AMY BARTLAM

Studio Sitges // The House

2011-11-25T07:52:00.000-08:00

Whilst in Barcelona we had the joy of shooting in The House at Studio Sitges. Already having a love for interiors I decided to take advantage and take some snaps for my portfolio...

// Barcelona Fashion Shoot with Philip James //

2011-11-22T08:15:00.000-08:00

Here are some of the pics I took from behind the scenes!

Wivelsfield Hall // Arior Interior Design

2011-10-28T10:37:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago I had the joy of shooting this stunning house - Wivelsfield Hall. Arior Design are responsible for the gorgeous interior design and Catherine from Arior was there on the day to help style the shoot, along with the owner of the house who had filled it with beautiful flowers from the garden. It was a big job as Wivelsfield Hall has over 20 rooms all with varying light conditions but it was very enjoyable nonetheless and fantastic to see Arior's hard work come together in this beautiful home.

Kemptown Refurb // The Refurbishment People

2011-08-22T10:35:00.000-07:00

Last week I had the pleasure of photographing a beautiful, seafront flat in Kemptown refurbed by the lovely guys at The Refurbishment People.
They've done a fantastic job, the flat is decorated in muted blues and greys with splashes of colour and luxurious fabrics (with some help from Clare Topham of Clare Topham & Co Interior Design).

// Inspiration //

2011-08-01T07:38:00.000-07:00

"Sunlight is all one... substance is all one... soul is all one, even when it is distributed among countless natures of every kind"

- Marcus Aurelius

Actions // Vintage Rose

2011-04-27T06:12:00.000-07:00

This is a great action for subtly lifting an image, particularly photos of people - it's great on brightening skin tone.
Buy it here.

Actions // Subtle Vintage

2011-04-20T04:07:00.000-07:00

Today I'm demonstrating the use of Subtle Vintage from the Devlin Photos Vintage Actions Set... One of the great things about all of these actions is that you can adjust the opacity just like I have on this image below. I have used Subtle Vintage here at 60% opacity...

Actions // Cookies & Cream

2011-04-19T03:24:00.000-07:00

Today's featured action from the Devlin Photos Vintage Photoshop Actions set is Cookies & Cream...

Actions // Chocolate Wash

2011-04-18T01:02:00.000-07:00

As I have been working with Devlin Photos on a set of vintage actions (and we have recently launched them for purchase!) I thought it'd be a nice idea to showcase one a day here on my blog! So I'll keep it brief, below is a before and after using our action "Chocolate Wash", as you can see it adds a lovely richness to the image, softening the skin tone and warming the greys without losing those important colours such as the pink in the bunting! Let me know what you think... Chocolate Wash and the whole set of 20 vintage actions are available to buy here.

Before:

After:

Watercolour & Susan Hiller at Tate Britain

2011-03-25T09:41:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I hopped on a train to London to meet my mum and celebrate her birthday. She was keen to go and see Watercolour at Tate Britain so we jumped on a tube to Pimlico to check it out. We decided to buy joint tickets to see Watercolour and Susan Hiller... an artist I'd actually never heard of but it made sense to take full advantage of being there and see both.

Watercolour was much better than the reviews seem to be saying, a hugely diverse range of stuff from cartography to war painting to abstract watercolours. I wasn't particularly bothered about seeing it but was actually pleasantly surprised and now have a new found appreciation for the medium. As my mum says, there's something beautifully dream-like and surreal about watercolour.
The painting below is 'The Blue Night, Venice' 1897 by Arthur Melville, possibly our favourite from the exhibition (aswell as Turner's stuff of course!)

So next we moved on to Susan Hiller and really were blown away by what we saw. For an artist who was at the height of her career during the 70s her work was extremely innovative and challenging for that time. Understandably quite controversial, I loved her take on the transience of the art world and her boldness at burning / cutting up / reworking her own paintings a year after their creation.

We were also astounded at the 'Witness' installation... a room eerily lit containing hundreds of speakers hanging on wires each transmitting a different voice relaying an alien encounter. The atmosphere achieved by this was powerful and really stopped us in our tracks. A stunning experience, not spiritual but most definitely surreal.

