Wedding Venues

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Wedding Photography in the Rain

June 24, 2012

Hello there, – I made a bit of a mistake yesterday, I thought yesterday was Sunday, so posted my photo of the week one day early.

Well today while finishing off editing the photos of the wedding of Kay and Andi, I found one I just loved, infact I love this photo to bits.

Its from a GREAT series of photos which were taken with a VW campervan – Kay and Andi are HUGE campervan fan’s – so despite the weather not being kind to them they decided that it would not spoil their enjoyment on their big day.

I have said it many many time, I am so luck to work for my clients, I have the best bunch of customers you could ever want to meet, I hear horror stories week in and week out from photographers about how their clients would not go out in the rain, how the bride would not put her dress on the floor etc, and I respect the bride for that but me, I seem to attract brides that will go that extra mile to get the photo, after all look at some of my pre wedding dress shots and that explains everything.

So back to Kay and Andi, we were down on the Gower at Oxwich Bay, their wedding was at the amazing Oxwich Bay hotel – but alas it poured down with rain all day, actually it lashed it down.

I have a saying (I stole from Dan Dan the fire man) – My skin is waterproof – I dont mind getting wet for my clients, they pay enough so its the least I can do, a bit of water never hurt anyone – I also use professional Nikon equipment and as such its weather sealed – this means I take my camera out in the snow, wind, RAIN etc – so far even in downpours its never stopped working. I also happen to be a member of Nikon Professional Services and this gives me priority servicing on my equipment should anything happen, its like a 3 day turnaround so I dont worry too much, if it gets wet and stops working, I would just send it in and have it back in a few days, I would switch over to my backups and keep going.

I should at this point add that I am saying this because this year I am on my 19th wedding so far and all but 4 have been wet rained out affairs.

So If your photographer is equipped to go out int he rain and your happy enough to endure a little water you can still get amazing wedding photos in the rain.

Take a peek at this one, Kay looks about as beautiful and contented as a bride can look and Andi well he looks like the cat that got all the cream, look at the camper van windows in the background and you can see its lashing down, the little specs in the background of the photo are as Forrest Gump would say big fat rain drops

I dare anyone to say this is not a beautiful wedding photo – in the years to come I bet Kay and Andi dont remember the rain but love they shared on their big day will be all the think about.

here are a few more shots of Kay and Andi enduring the rain

what happens if it rains on your wedding day

Tags: rainy wedding photos, wet wedding photography

Hampton Manor Wedding Photography

March 14, 2012

Warwickshire Wedding Photography

Hello there,

For one reason or another I have had a bit of a lost day, site issues and total lost of communications with the outside world let me working on images and albums – I am currently putting the finishing touches to a spectacular wedding album from a wedding at Hampton Manor, and that reminded me that I also worked with another photographer at a wedding just before Christmas. I was second shooting (its what we photographers call it when your just helping out really) for a good friend and great photographer called Paul Goode – I was lighting assistance for this one, with it being a winter wedding and my penchant for off camera flash lighting etc I was there just in case Paul needed any help – I had a rare weekend off so just went along for a bit of a relax really – its funny but when not shooting weddings for clients, lots of photographers will go along with other photographer just to pratice something they cant really do at a paid wedding – if it works out well the couple get some great photos, if not, they were not really expecting them.

My goals for the day were to

1. Assist Paul however he needed em.

2. Pratice Panorama’s – this is where you take several photos and join them together to make one seamless photo

3. Just shoot some funky off camera flash / video light images with the B&G

4. Pratice shooting in general in LOW light conditions.

So here is what I got.

This is a 6 shot Panno – if you look carefully you can see 3 walls in the room – this is one of the dining rooms in the Hotel

The hotel has the most amazing light in reception, well just behind the reception, finding something to do with it and a couple so the couple dont look miniscule in photo was a bit of a challange but I had been waiting a long time for this and had it planned out.

The couple had beautiful candles all over the place, I collected a whole bunch and used them to light this shot – I added a bit of video light just to lift the details a bit but love this one

and while we are talking about black and white images,

I snapped these two shots seconds apart, I did this while Paul was setting up for a photo, I just used the window light coming in, for the bride I wanted it nice and soft but for the groom I wanted something a little more edgy

and here is a shot taken during the wedding itself, if this does not mean anything to you dont worry but it was VERY dark – this shot was taken at ISO 5000, 1/30th second @ F2.8 I was standing at the back of the room using a very long zoom lens to get up close and personal. When Paul and I were discussing who would stand where, as it was his wedding I let him choose but secretly wanted the back of the room – I have shot enough weddings to know if your by yourself, the place to be is the back of the room – so when Paul said he would go up front I was jumping for joy on the inside

and last but not least, a couple of shots of the venue itself, this is a back view of the venue

and this final photo is of the amazing clock tower and grounds.

