Lloyd May 11th, 2010
This weekend I photographed a wedding with a distinctly Scottish flavour to it. Caroline and Richard were married at St. Columba’s Presbyterian Church of Scotland in Pont Street at 4pm and, although the weather was pretty chilly, at least the showers that had been predicted held off.
After the ceremony the guests travelled by London Bus to the wedding reception at The Caledonian Club near Belgrave Square. Whilst they were being welcomed into the club we took the bride and groom for a walk around the nearby Wilton Terrace to give them chance to draw breathe and to allow time for some relaxed photographs.
The flowers at St Columba’s and around the Caledonian Club were all supplied by
Judith Blacklock who also created Caroline’s beautiful bouquet.
During the wedding breakfast the bride and groom and their guests were entertained by the hilarious Three Waiters and the day was finished off with a Cailidh in the Caledonian Club Ballroom.
The happy couple are now on honeymoon in Mauritius
Tags: flowers, honeymoon destinations, venues, wedding flowers, wedding venues
Lloyd November 12th, 2009
Last week I was lucky enought to spend the morning with my good friends Simon Nickell and Victoria Taberer-Bond at Euphoric Flowers. Although their creative partnership started many years ago they only founded Euphoric in 2005. However, in that time they have established themselves as one of London’s foremost wedding and event florists.
We had an early start at
New Covent Garden Market where they were selecting the flowers for their weekend commisions which included a civil partnership at the vast
Crystal Room in the Mayfair Hotel in London and an awards ceremony for the
British Guild of Travel Writers.
Simon and Victoria are regulars at the market and knew what they needed and where to find it. Before long they were loading their van with Molucella, Orchids, Gladioli and Heliconia.
Then it was back to their workshop in Fulham but not before we enjoyed a fry up in the market cafe!
As you can imagine, the Euphoric Flowers workshop smells divine and, large as it is, the place is full to the brim with exotic flowers, vases of all shapes and sizes and other flowery ephemera.
Apart from working on around 25 weddings a year, the pair find time to supply flower arrangements for the
Marcus Wareing restaurant at the Berkeley Hotel,
Pronovias and
LSA International. They are also the approved florists at
London Zoo.
As regular readers of my blog will remember, Euphoric Flowers designed the floral arrangements for the wedding I photographed at Great Fosters Hotel back in the summer.
I would suggest that the secret to Simon and Victoria’s success is the great working relationship they enjoy and the passion they both display in their work.
Tags: flowers, venues
Lloyd April 20th, 2009
On Saturday I photographed the wedding of Natasha and Iain in a very spring like Devon. The reception was held at Natasha’s family home in the quiet hamlet of Furley and the ceremony was at the St John the Baptist church in nearby Membury.
As usual I arrived a little early to check out the locations and say ‘hi’ to everybody. I photographed
the wedding of Natasha’s sister, Coquita, last year so I was already familiar with some of the family. As the Bride prepared for her big day the two young bridesmaids played on the swing without a care in the world.
During the ceremony we had a reading from the ‘The Little Prince’ by
Antoine de Saint Exupery and sang ‘I Vow to Thee My Country’ before the Bride and Groom came down the aisle to ‘The Liberty Bell’!
Back at the house, instead of the usual canapés, afternoon tea was served including cucumber sandwiches and cream scones.
The wedding breakfast included a starter of crab meat salad and a main course with barbequed lamb. The Bride and Groom work in the film industry and named all of the tables after different film Directors including Stanley Kubrick, Clint Eastwood and Woody Allen. The catering was by the team at
Gordon Sutherland and all of the fabulous flowers were created by Natasha’s mother, Cathryn.
The newly weds are now on their way to Sicily for a weeks honeymoon.
Tags: caterers, flowers, honeymoon destinations, readings
Lloyd October 21st, 2008
Anna and Richard were married at St Andrews church in the village of Shalford.
Anna arrived at the church looking gorgeous in her Ana Cristache dress and as she walked up the aisle trumpeter William Bargman played The Prince of Denmark’s March by Jeremiah Clark.
Amongst the guests for the day was the couple’s dog Monty who was sporting a bowtie and looked very smart.
After the wedding ceremony the newlyweds and their guests made the 15 minute journey to Gosfield Hall for the wedding reception
Richard was Best Man at his sister Karen’s wedding last year and she returned the compliment by being his Best Man for the day.
After a Champagne reception the guests were led through to The Ballroom for the wedding breakfast.
The delicious looking cake was made by Patacake.
Mr and Mrs Harvey are now enjoying their honeymoon in Grenada.
Tags: cakes, flowers, venues
Lloyd October 21st, 2008
On Saturday I was down in Chiddingfold in Surrey for the wedding of Emma and Ravi.
As Emma was getting ready at nearby Lythe Hill Hotel, Ravi and the guests were arriving at Ramster for the wedding ceremony.
Ramster was decked out in flowers by Gemma Beasley from In the Pink and instead of the traditional wedding caked there was a delicious looking cheesecake from The English Cheesecake Co.
Emma walked up the aisle with her father, John, wearing a gorgeous dress by Caroline Castigliano (that’s Emma, not John…).
