Wedding in Rome

A June wedding in Rome sounds idyllic and this one pretty much was. We started the day with the Bride in her amazing suite at the Hotel Russie where her parents watched on as she prepared for her wedding day.





Rubia and Andreas held their wedding ceremony in the Basilica of Santa Sabina at the top of the Abentine Hill in Rome and, at 11am, the Bride made her entrance looking beautiful in a stunning dress designed for her by Bruce Oldfield.






Once the ceremony was over we were driven through the streets of the Italy's capital City to the Villa Aurelia for an afternoon reception for the Bride and Groom and their two hundred guests. The Villa is set within a private park and enjoys spectacular views of Rome and the Vatican City.
Champagne was served throughout and, as well as canapés, there was a 'Risotto' bar serving a variety of different interpretations of the dish including asparagus, porcini mushrooms and saffron. Before the guests departed for their hotels for a break there was a cake cutting ceremony and ice cream was served from a traditional Italian cart.



There was time for a shower and a change of clothes before we resumed the wedding celebrations at the Villa Miani. Built high up on the slopes of Monte Mario in the early 1900s, the Villa is an even better vantage point to see the city than the Villa Aurelia.
Despite a forecast of 'light showers' the sun had shone all day but only an hour before the newly weds were too arrive we could see a very large cloud and the thunder storm it contained heading towards us! Incredibly, however, the storm went to the east and west of Villa Miani and we stayed dry. It also meant that we enjoyed a spectacular view of Rome, illuminated by the evening sun with a dark brooding sky and flashes of lightning as a backdrop.




After an evening of open air dining there was dancing in the purpose built night club upstairs in the Villa which went on until 6am.





The wedding was organised and planned by Linda Cooper Weddings who, as always, made sure that the event was run with military precision. This included transporting my team from one venue to another at high speed through the Roman streets which was all great fun and very exciting!

Wedding in the South of France

As you will know if you have read my previous post, I have just spent a few days in Nice photographing the wedding of Jasmine and Cedric. Being the South of France, the sun shone all day and there was even the comfort of a light breeze to take the edge off the heat.
Jasmine and Cedric were married in a ceremony at Mandelieu Town Hall which is just a few kilometres from the Grooms parent's home.






They married at 2pm with around 50 guests present in a simple but intimate ceremony. Although the Bride and Groom live in London, Jasmine's family are Chinese and Cedric's Swiss so the wedding guest list was quite a cultural mix and the speeches throughout the day were in three different languages.





After the ceremony the couple and their guests spent an hour at the nearby Chateau de La Napoule where we took some great photographs of the wedding party.






Then it was off to the beautiful Eze Village for the evening reception held in Château Eza Hotel's fantastic Michelin starred restaurant. The restaurant is set high up at the top of the village, has spectacular views over the Riviera and Mediterranean Sea and is a very romantic setting for a wedding reception.


Before the wedding breakfast commenced Jasmine changed into a stunning red evening dress with matching hair clips and earrings.




The happy couple have postponed their honeymoon until later in the year as they have a party in June for all their friends in London and then a second wedding ceremony in China in August.

Wedding in The Orangery Holland Park

A great blend of Indian and British culture was the background to Nina and Finn's wedding day. I started my coverage on Saturday at the Bride's house to witness the Tying of Turbans before setting off to the Orangery in Holland Park for the ceremony.






The beautiful floral decorations in the Orangery, including the flowers hanging across the windows and the mirrored wall, were created by Pollen Nation.



After the ceremony the Bride and Groom and their guests enjoyed drinks and canapés in the sunshine, served by caterers Party Ingredients.



By early afternoon we were jumping aboard a London Bus and heading off to the reception at The Bombay Brasserie in South Kensington. On arrival at the the famous restaurant two short Indian ceremonies were performed for the couple after which everybody ate, beginning with a starter of Telicherry Pepper Fish Tikka followed by a fabulous buffet.



The newly weds were eventually waved off in a shower of rice but headed straight to the nearby Duke of Clarence pub to continue the celebrations.


Mr and Mrs Cornwall are now on Safari in South Africa before heading to Mauritius to finish their honeymoon.

Wedding in Devon

On Saturday I photographed the wedding of Natasha and Iain in a very spring like Devon. The reception was held at Natasha's family home in the quiet hamlet of Furley and the ceremony was at the St John the Baptist church in nearby Membury.


As usual I arrived a little early to check out the locations and say 'hi' to everybody. I photographed the wedding of Natasha's sister, Coquita, last year so I was already familiar with some of the family. As the Bride prepared for her big day the two young bridesmaids played on the swing without a care in the world.





During the ceremony we had a reading from the 'The Little Prince' by Antoine de Saint Exupery and sang 'I Vow to Thee My Country' before the Bride and Groom came down the aisle to 'The Liberty Bell'!



Back at the house, instead of the usual canapés, afternoon tea was served including cucumber sandwiches and cream scones.




The wedding breakfast included a starter of crab meat salad and a main course with barbequed lamb. The Bride and Groom work in the film industry and named all of the tables after different film Directors including Stanley Kubrick, Clint Eastwood and Woody Allen. The catering was by the team at Gordon Sutherland and all of the fabulous flowers were created by Natasha's mother, Cathryn.


The newly weds are now on their way to Sicily for a weeks honeymoon.