I have to say the thing that struck me the most about the Hiller exhibition, and my main reason for blogging today, was actually a tiny piece of text accompanying a work entitled '10 Months', I believe this piece of text to be an extract from her journal at the time and just really captures the notion of reading art - something I find very difficult to explain but she sums it up here so perfectly:

SEVEN / Knots and Knows, some NOT's & No's about art -

1. The subject matter of a work is not it's content
2. A works meaning is not necessarily the same as the 'intention' or 'purpose' of the artist
3. There is no distinction between 'reading' images and reading texts

INSTAGRAM // The Best App I Ever Bought

2011-03-20T05:46:00.000-07:00

I know so many people who are in love with this app.
And genuinely, it is AWESOME. Perfect for lovers of all things vintage/retro/battered!
Nashville is my favourite effect I think, I love the muted tones... but really they're all great.

So I thought I'd quickly share some pics with you that I took using this app...

Enjoy!

Light / Camera / Actions

2011-03-15T09:42:00.000-07:00

Finally we've been blessed with some sunny weather on the South coast, albeit short-lived. So last week me and some friends hit the beach (in scarves and coats!) to try and get that Spring feeling. I used the opportunity to take my (sexy) new camera out and snap a few little bits and bobs...

Oh and these pics have been edited with my own fair hands using a photoshop action called "Dusty Black & White" which is part of the "Devlin Photos Vintage Photoshop Actions" collection I've been working on... these will be available for purchase VERY soon...

Behind The Scenes At "The Big Fat Wedding Bloggers Photo Shoot!"

2011-02-13T05:04:00.000-08:00

So I've been a little quiet on the blog front lately, what with it being out of wedding season n all and my marvelous boss taking a well deserved break over Christmas BUT I'm back and have a massive blog post to boot. The big news from Devlin Towers last year was of course Lisa winning The British Journal of Photography's Wedding Photographer of the Year! and as one of the sponsors of the award was Hasselblad she also won the use of lots of their fantastic photography kit - much to the excitement of the Devlin Towers crew! Now we had to find an appropriate occasion to use such wonderful kit to the best of its ability... and Lisa didn't have much time to ponder, Kat from Rock n Roll Bride had an amazing project coming up involving a photoshoot with herself and 5 other UK Wedding bloggers (Kelly from Boho Weddings and Events, Amma from Beyond Beyond, Annabel from Love My Dress, Alexis from OMG I'm Getting Married and Charley from London Bride) and as though it was meant to be she asked Lisa to do the honors of being the photographer! What a perfect opportunity to use the super duper Hasselblad kit...

After weeks and weeks of planning Tuesday finally arrived and off we all trundled to the gorgeous Luella's Boudoir in Wimbledon where the shoot was to take place (and who's gorgeous dresses the girls were to model). And what a crazy day it was, we met so many lovely people it really was a pleasure to be there - so thankyou bloggers for all being so awesome and of course huge to thanks to everyone else behind the scenes inc.: Kate Barbour (stylist), Severin Hubert and Elbie Van Eeden (hair), Alison Cameron and Kaz Fernando (make-up), Richard Wakefield (behind the scenes filming) and Alison Trickey (flowers).

Aswell as assisting on the day, Lisa asked me to do a little "Behind the Scenes" documentary... the sort of thing I LOVE doing, it's all here - hair and makeup, snack time and uber-technology! so without further ado - here it is...

Thank you to everyone involved for a fabulous day!

Sophie + Barney's Vintage Islington Wedding

2010-10-29T06:32:00.000-07:00

This is a tricky one to start. Clearly one of the best weddings I've had the pleasure of working at! Sophie and Barney were the loveliest and coolest couple ever.

Lisa and I started in manic fashion at Brighton station and bolted up to London on the train... beginning at Bethnal Green in East London where Sophie would be getting ready. As we wandered up the road piling out of a taxi was Sophie and her 6 bridesmaids with hair pinned up and loads of bags flying around - we knew this was going to be a fun one. As it turned out the apartment they were getting ready in actually overlooked the flat that Sophie used to live in - she'd seen it being worked on for years. I spent half an hour there ogling all the gorgeous bits and pieces, vintage brooches and head bands, nude shoes for all the bridesmaids and lots of beautiful fur coats! Sophie had borrowed her mum's fur coat for the day and learned that it had been a gift from her father to her mother on the day Sophie was born! Her dress was really a very special vintage find, bought from a vintage shop who had bought it at an auction at the V&A!

