Thumbs up ..

Dee, the bride whose Wedding I shot on Friday, sent me this email yesterday after I'd sent her the link to the photographs in her online web-gallery.

"I've just sped through them as I want to enjoy them with Ian and a glass of wine tonight but being a woman I'm far too nosey and impatient to wait, they look amazing so far thank you so much, I love them all. Thank you for being part of our day, for keeping us both calm in a professional way, for capturing our memories, for your sense of humour and for doing a wonderful job in every way, we really enjoyed you being there .."

Not bad, eh?

Sunday reading ..

"And verily.." sayethed the Great God of Wedding Photography "Thou have sufferethed enough, mate! How's about a bit of sunshine?..."

Yes, unbelievably, after Friday's absolute monsoon of a day, I had the 'problem' of too much sunshine at yesterday's Wedding! Halle - bloody - lujah! I ain't never gonna complain about bright sunshine ever again, no sir no way! It was incredible! Saturday at Willington Hall actually started with me photographing the groom's arrival in a total belter of a rain storm (Here we go again, methinks!) but finished with me coming home with sun-burn! Admittedly, the Great God of Wedding Photography still threw in a curve-ball as it was at least Gale Force 42 (And even my ladder blew over in the wind!) but rather that than the hammering rain I had on Friday. Anyway, have a look at the results here and here!

Slight gap in Weddings now .. nothing 'til July but, as we've gone all religious, I can only see that as The GGOWP's way of saying "Crack on with that new studio, me old mucker!" and verily, I will. I've set the opening date as Monday July 1st. The first day of my new mid-year diary and a great day for 'new beginnings'. Praise the Lord!..

Our Soul ..

Sorry to start the week with a rant but....

I shot a Wedding on Saturday and - do you know what? - it was damn near the perfect day! The couple were gorgeous, the weather was fantastic, the venues were great, the crowd was really up for a laugh and, even though I had a rather long list of group shots to get through, it all went to time and  everyone played ball to get the shots done .. except for the vicar! To cut a long story short, he wouldn't let me take any photographs during the vows! Yep, you heard me right, folks! Welcome to the Middle Ages! Now, I always introduce myself to the presiding clergy or registrars before a Wedding, just to clarify where I can go and what I can shoot during the service and, normally, it's no problem, although last week's registrar wouldn't let me shoot the actual register signing. "It's illegal.." she said, talking b*llocks! Anyway, I went to talk to the vicar on Saturday to ask him the same questions, and that's when he told me I couldn't take any shots during the vows. "It's a very important moment in the couple's Wedding.." he said. What? So important it can't be recorded for posterity? "It's a sacrament.." he continued "A very important part of the ceremony.." Yes? And? I mean, come on, I'm a Catholic! I understand and respect all the sacraments. I wouldn't do anything to cause offence or disruption and hey, that's what that Q setting's for on the camera (Quiet, now that you ask!) He was having none of it. "Stay at the back of the church.." he smirked "..and I'll invite the couple to turn round so that everyone can take a photograph. After that, it's cameras away!" Well, you can see what happened from today's picture! Cheers, Reverend! Thanks for bleedin' nothing! Jeez, even the aborigines have wised up to the fact that photographs don't actually capture your soul!"

And the forecast for Saturday is...

It's always a little joke between me and 'my brides' that they shouldn't pay too much attention to the weather forecast for their Big Day! There's a lot of studying of long-range forecasts goes on by brides as their Wedding Day approaches. "The five-day forecast says sunny.."  they'll tell me! "The CountryFile weekly forecast is for tornados.." they add! "My gran's tea-leaves say 'heatwave'.."  (Ok, maybe not)
I, however, don't listen to a word they say. "Whatever the weather is like.." I always tell them "..when you come down the aisle after your ceremony.. That's the weather forecast!"
So, look at last Saturday's 'forecast', summed up in one shot as I looked back whilst Sam and Steve came down the aisle. That'll be rain, then... Sigh!

The wider view...

Time to get the 10 'mil' out for this wide shot of yesterday's Wedding, up in the rafters and all the nearer to the rain, hammering on the roof! I've never seen such a changeable day, weather-wise! When it rained, it was a monsoon - when the sun shone it was blinding! Still, lots of opportunity for nice backlit group shots - it's incredible how low the sun is already! So, everybody had a blast at the lovely Mere Court Hotel, near Knutsford, and today I'm off for a recce at Soughton Hall, near Chester, the venue for next weekend's Wedding, with Aqua-lung, canoe and Factor 45 at the ready!