Stop crying // Lauren + Shane

This is a trailer in the true sense of the word in that it is meant to build antisipation for the main feature. This is a direction I want to take more and more.
I know I say this a lot but Calcot Manor, near Tetbury, is a really great wedding venue, if you are planning your wedding take a look!
Lauren and Shane really were model clients, with the enthusiasm and planning they put into their morning presents. It is always nice to capture the opening of these presents and every effort was made to help me be in the right place at the right time. I just thought the Tiffany’s diamond necklace was such a lovely gift which caused quite an emotional moment just minutes before the ceremony. Perfect opportunity for a visual transition

My eyes are sweating // Amy and Paul {SDE}

{SDE} means same day edit and this short trailer was edited (just in time) and screened at the reception of Amy and Paul’s wedding.  Right form my initial meeting with Amy and Paul I knew this wedding was going to be fun.  ”I’ll get a bottle of beer ready” was the reply when I let Amy know that I was on my way for the first home visit.  A solitary bottle of beer doesn’t sound much but after 2 hours on the M6 it is heaven and this made me feel very welcome.

Amy told me that she was a bit of a cryer and that she would try her best not to cry during her vows… Well, she tried, but failed, during preparations, vows, speeches and viewing of the SDE movie.

See the live viewing of the SDE here.

One tree and not two :: Cheryl + Syrus

I’m always particularly excited by outdoor wedding ceremonies and it was a great surprise to find that Cheryl and Syrus’ wedding was just that. I was especially excited to see the setting in the grounds of Barnsley House, Cirencester. I definitely recommend this as a venue!
Once again we were blessed with fantastic sunshine (for the daytime anyway – it poured with rain during the evening reception but I guess that’s OK).
And again I found I have made new friends in Cheryl and Syrus.

Every single day of my life has been better with you in it :: Joanna + Rich

I have shot at Great John Street Hotel in Manchester many times and have always enjoyed it but never before have I been so lucky with the light conditions! There was a wonderful ,mixture of light temperature during the ceremony thanks to the candles which contrasted the daylight spilling in from behind. Then there was this incredible golden hour during the speeches which took place outside on the roof terrace. Now for Manchester this is lucky!
I got to know Joanna and Richard quite well before the wedding day and this made a nice difference to the way I worked. They plied me with wine during their home visit and ended up feeling more like friends than clients. I thoroughly enjoyed working on their wedding film and hope I get to see them again some time soon.

Mon petit ange :: Amy + Yannick

I have never seen so much effort put into wedding decorations as the effort that Amy had put in. The result was unique and had a truly personal vintage feel. The confetti was her old French text books cut into pieces (incase you hadn’t guessed, her lovely groom is French). There was home made bunting made out of old newspapers cut into tiny hearts. The bride and groom figurines on the cake (which was actually cheese) were old wooden clothes pegs with simple features scrawled onto the faces. I could go on. All this inspired me to shoot with a vintage picture style that harks back to the 50′s technicolor look that I hope complements the feel of Amy and Yannick’s very special day.

‘Nothing’ :: Jennifer Sawdon

I’ve worked with Jenny a few times at weddings where she was singing and I was shooting. At one I did a same day edit which used the recording of Jenny’s singing as a soundtrack. Jen showed this clip to her fiancé Chris and before long I was booked in to film their wedding. After a few more chance meetings, again at weddings, Jenny approached me to shoot and edit her first music video which I was very excited to get involved with.
After a few ideas about a narrative type video which involved Chris running around Manchester as the main star, we settled on a more basic set up. One shoot, one chance. Thank god for the amazing sunset! We got everything ready with the piano in front of the window but if the sun hadn’t played it’s part I don’t know what we would have done.
Thanks Jennifer for thinking of me for this project and good luck with your fluorescing career.

To share all these adventures :: Helen+Andy

I enjoyed the drive down to Ashford-In-The-Water near Bakewell almost as much as the wedding. A lovely little village in the heart of rural Derbyshire. Of course I had to stop in a tea room before I started shooting. I caught up with the florist and the guitarist at the church first of all and was pleased to see random vintage props such as the bicycle and sign which was the inspiration for the very subtle vintage grade of this piece. Then en-route to Hassop Hall where Helen was getting ready I happened to see Andrew and the groomsmen practicing some sort of dance in a pub car park. One hand break turn later I was capturing video gold as I knew this could be spliced with the actual performance that evening.

Steve Gerrard also hand break turned into the car park two minutes later, he was the official photographer and his amazing work from the day can be seen here.

Can’t wait to grow old with you :: Claire + Peter

When I was first contacted by Claire I was most exited by the fact she was planning her wedding to Peter at Riverdale Barn, Yateley. I have shot here before and was blown away by how organised the management are and how the building seems to be designed with wedding cinematographers and photographers in mind.
As expected it was a breeze to work there and apart from the torrential downpour during the ceremony the weather was lovely and spectacularly well timed.

I love it when personal vows are read, it gives me something great to work with on the film and this case is no exception.

So proud to be standing here :: Nat + Tom

It always makes my day when a bride cries.  No I’m not a sicko, I just know it’s going to be easier to get an emotional result in the editing process.  Nathalie delivered an appropriate dosing of emotion and a whole lot of laughter during her and Thomas’s wedding day.  It was a fun filled day and a sunshine filled day.

I was super stressed behind the scenes as I managed to lock my car keys in the boot of my car with all the camera gear!  This was with ten minutes to spare to get to the church!  Only one thing for it, I had to borrow a hammer from the maintenance man at the hotel…  Although I am really pleased with the resulting calm feel of the film!

I’ve also found my best friend :: Priya + Varun

I’m super excited to get this trailer out! It was such a lively wedding, I’m always impressed by the amount of energy at Hindu weddings but this really took the biscuit!
Varun met Priya working away in Queens, New York so the use of the ‘Coming To America’ scene during his speech was genius. Really enjoyed every part of these two days.