Archive for the ‘Photography’ Category

Bridal Soup’s very own Steve Gerrard has put together a little slideshow of some of his fave photos from last year.

There are plenty of wedding images but Steve also shoots a lot of bands so it’s a broad mix.

Sit back and enjoy…

My Fave Photos of 2009 from Steve Gerrard on Vimeo.

We all know there are lots of good luck charms that can be given to the bride and groom on their big day from a silver sixpence, a horseshoe and even a chimney sweep.  So we thought luck will definitely be on our side today as we introduce….. Horseshoe Photography, otherwise known as Annemieke Goldswain-Hein and Jo Thorne.

“Times have changed and with that, styles have changed.  From more official, traditional wedding photography, reportage wedding photography has become very trendy over the last couple of years, which captures an event in a more realistic way.  Where traditional wedding photography focuses on staged photos, a reportage wedding aims to pictorially capture the spirit and feel of your wedding as it really is.”

“We really enjoy approaching weddings from various angles, bringing the atmosphere of the day into our imagery in a creative way.”

Their award winning style is a mixture of photojournalism, fashion and fine art photography and they both feel that modern weddings offer the photographer the scope to broaden his or her creative talents far more than was previously possible (..as the image below clearly shows…Wow!).

They offer pre wedding shoots and ‘rock the frock’ sessions too!  So what are you waiting for? If you’d like to get in touch with the ladies and have a look at more of their work you can visit their website at Horseshoe Photography.

I’m now off to buy a lottery ticket.

As a new member of the Bridal Soup team I wanted my first blog to make a statement and boy oh boy did I find just the thing!  Oh So Boudoir recently got in contact to let us know about their new luxury boutique boudoir shoots and I think it’s safe to say….we’d all LOVE to have some gorgeous shots of ourselves looking beautiful and down right sexy!

Oh So Boudoir have teamed up with the Radisson Blu Hotel and Crowne Plaza in Birmingham to offer us ladies boudoir shoots in a stylised, luxurious, boutique setting with the option to really pamper yourself.  Not only do you get your own photo shoot with a professional hair and makeover, you can also have lunch or dinner in the hotel or pop over to the mailbox for some retail therapy!

Jo says ‘I think our images have a softer, more sensual, feminine feel to them than a lot of boudoir that’s out there at the moment and the stylised hotel settings adds greatly to the finished effect, boosting the air of glamour surrounding the experience. All images are professionally airbrushed to make our ladies look even more fabulous.

Clients are all offered a free consultation as part of their Boudoir experience, where we offer styling advice and suggest outfits for the day, we discuss any body hang ups (we’ve all got them - right) and reassure clients that we have poses that will flatter every different body shapes.’

They have a range of packages including overnight stays for that extra treat and girlfriend packages designed for two people, each getting their own private shoot.

Of course boudoir isn’t just for the brides to be, girlfriends can get in on the action too with their hen weekend packages. This is available for up to 10 ladies, each getting a professional makeover, 30 minute boudoir shoot with full posing direction and a professionally retouched image in a presentation folder, along with 2 nights accommodation in the Radisson or Crowne Plaza.

The images can be used as a unique and personal gift for your groom on the morning of your wedding (he will LOVE them), a valentines or birthday gift or simply just for yourself!

If you would like to get in contact then you can visit their website www.ohsoboudoir.com

Thanks Oh So Boudoir!  So when can you fit me in?

Hello everyone!

My name is Emma Case and I would just like to introduce myself as the newest member of the Bridal Soup team and to say that I am so so excited and cannot wait to share all the delicious things that come our way!  As a ‘not yet married but engaged to a gorgeous guy’ lady I am really looking forward to finding all sorts of wonderful things that I would want to book for my own wedding and to share them with all of you!

So who am I?  Well I am a photographer who loves anything vintage and a girl who likes fake moustaches, photo booths, cupcakes and good music.  You can find me at www.emmacasephotography.co.uk

When I’m not taking photographs I do a bit of acting, sign language (which is my other passion), spend time with my fiance Pete, attempt to decorate my house and look after my two cats, Maximo and Nanna.

I hope you all enjoy my future posts and it’s an absolute pleasure to make your acquaintance,

Emma x

If you have something that you would love us to feature or you simply want to say hello then email me at emma@bridalsoup.com

Brides need to know that they are going to get the best images possible from their day and they need their day to be relaxed and stress free. That’s why knowing you have the right photographer for you is so important.

