Make-up and Hair Stylist

Occasionally we get brides who say they never normally wear make-up and don’t want to do so on their wedding day. No, but they don’t normally have a massive white frock bouncing the light up on to their face and making them look palid, do they?

In our view a good make-up artist is essential for a bride’s well-being and for enhancing the quality of the photographs. A Wedding Day is a helter-skelter of emotions and your make-up needs to be durable as well as attractive. You simply haven’t got time to keep stopping and re-applying it every half hour, so you need a make-up artist in whom you can have absolute trust to choose the right materials to suit you and your wedding day.

Nadia Salem is one of them. We’ve only ‘found’ her recently but we were completely bowled over by her skills and her personality. She is incredibly talented, with the highest levels of qualifications in make-up and hair-styling. But more than this, she has just the personality to put you at ease on your day and at the same time works always with her eye on the clock to ensure that you won’t be late or flustered.

We see a lot of make-up artists, but until now we’ve never come across anyone we felt we could whole-heartedly recommend. Most are simply ‘alright’, some are downright appalling, whilst others take so long the bride is unable to have any pre-wedding photography and is occasionally late at the church. But Nadia isn’t just ‘alright’ – she is excellent. And as a travelling beautician, she is able to attend – wherever your wedding.

Check her out  at www.travellingmakeupartist.co.uk

Tracy and Mark

Honoured indeed were we to be amongst the noble gathering of Lords and Ladies to celebrate the nuptials of Lord Mark and Lady Tracy of Gunthorpe at ye Olde Court of Hemswell.

O.K. – enough olde English waffle. You’ve got the message – this was a wedding with a difference – a Medieval-themed wedding complete with knights, archery, jesters, fire-eaters and minstrels. And with a sumptuous banquet and hog-roast lavishly and painstakingly prepared by Hemswell Court ( even their staff kept to the spirit of the occasion and wore medieval clothes), a wedding to remember fondly was guaranteed.

I’ve said before that things never run EXACTLY to plan at weddings, but what the heck, they’re great anyway. So I’ll gloss over the details – let’s just say that despite Tracey’s best efforts and genuinely through no fault of her own, she must come close to deserving  a Guinness book of Records award as the bride-most-late-for her-wedding!

But one of the big differences between the poor and good wedding suppliers is how they react to something not going quite to plan. It makes no difference whether we’re talking dress shops, cake makers, photographers or reception venues: the cheaper, less experienced ones crumble whilst the better ones rise to the occasion and still ensure that the bride’s day goes smoothly. So it was with Hemswell Court. With food to prepare but timings being thrown out of the window some venues would not have been able to cope. But at Hemswell Court Shaun and Judith just smiled obligingly and tried their utmost to go with the flow. Totally calm, totally professional and exactly what we’ve come to expect from them!

It all went superbly smoothly after that – the banquet, the hand-fasting (brilliantly done by the ebullient and suitably rotund Friar John), the hog-roast, the medieval dancing and on to the evening celebrations. Truly a wedding to remember!

In fact, I guess there were only two people who came away from the day feeling at all disappointed. Yes – us! Our clients book us for lots of reasons but high amongst them is the balance we achieve between the reportage shots and the more creative/artistic shots of the couple alone together. And in some 500 weddings this was the first wedding we’d ever done where time had beaten us and we had not been able to photograph the couple alone together. We were totally happy with the shots we’d got but really felt that the central element of the day – Mark and Tracy – had not been covered as we would have wished. Normally we love coming home still on an adrenaline high, knowing we’ve exceeded the couple’s hopes and expectations. And even though we knew there was nothing else we could have done on the day given the circumstances, we really did come home feeling on a bit of a low. Not a nice feeling at all and not what we came into wedding photography to experience!

