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ROSIE AND JEROME'S ISLINGTON WEDDING

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ROSIE AND JEROME'S ISLINGTON WEDDING

A short tale of a French family, an English family, a couple with a new baby on a short hop over from Malaysia, some of the wackiest group shots I've ever taken...  and a wedding cake made entirely from cheese!

 

 

When Jez and Rosie first asked me to shoot their wedding, I was thrilled not only because they were the lovelies, funniest, most laid-back young couple, but also because it was a chance to shoot at the Zetter Hotel, at Islington Town Hall, AND at the fun and funky Artisan of Clerkenwell

 

The boys got the day off to a great start with that classic combo;  champagne and hankie-folding.  

 

Zetter's is a fantastic boutique hotel in the heart of trendy Clerkenwell.  Having taken a few healthy drafts of bubbly, the boys were more than happy to gad about the corridors to make the most of such an unusual and eclectic location.

 

Rosie, meanwhile, was busy getting ready at the Holiday Inn, having opted for space and comfort over funky furniture.  After all, she had the baby, and the rest of the family to think about. 

 

... including a certain young lady who would later on be quite the spirit of the party, but for now, was a little less than enthusiastic about having her hair done !

 

There's something so moving about a father giving away his daughter, the pride in his eyes, his joy at her happiness, and at the same time, the sweet sadness of letting go of the most precious person to you.

From those heart-stopping last few moments of anticipation....

...to that perfect moment of recognition and love, where you know you committed to the right person!

Islington Town Hall has one of the finest marble staircases of any London town hall, offset as it is by the wonderful green panelling. 

And what really makes a London wedding, is a classic London Routemaster Bus

With just a little bit of retro fun

And then it came to the group shots, and a whole different kind of unexpected fun started to happen.  After mucking around on the bus - a big kid's thrill for everyone - not least the photographer who got the chance to break some of the H&S rules -  we were left with limited time, in a courtyard that wasn't all that interesting or well lit.  Then I had an idea and had a chat with the Maitre D at Zetter's and was pleasantly surprised to discover they were more than happy  about letting us use their lovely Georgian town house to shoot group portraits.  Provided we were quick.  With a lightning five minute lighting set up, which took me back to some of my most dramatic commercial shoots, I was left with a whole new task.  Shoot the group shots quick AND can we do something different, something less boring, something a bit wacky and off the wall?   Well asking a photographer these things is like candy to a baby... You want wacky, you got it!

The less formal side of formals.  Heheh.  Okay, great.  Now give me Charlie's Angels...

Excellent, excellent, now can we have a family punch-up?  Can you all try and murder each other?

Not often you get the chance to say that at a Wedding, right?  But it resulted in one of my favourite ever group shots, and, one of Jez and Rosie's favourite shots from the day too!

Then it was into The Artisan for the reception, where certain small people were starting to look a little tired.

While other small people were full of beans!

I'll admit, this was my first ever time witnessing the best man's speech as powerpoint demonstration.  But as it was part of an interactive quiz involving everyone there, and testing their knowledge on some of their funnier memories of Jez and Rosie, it was far different from any powerpoint demo I'd ever seen before. 

Jerome is half-French, which goes a long way to explaining his love of cheese, a love that somehow found it's way into the couple's layer cake.  Yes, you read that right.  A wedding cake made entirely of French cheeses!

 

Do please feel free to leave a comment, if you enjoyed these pictures, and thanks for reading. 

x

Adam

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KATRINA AND BEN'S WHITEHALL WEDDING

Katrina and Ben chose the wonderful One Whitehall Place as their venue for both the ceremony and the reception of their London Summer Wedding. 

“We’d love you to shoot our wedding video and our photography”

Being both a photographer and videographer, this is always my favourite booking.   Though sadly I can’t clone myself, and of course Ben and Katrina hadn’t expected me to be in two places at once either, meaning I brought in one of my team of videographers to work alongside me.  

One of the specialities of Delirious Films is that we can offer an all-in package.   Working with videographers and photographers across the country, I tailor every wedding to suit each couple, which means sometimes I shoot stills, and sometimes video. 

On this occasion – as I had always wanted to capture the ambience and atmosphere of this beautiful Victorian building with it’s chandeliers and pillars, its history and architecture, I took the helm as photographer and director and hired in my best videographer to shoot the movie.

On arrival, the chaps decamped to the Churchill’s Bar, drinking in not just the g&t’s but also the wonderful atmosphere of a glorious history. 

Churchill was not the only political titan to debate and relax, within the National Liberal Club’s walls: Asquith, Lloyd George and many others shared a glass and a frank exchange of views here.  Churchill’s Bar captures this spirit. It’s a place of tranquility and character: of strong words, softly spoken. Ideal for a drinks reception, for small-scale gatherings or a postprandial chat. In the spirit of this great intellectual heritage, as you can see, the boys were deep into a serious debate.  Probably about the merits of beer over gin. 

Meanwhile Katrina was getting ready in the Ladies’ Room on the top floor, a wonderful, discrete and stylish space that brought out Katrina’s already highly-developed spirit of glamour.

The ceremony took place in the The Reading and Writing Room, a magnificent room that can accommodate 120 people, with its floor to ceiling windows that allow natural daylight to flood the room. The windows provide enviable views of modern day London, looking out across the Thames to the London Eye and the South Bank.

 

As Katrina's mother is Russian, part of the ceremony was  the “Bread and Salt” tradition for  when the groom’s mother greets the bride and groom. In the old days, the groom’s mother presented the couple with “Bread and Salt” at the groom’s family house when the bride moved in to live. Nowadays, as a rule, most couples of course live separately from their parents and after an official marriage ceremony or a wedding, the “Bread and Salt” ritual takes place right in the banquet hall where the wedding celebration takes place.

The bride and groom break off pieces of bread, dip them in salt and feed each other. These actions symbolize that they’ll never be without the necessities of life and they will always take care of each other.

When it came to the formal family portraits, luck was on my side.  The best end of the library had been cleared, prior to dinner, and there was just space enough to fit and light close family members.  With a handy five minutes on my side, I quickly set up a backlight flash to help balance the sunlight, and a studio soft box to give this group shot the Downton Abbey feel.  

Then it was out for a quick couple of portraits and romantic shots for the film on Hungerford Bridge, overlooking the Thames, Big Ben, and the London Eye.

This last shot is one of my favourites, and is actually a still from our film that accompanied the photoshoot.  Feel free to take a look at the film here:  

and do please feel free to leave a comment, if you enjoyed these pictures, thanks for reading. 

Adam

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