You need to choose a photographer that you get on well with and that you know you can feel completely comfortable with on the big day. Check out their website, ask to see a whole wedding that they have taken and don’t be afraid to ask loads of questions. Most photographers love to talk about their passion.

If you love their work and like their personalities (after all they’ll be spending your wedding day with you!), book them and trust them to do their job. They get those images from doing what they do best, so let them do it. Have fun and be happy that you have found the photographer for you.

All that’s left for you to do is to start getting excited about your wedding day!

Look out for photographers offering a pre-wed shoot as this really helps you to get to know them and get an idea on how they work, so when it comes to the day you are more relaxed, resulting in better photographs.

The shoots normally take place on location. It can be quite daunting having a camera in front of you, but most of the time it’s fun and nice to get away from the stresses of organizing a wedding. And just knowing that you are going to get some amazing pictures as a result makes it all worthwhile.

It also gives you complete confidence you have chosen the right photographer when you see the images from the shoot.

Your wedding photographer should not just be your wedding photographer either. They should be able to turn up your wedding day like old friends - but with really good cameras!!

Kate and Craig from Craig Williams Photography have shot a video showing their brides about them and what they do, no hidden secrets or false pretenses, making sure their brides immediately feel at ease and confident that they are have chosen the best company.

Check out the video and the resulting images from a couple of their shoots…

Wedding Venue: Lyveden New Bield near Oundle  http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-lyvedennewbield

Photographer – Crash Taylor http://www.crashtaylor.com

Catering: We had a hog roast and BBQ from Trendall in Oundle

Jeweller: Monsoon/Accessorise - I wanted vintage but couldn’t find anything I liked!

Wedding Cake: A metre high summer fruit pavlova made by Katie at Couture Cakes - www.couturecakes.co.uk

Hair: and make-up by my good friend Sarah Jane Green of Teresa Fairminer Associates www.teresafairminer.com

Reception Venue: Lyveden New Bield - we hired a marquee from the Posh Tent Company www.theposhtentcompany.co.uk

Wedding Dress: Was made for me by Rachel Lamb because I couldn’t find anything I liked ready made - www.rachellambdesign.co.uk

Florist: My friend Simone Pickering of Miss Pickering of Stamford - because she does the best vintage country flowers in the world

Transportation: A morris minor convertible driven by my dad - we needed a self drive wedding car because we both get terribly car sick! http://www.selfdriveclassics.co.uk/index.html

We asked the couple to answer a few questions so you can get an insight into their day and why it was so special, and maybe pick up a few tips along the way

1. What Rebecca loves most about Tim…

His hugs and his reassuring logic which brings me back down to earth.

2. What Tim loves most about Rebecca…

Everything.

3. How did the proposal happen?

After eight years of waiting I was completely stunned when Tim took me to my favourite restaurant for my birthday and proposed. I was rendered momentarily speechless - which for those who know me would never have seemed possible.

4. How did you choose the wedding venue?

I’ve always wanted to get married outside, somewhere beautiful that has some history. I searched on the internet for stately homes and country hotels with nice gardens but nothing was right. Then I tried the National Trust website and came across Lyveden. We went to see it on a cold rainy day and loved it even though it was dark and wet. It has a fantastic atmosphere and loads of great backdrops. We knew it would be great for photos and it was something different - the perfect setting for our humanist outdoor ceremony.

5. The best moment of the day…

Other than the I dos - the best moment was everyone shouting for more when the DJ played the last song. No one would leave the dance floor - that’s when I knew everyone had had a great time and they didn’t want our wedding to end. We had one more track - Thriller - to end the night.

6. The story of the dress…

I knew I wanted lace - but it needed to be very English looking lace not French or Spanish like most of the ones in the shops. I knew I didn’t want strapless, that I wanted a v-neckline, a nipped in waist and an a-line skirt with a bit of a train. I tried on dress after dress and none of them were right - they were too French, too big, too sparkly, too Flamenco and just not me. When I tried on a sample dress in Rachel’s showroom in the fabric my dress was made from I knew it was perfect - and unlike other wedding dress designers who can be really snotty about changing their “design” she was happy to make me anything and sketched the perfect picture from my description. Having a dress made is nerve-wracking because you see how much work goes into it without knowing if you’re definitely going to like it in the end - but I loved my dress.

