April and May have been such busy months for me photography wise that I am only now catching up with my blog! If you have logged on for Sarah and Ryan’s wedding then watch this space as that will be up next in a few days time.
Back to Susann and Simon – I had a brilliant day photographing their wedding two weeks ago over the bank holiday weekend and as I drove home that evening I thought how nice it had been to shoot in several different parts of Bristol, which has been my home city now for 17 years and what a brilliant place it is for good backgrounds for wedding photographs.
First thing, I went into town to the Thistle Hotel where Susann and her mum and bridesmaids were getting ready. They had already had their hair and make up done so it was time to get the last few details sorted and get dressed before they left for church. Susann is from Germany and her family and friends had flown over for the wedding so the weekend was a special time to chat and spend time together as well as having the wedding. I love languages and used to speak quite reasonable German many moons ago but I felt a bit rusty listening to proper fluency!
Next, I drove up to Westbury on Trym to the church where Simon and his entourage were greeting guests and (in Simon’s case!) looking a tiny bit nervous! I think pre-wedding nerves are much worse for the guys as, in fact, we ladies have plenty of nice things to get on with during the morning and it’s a real treat to have you hair and make up done and sip bubbles. In contrast there isn’t so much for the men to do and that’s when nerves can set in. Take heed grooms to be – there isn’t anything wrong with a quick 9 holes or swift pint beforehand to get settled!
I was quite restricted in what I could do during the ceremony due to the church rules, but I managed to get some nice shots during the service from the back and then there was a great buzz outside as everyone lined up either side of the church door to cheer the bride and groom out of church – something I haven’t seen before but which was really nice. We then headed down to the waterfront area for Susann and Simon’s couple shots and amazingly found a steam engine right where we had planned to do some pictures. I asked the two guys working on the train and we were able to take down the barrier and get some shots right up close to the train which was great. We then drove to the Pump House for the reception, which was decorated beautifully with flowers – a florist I have known for years, Emma Petersson had done a brilliant job and made lots of little areas around the rooms with glass jars and natural looking blooms – it had a relaxed vintage feel which I loved.
After guests let balloons with little messages for Susann and Simon fly off into the air and we watched them float away – quite a sight over the water, it was time for the speeches and dinner. Here are some of my favourite images from their day: