Patrick, Daisy - Animations, old ruins and, 'A bicycle made for two...'

Next stop, Margam Park, Wales. Bizarrely I have been there before, for a hen do.. as you do, but this time, I’m armed with my kit, sans hangover and 'fear' (it's home to a Go Ape park) and ready for Patrick and Daisy's big day of AMAZING. Margam Park is really something else! Dating back 4000 years, it’s medieval history personified. Full of charm, romance, a little darkness... all very Game of Thrones-esque. They couldn't have chosen a more beautiful or interesting spot. Unfortunately, we didn't make it up to the castle, but the other options were endless. So much so, I didn't know where to look, where to shoot, where to place them... Argh (brain explosion) I wanted it all and more time to shoot in this incredible place. Patrick and Daisy were so accommodating though and had no qualms being traipsed around from this ruin to that ruin, under the arch, around the arch etc etc, bless them... absolute troopers!
 
Daisy looked breathtaking in her dress. Designed by Sassi Holford it was brilliantly unusual with lots of flowers and hints of pale pink... such a pretty dress! And Patrick, ever so handsome in his tails. What a gorgeous pair. And I might add... the ushers, bridesmaids, guests... the lot! Such a lovely bunch who all 'scrubbed up' something wonderful. 
I didn’t shoot the getting ready bits n’ bobs so I enjoyed the full immediate effect of seeing everyone in their finery. I’m more often than not subject to hair-rollers, dressing gowns and knickers ;-)

The ceremony was held at St. Josephs in Penarth. Canon Joe gave a super service and besides being a stunning church, it is very special to Daisy as she was baptised there and it's been her family church for 30 years. It was then off to The Orangery at Margam and the reception was overseen by the lovely Gary and Deborah. The food was delicious, the service impeccable and the room and tables looked fit for royalty. Beautiful flowers and pretty things aplenty and my personal fave was the vintage tandem bike, aww too much cuteness!  

One of the funniest moments had to be the best man Alex's speech and his slideshow animation to unashamedly share the stag do action. Created by his fiance Liza, it was hilarious... a stroke of genius!  When Patrick heard the words, 'Little did Patrick know, I filmed the whole thing..' You should've seen his face! His mouth dropped and I'm pretty sure I saw a bead of sweat drip down haha ;-) P A N I C set in. It was all in good taste though and relatively acceptable for public viewing ;-)

The first dance kicked off the evening's antics with a unique, somewhat brilliant song choice ‘Island in the Sun’ by Weezer. Daisy and Patrick danced 'sensibly' (first dance n’all) and then went air-guitar-dancing-loon-crazy during the chorus, and then recomposed sensibly for the verse. Ahhh it was funny. Blue lion band were a great bunch, they had me laughing a lot during our brief chats and of course, they played brilliantly and had everyone dancing their little wedding socks off.

So Daisy and Patrick, thank you for being patient with me, apologies for my ‘HIIII YA!’ jokes (Daisy is a Karate black belt) and I hope the pictures will bring back lots of lovely memories. I’d like to wish you both a healthy, happy, beautiful life together. Get on that tandem and ride off into the sunset and Patrick, just remember who wears the karate pants ;-)

My love and best wishes to you both.

Loukie x

P.S. A big massive thank you to Kamran, the particularly glamorous assistant/usher/photo-bomber who couldn’t have been more helpful. Legend!

Jon, Lisa - The flamingos, fancy dress and surprise guests.

When Lisa and Jon first told me the inspiration for their wedding, my brain went flip crazy and instead of hearing ‘Wes Anderson’, I heard 'Wes Craven.' Hmm. ‘Right, OK, so you’re going for a Freddie Kruger / horror theme.'… Instantly picturing Jon saying 'I do!' In a Freddie costume. NO LOUKIA! Silly brain. Grand Budapest Hotel, Life Aquatic, Moonrise Kingdom and so on and so on…

In light of this, where better than to set your scene in the Southern Pavillion at Worthing Pier. A big beautiful sea-bound heavenly nod to glam, glitz and getting your rocks on... twenties style! Featuring big love, big personalities, big balloons, and a load of pretty flamingoes. Including a really big one!

The centrepieces were individually decorated flamingos and simply put, each one was a work of art. Specially chosen friends and family all designed, decorated and lovingly crafted each one and the time and effort that must have gone into them is quite astounding… especially from Jon’s mum Jen who did four of them! That’s a mother’s love right there - such amazing talent.
My favourite was George and Sophie’s - past wedding clients - so of course... a little biased perhaps and what do you I do to show my appreciation and bias? Yup, fail to take its picture. DOH DOH DOH. Lisa and Jon, Soph and George… a thousand apologies. Hopefully, the gazillion other pics will sway your speedy forgiveness!

So on to the most important thing, the couple! Awesome, sweet, funny, beautiful - Jon and Lisa. What an amazing pair they are. The fine genes have certainly rubbed off on their kiddywinks. Gorgeous Finn aka Cat boy (his get-up should be a prerequisite for all infant wedding attire in my opinion) and the lovely Martha, dressed in the cutest flamingo dress I could just squidge her… Bless her, she found it all a little overwhelming at points and it won't be the first time I’ve shot a wedding where the bride and groom exchange vows holding their kids, but when you’re two and five, things like weddings don’t have quite the same meaning as they do to the adults. I admire Jon and Lisa for their patience because when your kids are crying, and you have important things to do, like y’know GET MARRIED and have pictures taken, and the wind is smacking you in the face, you would quite happily sell them to the circus ;-) Ssshhh I didn’t say that ;-) But in true pro-parent-bride-groom style, they took it all in their stride!

Moving on… ah yes, The Surprise. Little did Jon know that one of his best buds Andy would be flying the long arduous OZ-UK journey to attend and as every groom expects his bride to walk down the aisle… an Aussie male walked down instead. Haha. Jon was absolutely blown away by this, and I distinctly remember hearing the words, ‘Jesus I can’t cry already!’ It was one of life's very special moments.

But this wedding was full of special moments; The speeches... lots of tears and even more laughs, each one was funny and tear jerking in equal measure. And when you have two best men, you’re kinda asking for a bit of embarrassment and hilarity really. Then onto the amazing bridesmaids, what a fabulous bunch of ladies to call your best friends. I'm not quite sure we nailed 'The Bridesmaid' shot, but I’m guessing we did it UK style - a bit of wind, a little bit of rain, a grey backdrop and a lot of laughter. Thanks to everyone for braving the weather in the name of photography... it was windy out there!
I mustn't forget the food (Red Anywhere Catering), and the music (the Swing Ninja's) were a delight for the tummies and ears and I must thank the lovely venue coordinator Andrea, who couldn't have been more helpful.

So to finish, I would like to wish this wonderful couple the happiest and most joyful life the universe can muster. It hasn’t been an easy ride for them at times, but together and with their family, they're an amazing team and can get through anything!

So... good people, take note... when life throws you angry flamingos, do what they did... get your family and mates to do ‘em up and make ‘em beautiful ;-)

My love, best wishes and flamingo kisses to you,

Loukie xx