7. How did you choose your photographer?

A friend had seen Crash Taylor’s website and once I’d seen it we got in touch asap to book him up fast. We loved his dramatic images which we knew would suit our venue and we loved the idea of the engagement shoot too.

8. What personal touches did you include in your wedding?

Lots - I wanted our wedding to be about us and not just a generic wedding. Our humanist ceremony included our childhood stories, details of how we met and readings by close friends. We wrote our own vows - which were really special. My mum, sister and I made pretty much everything for the wedding from the bunting, tablecloths and pillows to the homemade cakes and scones. Tim hand stamped all of our place cards and we created a gallery of old picture frames filled with black and white pictures of us growing up and with all our friends and family. Each of our out of town guests got a goody bag when they arrived at their hotel full of nibbles, sweets and bottles of water to make them feel at home. I also kept a blog of the planning process and we had a wedding website which got our guests involved from the outset - http://becomingmrsjones.blogspot.com/ and http://www.beckandtim.com

9. What happened that wasn’t planned?

I’m a bit of a control freak so things ran pretty smoothly. Some of the candles didn’t get lit but I was having such a great time that I didn’t care. Our guests drank our welcome drinks dry in 30 minutes - so I’d definitely get more booze in from the start if I did it again! Oh and one of our ushers locked his car keys in his boot along with the video cameras for the wedding - which was a shame, but it was great fodder for the grooms speech.

10. Where did you choose for the honeymoon?

We went to Cape Town, on Safari and then to Zanzibar and it was amazing.

11. What advice would you give couples planning their own weddings?

Have a marquee wedding - they have a beautiful atmosphere that’s relaxed and intimate at the same time. Get great food, lots to drink and music that everyone will love. Make sure your bar is in the same room as the dancing - so many people came up to me to say that they’d never seen so many men on the dance floor and that was because we made it hard for them to escape the music. We chose to get married at 4pm rather than lunch time - it meant the day was shorter, but it also meant that our guests didn’t have the dead time between the ceremony and the evening reception for just hanging around - it worked really well. Enjoy yourself - it can be hard to let go when you’ve been planning something for months/years (29 in my case!) - and I was a nervous wreck before I walked up the aisle - but from then on it was brilliant. A few bits didn’t get done but no one but me (and mum) really knew about it so no one noticed. People are there to see you happily married - so smile and enjoy yourselves.

Thank you to Rebecca and Tim for sharing their wonderful day with Bridal Soup, and thank you to Crash Taylor for the brilliant images.

http://www.crashtaylor.com/

Bridal Soup are big fans of what we like to call ‘Rock the Frock’. It’s a great way to get creative and do something a bit different with the dress of you dreams!

Wedding and portrait photographer Andrew Dobell tells us about one of his recent Trash the Dress shoots and the results, as we’re sure you’ll agree, are fantastic!

It goes by many names but the idea is the same, a photo shoot in your wedding dress, before or after your wedding.

Known most commonly as ‘Trash the Dress’ shoots - although that’s a bit of a  misnomer as the idea isn’t necessarily to ruin the dress- these shoots have been around for a while, their origins varying depending on who you talk to.

The shoot came about from wanting to do something a little more edgy and off the wall really, and knowing of an abandoned building not too far from me, I just had to put together a shoot. The girl in the dress is Diane, one of the makeup artists I work with who expressed an interest in doing a shoot with me. I have done other Trash the Dress shoots with couples which have also produced some great, creative results.

I believe it’s important to continually push your photography and try new things which can then be used for clients. I’m not sure how many couples would like to wander round a derelict building in their wedding gear, but hopefully the photos speak for themselves.

You can be as wild or as tame as you like, you’ve invested a lot of time, money and emotion in your dress so why not get your money’s worth!

Check out other Trash the Dress shoots from Andrew at his website www.andrewdobell.com

Photographs by Andrew Dobell Photography

Photographer Steve Gerrard tells us why you don’t have to “trash” the dress to capture some great post-wedding images to really show off that amazing wedding dress…

Fay & Jason were married at Rowton Castle in February. Unfortunately I didn’t get to shoot their wedding but I so wish I had! They booked the photographer recommended by the venue and were a little disappointed with the results. Fay emailed me asking about a “Trash The Dress” session, stressing that she “doesn’t want to actually ‘trash’ the dress”. And to be honest, neither would we!

