I travelled down to London last autumn to meet Bernadette and Rob at The Connaught, to find out a bit more about their wedding and to look around the stunning hotel and to see inside the extraordinary Farm Street Church, just a short walk away.

Bernadette’s family travelled over from Ireland for the wedding. Here, her mother and sister look on as Bernadette has her make up applied by the fantastic Kate Hughes. Kate has worked with proper A list celebrities along with top magazines, advertising campaigns and television. She is incredibly down to earth and helpful, and Bernadette looked absolutely stunning.

Bernadette made the unusual but dramatic choice of black diamonds for her wedding jewellery, matched with black nail varnish. It worked really well.

Possibly the most beautiful wedding shoes I have ever seen, this style is Amelia by Emmy

Although the Farm Street Church, properly named the Church of the Immaculate Conception, is only a short walk from The Connaught, it’s always nice for a bride to arrive at her Church in style, and to spend a few quiet moments with her father and sister.

When I visited the Farm Street Church earlier in the year, I was absolutely blown away by the interior. I really wasn’t expecting such elaborate decoration. It really put me in mind of the basilicas I have seen in France. I wanted to get plenty of wide angle shots to show the scale and the design.

After the ceremony, the guests walked by to The Connaught, whilst Bernadette and Rob went on a short drive around Mayfair in the beautiful Bentley.

The drinks reception back at The Connaught was downstairs in this unusual mirrored-ceiling room.

The room for the wedding breakfast was laid out beautifully and very light and bright, despite being underground.

I love this shot of Bernadette, her mammy and sister enjoying a joke.

This was such a lovely wedding and I was delighted to capture it for Bernadette and Rob. I send them my very best wishes for their future.

If you are interested in booking me to be your wedding photographer at The Connaught in London, or your ceremony is taking place at The Farm Street Church, then please do not hesitate to contact me here

Esther and her bridesmaids got ready at the historic Lavenham Priory in the picturesque village of Lavenham in rural Suffolk. It dates back to the 13th Century. Just look at the beams and timbered walls!

Esther’s bridal preparations were remarkably relaxed and laid back. The Great Chamber was a fabulous space for the girls to get dressed and do their makeup.

I loved Esther’s wedding dress. It was simple and easy to move around in (idea for a barn wedding) but the beading and detailing made it exquisite. Here’s a great shot showing the back.

We had time for a few bridal portraits in Lavenham Priory’s cottage garden before traveling the short distance to the wedding at Alpheton Hall Barns.

There were lots of smiles and laughter as Paul waited for Esther to arrive.

Alpheton Hall Barn had been decorated in rustic style. The flowers were grown by Paul’s Auntie Lyn. How lovely to have living plants rather than cut flowers. A great idea for an eco-wedding.

After the ceremenoy we moved out into the grounds of the barn. It was still glorious outside, although a little breezy.

The lovely lurcher here has his own Twitter account

We did a few group shots in very informal-style.

Rather than the traditional best man and ushers, Paul had a group of close friends for support on the day, known as his ‘wingmen,’ although yes, one of them is a girl.

The short, black and purple bridesmaids’ dresses work really well, and much easier to climb gates in!

As you know, I love photographing weddings at Alpheton Hall Barns. Although I am here quite regularly, it is never boring or routine for me. Its rural setting means that the landscape is constantly changing throughout the year and the different qualities of light make every wedding there unique.

Many couples choose Alpheton Hall Barns as their rustic Suffolk wedding venue, as inside it is a blank canvas. The owner, Nicholas Willcocks allows couples to decorate the Barn to their own taste and style, which means there is something different every time.

There is plenty of room inside the barn for people to sit and chat, and for the youngsters to let off a bit of steam.

I love to photograph the speeches. Esther and Paul are such a great couple and their families and friends made this part of the day such fun.

Possibly the most energetic first dance I’ve photographed!