So I left Lisa to the gorgeous girly-ness and headed off to Sophie and Barney's flat where Barney and his mates were getting ready. I was blown away by what I found there, the most amazing studio flat with cool quirky furnishings everywhere, I could barely put my camera down... Barney and his 6 groomsmen were a brilliant laugh and after a ton of hair spray, some on-table ironing and some seriously dodgy tie-tying! the boys were ready to go and we dashed off to Islington town hall.

And what a great place for a ceremony with a stunning marble staircase and fabulous circular room with oak panels and deep red carpet (but a great high white ceiling so there was still lots of light!!) Lisa's pic of Sophie walking up the stairs is one of the most elegant I've ever seen. Group shots took a bit of time as both Sophie and Barney had tonnes of family and friends, we loved the London bus drivers beeping their horns as they drove past! (below is Sophie waving to them!!). Luckily it was a great day weather wise, well... no rain, so we walked to the Metal Works where the reception was taking place and did some portraits on the way. Me and Lisa loved Islington with all its cute little cobbled streets and quirky shops (so much so that I went back there yesterday!) - it provided a great backdrop for the couple.

The metal works is a truly unique venue, with a tube carriage converted into a bar inside! We loved the "Til' Death Do Us Part" cake Sophie and Barney had got from Choccywoccydodahcomplete with Skull and their seasonal table decorations of pumpkins. After a little reportage and some great fun shooting the bridemaids and groomsmen in animal masks in the street (!) it was time to head home. Me and Lisa were so excited with everything we'd shot we wanted to go through it there and then, we had a little look and spent some time squealing and then decided we'd better calm down and put the cameras away!

It certainly was an entertaining journey home... we attempted to freak out the steely London tube users by putting cow masks on for the journey to Victoria! The long day had clearly sent us a little loopy! I think this is a wedding Lisa and I will be talking about for some time, it definitely goes down as one of my favourites. Loads more pics are on Lisa's bloghere AND on the fabulous Rock n' Roll Bride.

Ginger Pig Wedding: Shirley + Stuart

2010-10-01T06:51:00.000-07:00

What a cracking start to the day, me and Lisa managed to drive the wrong way down a one way street and I caused alarm by pulling the wrong paperwork out of the bag!!! ARGH!
Luckily calm was resumed thanks to the laughter of Shirley and her best mate Rachel getting ready at Drakes Hotel. Such a laid-back afternoon with lots of giggling and chatting about shoes! We ADORED Shirley's uber-sparkly heels! Although we hadn't realised how little time we had and slightly cocked-up the journey on our way to Lewes - panic arose once more but there was no need - Shirley made sure she was fashionably late and we had loads of time to photograph the ceremony venue.
The service took place in the lovely (but tiny!) Anne of Cleves house, sadly the rain interrupted our group shots in the gardens but me and Lisa scurried back to the Ginger Pig
in Hove where I began the still life shots (beautiful bright blue flowers and rock place settings!) and Lisa headed down to the beach to do some portraits with Shirley and Stuart by which time the rain had thankfully stopped.

I managed to get some pics of the guests arriving on the bus but I think everyone was desperate to get the party started and soon piled into the Ginger Pig for a drink! Our friends at the pig were as accommodating as ever and put on a truly fabulous wedding breakfast - it's a great venue for a small but laid-back and classy reception.

This was such a lovely wedding, so great to work with such a fun-loving couple who were constantly laughing and smiling :)

Vintage/Barn Wedding: Flo + Jon

2010-09-29T06:55:00.000-07:00

So our day started fairly traditionally at the house of the bride's parents in Upper Beading. Flo got ready whilst me and Lisa photographed the gorgeous flowers (which included chocolate cosmos! Yum!) and lots of little details around the house. Lisa and I adored the mint green bridesmaids dresses, super vintage and looked fabulous with the girls' natural hair and delicate make-up. Flo had contributed to the design of her dress, which also looked amazing with beautiful 3/4 lace sleeves and lots of vintage detail, she also did a great job of her own makeup and we LOVED her vintage shoes which she picked up for just £20!