Tags: hampton manor hotel wedding photography, hampton manor wedding photographer

Oxwich Bay Wedding Photography – Engagement Session Kay and Andi

March 12, 2012

Hey there,

In a few weeks I will be shooting what sounds like an amazing wedding which will end with a mini fish and chip supper on the beach at the fabulous Oxwich Bay Hotel on The Gower in West Wales.

Several weeks ago I popped down there to meet up with Kay and Andi for a day on the beach – in the shelter it was a fabulous day, hot even but as we got close to the coast it was pretty windy hence the windswept look !

We parked over a mile away and hiked thru sand dunes and over rocks to the coast – this gave me lots of time to really get to know Kay and Andi and talk thru their wedding day so we have everything planned for the big day itself.

Here are a few photos from the day.

Then we decided to have a little fun and play with dramatic lighting

Tags: engagement photoshoot, oxwich bay hotel, west wales wedding

Why I just love the Internet

February 1, 2012

Hello,

Today I spent 30 minutes on Skype chatting with Tina and Rob – a couple whos wedding I shot back towards the tail end of last year.

I am very fortunate to shoot a lot of weddings for couples from all over the world, Tina and Rob come from Australia so I actually only met them for the first time the day of the wedding, I did Skype with them before hand however.

Well we were catching up, chatting about the wedding and I wanted to thank them for my hotel room – this may seem like a strange thing to say, but Mrs P and I had to stop over for 2 nights for this wedding.

Tina and Rob got married at Bodelwyddan Castle North Wales – or a good 3 is hour drive from my studio. As I cover the whole of the UK I often stay either 1 or 2 nights depending on location, distance and coverage the couple choose. Since we were going to be there till late, we stopped over for 2 nights.

We understand that this is a cost the couple had planned for when choosing a photographers so are happy with to stay pretty much anywhere half way decent and Tina and Rob booked us into an eclectic bed and breakfast (we were going to be out early the day of the wedding and the next morning heading home asap so b&B’s work well) We had no idea what to expect.

Well here is where we ended up stopping – as you can see its amazing !!!!!!

The Lounge IN OUR ROOM !!!!!

I do have some great shots of me in the bath tub, but will spare you them,

Anyway, I love the internet, it brings the other side of the world right into my studio !

Great catching up with the bride that gave me my favorite wedding dress photos from last year was a real treat.

This shot was taken the morning of the wedding – Tina was very gracious and let me loose with her dress – it has to be an Australian thing as most of my brides from down under expect me to do something special with the dress.

Ciao for now, just sending big love to the land down under.

P.S.

As today is the coldest day of the year so far, it did make me slightly envious to see rob strutting around in his short and a t-shirt

A Beautiful Wedding at The Swan Hotel Bibury

August 21, 2011

The Wedding of Shelley & Bassem

A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to shoot the amazing wedding of Shelley and Bassem. During out initial meeting I asked the couple where they were getting hitched, they said they were getting married at The Swan Hotel in Bibury in the Cotswolds. I love Bibury, infact I love all of the cotswolds but The Swan is perfectly placed right on the river and makes for a truly spectacular wedding venue. A few months later we had the engagement session on a beach which was great and I knew then that Shelley and Bassem would make for great photos. They were so natural together and more importantly so in love, its really nice to see two people connecting on such an emotional level.

Anyway, back to the big day. Shelley and Bassem were getting married outside in the garden at The Swan, this is so great as outdoor weddings in the UK are few and far between so it was a great experience They also asked that we take a little time out to take advantage of the area to get a ‘few’ signature style images for the walls etc.

Take a peek at just how beautiful the Swan Hotel in Bibury looks

As I pulled up I noticed to the left of the blue sign an open window, then all of a sudden, Shelley poked her head out and yelled me a big hello ! – It was quite funny because the room Shelley was in had an amazing view over Bibury but also of everyone coming to the hotel. So with Shelley set about 8 feet back in the room she was safe from prying eyes yet she still had a great view of people arriving. Later when the dress was going on we had to be careful to make sure no one saw, I wanted as much natural light because it makes for much better photos so we kept Shelley away from the window as much as possible and NO ONE saw her before the wedding. Chalk one up for Shelley.

