Tag: documentary

Helen & James’ Devon seaside wedding with an ocean sunset

You might remember Helen and James from their bluebell woods engagement shoot. I was certainly looking forward to seeing

Helen got ready at The Paddocks, on the Ocean Kave site before making her way to the church in Instow, Helen’s childhood home. I whisked Helen and James off for some pictures by the Ocean – it was a very typical English summer but the moody grey skies gave a very atmospheric feel to the images (I love them!) The reception was at Pier House at Westward Ho! (the only place name in the UK with an exclamation mark in it) briefly interrupted by sparklers and a surprise glorious sunset just as the sun dipped into the ocean, after which the fun when on late into the evening with a ceilidh…

Congratulations Helen and James!

21 Aug ’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
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
Zoe & Michael: Dursley: A verdant hilltop walk on the edge of the Cotswolds

It’s been a busy year and I need to catch up on blogging! Apologies, I’m starting with my most recent work and introduce you to Zoe and Michael 🙂

I suggest my couples choose a location that is special to them for their pre-wedding shoot if possible. Zoe & Michael live in Dursley and introduced me to some of their favourite places near their home (including the pub afterwards). As a keen runner, Zoe had recced many of them on her runs around the stunning area. One of them was lush green hilltop location with a stunning arcade of trees which was truly glorious as you can see in the last image on this post.

They brought along a bottle of fizz to enjoy in a gorgeous, if windy location at the crest of the hill. Zoe & Michael share lots of giggles (as you can probably tell from the picture of the sheep and the one near the end where he’s making her laugh) and I’m totally looking forward to their wedding next month at a venue that I fell in love with the moment I stepped inside – the amazing Woodchester Mansion.

If you are interested in an engagement photography session, drop Marie a line.

19 Jul ’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
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
FEATURED IMAGE: Oblivion: Lovers by the Sea

People ask me what I like about being a documentary photographer. I tell them that I love the special gift that comes with being a photographer; the privileged ability to record memories and moments in time. And if successful, to each viewer, the image will retell the very story that the photographer saw, a story that moved them so much that they chose to document that moment.

It was during a fashion shoot that I spotted this couple sitting by the waters edge. Seeing them huddled up, looking out over a tempestuous sea made me pause a moment, reset my camera and capture a memory they thought might only be theirs.

What was the moment that I saw? A story of lovers oblivious to anything else. Their world stood still – it was just them, their love and the sea.

[Best viewed whilst listening to ‘By the Sea’ by Suede, if you will]

16 Jul ’11
South Wales Coast: A stroll by the sea with Marley Hamilton

At the end of a recent shoot, I spotted Marley walking in her Ugg boots by the sea.

I started snapping, she started playing. End of story…and the beginning of this documentary photostory 🙂

Meet Marley:

4 May ’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