So we met up one Tuesday morning in May and spent the day on a mini adventure in search of cool locations, only stopping for a nice pub lunch out in the countryside. This is why I LOVE my job and Fay & Jason rocked the shoot. Unlike the wedding day there were no restrictions on time, location, etc. They didn’t have to worry if their guests were ok and if the dress got a little dirty, so what?! Just clean it later.

I wish every bride would do this after her wedding day. We had so much fun!

So here are just a selection of images from our “Shoot The Dress” session with Fay & Jason.

This shoot was absolutely one of my favourites ever and that’s mainly down to Fay & Jason being so cool, fun, adventurous and great company. Thanks so much for asking me to do the session. Now, which one will look best on your wall…?

All images - Steve Gerrard Photography

Do you enjoy:

Dancing?

Romance?

Getting glammed up…in your wedding dress?

Then you’ll have a blast at THE BIG I DO REDO London Ball on May 16 at ANdAZ Hotel Liverpool Street. It’s Britain’s most fabulous charity wedding ball ever!

May 16, 2009 is the date of Britain’s Biggest Wedding Party! Across Britain, we are creating one big national party night by getting brides and grooms back into their wedding outfits for charity. How can you get involved? Just buy tickets to the star-studded London Ball at the Andaz Hotel where BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing and Let’s Dance for Comic Relief choreographer, Richard Marcel, will be choreographing and dancing in a special Dirty Dancing tribute with his professional colleagues (and Julia & James. Groan). The beneficiary of the London Ball is Macmillan Cancer Support and Pancreatic Cancer UK , which Julia chose after meeting Patrick Swayze on The Oprah Winfrey Show in 2007. He was diagnosed with the disease shortly afterwards. To get your tickets, just click here: www.thebigidoredo.com .

Buying a ticket will not only help raise money for two amazing cancer charities, but you will also get to dance the night away with the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing and Let’s Dance for Comic Relief choreographer, Richard Marcel – the man behind Keith Lemon & Paddy McGuinness’ “Time of Your Life” routine!

Tickets are only £85 each and include:

Welcome drink & purple carpet reception

Buffet food from the stunning chefs at ANdAZ

Charity auction & raffle

Dirty Dancing tribute by Richard & his dancers

DJ and dancing

And many other surprises…

The dress code is wedding dress (old, bought or borrowed), groom’s suit, bridesmaid dress, or even vicar! Anything wedding-related goes!

Wedding TV will be filming the event for a special edition of their Wedding Breakfast show.

This national celebration is the idea of esteemed wedding photographer, Julia Boggio, who gained huge international attention as “the Dirty Dancing bride” when she and her husband, James Derbyshire, posted their wedding video on You Tube. Their superb rendition of the legendary “Time of your Life” dance number has received almost six million hits since they posted it in February 2007. The couple appeared on a number of UK news programmes, including GMTV, BBC Breakfast, Richard & Judy, Good Morning Australia and, incredibly, The Oprah Winfrey Show in the US, where Julia danced into the arms of Patrick Swayze himself. 

When Patrick Swayze was sadly diagnosed with pancreatic cancer soon after their meeting, Julia and James decided to organise a nationwide cancer charity fundraising event that celebrates love and togetherness.  

As one of the UK’s top wedding photographers, Julia and her team often hear brides saying that they’d love to get back into their dresses again. ‘THE BIG I DO REDO’ is the excuse they’ve been waiting for.  

Julia says, “I hope that this event will capture the imaginations of people across Britain. The day is about celebrating love in all its forms whilst raising money for a great cause. Please do get involved!”

We at Bridal Soup would like to wish Julia and everybody involved good luck with the event. We hope you raise a ton of money for this worthy cause.

Chris and I met at a Job interview in February 2000 for the role as overseas holiday reps, we both got the job and spent time together training in Majorca, sadly we were posted to different islands, but we both felt a special connection between us and kept in touch for the majority of the summer season, until we finally decided we had to be together, we left our jobs and went travelling around Spain for a few months before returning home to England.