The inside of Shelley’s room

and Shelley sitting having hair and makeup done as I arrived

One of the reasons I love natural light is you can use it to create some great effects, I love this shot, Here Shelley’s makeup artist (amazing makeup artist) Heidi Herkes – www.heidirherkes.com was spraying body spray and then Shelley was walking through it.

and the reaction to me snapping away like a made man – I took 5 shots in around 1/2 second to get the perfect patten of mist – Shelley feeling like she had been ‘Papped’ burst into laughter

A short while later, Shelley was putting on her earrings when her grandmother arrived – I loved gran, she gave me a special wave but I cant put it on the website just incase it offends anyone– in the slideshow however it got a great laugh.

well with a bunch of photos in the bag so to speak, I left the girls to a drink of bubbly and went out for a few detail shots and to get pics of the garden which was just being setup. I aked Shelley if I could take her engagement ring to grab a nice pic of it. I love the little detail shots.

The garden at the Swan Hotel, Bibury – this is where the wedding service took place

then I went back up to Shelley’s room as time was getting close – Shelley was just putting on her dress and Mum and Nan were helping out.

One of the people who kind of slide under the radar is usually the father of the bride, you always get some nice photos of Dad as its a very special day for him, but normally they dont make the blog, well today I thought I would share one with you.

Then it was downstairs for the wedding, here I met up with Bassem who was looking very excited

and as the guests arrive, gran gives me another wave, this time I can show you

and then before you knew it, it was time for the bride to make her entrance – I love the features of the Swan hotel, directly opposite the gate to the garden is a doorway that looks like it came right out of an old Greek mansion.

and as Shelley is walking down the aisle I turned and grabbed a shot of Bassem looking totally awestruck by the appearance of his bride, I am sure I could see a tear in there somewhere

The Wedding

it really was the dream wedding, from a wedding photographers point of view, a stunningly beautiful bride, a good looking groom, amazing light, an out door wedding and the red carpet – simply stunning.

Shelley and Bassem didnt want too many formals (something I dont shoot a great deal of) but we had around a dozen or so, while taking a big group shot, this little lad decided he didnt want to be in the photo but rather than just run off to one side, he made a beeline for me – naturally I just kept snapping away – this is one of those happy accidents that you often get and its one of the reasons I LOVE weddings, you just cant script them.

then after the formals, I left people to their own devices and just did a bit of reportage style shooting or as some people prefer to call it, Documentary style wedding photography.

The youngsters having a little fun

and I just love the intimacy of this image – Bassem and his mum

Then while the guests had canapes and a few drinks, I took Shelley and Bassem off for 15 minutes to grab a few images around Bibury

Then it was time for me to zip inside and shoot a few details before the guests when in for the wedding breakfast.

The Dining Room at The Swan Hotel

each table had amazing centerpieces

Following the wedding breakfast were a few short speeches

After the speeches were finished the wedding party went outside while the staff at the Swan turned the place over and got it ready for the evening guests. We had about an hour and during this time I grabbed the happy couple again for another 10 minutes of bridal portraits – this time it was getting close to dusk so the light was amazing.

Here I should say a HUGE thanks to Bassem and Shelley for being such troopers – I asked Shelley if she minded being thrown over the bridge in her amazing wedding dress – dont try this at home folks !

and then this is the one I posted the other day and is one of my favorites from the whole day

after we got back to the Swan, I snapped a few shots of couples and friends and workmates of the bride and groom

then before you knew it, it was time for the couples first dance as man and wife,

My wedding photography covers Bridal Preparations to First dance PLUS 10 minutes – I always stick around for a couple of songs after the first dance, you get some great images of guests having fun

It just leaves me to say a HUGE congratulations to Bassem and Shelley. Thanks for letting me be a part of your day, its such an honor to be chosen by a couple to capture the memories that will last them a lifetime.

I hope you have enjoyed this look at their day,

ciao

David Purslow
Wedding Photographer

http://www.davidpurslow.com

Studio Line: 01299 253844
Cell Phone: 0759 007 6666

Tags: bibury cotswolds, bibury court, bibury gloucestershire, bibury wedding photographer, bibury wedding photography, black and white wedding photography, cotswolds wedding, cotswolds wedding photographer, documentary wedding photography, gloucestershire wedding photographer, reportage wedding photography, The Swan Hotel Bibury, Wedding Photos

Gellifawr Wedding – Tree and Tom!

