Adam, Morgan and their Brrrrrrrrr-illiant Day

Next destination, Banbury and brrrrrrr it was freezing. Beautiful, but freezing. My hats off to Morgan and Adam who braved it in the name of photography because my fingers may have been blue and barely able to move, but at least I had some fingerless gloves on. They just had each other, but I think they were just fine. ;-)

So this was Adam and Morgan’s big day and I was super impressed with how it all came together so quickly and it’s a real reminder that a great wedding needn’t take years of planning, but can in fact blossom in a short space of time. All you need is a great couple, madly in love, some handy and helpful friends and family and ergo…pretty fabulous wedding.  

I started the day at Easington House Hotel to photograph Morgan getting ready and it was such a wonderful atmosphere thanks to one lovely bride and her equally lovely mum and sis. We hit it off instantly and I thoroughly enjoyed being ‘one of the girls’ and to be honest, it didn’t really feel like work, it was fun. I could’ve jumped up and down on the bed in excitement and I doubt they would’ve thought me strange, they probably would have joined in!

Morgan looked absolutely beautiful…like a 1930’s movie siren and you can see where she get’s it from…some damn fine genes there ala mum and dad. It’s no surprise then that during the speeches it was mentioned Morgan once kissed Ryan Gosling (exclamation mark, exclamation mark - swoon ladies, swoon), but Adam’s a pretty handsome chap and Morgan only has eyes for him so… ‘Soz Ryan, hop it’.

The service was held at Sulgrave Manor which is a wonderfully romantic and historic venue and like I said, it was freezing, but not one word of complaint came from either of them, they just got on with it like troopers. They were very patient with me clicking away and continually repeating, ‘Just one more shot I promise’…it never was just one more I’m afraid, but hopefully the shots will be worth the loss of feeling to the limbs. At this point I must say a little thank you to Chris for doing sterling work as lighting boy!

We then headed off to The Inn at Farnborough which is a lovely cosy country pub. The speeches were hilarious, mildly abusive and tearily sentimental – just the right amount of each and to top it off Morgan’s band, 'Fag Junky' (yes, I said Fag Junky..feels like I'm saying something obscene, but I'm actually not) played an excellent set with none other than the bride in tow. It’s the first time I’ve seen a bride up on stage doing her thing, but I can honestly say it was excellent. The guests loved it and you could barely move in the room which is always a good sign of merriment, so my hats off to them. 

If anyone is wondering about the garter shot (placed oddly in between some of the reception images), that's because it was shot in the very pink ladies loo during the reception. That little bad boy was worn by Morgan's grandmother, her mother, her sister and now Morgan and is 60 years old. Amazing! 

So to finish I would like to congratulate and thank the gorgeous couple. Adam and Morgan, I hope you'll have many happy years together full of love, laughter, central heating (or preferably sun) and happiness and I hope the images below and your final portfolio will be a great reminder of a beautiful day.

 My love and best wishes to you both.

Loukie x

P.S. I fully expect an appearance of 'Fag Junky' at your 25th anniversary ;-) 

Fish, Dieneke, the famous Dutch hospitality and lots of kissy kissy.

Friday (23rd Nov) 4.30am and I’m EXCITED. Surely nothing is as exciting as early morning wake up calls for imminent airport trips…? Just me then. I feel a little sick though so I eat two unsatisfactory breakfast bars en-route much to my boyfriend's distaste. I’m excited and I’m nervous. My first international wedding. I am now International wedding photographer extraordinaire. Perhaps not, but a baby step closer ;-) I eat another breakfast when I get to the airport and one more on the plane. 3 breakfasts is a first…must be nervous…definitely not greedy.  

So Fish and Dieneke got married. There was a Brighton contingent in attendance and a lot of lovely Dutch people. If I loved the Dutch before (which I did), I love them a heck of a lot more after this humdinger of a wedding. I was completely looked after, welcomed and made to feel part of their family and close friends from the word go. My accommodation was wonderful and I was even given some little socks by the lovely Lande at Huis op den Bergh. It’s like she knew my feet were made of ice.

The wedding was held in Doesburg, a beautiful town about 14km from Arnheim and 10mins from where Fish and Dieneke live. Luckily for me, everything was within a 2 minute walk so I had none of the usual logistical panics that plague me. The ceremony was in a stunning town hall, which was a stone throw from De Waag (the oldest public venue in Holland) where the reception was held and then onto the Italian restaurant two doors down. I photographed the group shots outside the church where Dieneke’s parents were married (over 40 years ago!!!) and we tried to replicate the bridal party alley walk - although looking at them now, they're not really an exact replica, but more a 'modern take.' ;-)

Dieneke looked incredible! A beautiful bride with a personality to match. I didn’t notice on the day, but whilst editing I realised she really looks like Marilyn Monroe! Simply stunning. Fish didn’t let the side down either, he looked so handsome in his black suit and clearly, two gorgeous people tend to have gorgeous babies et voila, Jim and Mick, their little ones, looked equally as gorgeous. One thing I must say is how much I loved the Bride and Groom bucking tradition and meeting beforehand at Dieneke’s parent’s house. This meant they arrived together with the booming sound of cheers reverberating around the small town of Doesburg. It was amazing. 

I can’t tell you how much I loved shooting this wedding because it should be illegal to love your job that much, but it’s testament to the people involved. Great people have great weddings so no surprise there then. It had so many personal touches it was just magic. I especially loved all the kissy-kissy going on between the guests at the meal. Yes, I was encouraging them, but no, they didn't need much...a little nudge and off they went with their smooches - the shots still make me giggle. 

I would really like to say a few thanks yous to some people involved…BenGC for assisting – it was great working with you again trouble. Han, for ferrying me around and helping with my bags and for doing a great speech with his brother...I couldn’t understand a word but it was clearly very funny because everyone was laughing including us non-Dutch speaking lot. Kris - not being one to be outdone - also did his speech in another language. In his case, Icelandic (!!!) only to be interspersed with English words like ’little midget’, it was incredibly funny and I’m sure incredibly rude. Also, a big thank you to The Brighton Lot for putting up with me, making me laugh and including me in the gang, and the Dutch for generally being awesome, also making me laugh and continually saying ‘You make picture of us?' Love it. 

Finally a big dank je to Fish and Dieneke…dank je for hiring me and allowing me to play a role in what was such an incredible day full of laughter, love and happiness…dank je for bearing the rain and the dark and dank je to Dieneke for her laugh. I can still hear it in my head and it’s simply amazing!

I wish you so much happiness in your life together, you're an amazing couple with amazing friends and families - I'm sure with them by your side, you'll do just great ;-)

My love and best wishes to you all. 

Loukie xx