Contemporary Wedding and Portrait Photography in Suffolk Essex and Cambridgeshire by Sara Thomas » Wedding Photography

Suffolk wedding at Belchamp Hall | Virginia and Oli

Sara — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 10:31:54 +0000

Deep in rural west Suffolk, is the fabulous wedding venue, Belchamp Hall. Virginia and Oli had a large wedding party coming from across Europe to accomodate, so a marquee in the grounds of Belchamp Hall was the ideal solution.

It was quite possibly the hottest, and brightest day of the year and you can see how scorched the ground had become over those few weeks in the early summer.

The girls got ready in the gorgeous bridal suite in a cottage in the grounds of the Hall

Although some of the local residents are voyeurs!

Virginia looked so beautiful – she reminded me of a European princess you’d see in Hello magazine

Virginia and Oli were married at Wickhambrooke Church, over the border in Cambridgeshire

Viginia’s father gave his speech in English, Spanish, French and Flemish, which was rather impressive!

After the meal as the day cooled a little, people took the opportunity to explore the grounds

Virginia and Oli’s first dance

Wedding Photography | Dedham, Essex | Cherie and Eric

Sara — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 14:23:42 +0000

Cherie and Eric were married at Maison Talbooth, Dedham, Essex on one of the hottest days of the year. Just right for a poolside reception, garden party and evening barbecue!

The couple had asked me to become their wedding photographer as they wanted to feel relaxed on the day. The documentary style is just right for allowing the day to progress without direction from the photographer.

Here is a small selection from the day:

The bridal preparations took place in one of the suites at Maison Talbooth. Here the mother of the bride and mother of the groom share their excitement.

Beautiful hair and make up by Gail Gardner

The girls were actually getting changed in a different room, so with Eric already at the hotel it was a quick dash upstairs with lookouts posted at every turn!

It was a glorious day for the short walk down to the pool house where champagne was served and where the speeches took place.

Although most of the day was covered in reportage style, I always suggest that we spend some time taking informal portraits of the bride and groom. Rather than it feeling like a disruption to the day, most couples enjoy having a little time away from the throng.

After some delicious food served out on the lawn, it was time for the dancing to begin. I love this shot of Cherie and her dad.

And of course the bride and groom’s first dance.

Links:

Maison Talbooth

Gail Gardner

Rock n Roll Wedding in Cambridgeshire

Sara — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 15:16:58 +0000

I had been looking forward to being the wedding photographer for good friends Gav and Mary for ages, and it was a rock n roll extravaganza!

Gav is a musician and is guitarist for Fields of the Nephilim and Mary is stylish and creative so I knew the wedding would have some fabulous touches. They also adore each other, which also helps!

The tattoo theme was used on all the stationery

Mary with her bridesmaids and father, arriving at Thorpe Hall, Peterborough

Gav and best man Igor (the rock n roll Dalamatian)

Mary came down the aisle to Can’t Help Falling in Love by Elvis Presley which just about set me off from the start!

As well as giving Mary away, Mary’s father also performed the ceremony.

And then with Mary’s dad getting quite emotional and listening to them exchanging vows they had written themselves, I, along with quite a few others, was shedding a tear. Once they had exchanged rings there was a massive round of applause.

Their friend Laila sang Songbird by Eva Cassidy quite beautifully

Then Gav and Mary walked out to One Love by Bob Marley

Out in the beautiful grounds of Thorpe Hall there was time for congratulations and family photos

My lot with the bride and groom

The gorgeous bridesmaids

The rock n roll bouquet

And the rock n roll garter!

From Thorpe Hall, we went on to the reception at The Golden Pheasant at Etton and the details were amazing. The table plan:

The table decoration (note the record as the charger for the dish of cherries!)

And the cake!

During Igor’s speech, the girls jumped up up and started singing ‘Love and Marriage’ which then became a punk ditty ‘Gav and Mary’

Then Gav and the boys joined them for another Elvis track, Burning Love. Just brilliant!

Igor meets my son and two become one

It was a lovely summer evening so after the meal the children went to play in the garden.

Back inside for the first dance

After which they were joined on the floor by other flamboyant dancers

Mary’s dad performed a rap

Then Gav went into rockstar mode and the party went on until the early hours.

One of the best days ever

Thanks for looking.

Pre wedding photography | Hampstead | London

Sara — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 18:56:40 +0000

I was very excited when Dan and Judith invited me down to Hampstead in London for their pre wedding shoot. I will be their wedding photographer when they get married in Suffolk next month.

Dan proposed on Hampstead Heath, so thought it would be nice to have some photos of the two of them there.

I felt like Country Mouse being back in London again. I used to live there about 500 years ago, but I always lived in the Sarf and didn’t often venture north of the river! It was a scorching day and the Heath was very busy. We managed to find some space though and had a lovely time.

