The Big Day Blog

Susan & David

2011-10-05T14:47:00.001+01:00

Camden Town Hall, with its splendid marble staircase, provided an elegant backdrop for Susan & David's civil ceremony on a glorious Summer's day. There followed a quick stop off at Lincoln Inn's Field for a champagne toast and a few relaxed group shots before the whole wedding party took a leisurely stroll to the White Swan pub where they were welcomed with a strong cocktail with which to kick off the celebrations.

Ptolemy & Amy

2011-07-28T22:08:00.018+01:00

A typical English Summer's day brought a mixture of heavy rain and shine, but nobody let the weather dampen their spirits a bit, least of all Ptolemy and Amy who, along with their saintly families, waited patiently and good-naturedly between the showers to get the group shots done. Which was all worth it since the rain did something amazing to the light. After which we all dashed for the sanctuary of the Crypt in Clerkenwell where the celebrations ended in much enthusiastic and gloriously tuneless karaoke action.

Mark & Ryan + friends & family + showgirls!

2011-06-29T15:57:00.001+01:00

I'd love to get commisisoned to shoot more civil partnerships, if only because the few I have done so far have all been a total blast. Mark & Ryan's Anglo-Australian London bash was no exception, featuring as it did a Routemaster bus, a quick tour of some iconic landmarks, a champagne toast on the river bank, a stroll across the millennium bridge, a very gay cake, a big fancy dress box for all the guests and a high-kicking Vegas showgirl group providing the dazzling backdrop to the boys' choreographed first dance. I swear it's all true! Here's the photographic proof. This, my friends, is how to celebrate a civil partnership in style:

Simon & Laura in Shoreditch

2011-02-15T20:39:00.003Z

2011 has got off to a flying start with a lovely London wedding in my own back yard. Simon & Laura chose as the venue Shoreditch Town Hall (opened 1866), recently restored to its former splendour.

Big Day joins exclusive new wedding directory

2011-02-01T10:58:00.002Z

At the risk of helping to promote my competitors, I must say something about the launch of Wonderland Avenue, an exclusive new directory of the UK's very best wedding photographers, of which I am now a member. Apart from anything else, they have selected my last post about Susie and Richard's wedding as the first to feature on their blog, which I am obviously delighted about.

There are hundreds of directories out there. The problem is that most of them are indiscriminate, featuring little or no quality control. For that reason alone I have always avoided joining any of them like the plague. But when I heard from James King and his wife Louise about their new venture - an exclusive, invitation-only directory of hand-picked wedding photographers - I knew it was different. For a start, as a professional commercial photographer himself, James knows what he's talking about. When he had to Google photographers for his own wedding he immediately faced the defining problem - an overwhelming number of options but with a vastly differing range of ability and experience. If he, as a pro himself, had trouble picking the wheat from the chaff, how must everyone else feel? Why not start a directory that actually does what it ought to: dramatically limit the field to the best of the best and arrange them by region? Then you wouldn't need to spend hours trawling through search results because someone has already done it for you. As it says on the website - they've done the hard work, so you don't have to. I'm pleased to be part of it and, frankly, I wish I'd thought of it myself!

2010 Highlights - Susie & Richard

2011-01-31T16:54:00.000Z

I set off for Susie and Richard's pre-Christmas wedding in Saffon Walden with some trepidation. The freak snowfall that marked the final weeks of 2010 had left some decidedly perilous road conditions and when you're the photographer, even skidding into a ditch is no excuse for arriving late.

It was all worth it though because the weather conditions contributed in the most romantic way possible to what turned out to be a picture-book Winter wedding featuring Christmas carols during the service, an open fire, a festive colour scheme and even a herd of (rein)deer in the grounds of the reception venue. Susie and Richard were a pleasure to work with, gladly going above and beyond the call of duty for the sake of the pictures, especially Susie who, at one point, happily risked frostbite by standing in her Jimmy Choos ankle-deep in snow. This despite the fact that I didn't even ask her to! A lovely couple and a fabulous wedding.

2010 Highlights - Carolyn & Paul

2011-01-31T16:37:00.000Z

Another fantastic London wedding was Carolyn & Paul's which took place at the world famous Chelsea registry office - the chosen knot-tieing venue for countless A-list celebrities - and a funky boutique hotel in Kensington. It was October but before the Autumn gloom began in earnest, the weather on that particular weekend decided to be spectacularly glorious! It felt more like mid-July and I remember walking out of the hotel into the late afternoon sunshine and feeling the same warm glow one normally only gets on a beautiful Summer's day. Perfect.

2010 Highlights - Sally & Graham

2011-01-31T16:35:00.000Z

I always enjoy a good London wedding. Partly because I live in London and therefore I can avoid the inevitable stress of sitting in a tailback on the M4 wondering what I'd say if I turned up at the church sweaty and flustered half-way through the ceremony. (No, it's never happened. Touch wood). Sally and Graham had a brilliant London wedding on a blustery but beautiful Summer's day in August, right on the river, under the shadow of the London Eye and with the Houses of Parliament as the perfect iconic backdrop. As dinner ended and the sun went down, the light was lovely and everyone wandered outside to enjoy one of the most famous views in the world.

Welcome to the Big Day blog!

2011-01-31T12:55:00.000Z

It's all gone very web2.0 here at bigday HQ. until recently I eschewed the use of social networking as a marketing tool, relying instead on word of mouth recommendations and a reputation for excellence that comes as a result of having hundreds of happy clients. But it's time to move with the times. The information super-highway is no longer a one-way system but an opportunity for dialogue between those providing a professional service, such as myself, and their clients and future clients. Hence the introduction of this blog, along with a Facebook page and Twitter feed. Please feel free to join the conversation...