Jules' "Gown Again" Photo Shoot

Now I can't decide what Jules wanted to do most - be photographed again, or wear her dress again .... strangely I think it is more the latter! But I think she also enjoyed being photographed too. So the day after her marriage to Mick, Jules put her dress on again and we went out into Santa Maria, Castellabate, around the hotel where they stayed, so that she could be photographed in a more relaxed manner in her wedding gown.

I'm not big into trashing dresses, but I love giving brides the chance to put their gown on again (hence I call it "Gown Again"), and Jules was brave enough to just dip her toes and the edges of her dress into the sea. We had a lot of fun just as the sun was setting, and as you can see here we managed to get some beautiful photographs. I just love this first one, with Jules looking so peaceful.

Mick and Jule's Wedding, Castellabate, Cilento, Italy

Mick and Jule's wedding was a wonderful affair, in so many ways it's actually quite difficult to pick just a few things out to describe it. I guess the thing we'll all remember the day for is the wind, which managed to grab hold of Jules' veil more than once and toss it straight up skywards! But at least we didn't get the rain of the night before! It rained so heavily that the streets were turned to rivers, but it stopped just as quickly as it began, and cleared up beautifully for the wedding day.

Mick set the day off beautifully with a gift for Jules - a Tiffany bracelet with 'Marry Me' engraved on the heart. Needless to say, Jules shed a tear or two. It's been so hard to pick out just a few photographs from the day, we managed to capture so many, and Mick and Jules kindly let Teri and me spend a bit of time taking gorgeous portraits of them around Castellabate. So, a tiny selection of the many, many beautiful photographs.

Le Marche Weddings

A few weeks ago I had the great pleasure to go out to Italy to Le Marche region on the East of the country to work for Le Marche Weddings http://www.lemarcheweddings.com/ to photograph Georgina and Matt in a mock wedding shoot for marketing materials. It was so hot, and I was impressed at the two of them for keeping working in the heat.

Pam and Christine, who jointly own Le Marche Weddings, gave me the brief to create photographs that scream Italy or getting married in the sun, and I am really pleased with the results. I am so pleased with this first one that it is going to be featured in my new advert in the next issue of Cosmo Bride, out at the end of October. So enjoy the small selection of photographs, and remember to visit the Le Marche Weddings site where you'll see more images in the coming weeks. And if you are planning a wedding in Italy, you really can't beat this unspoilt, romantic, beautiful part of Italy.


I just love this photograph - it's almost like George is dreaming about her beau, who comes to her in her dreams ... ok, ok, I am a romantic!




Wandering up to the car park, George took her shoes off, and pulled up the dress .... and as a result I think we created a classic shot. I even love the dirt on her feet!

On the way to Shambala Retreat where I stayed, just outside San Ginesio (a favourite retreat of mine, although this time around there was no time for the wonderful hot stone massages and reiki that I usually get from Christine) Peter drove me passed this amazing field, and I just knew we had to use it. It took until the end of the shoot to get around to it, but I just love the images we created here.

Annika and Adam, Alingsas, Sweden

I have just had a fantastic few days over in Alingsas in Sweden where I photographed the wedding of Annika and Adam alongside my dear, sweet friend Petra Hall. I have never been to Sweden before and I discovered it is a truly beautiful country, with lovely people who are so welcoming. The whole wedding was fantastic - and so very different in many ways from what I am used to when I photograph in the UK and Italy.

Let me see if I can remember it all. Well, firstly, we were able to photograph Annika, Adam and their bridal party for a short time before the ceremony, which I just loved - and Annika and Adam were so much more relaxed about the ceremony when the time came because of having seen each other first.

We then went on to the beautiful church and the service started with Annika's cousins singing the song Right Here Right Now (My Heart Belongs To You) originally sung by Agnes Carlson. After the ceremony, instead of throwing confetti everyone threw rice over the couple to bring them good luck and good fortune for the future. And then we got to go off to a park, just the bride and groom and the two of us to be able to take photographs for over an hour! That just never happens in the UK, so it was fantastic to have time to work properly with the couple, and we were able to get some amazing photographs as a result.

So here is a sneak preview, I'll tell you more at the end, after the photographs.

Annika, the bride - the crown on her head was made by her grandfather and it contains family initials and gems important to the family, making up the something old and something blue.

Adam, the groom, looking a little nervous at this stage in the day.
The beautiful church in Alingsas.
Marika, the bride's sister - isn't she gorgeous? With David, one of the bestmen to the left ... yeah, ok David, you're gorgeous too!





