ross & sabrina

so this wedding actually took place in july of last year, it was my first go at shooting a wedding, and what a beautiful one to start with!

for starters you couldn't have asked for a better location, the hotel was on a cliff edge overlooking a gorgeous cove in newquay. we were ever so slightly apprehensive about the weather as when i arrived at the brides family home in the morning to shoot her getting ready it was drizzling and overcast, which just wouldn't do! however what i was very impressed with was how calm sabrina was! chilling out in her pyjamas having her make-up done, she looked as if she was getting ready for an extremely glamorous trip down the shops, not about to walk down the isle.
sabs made me feel instantly at home (which was handy as she was marrying my cousin!) and we had a good laugh shooting all the preparations, especially her clambering into the the incredibly beautiful (but incredibly large!) princess dress.
luckily by the time the cars came the rain had gone and the sun was battling to be seen, i raced ahead to get some shots of the groom getting dolled up in full kilt and dagger (in cornish tartan - who knew??) then we all set off to the beautifully lit conservatory room where the ceremony was held. the ceremony was made extra special by the adorable fact that the bride and groom spend the entire time simply beaming at each other uncontrollably, and it was lovely to have the signing of the register at the front so all the friends and family could see.

after the ceremony we headed outside, it was overcast but beautifully warm and the cloudy sky actually added to the dramatics of the cliff top location, not put a dampener on things as we had first feared. i had a lot of fun rounding everyone up and all the family groups were a joy to shoot, a  moment that stands out for me (somewhat unfortunately!) was having to climb up rocks through a car park and onto a higher cliff edge to attempt to gracefully alert the entire wedding party and guests to get together for a group shot, i basically failed at this however and ended up looking like a mad woman hanging off a cliff edge and shrieking at everyone below, which they all found highly amusing... but we got the shots!

the reception room was beautiful, the blue theme bride and groom had chosen worked gorgeously with the seaside backdrop and the tables were laid out so simply but with such vibrant splashes of colour coming from the electric blue floral centrepieces, it was just enough, in short- everything looked perfect.
ross and sabrina had come up with traditional but meaningful gifts for their wedding party, engraved tankards for the best men, and beautiful delicate necklaces for the bridesmaids. after a delicious meal (especially the chocolate torte dessert!) the speeches went down brilliantly and we all moved back into the original ceremony room for the party.

the whole evening was very relaxed with a fantastic atmosphere, the highlights being of course the first dance, where the couple seemed literally oblivious to anything but each other and their song (which was bon jovi - born to be my baby http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEgOtKPd5iY) and also much later into the night no one could forget the grooms somewhat dubious karaoke performance!

at about 10pm i whisked the happy couple away for some more quirky less formal shots, some against the incredible blue night sky on the cliff edge, then the rest were took when we went for a scamper around the hotel, shooshing each other and giggling whilst trying to dodge the other hotel guests!
my absolute favourite part of the night shoot however, was when i asked sabs if she wanted to go retouch her make-up before we got started and i got the unforgettable response...
"nah it's ok i can't be arsed, i'm too happy"

a perfect way i think to sum up a beautiful day packed with loving friends, adoring family and lots of grins.

thank you to ross and sabs for inviting me to capture their special day, an adorable couple who helped me to realise photographing beautiful people at their beautiful weddings is exactly what i'm meant to do x