Pre-wedding shoot in Southwold, Suffolk

Sara — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 08:22:11 +0000

It was 2009 when I first met Claire and Chris and they booked me as their wedding photographer for their wedding this July, so it was really good to meet up again, find out more about their plans for the day, and to have their pre-wedding shoot.

Shortly after their wedding, Claire and Chris will be moving to Singapore to work for a few years, and one of the things they will miss will be the glorious Suffolk coast, so I suggested we might do the pre-wedding shoot in Southwold. Now I am very fond of the Suffolk beaches in the winter, when they are all but deserted and it has become a family tradition that we go for a walk on Southwold beach on New Year’s Day. For some bizarre reason I assumed we would have the place almost to ourselves, but on a glorious day in half term, it was never going to be!

Here are some of the images from the shoot and I have tried my best to make it look like we were the only ones there!

A site for the boys

Sara — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 07:50:37 +0000

No, not one of those – an excellent resource for the groom, best man and the other fellows in the wedding party.

If you feel that your level of involvement is limited to a) choosing a suit b) writing a speech and c) organising the stag do then why not take a look at I Am Staggered a website which not only offers advice on all of the above but can guide a chap from proposal to last minute nerves and everything in between. There are also some very cool competitions and a forum.

So man up and take a look!

Planning a Suffolk wedding?

Vintage wedding at Hintlesham Hall Suffolk | Rachel and Kevin

Sara — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 12:22:24 +0000

I was back at Hintlesham Hall twice in April, and these are some of my favourite images from Rachel and Kevin’s vintage feel wedding.

It was a glorious spring day, just right for a wedding.

It was the car’s first wedding of the season and it had been a little reluctant to come out of the garage, but fortunately it decided to play ball and Rachel was able to arrive in her dream car.

Wedding photography near Woodbridge in Suffolk | Karen and David

Sara — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 17:00:42 +0000

As a wedding photographer I have travelled to venues across the UK, so how lovely to be asked to photograph Karen and David’s wedding, where both the church and the reception were within walking distance of my house!

OK, technically it wasn’t a reception venue as such, it was a small, family wedding so the guests were welcomed back to Karen and David’s house.

Karen is from the Philippines and her dress had the Spanish influence which is traditional over there.

Karen’s parents were unable to come to England for the wedding, but her aunts made journeys from Zambia and Stockholm to represent them.

We had had some beautiful spring days in the week prior to their wedding, but the weather changed and Saturday was cloudy and drizzly. I always tell my clients not to worry about the weather. Umbrellas make for great images and it very rarely rains solidly for a whole day. Even if it does, an experienced wedding photographer will be able to work around the elements.

The wedding ceremony took place at the Church of the Holy Family and St Michael in Kesgrave. It is a neat but rather unassuming church on the corner of the A1214 and Ropes Drive. At the rehearsal, Father Peter told me some of its fascinating history. The church is dedicated to the memory of Michael Rope, a local man and one of the designers of the R101 airship, who perished along with many others in the airship disaster over France in 1930. You can read more about it here

Karen was given away by her aunt, Epiphane

The rain stopped so after the ceremony, we took a walk through the parks in Kesgrave,

before heading back to the house for a buffet and cupcakes.

This was such a lovely wedding with members of both families meeting each other for the first time. There was very little formality though, and I came away with my facing aching from smiling and laughing so much.

David’s grandmother is almost 94, which Karen’s aunties couldn’t quite get their heads around, especially the fact that she has such wonderful skin!

They even insisted on hugs to bring them the gift of long life and soft faces!

I loved meeting them all and am now busy designing their album, a copy of which will be winging its way across the world to Karen’s parents in the Philippines.

Sarah and Steve | Ipswich wedding

Sara — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 10:57:32 +0000

Sarah and Steve are both head teachers at primary schools in Suffolk, and had told me that children would play a very important part of their wedding day.

On the morning of the wedding they featured on the front page of the Evening Star

Whilst Steve and his family enjoyed lunch at a local pub, I went to photograph Sarah and the girls getting ready.

St Margaret’s Church in Ipswich is glorious and it had been decorated beautifully with spring flowers, tying in with the purple theme.

Sarah’s choir sand a medley of songs for the congregation.

The excitement of the preparations caught up with some.

This gorgeous little girl is obviously captivated by seeing Miss Rogers in her wedding dress

Over at the reception, more little girls were practicing their routines

before they made shapes on the dancefloor.

I was very impressed that both of Steve’s boys stood up and made speeches.

Planning a Suffolk wedding?

Sara — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 12:55:57 +0000

A new website has been set up purely for wedding suppliers within the county of Suffolk. Brought to you by the people behind the Suffolk Tourist Guide, I think this will be a great resource for couples planning their wedding in this wonderful county. I have a considerable number of wedding photography enquiries from people who live outside Suffolk, but who are getting married here and I think this will be very helpful to them.

I am listed in the directory – under wedding photographers, of course.
Why not take a look and see if any of the wonderful local suppliers can help you make your wedding day extra fabulous?

Suffolk Weddings Guide