April 28, 2011

Quick Sneak Peek

UPDATE – THE FULL BLOG POST IS NOW LIVE – VIEW IT HERE

Hi there,

This is not the full wedding photo blog story of the wedding of Teresa and Tom which took place at the stunningly beautiful Gellifawr in Pembrokeshire this weekend but is just a quick sneak peek as I have had a crazy busy week and have had a little cold as well. – I am back to fighting fit and ready to rock and roll again.

So since I know the couple are away for a couple of weeks, I will get the blog story sorted out in the next few days but until then I just wanted to share a couple from the couples bridal portrait sessions.

The couple gave me 20 minutes between the wedding and the sit down meal and then another 30 minutes later in the evening to ‘create’ some of my more stylized / fashion inspired images – these typically make great full page spread images in the album or look amazing as big framed prints on your walls.

Here are a few from those sessions.

More soon but just wanted to give you a sneak peek !

Tags: fashion wedding photos, gellifawr, red wedding dress

Hey Look – it’s Liz from this weekends wedding

January 25, 2011

Stunning Testimonial from a bride in her wedding dress

This weekend saw us shoot an amazing wedding – Liz and Hayden were SO UP FOR PHOTOS that we ended up having a 16 and half hour day from the time we left till we got back to Hotel Jack.

At the end of the night, Liz did a quick video testimonial for us – the video was shot in the bar at Gellifawr while the disco was in full swing and Hayden was strutting his stuff on the dance floor.

Sorry for the shaky video !

Thanks Liz – your a star x

Oh you can see a few of the photos from the day just below this post !

Bride Testimonial – untedited version from David Purslow on Vimeo.

Sneak Peek – The Wedding of Liz and Hayden

January 25, 2011

Liz and Hayden getting married at Gellifawr

Wedding Photography by David Purslow

This is just a very quick sneak peek from what turned out to be one of my favorite weddings for a very very very long time. What made this wedding so special for me is the couple, Liz and Hayden really wanted nice photos, put the time into the day to make sure they got nice photos and allowed me to try things without knowing what the outcome would be.

Its pretty funny but when I lived in Pembrokeshire I would travel up this way often for birmingham weddings. Well Liz and Hayden are from Birmingham and were looking for a birmingham wedding photogapher willing to travel to Pembrokeshire – how spooky

Liz and Hayden got married at Gellifawr in Pembrokeshire in West Wales – http://www.gellifawr.co.uk

Gellifawr is a wedding photographers dream venue, its a perfect venue for creating great wedding photos in and around. Fred, Michael and the whole team at Gellifawr really bend over backwards to make sure the couple have a great day – they take very good care of the photographers also, so a big thanks to Fred and the gang for looking after us again.

What I found pretty funny is that Liz and Hayden are from the Birmingham area and were searching for a Birmingham wedding photographer willing to travel to Pembrokeshire to shoot the wedding – (if you dont know I lived in Pembrokeshire for 7 years until February 2009) – so when they started searching for a Birmingham wedding photographer and found me – it was a match made in heaven.

Helen and I had a blast this weekend, so without any more wasted jabbering from me, here are 10 photos from the weekend – just a quick Sneak Peek as Liz told me she had turned into a blog stalker – I said I would get a few up so she could show friends at work etc.

Liz, Hayden – you guys ROCK – thanks so much for choosing us to be a part of your day – and thanks for being such amazing people and letting us do what we love to do and try to create special photos that are a cross between romantic, reportage, dramatic and just outright stunning.

talk to you soon,

hugs

David.

Beautiful wedding dress photo inside the cottage Liz got ready at at Gellifawr

Liz putting on her dress – I should point out Liz’s mum was right there the whole time !

I love brides in mirror photos, here are a couple

Just to prove I dont only take photos of girls half dressed, here is one for the ladies

This shot was taken during the reading

A selection of bridal portraits

a quick romantic cuddle – a stolen sweet moment

and I love this shot from the reception – its kind of fly on the wall stuff, not as elegant as the rest but shows the love and emotion these guys share

and one from the mini portrait session we sneaked off for following the dinner, this photo of pentre ifan was taken around 9:30 at night, there is no photoshop tricks or trick photography involved – this is pretty much as it was taken on the night – I am sure Liz and Hayden will back me up on this one – this is one of those shots I had wanted for a long time and thanks to this fabulous couple they gave me the time to shoot it – well worth a quick trip out from the wedding.

