Orchardleigh House Wedding Photography

The beautiful Mel & Thomas were married in Somerset on the wonderful Orchardleigh House estate in June, after days of beautiful weather, the skies weren't looking too special however as the morning progressed so too did the weather.

The ceremony was held at the gorgeous church at Lullington, my favourite church in this area, its light and has a beautiful atmosphere, Brian was to take the service, a lovely minister, he is always full of fun and his address is always a pleasure to listen too and is guaranteed to have the guests smiling as he speaks from the heart, with many experiences for the Bride and Groom.

Melanie and her girls were getting ready for the big day in the Benita suit at Orchardleigh, a stunning room, just perfect for the Bridal preparations.

Thomas and the lads were down stairs helping with the preparations for the reception room, both the Bride and Groom were very relaxed however there was a buzz of excitement throughout the house as all the guests anticipated the event.

We unobtrusively captured the morning and Tracy and I left for the church to ensure we captured the guests, family and of course Thomas and Mel's arrival.

The ceremony was lovely, two reading from close Family, a very warm and romantic service.

When we arrived back to Orchardleigh the sun was shining, the light was beautiful, I love photographing wedding's in the sunshine, the colors, contrast making for stunning photography.

I took the happy couple for a stroll around the grounds, capturing those natural reportage images.

Melanie & Thomas asked to have a few formal groups which we took in different locations on the estate, I have had the privilege of providing my wedding Photography at this beautiful house since the beginning of its journey as a wedding venue, I live 5 mins away from this wedding venue, I know the house and grounds as if it was my second home.

The evening was beautiful, warm with the sunshine, this gave everyone the perfect opportunity to enjoy the breathtaking grounds.

We stayed through until Melanie & Thomas danced for their first dance and then we left this wonderful wedding and made our short trip home.

Melanie and Thomas were heading off to the USA to spend three wonderful weeks touring the country, we wish them both all the love and luck in the world.

The Wedding Season

I can remember when wedding's were basically a Summer only event, the summer months were absolutely mad, weddings taking place Friday, Saturday and Sunday's throughout the summer months, from May, June, July, August and September I didn't stop, I can remember photographing as many as 9 weddings one particular August, no time for rest as you can appreciate the editing process for the wedding photos can take up too 6 days, especially because I have never and will never batch process my wedding image's, every photo I take is a moment in time and they all deserve that special touch!

This year has been very busy, weddings right through from October, January and February have been very busy, I have noticed many more winter wedding's being secured and venues now offer those special deals for mid week wedding's, I do occasionally receive questions from clients asking if I offer special rates for mid-week wedding however my answer always being, I am a perfectionist and whether the wedding is a mid-week or Christmas Day, I always provide perfection therefore my price remains the same!

I do feel another reason for the wedding season not being as specific as times gone by is due to the changing weather, years ago booking a Summer Wedding was a near guarantee of good weather however October can be stunning and June can bring the rain clouds in.

I remember photographing a wedding in June at St Mary's church on the Orchardleigh Estate and it was so dark the readers had to use small lights just to read, I know it's a quaint church with no lighting but we are talking June here!

Anyway, I digress, the reason for this small article is because I received a question from a client asking "when do I think the best time is for their wedding and what month would I recommend as the photographer"?

Lets look at the month first, I think maybe one of the questions you need to ask yourself is " have you got a particular theme in mind"? Why could this be relevant?

Well, you may want a wedding with a Summer theme, summer flowers, white table cloths and natural lighting, guests mingling in the grounds, summer games on the lawns of the venue, or maybe you love warm sunshine, low light, autumnal colors, maybe a vintage wedding where an Autumn month may fit better with your theme or perhaps you want a cozy festive wedding, warm light, cancels, warm color's and beautiful dried flowers to decorate your wedding reception, maybe you want a masked ball theme, fabulous!

So that sets the ideas with regards to the month but what about the time for the ceremony, I always suggest 14:00pm its perfectly and you can read my reason's behind this on past blogs.

Wedding's are fabulous occasions, one thing to remember, its about you and your loved ones, a beautiful time to let the whole world know how much in love you are, whether it rains, snow's or if you have those crazy storm's, enjoy the day, leave all the stresses behind, love the day and have it documented with Photography and/or video then you can look back and remember the day.

Complimentary Engagement Photo-shoot

I absolutely love the opportunity to meet my wonderful couples prior to their wedding day and the best opportunity is with their complimentary engagement photo shoot (Pre-Wedding Photoshoot).

Its a great time to chat about the wedding but also to allow the happy couple to see how I take photographers and let them see theres no pressure with my style, its a very relaxed couple of hours, just talking and letting the happy couple become accustomed to be in-front of the camera.

Stephanie and Patric had flown in from Bahrain for this wonderful complimentary photo shoot at Stourhead this week.

The weather was a tad different to the temperatures in Bahrain however the lovely Stephanie was so thrilled to be in this wonderful location and she especially wanted some photos taken with her bright yellow brolly!

My style is very relaxed and love to let my couples enjoy their photoshoot and I find the best way to produce those fabulous memories is to allow the wedding couple to walk and chat, I can then capture those moments naturally.

Stephanie and Patric loved the location although it was quite chilly and there was light drizzle it was a lovely way to spend some time with this lovely couple.

I'm so looking forward to photographing their wedding in August and cant wait to meet with them again on their wedding day.