But Markand Tracey are simply lovely people and a phone call solved everything. Why not have another shoot, with just the two of them? So that’s what we did in the gardens at Aurora Studio. And it was lovely! There was no rush, no worry about the guests, no concern with when people were going to eat or whether the room had been set out correctly. We got some super pictures that I know Tracey and Mark are delighted with and we can now sit back with that job-well-done feeling we always look forwards to after a wedding.

It got us thinking though. Is this the way to go? Instead of the mad rush that there always is to photograph the couple on the wedding day would couples prefer to have a post-nuptial shoot? It would mean an extra trip to the hairdressers, hire of the suit for another day and something else to think about doing straight after the honeymoon. I guess the vast majority of people wouldn’t think it worth the effort but on the other hand there are positive advantages. I’d love to know what other people think, so if you have any views then just pop your thoughts into the comments section on the blog. If enough people show an interest in it then we could offer this service to everyone.

Tracy and Mark’s pictures are available to view in the weddings section of our main site. But here’s a taster anyway!

Oh, and just in case this isn’t enough, Mark and Tracy will hit celebrity status in October when their fantastic wedding will be featured in a 7 or 8 page article in the ‘Lincolnshire Pride’ magazine. This should hit the news stands round about mid-September.

Lindsay and Andy

We’ve photographed at a large number of golf-related venues over the years. And they all have the one thing in common – a relatively restricted space for photography. We all know that Forest Pines is centred around the golf course. We all know that guests can’t go on the greens. But what a lot of people still don’t realise is that at F.P. it just doesn’t matter!! We LOVE the photography we can do here! We’ve shown samples of the images we can produce from the suites in the main block lots of times before ( see natalie and Gianni’s pictures on the blog, for example), but Lindsay and Andy’s wedding was the first we’ve done over in the Forest suite, by the golf course itself. And we thought everything about it was fantastic.

Whilst we were able to get some lovely pics of the two of them the guests were able to mingle on the attractive decked area. and with the bar close at hand a superb, relaxed atmosphere developed – despite the chilly weather.

But the thing weve noticed most about Forest Pines since the renovation work is the effect there has been on the atmosphere during the wedding breakfast. Even after covering some 500 weddings i still don’t really understand why some venues ALWAYS have a lovely atmosphere during the meal. Whilst in others the only sound to be heard is the clatter of cutlery on plates. At the venues we recommend on the blog we have never known there to be an icy atmosphere. there are other venues in the vicinity and catering for the same type of clientelle where we have never known there be a relaxed and happy atmosphere! It’s a combination of factors – the room itself, the decor, the quality of the food and – probably above all – how the staff treat the guests. We’ve said before that Velu, the co-ordinator at F.P.,  has this down to a fine art and the room was a buzz with warmth and laughter. And as far as we were concerned everything was perfect! The speeches were perfectly timed and pitched just enough to mildly embarrass Andy without offending anyone. John’s guitar playing and song were simply superb and the whole wedding just seemed to us an exercise in how things should be at a celebration like this.

Now, as ex-teachers, Carole and I used to feel aggrieved when people accused us of having holidays which were too long and with too little to do. So I’m making no comment on the fact that these P.E. teachers are having a six-week honeymoon in Australia!! Their pictures have been posted live on the main website but they will remain password protected until they get back so in the meantime the rest of you will just have to make do with these few images as a taster for what’s to come.

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Lisa and Paul

Barnsdale Hall in Rutland was the venue for Lisa and Paul’s wedding last Saturday. With fantastic views overlooking Rutland Water and the lovely oak-lined main building it is a gorgeous place and whatever the weather we can always get some beautiful wedding photography of the couple away from the guests.

So the heavy showers on the day didn’t detract from the wedding or the photographs at all. The ceremony itself was a delight, with the registrar being one of the nicest we’ve ever met – allowing us to take photographs throughout the ceremony and even during the signing of the register. We can’t help thinking that if only C of E clergy would adopt this more humanitarian and caring atitude then maybe there wouldn’t be such a mass exodus away from church ceremonies!