It was another sat nav affair for me and Lisa this time, although thankfully they had put out signs to help direct the guests - which we were very grateful for as it turns out. After the service we headed off for the reception which was taking place in a huge barn that had been leant to them by some friends. I have to say we were slightly concerned initially as it was very very dark inside, but we whacked the ISO up and dragged the tripod out!

After group pics and portraits in the fabulous grounds (see below) it was time for the dinner to commence which was followed by afternoon tea on vintage crockery...
Lisa and I perched near one of the open barn doors and as time ticked on we realised it was turning into a magnificent evening outside, so after tea and cake we grabbed Flo and John and took them down into the fields for a few more portraits... Ms Devlin certainly has a knack for working the light...

And as if this wasn't fabulous enough, we returned for the bride and groom's first dance and someone had opened the barn door next to the dancefloor - allowing the gorgeous September evening sun to pour in... these are possibly some of my favourite photographs EVER... so cinematic!!

A fantastic band played for the duration of the evening and we stayed until Flo and Jon zipped off on their honeymoon, dragging wooden spoons and drinks cans behind them! Devlin and I chugged back to Brighton after a very long day but safe in the knowledge we had captured some magic.

As ever - more pics on Lisa's blog

Lindsey + Adriano

2010-09-14T10:53:00.000-07:00

This was an uber exciting one for me and Lisa. We knew that Lindsey had been scouring car boot sales for all things vintage for aaages and was going to be wearing a genuine vintage dress from the 50s, so we were prepared for a real treat!

The whole day took place at the stunning Farbridge Barn near Chichester, surrounded by countryside it has a really intimate, "off the beaten track" feel which was just lovely! Eager to get started we hopped off to the room where Lindsey was getting ready. Lisa was prepared for the fact that the rooms have no windows and we carefully transported Lindsey's amazing vintage dress outside to photograph it in the greenery! This proved slightly trickier than expected due to the astonishing wind that had picked up and the ever darkening sky. But in true Devlin stylee we worked around it and Lisa got a fabulous shot!

Lisa carried on with snapping the lovely flowers by Kristina at The Blacksmith's Daughter and Lindsey getting ready whilst I scurried off to get a shot of the groom and his men - who were only 5 doors down from the bride! Risky!

Like a lot of venues, Farbridge don't allow confetti - so the bride and groom emerged from the ceremony through a bubble machine! So inventive and quirky and it actually looked really cool. Group shots took a little longer than expected as the couple both had HUGE families but we got there eventually...
Lisa had a field day with the portraits, what with the bride and groom being so beautiful AND the oodles of stunning locations in the grounds, I think she could have spent an entire week there!

Meanwhile (top gear stylee!) I chipped off to the barn to do the still-lives, my favourite bit :) and blimey was I a lucky girl! As I said, we knew there was going to be lots of little details but I barely had chance to take the camera away from my eye! Gorgeous tea caddies, old leather bound books, the cutest salt and pepper shakers, lace table clothes, vintage crockery, retro wedding pics as the table names and all kinds of other eccentric bits and bobs including a painting of a cat wedding on the top table!!!

Lindsey and Adj had obviously spent so much time planning it all, it really was fabulous... they had a polaroid camera for the guests to photograph themselves with and leave a message, a kissometer!, deckchairs, yummy cocktails made in jam jars with funky straws and super-cool entertainment for the evening - the Shellac Sisters - 4 lovely ladies who dress in vintage and play 20s-50s music on gramophones! Amazing fun!

We had to drag ourselves away from this one as we had to drive back to Brighton, with very hurty eyes I must say, but I think this one may go down as my favourite...

PS. Loads more pics on Lisa's blog.

Buxted Park: Christa + Ross

2010-09-03T07:03:00.000-07:00

Last week we were really starting to wonder if winter had set in on the South Coast... BUT Saturday arrived and with it came the sun! A surprise to all but a blessing to Christa and Ross who were getting married at Buxted - (oh and me and Lisa who'd be taking the photos!!).

