Wedding at Westminster Cathedral and Dartmouth House

Congratulations to Rachel and David who got married on 23rd October 2010 at Westminster Cathedral. I didn't envy Rachel the task of finding a dress worthy of the grand walk to the alter but she found one of the most amazing dresses I have ever seen! You scrubbed up well too David :-)

Despite a pretty awful weather forecast the weather was glorious. My second shooter Tamas Olajos arrived at Dean Street Townhouse for the Groom's Brunch. While the boys were figuring out how to pin their button holes on I was having a fantastic time with Rachel and the girls in the flat in Notting Hill. The wedding had a black and white theme which was cleverly picked up with the wedding flowers. The bridesmaids wore black dresses and shoes and the bride had a gorgeous pair of shoes by Jimmy Choo.

Rachel and her father arrived at Westminster Cathedral in a vintage taxi and the cathedral provided a dramatic setting for the wedding photographs. The ceremony was beautiful, with exquisite music by the choir and soloist.

After the wedding ceremony the guests were taken to Dartmouth House in Routemaster buses and we wandered around Mayfair taking quirky reportage style photographs. I was very impressed that Rachel could walk, skip and jump in her Jimmy Choos!

The formal portrait shots were taken in the courtyard at Darmouth House. Rachel and David favoured a more relaxed style which I think we achieved really well. I particularly enjoyed photographing the speeches which took place along with the cutting of the cake on the grand staircase.

The dining room looked stunning. Rachel had spent many months collecting china so that each individual place setting would have a different teacup. Like everything on the day, including the bride, the room was stunning!

Fun Wedding Photography at The Goring

A big thanks to Ollie and Jane for posing so fabulously on their wedding day! They had a September wedding at The Goring, Beeston Place, London. I know they share my view that The Goring is one of the best venues in London for a wedding. It is a small family run hotel and their friendliness, attention to detail and of course food is second-to-none.

Ollie and Jane wanted their photography to be fresh and original so after posing in the gardens we went for a walk to do some reportage photography. The reactions of the general public were mixed, but we did meet some friendly people. Thank you to the staff at the London Souvenir shop for accommodating us and letting us use their flags and brollies! It seemed fitting to go with the London theme as we were celebrating at The Goring which is quintessentially London after all.....

The reception was flawless, great food, heartfelt speeches, yummy wedding cake, fantastic French music by a magical trio.... a perfect day. Oh and I think Jane should get a round of applause for her choice of dress!

Norman Wisdom and Sally Geeson Photographs taken when filming What's Good for the Goose in Southport 1969

After hearing the sad news of Norman Wisdom's death, I had a visit today from the beautiful actress, Sally Geeson. She came to the studio with some beautiful photographs taken during the filming of What's Good for the Goose in 1969. I think this set of images show so much of Norman's character. Sally shared her memories of him as a wonderful and indeed very funny man. Many of the shots show her almost crying with laughter!

We are all sad to see you go, Norman, and thank you for entertaining us for such a long time.

Lembit Opik

Last week I did a commissioned shoot for Hello! Lembit and Merily were really good fun to work with and it was a real pleasure to meet them both. A big thank you to my poor long-suffering assistant Callum Winton who was brilliant! Couldn't have done it without you, CW.

Here is the link to the first publication of the photos in the Daily Mail this morning:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1317491/Ex-Mp-Lembit-Opik-reveals-new-21-year-old-girlfriend-Merily-McGivern.html

I am just popping out to get my copy of Hello! which is running the full story with more photos....

Richard and Fiona's Wedding at Kensington and Chelsea Register Office

Congratulations to Fiona and Richard. What a wonderful wedding! We met at about 8.30am for a very early wedding and started by taking photographs at a flower stall near the steps of Chelsea Old Town Hall. He wasn't amused!

It was only 11 minutes before the ceremony when Richard asked me to be one of the witnesses and we were tasked with hunting around for a second one. We spotted Len and Ian on the scaffolding doing a bit of painting so Richard went off to ask them while Fiona and I annoyed the flower vendor by taking photographs on his stall. The decorators seemed a bit surprised and very amused by Richard's request. After some gentle persuasion paint brushes and tins were abandoned and we laughed all the way to the Rosetti Room for the ceremony.

Instead of the usual exchange of rings Fiona had bought Richard a lovely watch which she put on him during the 'exchanging of rings'. Ian, Len and I were so busy gazing at the lovely watch we almost didn't notice when our couple entered the room! The ceremony was short but very intimate and moving. Sadly, my name can't be found on their marriage certificate so I will have to make do with having it on the photos instead...

After the knot had been tied we took some photos on the iconic steps outside the registry office and continued with our scaffolding theme!

It was a privilege to be part of such a special moment and Fiona tells me that the rest of their day was just as special and fun.

Coffee Table Album by Helen Jones Photography with photographic lay flat...

I just received my new studio samples from Sim2000 Imaging which were created from Lucy and Rob's Wedding at Rivervale Barn. The books are the coffee table albums and are 40 pages and made with photographic lay flat paper.

Portrait Session with Actress Sophie Linfield

Another photo shoot last week with Sophie Linfield. Photos were taken in a West London studio. Lots of post production using Photoshop to make the black and whites really punchy. We agreed that these are our favourites.

Portrait Session with Helen Mutch in Ham

Helen is a London based actress who I have worked with on a number of occasions. These are the results of a portrait session in Ham, near Richmond in Surrey. They are a combination of a beautiful girl and a beautiful place!

Rivervale Barn Wedding - Lucy & Rob Donald

This was my first wedding at brand new venue Rivervale Barn, which is a purpose build venue in Yateley which is on the border of Hampshire, Berkshire and Surrey. Lucy and Rob fell in love with it last year and were delighted that it was ready in time for their wedding. The car park area had been finished a few days before, just in the nick of time! It was the perfect setting for a wedding and made my job so much easier; beautiful rooms, loads of light and laid out perfectly with Bernie on hand who went out of her way to be helpful and make sure the day went smoothly and all the little details were in place.

After a very stressful run up to the wedding caused by Euroash the sun came out and set the scene for a perfect day. My second photographer Callum Winton arrived and we started photographing the bridal preparations. Rob had commissioned a beautiful art piece for Lucy - thank goodness she opened it before she had her makeup on!

Lucy is the daughter of videographer Peter Fairbrass who is a friend and colleague and I felt honoured to be chosen to capture such a special day. I think the wedding photographs show how beautiful the bride is and how perfect all the details were...

A big thank you to Berny at Rivervale Barn for all her help on the day.

My lovely friend, Sophie Linfield has been staying with me recently. Here are a couple of photos - Sophie, thank you for your friendship and for posing for me over the years.

Printing.com postcards

I've just received my new baby and family portraiture cards from www.printing.com They were really helpful with the design, the price was really competitive and I love the results. They have a special offer on at the moment so I will sign off and start designing to catch the deadline!