We probably know a bit too much about the couples we photograph. Everything from how they met, what their animals are called to how they take their tea and their favourite kind of cake. Why? We just know these details make a difference when we’re photographing their wedding. Weddings matter, every one of them.
Colourful Cuba! One of the most fabulously unique wedding trends we’ve seen for a while, and we absolutely love it. So much so, that in collaboration with the other winners of the 2016 Four Counties Wedding Awards we captured it for this styled wedding shoot. This was our first foray into a styled shoot, and we really enjoyed it, and it in particular gave Lina a chance to go back to her directing skills!
We’re happy (and a teensy bit nervous) to announce that Lina is confirmed as a speaker at the inaugural WEDx – seminars for the wedding industry, or in their words “a brand spanking new series of seminars for people who are serious about taking their business to the next level.”
Taking place at Wyboston Lakes on Monday 8th May 2017 from 9am, the day will feature six speakers working within the Wedding Industry. Each speaker will hold a Q&A Session following their talk to ensure that your burning questions get answered, as well as the invaluable opportunity of networking with a community of likeminded people. The speakers kicking off this first event alongside Lina are:
We are very lucky when it comes to our couples, in the sense that we seem to attract super people who could have easily been our friends for years, and Claire and [disco] Stu are no exception. Our first meeting went for hours which saw them having to peg it to the train station to make the last train. When they told us their wedding venue, the beautiful High Rocks in Tunbridge Wells, well our cup runneth over. I’m not sure I can actually describe it properly, so to quote from their website, “Acres of breathtaking sandstone rocks interlinked with eleven bridges, provide a scenic walk in a tranquil woodland setting. Once a stone age camp, now a National Monument these impressive rocks, which belong to The High Rocks complex, have always been a constant source of wonder.” And yes it’s fab as you will see below!
Claire and Stuart’s wedding should be a lesson to couples everywhere, they stuck to having the things they love, reflected their personalities and just wanted to have a jolly good knees up, and boy was this what they had. The morning started for both sides at the Spa Hotel in Tunbridge Wells, before Claire made her way in Stuart’s dad’s cab (after being lovingly washed in the morning – adorable!) to High Rocks. Excitement built as the guests arrived in the beautiful reception room, including the cardboard cut out version of their friend who couldn’t make it looking deliriously happy for the couple as Claire made her way up the aisle!
One thing we particularly loved about their ceremony was that they split it in two, and we would highly recommend this to any couple who aren’t sure about the formality of a legal ceremony – after the registrar had done the legal bit they left, and one of their friends took over to give a much more personal conclusion to the ceremony. Another highlight was Stuart’s parents reading the lyrics to Noah and the Whale’s ‘In Five Year’s Time’ – “And it’ll be love love love all through our bodies… And love love love all through our minds… And it be Love love love all over her face… And Love love love all over mine…” Ha, brilliant stuff!
We love capturing reaction during speeches, and this set is the mother of all reaction sets. Stuart’s Best Man happens to be a producer at Sky Sports, and pulled in some special guests on screen to help give a sportsman-like analysis of Stuart – it was quite simply epic as were Stuart’s reactions!
Take a look through at this super day, and Claire’s credits on how it all came together are at the end…
It’s that time of year again! We’ll be back at The Wedding Show Knebworth House and Barns this weekend for the fourth year running, Saturday 9th & Sunday 10th January 2016. We love exhibiting at the Knebworth Wedding Show because of the time of year, everyone is buzzing – from the newly Christmas engaged couples to the couples who have kept their planning relaxed to date, but it’s all systems go after Christmas!
As always we’ll be exhibiting alongside some brilliant fellow suppliers, over 80 apparently! We’re all here to help you plan the best day ever and keep it stress free! There will also be the brilliant catwalk show which is a must-see, held three times each day to inspire and help you find ‘the dress’ and give ideas to your guests, as well as live singing from wedding artists. Head to us at stand 113 and you’ll likely see Tom perfecting the boys dance routines! (He loves to boogie.)
The show runs from 10am to 4pm both days, so grab your other half or mum and the girls, and come and have a glass of champagne to kick off your planning! The first 100 brides through the door each day will receive a goody bag packed full of treats and samples to take home, and everyone will get a copy of 2016 Bride Magazine – look out for our coverage of Ros & Robin’s wedding on page 52!
Tickets are on sale for £4 each or £12 for a group of four in advance here. Tickets are £5 each on the day.
See you there!