Business as usual, Lisa and I sped off to Buxted (luckily a route that Lisa knows like the back of her hand and so no need for my dodgy navigation skills to come out!) chatting and laughing non-stop as always.

Lisa headed off to the very prepared and organised Christa's room whilst I snapped the groom and bestman in the sunshine outside and mooched around the Orangery (my favourite room at Buxted) doing still-lives. Ms Devlin and I have shot in the room Christa was using to get ready in before, it is decorating beautifully in dark blue and purple tones with plush cushions and loads of mirrors but as you can imagine - such a room is a photographers nightmare. Luckily the sunshine was still pouring through the windows and it didn't prove to be a problem.

A short but lovely ceremony and off to the Orangery!! Group photos were quick and easy (a nice change for us!) so we shot off into the stunning grounds with tonnes of time for portraits. The bride and groom were super enthusiastic which is always a bonus for us, head over heels in love and not shy at all! Lots of smoochy pics to be had! I don't think I've ever seen so much of Buxted's grounds - we used every corner available for some gorgeous shots. Lisa and I were chatting about the stunning view downhill from the house and pondered if there was access to the field that the lake sits in, daring as ever Lisa dashed down and tried the gate, to our joy it wasn't locked! I love the pics, sheep (and poo!) everywhere and just the most beautiful backdrop of lake and countryside imaginable. I could go on and on but I'll rein it in for now...
Fairly short coverage this time, as the wedding was quite small and low-key we stayed and photographed the speeches and then tottered off back to Brighton, not as exhausted as normal but very excited about all the great stuff we'd shot!

Lisa's blog is right here.
And here are a few pics from the day...

My Best Friend's Wedding

2010-08-31T07:16:00.000-07:00

I journeyed back to my hometown Wolverhampton a week or so ago for the marriage of my best friend Hannah and her boyfriend of 7 years, Matt. They got engaged just before Christmas last year in the sweetest (soppiest!!) way ever. This involved Matt whisking Hannah off to her favourite place in Wales and proposing - having already been there the day before to hide the ring in the "special tree" (something from Hannah's childhood!), I still cannot believe he left the ring in the tree overnight! So when Hannah called me 2 days before Christmas to break the news AND ask me to be a bridesmaid I of course said yes! And cried in the middle of Brighton!

Anyhoo, these are just a few pics from the preparations the day before the wedding. Hannah and Matt chose to have their reception in Coalbrookdale, Ironbridge - about 30 minutes outside Wolverhampton, an unusual choice but it really worked for them! The room looked stunning after a long day decorating, with flower arranging, drape making and table laying high on the agenda.

For their privacy I'll keep this short but needless to say the day was beautiful... the couple looked gorgeous, tears were shed and we danced and laughed into the night... here's to Mr and Mrs Pearson.

Cotswold's Wedding: Olivia + Mark

2010-07-21T04:40:00.000-07:00

So this is going to be a toughy... how to condense such an amazing wedding into a few words!? Well I guess I'll just have to ramble on and on, apologies in advance...

Loading up the car at Lisa's house was hilarious - it was like we'd packed for a week!! But all essential items... over night bags CHECK, cameras, tripod, memory cards CHECK... 3 rolls of fabric, 10 moustaches, several hats, glasses and wigs CHECK! It was going to be a fun one :) The journey was smoother than ever, unbelievable seeing as we were traveling further than usual - seemingly we're quite good at navigating long distances! As we rolled into the beautiful countryside of The Cotswolds I watched in horror as my network dropped further and further with every mile... NO SERVICE - EEEK! Upon arrival at Barnsley House me and Lisa were truly taken aback - it was the most gorgeous venue ever, a stunning country house set in the prettiest countryside. It was then we learned Olivia and Mark were planning on 2 outdoor ceremonies, the wedding itself and a tea ceremony later in the day and we started to get a little anxious about the weather. And we were right to, we awoke the next morning to torrential rain! But, as if by magic when the time came to head outside the sun shone! It was an amazing ceremony under the trees, with lanterns hanging down and fabulous live string music playing.