During the wedding ceremony there were two readings; one, an extract from Les Misérables and the other, the very funny poem by Louise Cuddon called I’ll Be There. Then, during the signing of the register, the newlyweds’ friend Cate sung the Norah Jones song, Come Away With Me.
After the wedding breakfast, courtesy of caterers Jacaranda, the party started with ‘two’ first dances, both a little unusual, Step on my Old Size Nines by the Stereophonics and then the reggae standard, Guava Jelly; I think it was the Johnny Nash version but somebody please correct me if I’m wrong.
Mr & Mrs Saksena are now enjoying a few days in Edinburgh before the honeymoon proper, Christmas in South Africa.
Tags: 1st dances, cakes, flowers, readings
Lloyd August 24th, 2008
Tom and Melanie were married in the beautiful country Church of All Saints in the Groom’s home village of Wickhambrook in Suffolk.
Melanie’s dress came from Pronovias who also got a mention in my last posting. It looked fantastic with it’s understated veil.
As Tom and his best men were getting ready at his parent’s house a mile from the church, Mel and her five Bridesmaids were preparing in the Bedford Lodge Hotel about 10 miles away in Newmarket.
The enormous cake came from the Vanilla Patisserie who are based in Suffolk
The stationery for the wedding was designed by With Love… and the whole event was co-ordinated by Bernadette from Dream Occasions.
The reception was held back at the house where a marquee had been erected by Weatherill Brothers Marquee Hire and decorated with amazing flower arrangements by Beverley and the team from Jade’s Flower Design.
This week, as this was a ‘country’ wedding I decided that the b&w photographs would look good with a ‘rustic’ tone to them. I hope you like it…
The Bride and Groom are now on their way to Mauritius for a two week break.
Tags: cakes, dresses, flowers, wedding planners
Lloyd August 11th, 2008
On Saturday we were in a very wet Central London to photograph the wedding of Emily and James.
James and his Best Man, Nick, prepared for the day well by starting with a shave at Gentleman’s Tonic in Mayfair followed by a hearty brunch with the Ushers at Automat in nearby Dover Street. The meal, which included Ham and Eggs and American pancakes, was enjoyed by all.
Meanwhile, in an apartment overlooking the Thames, Emily and her Bridesmaids were sipping on Champagne as they got ready to leave for the church.
Emily’s dress, which was designed by Manuel Mota from Pronovias, was complimented by a very glamorous pair of Christian Louboutin stilettos. Her flowers were by Angela Bruce at New Covent Garden.
The Bride was chaperoned into St Saviours church in Pimlico by a barrage of brollie wielding Ushers. The same tactic was employed as the newly weds exited an hour later to head off to their reception at the Caledonian Club in Belgravia.
The couple are about to fly off on honeymoon to the West Coast of America and Hawaii.
Tags: dresses, flowers, honeymoon destinations, shoes, venues
Lloyd July 14th, 2008
My Bride and Groom on Saturday were Lisa Potterton and Mike Simpson. The ‘ropey’ Summer weather didn’t interfere too much and we had a fair amount of sunshine.
Lisa prepared at Mike’s parent’s house in Merstham which was also where they held the wedding reception later in the day; in a large marquee set on one of the terraced lawns.
The wedding ceremony was held a few hundred yards away at St Katherine’s church where over 120 guests congregated.
Although a lot of the flower arrangements were created by Mike’s Mother, Valerie, Lisa’s bridal bouquet was made by Nelly Maiklem who is based at nearby Fanny’s Farm Shop.
The Bride’s dress was also sourced locally, from Amante in Reigate and was finished off with a pair of Champagne coloured Jimmy Choos.
Excellent food was assured as the catering was provided by Bovingdons. The menu included slow roasted fillet of beef and home made Sicilian cheese cake!
After a first dance to Rod Stewart’s version of ‘Have I told You Lately’, the guests danced the night away to the music of the live band.
Lisa and Mike have now gone on a two week honeymoon to the USA.
Tags: 1st dances, caterers, dresses, flowers, shoes
Lloyd May 19th, 2008
There was just a hint of the Scottish about this wedding. Both Eilidh and Andrew’s families, the Beatons and the MacLeods, are originally from the Isle of Skye and, although they married in an Anglican church, St Mary the Virgin in Elham, there was definitely an influence from north of the border.
The bridal bouquet included antique roses and, one of the symbols of Scotland, the thistle. All the floral arrangements were created by Helen Gomez.
As the Bride and Groom signed the register, Eilidh’s friend Victoria sang the Robbie Burns’ song, ‘My Love is Like a Red Red Rose’ and, when they left the church the organist played ‘Scotland the Brave’.
The couple were whisked away by pony & trap and the wedding breakfast and reception was held in a marquee at Eilidh’s parent’s house.
After a meal that included smoked duck, salmon and bangers & mash, the Bride & Groom and their guests danced the night away to, what else, a Céilidh.
Mr & Mrs MacLeod are now honeymooning in the Highlands of Thailand.
Tags: 1st dances, flowers, readings
