This one was just a little
bit special. Firstly, it was a wedding held in Milland, a beautiful little West Sussex village and a place very dear to my heart. Secondly, I went to school with Si
and before 2011, I hadn’t seen him in about 15 years. Thirdly his now wife is
gorgeous and lovely and very down to earth and by her own admission has the best Wallace & Gromit smile out there!
Champneys Forest Mere was
my first stop and let's be honest, what an
awesome place to be getting ready for any bride-to-be. As I entered the room I
was met with 4 beautiful ladies and one princess (not the bride) who were all
…faces glowing, pristine make-up, hair immaculate, looking radiant and for
one panicked minute I thought I was late, ‘No, no…the hair and make-up peeps
were just ‘on it’’ according to Cat. This
hasn’t happened to me before: I’m used to
shooting around the poor make-up artists as they try to do their job and I say
‘sorry, just ignore me and ooh that’s lovely’ but this time it was fab. It was calm and relaxed and I had lots
of time to shoot, chat and get a sandwich in my mouth (thank you room
service…!).
Unfortunately for Si and
Cat I wasn’t allowed to shoot the service. It always makes me laugh when I look
up at the Priest and utter the fateful words, ‘ Do I have to go long?’ as their
eyes wander down the long and narrow aisle, ‘Yes, you have to go long’. Humph. But respect where respect is due. They
have an important job to do and they don’t want to be distracted. I always want
to say, ‘Don’t worry, I’m like a NINJA…you won't see me’ but it's doubtful they believe me when I’m in my
photographer’s garb.
We photographed the group
shots outside the church and it became a test of wills between the bells and my
booming voice (I have a very noisy family so you learn to be LOUD IN ORDER TO BE
HEARD AT THE TABLE). I think the bells won, but it brought with it lots of
laughs especially when I almost took a tumble on a very high ladder. To the gentleman who
asked me if I did it "for a laugh", no, no I didn’t. But it got
everyone’s attention, made us giggle, and thankfully I didn’t ruin the
wedding by ending up in A&E! I must thank my very glamorous assistant Becky for holding the ladder and generally helping me out when I was in a
very awkward position with some very loud bells ringing in my ears trying to
distract me.
Off then to Milland
Village Hall which had been transformed into all kinds of vintage country
pretty with tea lights, Cath Kidston runners, pretty Gerbera Daisies, sweeties
(I had quite a few of these) and a happy crowd
of smiling, friendly Pimms-filled faces. The food was excellent and woo hoo my
personal fave, a good old hog roast courtesy of Ben, Pete and the team at The
Rising Sun. My only regret is that I didn't sample the fine fodder of Kebabalon and Dylans Ice Cream van.
In all the day was
fabulous, the speeches hilarious (trust me, I hear a lot) and Si and Cat looked
so gorgeous and so happy.
To finish, I would like to thank the happy couple for letting me be part of their most precious day. Si and Cat, I thoroughly enjoyed it, your
friends were warm, funny and friendly, your families so proud and I
especially enjoyed seeing some old faces again.
I hope your life together
is full of love and happiness…so much so that those massive smiles are always
in full beam!
With much love to you both.
Loukie xx