But, getting down from my soapbox, I actually find it hard to comment on Lisa and Paul’s wedding. Not because of anything negative – just the opposite. It all went so smoothly! Yes, there was the inevitable dress problem before the wedding. Yes, there was the equally inevitable ‘ Oh my god, I can’t find the………’ ( in this case it was the car keys, but it could be almost anything at this point). But that was it! Lisa was incredibly chilled out and looked as gorgeous as you’d expect. The bridesmaids were angelic and baby Jack was unbelievably well-behaved. The only thing that was ‘odd’ about this wedding was that it was so hitch-free and just as weddings are supposed to be but so rarely are!

Lisa and Paul are in Spain as I write this. All their images will go live on the main Aurora Studio website (www.aurorastudio.co.uk) when they return and have seen them first. In the meantime, here are a few to give them an idea of what to expect when they return.

Emma and Mitchell

Yet again this year the weather forecast for Saturday was pretty gloomy, with a band of persistent rain due to move in and linger throughout the day. Now rain doesn’t bother us  photographically – the whole group photograph is usually a right-off but we are always able to get some stunning photographs of the couple inside the venue. But every bride wants nice weather and whilst some venues have the space to cater for all the guests if it is wet, others do not. And a lot of rather soggy people crammed into a small space isn’t how brides envisage their ideal  wedding day to be.

As usual, though,  Paul Hudson and his team of forecasters got it wrong. After a pretty dreary, wet morning everyone arrived at Newstead Priory in the rain. But ten minutes before the ceremony the skies cleared and the bride arrived in an open top car and bright sunshine. The puddles soon dried up and everyone was able to enjoy the wedding reception al fresco with canapes, bucks fizz and a string quartet to create that perfect summer-wedding ambience.

Now I’ll say nothing about how nervous the Best Man was, for that would be rude of me. But I must be getting old and confused: I always thought that that calming, reassuring words and over-simplified instructions were how the Best Man spoke to the groom. On this occasion it seemed very much a role-reversal before the ceremony.

And of course, no one had any reason to be nervous. The ceremony was a delight in the Priory’s vaulted room; and whilst the crowd mingled and relaxed on the lawns we were able to capture some lovely romantic photographs of the couple alone together. The speeches – the cause of best Man James’  anxiety – the speeches were just the right balance of brevity, wit and sincerity.A pefect ending to the occasion before the start of the Wedding Breakfast.

Claire and Steve

Following last week’s wasted efforts to get the garden to a state of immaculate perfection, it was good this week to be able to get Claire into her parents’ lovely garden – albeit briefly – to get some family photographs before the wedding.

It was good too to have perfect weather  for the day. It didn’t rain, it was breezy enough for there to be movement in Claire’s lovely veil and it was warm but not too hot. There aren’t many days like this in an average British summer and there seem fewer than ever this year.

I’m going to say something else that I don’t often have the chance to either. The vicar was a lovely, kind, caring and considerate person! Now, at the risk of upsetting lots of people reading this, I have to say that it’s not often I think this nowadays. So many vicars have been jaundiced by poor wedding photographers who move around in church, who use flash during the ceremony and who generally show no respect for the proceedings. Consequently many vicars are really quite unpleasant in their attitude towards photographers: their hostility resulting in the couples’ wishes are ignored in a complete ban on any photography in church. But not here. She couldn’t have been nicer or more accomodating and we were able to take some lovely shots of the emotion during the ceremony.

And emotion was in evidence everywhere during the day. From the moment Claire burst out crying when I said how lovely she looked, right through to the floods of tears in the speeches, this was a day when emotion was constantly bubbling at the surface. Claire and Steve are clearly a couple very much in love and who have wonderful, supportive family and friends around them. The Love was evident and I’m sure that they’ll not forget the atmosphere of their wedding for a long, long time. And their pictures will rekindle those memories every time they look at them.

The full set will be put on the main website once they have seen them.