We had sun, rain and wind at Emma and Nick’s Ardington House wedding….but a huge round of applause for yet another 2012 bride who just said “Who cares?” as we stepped out to shoot the portraits. It was so gusty that Nick’s umbrella did the old inside out trick, but still Emma was smiling and scampering across the lawn in her Jimmy Choos – yay!
The ceremony took place in the most idyllic of idyllic villages, East Hendred, and the sky did its lovely navy blue with white fluffy clouds thing for us. It seemed to blow an absolute hooley everytime we shot a bridesmaids group shot, and consequently they had to make many snappy decisions whilst holding their bouquets. ‘With my spare hand, do I guard my hair or my dress??!’ Needless to say I got a lot of crazy hair in the air shots…
Emma had predicted that she would be a tearful mess during Nick’s speech in the Ardington House marquee, and true to her word, almost as soon as he had taken to his feet, her face sank into her hands. I shot an epic little mini series of photographs that show her transformation from poise to emotional wreckage within a few seconds – she came up smiling through the tears, and the speech was a great success.
A memorable moment for me was when I was asked to photograph a whole table eating their cupcakes with no hands allowed (asked by the bride by the way – I know – very cool). Unfortunately, although the photographs were of exceptional composition, and the exposures were technically perfect, I have withheld these particular shots from the online gallery. This is more for the sake of the general public, rather than to protect the dignity of the cake munchers.
Ardington House is a beautiful building inside and out, with spectacular grounds and gardens, the perfect setting for a summer wedding. I had a great time shooting there.
