I could have earwigged on whatever Lisa Devlin (Brighton vintage-style wedding photography and much more! www.devlinphotos.co.uk) and Pen McKinley-Rodgers (romantic portrayals of love out of Oxfordshire www.mckinley-rodgers.com) were talking about 🙂

Zoe Collyer with Vicky Knights. Zoe is based in Surrey and captures weddings in a documentary style www.zoecollyer.co.uk

The lovely Tarah Coonan. Tarah’s work is romantic and feminine http://tarahcoonanphotography.blogspot.com

Eliza Claire (creative quirky weddings www.elizaclaire.com) chats to David McNeil

Dasha Caffrey does what she does best. In the frame…Christina Brosnan and Tarah Coonan

My roomie, Juliet McKee. Juliet shoots wedding and portraits with wonderfully punchy colours www.julietmckeephotography.co.uk

Anushe Low. Anushe shoots stylish weddings with artistic flair www.anushe.com

Lisa Jane Brown (wedding and portrait photography on both digital and film www.lisajane-photography.com) and Debs Ivelja (natural and stylish weddings www.debsivelja.blogspot.com)

Vicki Knights and Kirsten Mavric. Kirsten shoots fresh, contemporary weddings and portraits www.kirstenmavric.co.uk

The creative talent that is Fanni Williams of Fubu Media/Fanni Williams Photography www.fanniwilliams.com in conversation with Chloé Brown and Anushe Low

Kirsten Mavric catches up with Eliza Claire

Eliza Claire takes a break from a busy season!

Lisa Jane and Marianne, Ed Peers (www.edpeers.com) and Fanni Williams

Dominique Bader in the limelight. In her own words, Dominique’s work is “Pretty not gritty” www.domiquebader.com

David McNeil and Joanna Brown of Browns Photography (alternative intimate wedding photography www.browns-photography.co.uk)

Kirsten Mavric gets the worst part of the evening over and done with…settling the bill. Ouch! Supervised by Eddie Judd and Chanelle Segerius who specialises in high-end and destination wedding photography www.segeriusbruce.com

David McNeil and Debs Ivelja

Juliet McKee with her D60 and pop-up flash :-O

Fiona Kelly (documentary wedding photographer www.fionasweddingphotography.co.uk), Yolande de Vries of Rings n Veils (weddings and fashion reportage www.yolandedevries.com), Lisa Devlin and Anneli Marinovich (contemporary photography www.annelimarinovich.com)

Eddie Judd and Vicki Knights hit the pub

Our host Kirsten Mavric was one of the last (wo)men standing!

Yolande de Vries was sporting a fab new ‘do’. She will be missed when she departs for Oz. Both 🙂 and 🙁 Safe travels Yolande!

19 Sep ’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
Ninjas in Outer Mongolia!

Things have been a little busy lately preparing a submission to the Sheffield International Documentary Festival Meetmarket. This is for makers of documentary films. Those that make it through have the opportunity to pitch their film to a huge number of commissioners from around the world. It’s like Dragon’s Den for doco makers 🙂

For those that don’t know, since before my car accident a few years ago, I’ve been making a documentary about ‘ninja’ gold miners in Mongolia – nomads who lose their herds to climate change and turn to illegal goldmining in order to survive. I finally have enough energy to be able to work on the project again; the storyline is more relevant than ever with a state of emergency declared in Mongolia last year after one of the harshest winters to date, with livestock dying in their millions and Fairtrades impending introduction of a Fairmining Gold Mark .

It’s not photography, but I thought I’d share with you the quick teaser we put together. Mongolia is an extraordinary country of great beauty, strength and grace and with the longer film, I hope to pay testament to that as well as this little bit of sensationalism!

It is thanks to the good will and hard work of many that we have got this far, but right now special thanks go to Gansukh Baatarsuren, Robin Grayson, Rachel Grierson, Tom Sharpe, Sasha Djurkovic, Lucia Ashmore.

If you want to watch the teaser, click on the grab above or go to http://www.vimeo.com/14604803

A few BTS stills:

26 Aug ’10