As I mentioned in the blog post for their pre-wedding shoot, Esther and Paul are wedding photographers in London and Surrey. I hadn’t really dwelled on that fact a great deal but many of the guests came up to me to ask if I was nervous about photographing another wedding photographer’s wedding. I really wasn’t. Esther and Paul were perfect clients and never quizzed me on my equipment or techniques, they just let me do my thing. I was delighted to spend their day with them, and send them my very best wishes for their future together.

I have several connections to Neil and Becky. My parents used to socialise with Neil’s parents and my husband was at school with Neil’s brother.

I was thrilled to bits when Neil asked I’d I would be their wedding photographer for their barn wedding in Kent. They are all so creative and I knew that the attention to detail would be second to none. The invitation, designed and produced by Neil and Becky, was exquisite, a real joy to receive.

I think all wedding photographers check weather forecasts obsessively and I hoped the dry sunny and warm forecast wouldn’t be wrong

I travelled down to Kent from Suffolk, passing some lovely countryside and Leeds Castle. I was to shoot Becky’s bridal preparations at a beautiful little cottage where her parents had been staying that week. It had a windmill in the grounds which looked gorgeous against the clear blue sky.

Neil’s niece was a gorgeous bridesmaid.

Becky and her bridesmaids travelled to The Great Barn in Rolvenden in a gorgeous VW camper van.

Here is Neil’s best man, his brother ‘sig’, furniture designer extraordinaire

The barber shop quartet rehearse whilst waiting for Becky to arrive.

Neil, waiting somewhat anxiously (Becky was running a little late)

One of my favourite shots of the year.

We took a few minutes to take some photographs in the orchard in the setting sun.

Neil and Becky had decorated the barn beautifully. That’s what I like about barn weddings, the couple can transform the structure, filling it with their favourite things.

The speeches were fabulous – such fun.

Sig’s best man’s speech took the form of a powerpoint presentation, naturally.

I was so pleased to be part of this beautiful wedding.

Victoria and Raphael live in New York, which made planning their wedding a little tricky. It’s a long story but we ended up having our consultation in the car park of a derelict pub by the A12!

We had had heavy snow in Suffolk before Christmas, and by the 28th there was still some on the ground, but it had frozen, making conditions quite treacherous. Fortunately all the guests managed to make it to Suffolk, and Hintlesham Hall is such a fantastic venue for a winter wedding, that it really doesn’t matter if you are unable to set foot outside.

Victoria and her bridesmaids got ready in the beautiful, galleried Orchard Room at Hintlesham Hall. There is plenty of room for all of the bridal preparations and the fabric shutters are just gorgeous.

Victoria bought her Amsale gown in New York and had it shipped over. It suited her perfectly and it had pockets! Such a good idea.

Victoria’s bouquet was of roses of the deepest red. After they had been delivered they were stored outside to keep them cool. When we brought them into the room, beautiful little drops of moisture formed.

Hintlesham Church is just a short drive, but the short walk across the ice from the car park was a bit scary! It had started to sleet by the time Vicki arrived, but the ushers, armed with huge umbrellas came dashing to the rescue.

Vicki’s mother waited at the church door in the freezing cold to see her daughter walk down the path.

This image of Vicki being escorted down the path is one of my favourites of the year.

Raphael is French and so the ceremony at Hintlesham Church was to be bilingual, with his Parish priest being flown in especially. Although very cold inside, the church looked cosy with all the candles lit.

As it was too slippery underfoot to go outside for photos, we used the long gallery upstairs at Hintlesham Hall, with its gorgeous windows.

The dining room had been sumptuously decorated in reds, golds and greens. Perfect for a Christmas or winter wedding.

With a French groom and and English bride, what better table names could there have been?

I do love photographing the speeches, and finding out just that little bit more about the groom than he’d hoped.

The evening entertainment consisted of a casino with roulette and a cad table. Guests had been given ‘money’ with Vicky and Raph’s portraits on.