Chris asked me to marry him in November 2007, I thought we were going to London for a Christmas shopping trip, but he had booked a surprise weekend trip to Reykjavik, where he had lovely surprises planned each day. He proposed on our last night after taking me to the famous La perla revolving restaurant, he had liaised with the receptionist at our hotel to have our room decorated for when we got back from the restaurant, with rose petals, candles and had Champagne on ice.

We booked the date straight away for Saturday 11^th October 2008 at The Swan Hotel, Newby Bridge, we both fell in love with this venue as soon as we saw it, a modern contemporary hotel in the Lake District, with friendly and professional staff, and fantastic scenery for the photographs

We wanted the whole day to have a unique theme and feel for us and our guests, we decided on a peacock theme as I loved the vibrant colours and amongst other meanings, the peacock represents Love and fidelity.

The men wore blue suits with peacock green cravats, with the exception of the groom who wore an ivory cravat to match my wedding dress, their button holes were a single ivory cala lily with a peacock feather. The bridesmaids wore peacock green dresses with a gold sash which had in the centre, a broach made from the eye of the peacock feather.

I wore a dress designed by Ian Stuart it was an Ivory taffeta mermaid shaped gown with a structured strapless bodice completely beaded with swarovski crystals. The fitted skirt had a hand draped overlay which bustled up to the back waist and was trimmed with a corsage of hand made flowers mixed with metallic ribbon. I did not wear a veil and did not like any tiaras I had seen, however Chris surprised me, by sending my bridesmaids to my room on the wedding morning with a beautiful hand made unique Tiara, that he had chosen to match my dress ( with the help of my mum & bridesmaids)

The ceremony was held in the Ballroom at the swan, I walked up the aisle with my dad and my 3 bridesmaids behind us, I chose No-One by Alicia Keyes to walk up the aisle to, this was sang by Emma Lori who sang for us for most of the day, her voice was like an angel and although I was nervous  hearing her sing mine and Chris’s song immediately made me feel at ease, I was filled with so much happiness, and nervous excitement  I don’t remember seeing Chris waiting for me I just felt like the most special person in the world.

We held our drinks reception aboard a boat on Lake Windermere, we were so lucky with the weather it was a beautiful warm sunny day, the atmosphere was fantastic everyone looked so happy and relaxed, it gave us a chance to mingle with all our guests in a relaxed and memorable way as we sailed across the lake.

We wanted the whole day to feel relaxed and informal and full of happiness and we wanted to capture this in the photographs, that is why we chose Lisa Aldersley, her reportage style enabled every moment and expression to be captured. It was a pleasure to have Lisa with us on the day, she was not intrusive and fitted in like one of the guests.

Both mine and the bridesmaids bouquets were made with  Ivory calla lilies, Singapore orchids and peacock feathers wired around them, I wanted my bouquet to look like the flowers were cascading downwards and I have Lauren Beanland from Budz Flowers in Adlington, Lancashire, to thank for putting my ideas into reality.

All the stationery was designed around the peacock and its ancient meanings, this was designed by my chief bridesmaid Katharine Swift who owns Papermonkeys Wedding Stationery, she incorporated the meaning of the peacock onto the wedding invitations and the order of service and named each table after each peacock meaning, e.g. Love, Beauty, Wisdom, etc

Instead of the traditional table plan Katharine suggested Escort Cards which are small tent cards that have the guests name and table name printed on them, she made these from different coloured card and lined them up at the entrance of the room, it looked really effective.

Each table centrepiece consisted of a tall flute vase, filled with crystal gel beads and poured out white ostrich feathers with 3 Tall Peacock feather in the middle of each vase. 

We tied the napkins alternately with the three colours of the peacock, green, gold and blue, ribbon and inserted a peacock feather with a tag attached into each napkin as this made up a part to the guests favours, we asked each guest to write their wishes on the tag, this then was attached to a Thai Sky Lantern for us to release after the wedding breakfast, we chose these as favours, to be different and the lanterns being released represent, taking away peoples worries and makes their wishes come true and brings good luck in the future. The atmosphere with the guests was full of excitement as we all gathered together on the grounds at the back of the Swan, to light and release the lanterns. As they ascended into the air everyone was looking up in amazement, they looked so beautiful and drew lots of attention from passers by and other hotel residents

The whole day was such an amazing experience, it really is the best day of your life, we wouldn’t change anything about it, I am still smiling when I think about it and the fantastic memories will live with us forever.

All photos - Lisa Aldersley Photography