Next it was time for group pics and portraits which Lisa attended to whilst I shot the dining room. The detail of which was incredible - they'd really thought of everything, including cute little favours of jars of jam with "Mark and Olivia" on, real vintage looking table numbers and wild flowers piled into milk bottles... so pretty! They'd even had badges made with old-fashioned silhouettes, crowns and their names on, a lovely touch along with a vintage type-writer for the guests to leave messages for them on.

The weather just about held out for the tea ceremony with only a few spots of rain felt and then everyone piled inside for the cake cutting and party! It was time for me and Lisa to put our fabric and props to good use, we headed to one of the small rooms off the dining room and set up our photobooth. It proved to be an enormous success! Mark and Olivia's friends were a great bunch and really up for getting stuck in and dressing up, it was slightly chaotic at one point with feather boas and moustaches flying everywhere but it was so much fun - everyone had a right giggle, including me and Lisa!

We left thoroughly exhausted but it had been an amazing day, Olivia and Mark were the sweetest couple ever and we were so happy to have been a part of it. After a heavy kip and a hearty breakfast we left the rolling hills and headed back to our city, me with tired and pollen ridden red eyes and Lisa with classic "photographer's twitchy eye"!

Lisa has managed to plough through the 3,000 photographs we took and blog it already... here it is.

BLOG-TASTIC!

2010-06-03T02:37:00.000-07:00

HURRAH!

Photos from Sarah and Andrew's wedding have been spotted by the lovely folks at US Blog ForgetMeKnotWeddings - here we are featuring in it yesterday...

www.forgetmeknotweddingsblog.com/2010/06/real-wedding-sarah-andrew

x

Sarah + Andrew's Shoreham/Brighton Wedding

2010-05-28T11:24:00.000-07:00

Phew... this felt like a long one, even though we didn't start til 12! So me and Lisa beetled off to Shoreham to catch Sarah getting ready at her flat, we arrived to find all was completely calm... make-up and hair had been done, bridesmaids were ready there was an air of total serenity! Lisa and I adored Sarah's flat, full on vintage, birdcage, dolls house, floral curtains and quilts - we had a field day snapping all these lovely precious little details. We didn't even have to worry about darting off to the church, finding it and parking as it was only down the road! So we wrapped it up at the flat and strolled off in the sunshine for the ceremony. Before we knew it, it was 2:10 and the service had been due to start at 2!! It materialised that the wedding car hadn't showed up to pick up Sarah and her dad! Ooops! So, eventually a lovely Shoreham Cab showed up with the bride! Not the fairytale I imagine she'd hoped for but nothing wrong with a bit of drama. St Mary de Haura was a beautiful church and the vicar was very accommodating, allowing me and Lisa to walk around freely snapping the ceremony and the stunning building!

We were truly in awe when Sarah's bridesmaid Kay got up and sang Ave Maria, Lisa even welled up a little! And that's normally my job! And gloriously the sun continued to shine outside allowing us to get the group shots done there and then without the need for our floral umbrellas!

Another stroke of luck - the vintage rolls turned up in time to take the newly weds to the reception! Perfect. So off we whizzed to the Royal York in Brighton. We'd hoped to use the Pier for some snaps but as usual it was packed and Lisa decided it would be better to head down onto the beach. So off we tootled, grabbing some 99ers en route to add to the vintage seaside resort look! Plus everyone was starving!

Quick and intuitive as ever Lisa constructed some amazing shots including a line up along the shutters (sacrificing comfort in the name of a good photo and lying on the pebbles!), groups along a groyne with the fabulous backdrop of the Pier in the background! And some funky photos of Sarah and Andrew in a telephone box! We felt like we could have snapped away for hours with so much for us to work with on the beach and Pier, and perfect light as the sun began to sink in the sky but we ran out of time and the Bride and Groom were keen to get to their guests!

The Hotel was simply lovely, lots of blue and vintage looking curtains and wallpaper and a fabulous cake - chocolate inside pink on the outside! And a mini icing version of Sarah and Andrew that Sarah had had made as a surprise for her hubby!

