Barnaby Davis

The new addition to the Davis household has arrived, in the form of a BOY - wow......didn't expect that! I'm used to girls. A BOY, that means new clothes, boys toys, having 'the chat' about girls. It is all very exciting though and I'm totally stoaked about having a boy this time round.

It's first day back from the hospital for Ali today and we're just getting settled into the household routine. Or put another way, we haven't yet ventured out the house with 2 kids! I'll have to shoot a family portrait soon though, but in the interim I just took this pic of Barnaby asleep in his moses basket.

For anyone wishing to know a little more about Barnaby's entrance to this world (and assuming you're not squemish) add me on facebook where I've popped up a good set of pics from the hospital. Here's my profile.....Matt on Facebook

Davis Jnr.

With only one day to go before the arrival of Davis Jnr, I took a couple of photos of Ali (as apparently this is the LAST time she's prepared to be pregnant again!). I'm thinking she'll be pleased once the baby is out, although this then presents a whole new set of problems! Pulling up her socks shouldn't be one of them though.

Just so you appreciate how big a bump gets, I've finally found out how to post LARGE size photos - phew, just in the nick of time!

It's probably worth noting too that anyone contacting me over the next couple of weeks may have to wait for a response - i'm officially on paternity leave.... although I'm sure I'll blog about something or other and read the occasional email!

Winter Wedding Photography Oxfordshire - St Denys Church, Stanford-In-The-Vale

Karin & Giles - 20th Dec 2008

Having had a busy December (ya know, Christmas and all that), plus a New Year and our new baby arrival on the horizon, I hadn't time to previously post a few shots from Karin & Giles' wedding on the 20th Dec.

So, here we have a short selection of shots taken.

CLICK ON PHOTOS TO ENLARGE

I love the inclusion of the little lad in amongst the Groom, Best Man & Ushers.

A swift pint before the ceremony - problem was, the pub wasn't open!

I like seeing these two photos together, (above) the relaxed pre bride arrival banter, (below) the slightly more shitting it face (can I say that!?)

Now is the vicar looking at me here? Is it a "you'd better not be taking any photos'' glare, or just "ohh isn't the singing lovely" thoughts? I must confess to hiding behind my camera and not making eye contact as I thought she was about to tell me not to take any photos.

The Gospel Choir were pretty awesome I must say. They sang one of my fav tunes too - 'As' by George Michael & Mary J Blige - wicked.

The challenge of winter weddings - yep, no light. Or as I found, light in very few places, so pick your spot and hope someone's in it.

The caricaturist was pretty good - very quick...thankfully no time to sketch me and my overly exaggerated features - phew!

Two tinker toes

Yesterday Daisy's friend Lilly came to play, which meant twice as much trouble for me to look after. They've known each other since they were babies and get on really pretty well - despite the odd argument over a toy!

Bouncing was order of the day (as usual), although this soon turned into Daisy sitting on Lilly's head. I wasn't sure whether to break it up or encourage 'rough' play, but as both of them thought it was great fun I just kept on taking pictures instead.

Gloucestershire wedding venues

Part 3 of Wedding Information is focusing on Gloucestershire Wedding Venues. I appreciate that should probably have been Part 1, but hey - I don't always think in a logical order! :-)

In an effort to be helpful to any bides who may stumble upon my photography blog prior to booking their wedding venue, I've started a short list of local venues, all of which I've photographed. The links are down the right hand side under the heading of Cotswold Wedding Venues, and will take you directly to each venues website. At present there are around 30 venues and the list will be added to as new ones emerge. I will no doubt have missed one or two and of course there are plenty of weddings I've photographed that were church ceremonies followed by private marquees, so these have not been included.

One wedding venue doesn't suit everyone and I often say, it's the logistics of your day that make a wedding run smoothly. Don't just look at the venue in isolation therefore, but consider how well it fits into your wedding day plan.

It's sometimes the case that venues don't necessarily advertise their services on wedding directories (such as Hitched, County Bride, The Wedding Directory, Guides For Brides, Wedding Venues, etc) or in wedding publications, making a few harder to find. Ali and I found our wedding venue by simply asking if they would hold a wedding at a restaurant we liked, rather than finding them through searches. I hope therefore it may highlight some hidden gems we have here in the Cotswolds that may otherwise be overlooked.

For anyone wishing to view my photography from the venues listed, the simplest way is to use the search box on the top left of my blog and enter your venue name. That should pull out all posts that include this in their title. Should you wish to view any photography from weddings shot pre June 2007 please contact me to discuss.

Finally I've detailed below a few of my favourite wedding venues - in the ever popular 'pictorial' format.

(Edited to say, this post has now been superseded with a more detailed look at Cotswold wedding venues, over on my new website.  Please visit, or use a link from one of the wedding venues below to view that in more detail.

Manor By The Lake wedding venue Cheltenham, Gloucestershire

Ardington House wedding venue Oxfordshire

Birtsmorton Court wedding venue Worcestershire

Matara wedding venue Kingscote Gloucestershire

Berkeley Castle wedding venue Gloucestershire

Pittville Pump Room wedding venue Gloucestershire

Sudeley Castle wedding venue Winchcombe, Gloucestershire

Dumbleton Hall wedding venue Worcestershire

Clearwell Castle wedding venue Gloucestershire

Chavenage House wedding venue Gloucestershire

Updated to say you can now find a more comprehensive list of Gloucestershire wedding venues over on my new website.  Including all of the above, plus many more venues, from Barns, to Castle with Boutique Hotels and everything else in between.

Wallpaper, Weddings & Westonbirt School

I had this interesting email a couple of days ago from a previous wedding client. It's strange what people find on my blog?

Hi Matt

I don't know if you remember me - you photographed our wedding in July 2006 at Westonbirt school (it poured with rain but you got some great shots!) A very random question for you - I've recently discovered your blog and we love your wallpaper in your office - where did you find it?!

Congratulations too on the imminent arrival of baby number two. We're still getting used to the lack of sleep from our 5 month old so hopefully you'll end up with a better sleeper than we've got! :)

Take care and all the best

Jen

For anyone who's interested the paper was bought online from Wallpaperdirect which is a great company I've used many times. The pattern is called Heartbreak.

And because every post needs a picture here are Jen & Tim at their rainy wedding back in 2006, Westonbirt School.