Cotswolds wedding photographer - Friars Court

Gareth and Laura - Friars Court - June 24th 2010


Mirror, mirrors everywhere, who's the girl under all that hair?  (Drumroll please........) It's LAURA!  
Ok she's not famous and somewhat worryingly having reread back my 'sneak peak' post I kinda thought - "ahhhhrrg, did that imply she was a famous person" - you know, celebrity?  
Heck no, I don't move in the celebrity circles (just yet), but she's a happy bride getting married and that's all that matters to me.


I can only assume she caught a glance of me in the reflection - that usually makes the brides smile!


Hair and make-up was by a very lovely lady, who's name escapes me at this time, but rest assured if you want nice hair, give her a call.


Wedding shoes of course.  It never ceases to amaze me where brides leave 'em.  Yes, I am joking, I did indeed put them there.  I know "Wedding photojournalist....you call yourself a documentary wedding photographer Matt - yet you moved the brides shoes".  OMG!!!
Yep, I didaroonie - and look what a lovely pic it made!


OK folks - this is a photo that works as a sequence.  So today you get three for the price of one.





I totally dig the outdoor wedding ceremony at Friars Court.  Sweet chairs, cute setting, quaint little rose arbor - just perfect.  










He looks a little like he might be about to whack me with his stick......or is he admiring my new 5D mkII?  LOL.




Hey it's not your wedding day  - get a room!  he he.  I must say though, you're reading was great so I'll let you off a little celebratory kiss of self congratulation!



Meanwhile, back to the ACTUAL wedding couple.  My shot above.....


.....and looks like 'uncle bob' is shooting it too!  Damn digital SLR's they get everywhere these days!  :-)


I bet he got a shot of this too huh?



Bridge, wedding couple, water, picture.....ohh yeah and a handsome shot of the groom.


This was Laura's seat - did you guess?  What she was doing playing scrabble on her wedding day I have no idea.  Better still, what a coincidence that she got all the same letters as required to spell her name - remarkable!



Mirror, mirror, on my blog.....how many wedding couples have liked this idea and copied it for their wedding day?  It is cool though so I can't blame you.  HOWEVER, I need to see something new - come on, let me see some trend setters.  You'll know if it's a winner as the next seasons weddings following the blog post will all have done the same.



At this point the wedding couple ate some yummy food, so I nipped outside for a snap of Friars Court.



Poor girl - everyone else has a camera, why not her - (opts for scratching of the head instead).  She was probably thinking "you've got two cameras Mr Photographer - why don't you give me one?"  Actually I have about 8 lately - not seen the 'cameras for sale' blog post?!?!

Dads speech - now we're talking.  He was a funny man.....




.....had this bloke in tears - or is that a fly in his eye?






Everybody, all together now - ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh.




On to the double act - why have one best man when you've got two brothers - Morecame and Wise.



Reverend Ellis clearly thinks his sons are pretty funny.....and to be fair, they were.








Uh oh.....they didn't really say that - surely?  Or is she about to sneeze?



You know what - I've never taken a photo here before at Friars Court - great spot huh?


....and this is what it looks like, side on.!



How random, as luck would have it the bride and groom were just standing casually over there.



The ever popular willow shot.  Possibly one of my favs.......



.....but wait - it's almost August, and yes, all the farmers amongst you will have realised 'harvest is almost upon us'.  Meaning only one thing - corn fields!  
I don't need telling twice, so we hot footed it off (well, I say hot footed, more like a slow stroll in a wedding dress and high heals).  This appears to have become a common theme over a few recent weddings.  As usual, they get to do some kissing - whilst I got down and dirty in the corn.

Glamping

GLAMPING - Glamorous Camping.  

The next level of upmarket camping!  Think double beds, sheep skin rugs and wood burning stoves.  This my friends is what Ali thinks camping should be.  

I however would consider a hammock in a tree or perhaps a bivouac more appropriate. In fact I once slept under a bush on the beech in Fuerteventura (surf trips are sooooo over rated!).

So to compromise, the Davis' have taken middle ground and pretty much bought a home from home, in the form of the Vango Icarus 600 (ohh yeah!).  But with carpet, a fridge and electricity...... surely, that's not camping?

As if sleeping and 'general' space wasn't sufficient, we decided to extend too!   I should add, this isn't  a campsite either (we're yet to pop our new tents camping cherry), this is in fact my Mum & Dads garden!

The kids thought the new tent was great fun, but found equal amounts of delight in the cardboard boxes it came in!  Note: Daisy has the LARGE box.....and no that's not marker pen on her face, it's a butterfly don't you know!

Whilst with camera in hand and blog posts to make I also thought I'd include a couple of snaps of our cats.  Freddie (above) is the household water pest.  Give a cat a bowl of water and they have no interest.....but pop your glass down on the side and within seconds you'll have Freddies head stuck in it!

Below is Meg.  She's the one you'll no doubt have met if you've been to Davis HQ.  Always noted for her stunning green eyes, perpetual meowing and friendly nature.  Sadly though she's a little ill (having been diagnosed with cancer) so I've officially become 'pet photographer extraordinaire' and been making loads more effort to hang out with her whilst she's still with us.  Even as a photographer you sometimes forget the importance put on a photo!

Wedding hair

And this weeks mystery bride is.........

.....you'll find out soon!  

I just couldn't resist popping up this shot from the morning session of hair and make-up.

Wedding photos Great Tythe Barn, Tetbury

Adrian and Katherine - Great Tythe Barn


The Great Tythe Barn sits neatly in amongst a cluster of accommodation - perfect for your wedding guests......and nice and easy for me to nip from A-B!





First stop (A), bridal HQ for hair and make-up.




The Great Tythe Barn looked great all pimped out in purple.



Next stop (B), for the boys.  Adrian is actually the one sitting down in his casuals.  A shower and change of clothes only takes a bloke 10mins max!



Champagne and fruit cake - nice selection.




Back to (A) for the finishing touches.  Wedding dress on, shoes next, quick touch up of hair, a little extra lippy and we're off!


I rather liked the petals along the aisle.





"Hah - you've married me now!"




Ahh yeah, the weather.  I haven;t mentioned the weather yet. Well, cloudy for the morning whilst inside, then super sunny spells just perfect for the drinks reception - you couldn't script it better (from a clients perspective).  I would have preferred it the other way round but who am I to grumble?




Down in one!   On the fizzy pop - better watch him later.


"Where's Woody - I dropped him under here somewhere...... I thought?!"

Canon cameras and lenses for sale

The big sale is about to start.  Come and get your camera kit now!

If I had £1 for every time someone asked me what camera I was using, what lens that is, or what kit they should buy, I'd have given up wedding photography and be living in the Maldives!  Unfortunately I don't get paid per question, so to make up the shortfall I've decided to sell a few assets.

For those of you wondering what kit a wedding photographer uses - the answer is below.  

A LOT. 

 I've certainly acquired a fair few bits and pieces over the past 5 years (what with technology changes and my appetite to try new lenses) so it's time to streamline my set-up along with a kit upgrade. 

My trusty fleet of Canon cameras and lenses are up for grabs.  If you're in the market for a digital SLR or lens, drop me a line - the following are up for sale.

Canon EOS3 (film camera) - £100

Canon 20D + BG-E2 Battery Grip - £180

Canon 5D (2 off) + BG-E4 Battery Grip (1 off) - £650 w/grip, £600 w/o grip

Canon EF 85 1.2 L mk II - £1300

Canon EF 50 1.4 - £200

Canon EF17-40 f4 L - £400