I pulled up a seat as Lisa did some reportage of the guests and the speeches and I must say I suddenly felt shattered! Lisa eventually appeared once the cake had been cut and agreed she was a little weary too. But luckily our job was done and we took ourselves off home, a lovely day with tonnes of lovely things right up our alley to photograph and we also had the pleasure of meeting Colin the toast master who no doubt we'll see again on the circuit! Phew... time to put me little tootsies up!

See Lisa's blog of Sarah and Andrew's wedding here.

Buxted Wedding (and my Birthday!)

2010-04-02T05:01:00.000-07:00

So this Tuesday saw the arrival of my 23rd birthday... oh and also the wedding of Nicola and Daniel at the stunning Buxted Park Hotel in Uckfield. No need for navigating this time, Lisa knows the way there like the back of her camera!!

We arrived nice and early and tucked into roast beef sarnies (made by Lisa!) and discussed the plan for the day. Having photographed so many weddings at Buxted, Lisa was keen to see things differently this time, so we put our vintage glasses on and set to work.

We found Nicola with her bridesmaids calm and collected in one of the beautiful suites, which proved to be the perfect setting for what we were trying to achieve. Flower girl Amber was the smiliest flower girl EVER and looked adorable and Lisa and I were bowled over by the stunning job Nicola had done of the flowers (although she is a florist!).

The ceremony took place in the orangery and was decorated with a few simple but beautiful touches such as the vintage bird cage on the registra's table. I think I am beginning to control my emotion now as I only shed one tear throughout the ceremony! Trust me this is a high level of control when the groom is in floods (along with his brother and mother!)... a lovely ceremony, truly personal with their own vows and readings from friends.

Unfortunately the weather had taken a turn for the worst (after such a beautiful sunny morning!) but Lisa and I battled outside against the wind and rain for a fab group shot of all the guests on the stairs. We then had to improvise and take the remaining group shots undercover - but also had some fun with Lisa's beautiful floral umbrellas!

The great thing about being at Buxted in the rain is it's stunning interiors! Lisa did portraits of the couple inside, away from the elements and captured some amazing stuff.

It was a truly lovely day, hectic as ever but thoroughly enjoyable and artistically inspiring with so much great stuff to photograph!

Me and Lisa then headed back to Brighton for a quick change and refresh before heading out for a fab thai dinner (at Red Snapper) to celebrate my birthday :)
Read Lisa's blog here and have a look at a sample of the stunning pics from the day!

Sevenoaks Wedding

2010-03-09T01:52:00.000-08:00

On Saturday I spent the day assisting Lisa Devlin at a beautiful wedding in tiny Sundridge in Sevenoaks. It was held at a venue we'd never been to before - the Palladian Mansion House of Combe Bank School. With stunning grounds and perfect light we were truly spoiled with photo opportunities!

Charlotte and Tristan were probably the sweetest couple I've ever met, together since the age of 14 and clearly still hopelessly in love! Me and Lisa absolutely LOVED Charlotte's 1930's dress made by the talented Joanne Flemming.

Our journey to the venue was hilarious as ever: I balanced a camera and a tray of button-hole flowers on my lap and also attempted to eat a sandwich and navigate us through the maze of country lanes we had chosen as our route due to a major road closure near the venue, Lisa dodging pot holes and road kill whilst also reading road signs and attempting lunch. Good fun as always, and we arrived just in time for the civil ceremony which took place in the stunning Adam Room.

As always Lisa had sussed out the light was due to be perfect around 4:45pm and managed to drag the Bride and Groom away from their starters for 5 minutes to take some gorgeous shots of them in the grounds. A perfect end to our photo story of the day!

Generously the couple had ordered us dinner so we tucked in while the band warmed up in the party room, although it's safe to say we wished we'd stuck to the rocky bars and walkers we were planning on feasting on in the car, I think we'd been given the left-overs of starters and mains which had merged into an indescribable pile of mush in our bowls! Never one to turn down a free meal I guzzled the lot (and regretted it later) but Lisa was much more sensible and saved room for a nice chippy tea when she got home.

As evening crept in we left the happy couple to enjoy the rest of their day and headed home on a much more sensible road this time (the m23) back to our beloved Brighton.

Look out for Lisa's blog and the photos from the wedding on her main website Lisa Devlin Photography.