Having had the privalige of photographing literally hundreds of weddings over the past ten years, I’ve come to find myself in all sorts of unusual situations. It’s all part of the job of course, as one week I may be required to stand on the roof of stately home, the next I’m perched on the bow of a vintage speedboat as we make our way down the Thames, or hanging on one handed to a Victorian Carousel. I’ve travelled around by various modes of transport, from vintage Bentlys to Mini Coopers, countless Routmaster buses, horse drawn carriages and a traction engine to name a few. I’ve been invited to join in with traditional Greek dancing, drink whiskey at a Jewish Tisch and listen to a world class opera singer practice within a few feet of where I stood. I’m also occasionally asked to advise and assist in various ways, with tips on last minute speeches, placing veils, tying cravats, pinning buttonholes, or fastening French cuffs. It’s a kind of diversity that I love and I’m still often surprised by the ideas and creativity of my clients.
I was recently asked to photograph a small wedding at The Mayfair Library. So small in fact that the whole wedding party consisted of only the Bride Regan, the Groom Clinton and their two wonderful children Charlotte and Louis. On meeting Regan for the first time to discuss the plans for the day, I soon realised that this was going to be fun! The first thing I felt was that she wanted the wedding to have a feeling of spontaneity and when I asked what date they planned to get married, she answered “I really don’t mind, when are you free?”. That’s not to say that Regan was in any way flippant about the importance of the occasion and she had really fresh and creative thoughts on the style of the day, as well as the photography. Regan picked up her dress locally, after noticing it on display in a charity shop window and the flowers were bought on the morning of the wedding from Waitrose, all of which proves that you don’t need to spend a fortune to make an absolutely stunning Bride.
With both Regan and Clinton originally coming from New Zealand, the brief included catching a few London landmarks on camera for the folks back home and Regan asked if I had any suggestions. With the abundance of opportunities that London has to offer, the only difficulty was to narrow it down, but one place that sprung to mind was St. Paul’s Cathedral. The building is immense and the limited space around it, at first view makes it quite difficult to photograph (as does the constant swathe of tourists that populate the area). However, having photographed weddings in and around St. Paul’s on a number of occasions in the past, I’ve discovered numerous alternative angles and quiet nooks all around the place, making it a stunning location for a shoot. After the photographs the family planned to head over to Claridges, where they were to book a table for lunch for just the four of them.
Towards the end of the meeting, Regan asked me if I would mind being a witness to their ceremony? It was something that in ten years and over 400 weddings I’ve never been asked, but I would of course be honoured to do. The day went perfectly, Regan looked stunning and the family had an amazing time, resulting in what is hopefully considered to be an amazing collection of photographs to remember it by too.