Many thanks to Liz and Hayden !

hope you like

ciao

David Purslow
Photographer

http://www.davidpurslow.com

Phone 01299 250115/ / 0750 007 6666

Tags: birmingham wedding photogrpaher, birmingham wedding photogrpahers, gellifawr wedding photo, gellifawr wedding photogrpaher, wedding photographer birmingham, wedding photographers birmingham, wedding photography at gellifawr

Winter Wedding photography – lessons from the boy scouts !

December 19, 2010

Snowy Wedding & Portrait Photography

Be prepared !

Okay this is going to be a bit of a different post from me today. This time last year I had 3 or 4 weddings coming up and the weather started to get a little nasty (snow and ice) so I decided to buy myself a 4×4. As you may know I lived in America for 10 years, The North East – New York, New Jersey and Connecticut where we would regularly get 20 inches of snow. In the states I owned a Jeep Grand Cherokee and this car would go anywhere and thru anything. So this is what I brought. Because this was going to be a WINTER car only, and one to get me too and from winter weddings we spent a grand total of £1400 and brought a 10 year old model. Its not pretty, it drinks fuel but it gets me to where I need to be WHEN I need to be.

As a wedding photographer winter weddings are becoming more and more popular and I actually LOVE photographing wedding in the snow – it reminds me of my time in the states so much. When a couple are thinking about getting married in the winter I am sure one of the last things they think about is, is my photographer going to be able to get to my wedding ?

This is a shot from a wedding 10 days ago when we had the last lot of snow (see blog post below)

And this is me working away – nothing stops me getting the shot, not even a few inches of snow

Winter weddings offer the chance of GREAT photos, this shot would have looked nice normally but when its all covered in snow, it looks great – its an outtake, here is my assistant taking shots at another winter wedding.

So back to the reason for the story today

This was the scene outside my house yesterday.

and this is the street we live on

As you can see the road is totally covered, the cars at the bottom of the road cant get out and it was beautiful to look out on all that snow. We only had 4 inches of snow but most of the village and nearby towns came to a halt.

So I called a very good friend of ours (Zena) and asked if she would like to bring her two kids out for some snowy winter portraits, Z lives right across the road from the park ! She said yes, so Nikki and I loaded up our kids and took off.

This is my winter wedding car

Nikki loaded the kids into the car while I dug out cameras etc and off we went to met up and spend a little time shooting a few nice winter portraits of the kids.

Anway back to what its all about,

I have NEVER missed a wedding yet, and if its in my power to do so come hell, high water or deep deep snow, I want to make sure I have the tools at hand to get me there and get the shots for my couples.

If your planning a on getting married in the winter (November – February) one of the questions you should ask your photographer is, if it snows how will you get to my wedding ?

and remember at this time of year you CANT hire a 4×4 they are all booked out ahead of time – thats why we brought one.

Getting married in the winter can be great and can result in wonderful photos, having the right equipment is more than just a good camera, you need to have everything you can to make sure as a professional you wont fail and let down your clients.

For most of the year our jeep is off the road, but as soon as the first floods or snow fall comes, we pop it right on the road

Have a GREAT Christmas and really good new year.

ciao for now.

Tags: getting married in the winter, snow wedding photos, wedding photographer winter, winter weddings

A Hurst House Wedding

November 8, 2010

Photography by David Purslow

The Wedding of Fiona and Whyndam

A couple of weeks ago I had the great pleasure of photographing the wedding of Fiona and Whyndam. The wedding was at the magnificent Hurst House in Pembrokeshire and although it was a bit of a winter wedding the weather was amazing.

Fiona looked amazing in a beautiful Jenny Packham wedding dress (one of my favorite designers) and Wyndham looked as please as punch.

Just before the first dance we ran the slideshow (if we are at your wedding all day we do a slideshow in the evening) an Fiona stood next to Helen and myself. I have never known a bride cry her eyes out so much to her wedding phtoos. It humbled us.

Below is the sneak peek directors cut of the wedding photos – more in the next few days.

I hope you enjoy them

Wedding Venue – Hurst House - http://www.hurst-house.co.uk/

Wedding dress – Jenny Packham – Supplied by White Bride Narberth – http://www.whitebride.net/

Wedding Photography by David Purslow – www.davidpurslow.com

Tags: Hurst House Weddings