We went outside to do some photos with sparklers and light trails. The conditions weren’t ideal, as Hintlesham Hall is quite brightly lit and we weren’t able to go further away. This one is quite cool though.

Back inside for the first dance.

I absolutely loved this wedding, and would like to thank Victoria and Raphael for choosing me as their wedding photographer.

Stephanie got ready at The Mill Hotel in Sudbury.

Alpheton Hal Barns is one of my favourite wedding venues in Suffolk. Just off the A134 between Bury St Edmunds and Sudbury, it is nestled in the rolling Suffolk countryside. It makes for a relaxed, rustic wedding.

The weddings at Alpheton Hall Barns can take place in either of the barns, depending on the number of guests, or in the church which is literally a stone’s throw from the Barns.

It was a showery day, but we took the opportunity of a break in the weather to do some couple shots in the glorious grounds of Alpheton Hall Barns

Stephanie included some elements of her childhood in Namibia in the wedding details decorating the barn, along with the wedding newspaper on each table, which featured one of the images from their pre-wedding shoot on the front page.

The guests were entertained by a string quartet, playing some pretty cool music.

With the subdued lighting, Stephanie’s father need a little help from his son and a torch to read his English speech! As for the nasal duet, who can say?

Chris and his brothers commenced the Greek dancing.

This was followed by the traditional money-pinning dance.

Diana and her bridesmaids got ready in one of the beautiful rooms at the Hall before making the short journey to the church on top of the hill.

I love the colours which Diana chose for her bouquet.

You can just make out the church in this image. On a fine day it’s possible for the guests (and game brides and grooms) to walk from the church to the Hall.

The bridesmaids were adorable, and I love this shot of this little one admiring herself in her dress.

Diana looked stunning.

I think there’s a timeless feel to this image, and it made me wonder how many brides had walked that path over the years.

Thank you Diana and Tom for choosing me to be your wedding photographer. I’m so pleased that your day delivered everything you had wished for.

Boxted Hall

The weather was beautiful which showed the Hall in all its glory and brought a very pleasing number of visitors. It was great to meet so many couples at various stages of their wedding planning and to show them my albums and portfolio. I hope to be seeing them again in the future.

I didn’t get much chance to take photos as it was so busy I was practically tethered to my stand (mustn’t keep calling it a stall!) but here are a few which I managed to grab.

The lovely Laura from Bluebird Vintage

Lovely Emma from Cute as a Button, who also did a lot of the organising and promoting

And me!

Glemham Hall, wedding venue Suffolk

It was held at the beautiful Old Rectory in Campsea Ashe, quite literally a stone’s throw from the church, on a crisp autumn day. The rooks were cawing in the trees and it couldn’t have had a more English feel if it had tried!

I arrived to photograph the bridal preparations and met Jessica’s bridesmaids and the rest of her family who had flown in from New Zealand. They had all had their dresses made individually in slightly differing styles and colours, which worked beautifully.

Jessica’s hair and make up were also of a vintage style and she looked stunning.

I had to climb the bell tower for this shot. The steps were tiny and worn and spiralled very tightly. With just a rope on one wall to to support me and my cameras, it was quite scary. I’m not sure which was worse, going up or coming down!

It’s so much better when you are allowed to photograph the signing of the register ‘live.’

I’ve photographed a few bilingual weddings now, but this reading was in Maori, so I can’t imagine I will experience that again.

Jessica and Ben didn’t want to go too formal with the men’s attire and I think this look works really well with the vintage-inspired theme.

We took some time to go for a stroll in the grounds of the Old Rectory, which were bathed in a beautiful, watery, evening sunlight.

The reception was held in a huge marquee within the grounds

This wedding has also been featured on one of the world’s best wedding blogs ‘Love My Dress’

Venue: The Old Rectory Campsea Ashe

Hair: Louise Walsh

Make Up: Denise Michelle