A Contrast

A few days ago, I was out on a job shooting exteriors for a local construction company when Sophie (who is pretty much an agent to us at the moment) got a call from a company who needed photos for a new brochure.

So fast forward two days and we're on our way down to Devon for the day. I was up and ready to go at 4AM in the morning (mornings aren't a big deal for me in the Summer).
What made the day interesting was that half the day was spent shooting a range of photographs for the companies brochure and the rest of the time my "job" was to explore and photograph the local area. Which included a beach and the one and only Donkey Sanctuary (I adopted two Donkeys from there before. I'm not sure what they're doing now...)

These steps were almost the end of me. Coming down was great fun but going back up the 546 steps with a bag full of heavy kit wasn't fun.

This really made my day. Don't you just love it when a random Shrek just pops out of nowhere? Especially when there's loads of little Donkeys in the field next door. "Donkeh!" makes me giggle for hours.I took some time out on the beach and shot a few frames for myself. It's really rare I get to shoot for fun these days and I couldn't believe how much I learned from not shooting for a client. I also had a lot of fun and managed to write a few bits of my wedding speech, WHICH IS THIS TIME NEXT WEEK!!! ARH!!!

Personal favourite.Might squeeze in one more blog before I take a short break before the wedding. If not, I'll see you when I'm a married man! EEK!

Wish us luck!

Mandy & Pete - Guru Nanak Sikh Temple & St John's Church, Hagley

This was always going to be one of the most demanding days of our wedding calendar. When Mandy called me at the start of the year she introduced the wedding as "It's not your usual wedding, it's probably something you've not done before..." - Good job we love a challenge!

Bit of background: This is Pete and Mandy (you may remember their pre-wedding session a month or two ago) The day was split into three sections;

1) Sikh Temple wedding
2) Christian Church wedding
3) PARTY

For all those attention to detail freaks out there - This blew my mind. Every detail was perfect.

Wowzer!
Love this next shot. Pete and his family arrived by coach, the whole town came to a stop when these guys arrived!This is just one of many awesome traditions that we just wanted to steal for our own wedding. Mandy's bridal party blocked the entrance to the Temple with a ribbon and Pete and his family weren't allowed in till some cash was flashed. Fortunately Pete was well prepared and soon emptied his wallet.

I want to thank Shakini for giving me a heads up that this might happen!

With the Temple ceremony complete - it was time to St John's Church, Hagley for the Church ceremony. How many couples can say they got married twice in one day?

The weather was unpredictable all day - it could be pelting it down with rain one moment and the next it was clear skies.

Check out those moody skies!

One more thing - How many brides get away with having two dresses?! Mandy loved every minute of it!
Then we headed back to Birmingham for the wedding reception at The Burlington Hotel. It goes without saying that this was a photographers paradise.
Me and Dani LOVED Mandy and Pete's system of partying. Mandy and Pete arrived and went straight into an epic first dance (no waiting around - ever!) After a bit of a dance, every tucked into the first round of food, followed by another dance, followed by the next round of food. You get the idea! What a super idea - every couple should do this!


It has to be said. The food was THE best Indian food I've ever eaten - and my Mum cooks a mean home made curry! Sorry Mum, this just whipped your secret recipes ass!

I love it when I grab moments like this. This is a photo of Pete and his Mum and it doesn't speak a thousand words. It just shouts and screams every word in every language!

This was easily the biggest and most challenging wedding I have photographed so far and we loved every single minute of it! Mandy and Pete (and all the guests/families) made us feel ultra welcome. I also want to thank Shakini again for giving me a run through of what to expect on the day.