Tag: 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
Meet Mia Rose: Bristol newborn photography

Meet Mia Rose, proud parents Andrea and Mark and Sam!

I did this newborn shoot in Bristol early in the year. Mia was a new year baby and just ten days old (newborns ideally need to be photographed in the first ten days) and supercute. We decided to have a play with a few props to honour her middle name, Rose. She was super well-behaved, sleeping plenty enough for her and her older brother Sam had boundless amounts of energy…you can see make an appearance in the last phoot. I couldn’t resist including it.

I don’t really want to distract from how adorable she is so here’s a quick selection from our shoot.

Expecting a new arrival? If you’d like Marie to photograph your newborn, just drop her a line to have a chat.

20 Feb ’12
A countryside affair – Bonnie & Will, Charlton House: Shepton Mallet, Somerset wedding photographer

Do you remember Bonnie and Will? They had found me after being referred by an old school friend. After our fab pre-wedding shoot by Clifton Suspension Bridge, I was really looking forward to covering their countryside-themed wedding for them.

The preparations took place in Bonnie’s home village of Croscombe in Somerset. She prepared for her wedding at her mother’s charming cottage and it was a real family affair with her brother Ben giving her away, her young brother James being pageboy and her cousin travelling all the way from Australia to be her bridesmaid. James was particularly excited heralding “Bonnie Alert!” when she came near. My favourite moments from the cottage are of Bonnie writing her speech (yes, she had one too) and reading a letter delivered from Will that made her weep (fortunately just before she put her mascara on).

In the meantime, what better way for a groom to calm last minute nerves than enjoying a pint with his ushers and best man at the local pub before jumping in a Triumph Spitfire to make it to the church on time!

The ceremony took place in the neighbouring village of Dinder, in its quintessentially English church. Real rose petals were strewn and despite a week full of rain, the sun shone for them gloriously. The couple and I made a sneaky stop off at a field overlooking Glastonbury Tor to capture their first few moments of married life. I love it when newly weds get to spend a few minutes away from the madding crowds and have a moment to revel in their new status! All too soon, it was onward to Charlton House near Shepton Mallett, recently under the new management of Duncan “Dragon” Bannantyne, for drinks on the lawn, Jenga, croquet, dance, lots and lots of sweets, flowers, a “real” cheese cake, cheese buffet and an all round damn fine celebration.

Thank you to Bonnie and Will for inviting me to be part of and capture their day. Back today from their honeymoon in Greece, I’ve just found out that it’s also Bonnie’s birthday. Happy birthday Bonnie!

Here are a few images that give you a flavour of the day, scroll to the bottom for the full gallery. With thanks to James Bailey for his brilliant second shooting

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1 Aug ’11
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
SNEAK PEEK – Bonnie & Will, Clifton pre-wedding shoot in Bristol

Quick sneak peek from a pre-wedding shoot in Clifton with stunning couple, Bonnie & Will. Loved shooting with them. More on them in a full blog post soon 🙂

10 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
Lighting Workshop with Alex Beckett, Goldbrick House

Last year, Cambridge-based photographer Alex Beckett (www.alexbeckett.co.uk) asked the Twitterverse for tips for his impending trip to Mongolia. Of course I obliged. Fast forward 6 months later and he is living in Bristol, down the road from me!

In March, his trip to Saudi was cancelled and decided to run his very first off-camera flash workshop. It was a multi-level workshop with photographers who were totally new to lighting alongside experienced professionals. I decided to go along to wrap a formal approach around my existing knowledge and to see some photographer friends!

Alex took us through the basics of flash photography, his kit, a demonstration (posing Martin Pemberton as The Godfather!)and we all got pitched in. I’d been involved recruiting the pilot group of attendees and models so knew most people attending the day, but there were a few new faces too. We all had fun and even the attendees with more advanced knowledge learnt a few tricks. A great day all in all and in a great venue. Alex will be running future workshops so keep an eye out for more workshop goodness.

With thanks to our models Jane (http://purestorm.com/profile.aspx?id=lady_galaxy92), Danielle (http://www.modelmayhem.com/676727) and Juliet.

Here are my pics of the model that my group worked with, Jane and my fellow photographers.

Lighting practice:

These ones are natural light:

Britain’s next top model, James Bailey

Reluctant model Lizi

Ian Francis & Lizi Cosslett

Martin Pemberton striking a pose as The Godfather

Matthew Roach strikes his own pose!

Neil (RattyBoots on Flickr)

Martin Drake

Caroline Alexander

Martin Gillman

James Bailey

Benjamin Edwards

Kristy Field

Lizi & Ian

Nicola Ferguson

7 May ’11