Aren't they gorgeous?

So let's see, what else happened? Well, at the meal (which was delicious!) there were alsorts of games and songs. For example, when the groom left the room all the men in the room ran up to the bride and kissed her, and then when the bride left the room all the girls jumped and ran up to the groom to kiss him. Another bizarre practice was for the guests to chink their glasses so that the bride and groom would kiss. And I loved how there were two seats set up in front of the bride and groom so that any guest who wanted to talk to them just had to go up and sit on the seats.

When it came to the speeches anyone could put their name up to do a speech, read a poem, sing a song, whatever they wanted. And then we sang songs in Swedish and English, burst balloons, cut the cake and danced to Abba songs ... no, really, we did!

So a big big thank you to Annika and Adam for letting me experience a Swedish wedding, and to Petra for having me along to accompany her as photographer for the day. It was lovely to work with another fantastic photographer, and to meet her mum, Gun.

Photographing a Wedding in Italy with Teri Murakami

I am so lucky to get to photograph weddings in Italy, and next month I shoot the last for this year - looking forward to weddings in Italy in 2009! But the reason for blogging about this is that I get to work with my amazing and lovely friend Teri Murakami who is coming along to be my second shooter and trusted assistant to the last Italy wedding of the year. 

The best bit is that Teri is an amazing photographer in her own right, based in Bournemouth.  I have always loved her work, so it is a great pleasure to be having her as part of the team for Jules and Mick's wedding in Castellabate in September.  Can't wait.

And for any nosey people like me, here is a link to her site, showcasing her gorgeous work:

www.murakamiphotography.com

Another exciting thing about this wedding is that the pre-wedding shoot is going to be in Ravello on the Amalfi coast just before the wedding - I am so excited to be doing this with Jules and Mick and can't wait until September to be able to create some amazing, gorgeous photographs with them!

Simon and Natalie - The Wedding, Villa Durazzo, Santa Margherita, Ligure

The setting for Simon and Natalie's wedding is just amazing!  Santa Margherita, Ligure, in the North of Italy on the Italian Riviera is a spectacular backdrop, and the Basilica Santa Margherita has to be the most stunning church I have ever been inside.  The priest, who came all the way from Florence so that the wedding ceremony could be held in English, was lovely, with a kind spirit and a gentle heart, befitting of such a glorious church.  It was really sweet when Natalie got out of the car with her mum and dad - all the locals had gathered around the entrance to the Basilica and clapped and cheered her, and then again after the ceremony when the bride and groom came out of the church they were greeted with claps and cheers, and one little boy wanted to kiss the bride!

The reception was held in Villa Durazza, where the Rooney's recently got married, but I reckon this was a far better wedding!  The Villa is gorgeous, and I just hope I managed to captured enough of its glory in the fading light.  I'm thrilled with the photographs, and I hope that Natalie and Simon will love them too.  When we finished photographing the couple, they were kind enough to have arranged food for us, and when we went into the room where it was laid out (all very posh, I have to say!) we were greeted by the band, and Ricardo and Danielle looked after us perfectly (thanks guys!).

The photographs below are just a small selection of what I really wanted to post up on the blog!  I would have loved to show around 50 photographs, but I have to keep some surprises back for when Simon and Natalie come to view their proofs in a couple of weeks!

Natalie with her proud parents, Ken and Helen.

Just before the ceremony, looking like the perfect bride!
A slightly nervous looking groom, with the bridesmaids coming down the aisle behind him.
And the bride and her father enter the spectacular church, the Basilica Santa Margherita.

The bride and groom are both stunning - and strangely don't seem to know it!  A beautiful couple in every way.  And for the second time this year, I cried at a wedding, and then again when I looked at some of the photographs!  I have to get a grip of myself!!!  
We thought at first there was no confetti, but out of nowhere (well, Helen's bag, mainly, I think!) came masses of the stuff!
Antony managed to somehow look like the mafia when we were making our way up to the Villa Durazzo.
And what a backdrop - who couldn't have a great time with a setting like this!
The bride and groom making their way up to the Villa.
The beautiful bridesmaids
And proof, in case it's needed, of who caught the bouquet!
And to finish, the gorgeous couple - when I did their pre-wedding shoot earlier in the year people kept asking me if they are models that I did a mock shoot with - I guess I'll get asked that again with them looking so amazing in their photographs!