If you are following our wedding planning blogs, recently you would have read how we are struggling to find music we feel is right for our ceremony in particular. A bit of a search online and it seems this is a common issue that comes up on wedding blogs across the world. There are endless blogs and forum posts where people list what they had and give suggestions, but when you do what we do for a living, we tend to have heard it all before. So what is the best way to start looking at music? We asked exquisite and goosebump-inducing Soprano Rachel Maloy (who we highly recommend!) to give us a guide on how best to approach it…
Music plays such an important part in your wedding ceremony, and is an opportunity to personalise the most formal part of your special day. But where to start? If you don’t have a musical background then this can be a bewildering process. Here are a few pointers that should help you on your way…
Advice on musical choices may be available from your venue. Most churches will have an organ or piano and some may be able to provide a choir. Civil ceremony venues may have musicians in residence who are available to play at your ceremony for an extra charge.
Think about the role that you would like music to play. Are there particular songs or pieces of music that you want to include that have personal significance to you as a couple, or do you dream of a truly traditional wedding? This should help you on your way to making the right choices for you as a couple.
Some churches may impose regulations on the music that you can have, so it is worth chatting to your vicar if you are thinking of going down the less traditional route. You may find the Royal School of Church Music’s website a useful starting point. Similarly, if you are having a civil ceremony, there must be no reference to God or religion in any of your choices of music, songs or poetry. This includes songs in other languages, so if you have your heart set on Ave Maria, you’ll need to re-book at the church! If you are unsure, check with your Registrar.
Most brides have a picture in their minds of how they imagine walking down the aisle. If you dream of the traditional church wedding, you may have the organ playing Wagner’s Bridal March or Purcell’s Trumpet Tune. Perhaps the choir are singing Rutter’s A Gaelic Blessing or Biebl’s Ave Maria or a string quartet are playing Pachelbel’s Canon in D.
Civil ceremonies offer greater freedom in your choice of music. Your wedding may have a theme that you want the music to fit around (like Iceland, perhaps . . . ) You may love musical theatre or a certain band. Or perhaps you still want the traditional processional. As long as the music does not have religious connotations you can have whatever you like.
You need something reflective for your friends and family to listen to whilst you are signing the register. This can take around ten minutes and can be very tedious if no musical ambience is provided. I have been to weddings where there has been no music and the congregation sat in embarrassed silence. Awkward! You don’t want that! The signing of the register is the part of the ceremony when I am usually asked to sing. Two songs are needed, and I discuss with the bride and groom what type of songs they would like. Some couples have ideas or have a particular song that they would like me to sing, whereas others listen to some suggestions and then opt for one traditional and the other something more personal or modern. Some popular traditional choices for a church ceremony are: Schubert’s Ave Maria, Bach/Gounod’s Ave Maria, Franck’s Panis Angelicus and Mozart’s Ave Verum Corpus. For church and civil ceremonies you could have songs which work in both scenarios such as All I ask of you, from Phantom of the Opera, One Hand, One Heart, from West Side Story (note from Lina- this is one of the most perfect wedding songs, and last time we heard Rachel sing it I was a mess), or Songbird by Eva Cassidy.
Hurray!!! You are finally married! Let’s celebrate! Choose something jubilant to finish the ceremony as you walk out as husband and wife. In a church the organ may play Mendelssohn’s Wedding March, or Handel’s Music for the Royal Fireworks, or the string quartet may play Vivaldi’s Spring.
Again, you can choose anything you like if you’re having a civil ceremony (providing there are no religious references!) I married my lovely husband, Toby, five years ago and at the end we walked out (or rather danced!) to Kenny Loggins’ Footloose!
I will never forget it!
If you are having a church wedding you may want to include two or three hymns in your order of service. My top tips are to choose ones that people are more likely to know (think back to when you were at school) and to have a choir to carry the sound. There is nothing worse than having hymns that no-one knows with no-one singing! Remember that you don’t have to have hymns if you don’t want to. Some firm favourites might be Jerusalem, One More Step Along the World I Go, or Shine Jesus Shine to lift the roof off!
You may also like to think about background (or Prelude) music whilst your guests are being seated before the ceremony. Church organists will usually play for around fifteen minutes before the bride arrives, or a string quartet sounds wonderful as your guests are seated. Another option (and one that I had at my wedding) is to have a playlist of atmospheric music as people are seated.
YouTube is a great tool to listen to the examples that I have provided, and who knows what else you may find? The music that you choose will make your day truly special, and one that you and your guests will remember forever.
Rachel is a professional singer, singing/music teacher and choir director.
rachelmaloy@gmail.com
