Photography 1827

A Lavender Inspired Bridal Shoot: Bit of Ivory Photography

May 16, 2012 By Kathryn Leave a Comment

Chelsea La Vere is an awesome wedding photographer all the way from Virginia USA. Not only is she passionate about photography, she also has a penchant for romance and the written word, so it’s no surprise that she’s a huge Jane Austen fan. Chelsea has incorporated all things Jane Austen into the branding for her photography business, Bit of Ivory Photography and came to visit the beautiful English countryside last year when she co-organised a Jane Austen inspired photo shoot in conjunction with Orchestrated Stylised Shoots which she runs with Meghan Gwaltney. While she was here, Chelsea fell in love with something that perhaps us English folk take for granted… lavender. She loved the scent, the look and the feel and even tried to organise a trip to a lavender farm, which sadly didn’t happen.

‘There is something so simple and so versatile about lavender that I find inspiring.’ Reveals Chelsea. ‘It can be used for cooking, baking, therapy, relaxation, aesthetics… anything. (Did you know there are a bajillion types of lavender, too?! Spanish, French, English, Mexican… etc.) As I learned more about it, the more I wanted to do something with it. Since I dive into creative pursuits through Orchestrated, it was almost unfathomable that I actually do a shoot just for me… but because Lavender was such a personal concept, I knew it could never translate well into an Orchestrated theme. So months ago the Pinterest board was created.’

‘In mid April, Debbie and Clay Hill Garden Events crossed my path.’ Explains Chelsea. ‘Little dings went off in my head… and well, the rest is history. This woman is so inspiring on so many levels. I had never met a true visionary artist in the world of landscaping and exterior design. To see what she has created (all because she loved doing it) was amazing. Clay Hill is THE place to have that dream barn/garden wedding in Virginia, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t hope and pray that one of my future brides will choose that unique spot for her wedding.’

When I saw this shoot posted on Chelsea’s Facebook page, I was instantly drawn to the beauty of the barn used for the shoot. Chelsea told me that Debbie, the owner, built it herself! She had taken pieces from old barns from the surrounding area and repurposed them into this magnificent barn. I have to tell you, I’m very impressed and if I lived closer, this would be the perfect venue for my own wedding which I’m currently trying to decide on a venue for. Seriously, this would be it if I lived in America. It’s just so beautiful.

Chelsea worked with a range of other talented wedding vendors on this shoot who are all listed below and I love the way they have all managed to subtly inject the lavender theme wherever possible – love the eye make-up!

lavender inspired33 A Lavender Inspired Bridal Shoot: Bit of Ivory Photography

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Model: Emily Claudio

Dress: Pure English Couture Bridal

Hair Stylist: Chelsea Styles

Make-up Artist: Kristine Marie Makeup Artistry

Florist: Palette of Petals

Stationery: The Girl Tyler: Design & Photography

Jewellery: Premier Designs by Rebekah Snider

Cake: Cheesecake Wedding Cakes by Mrs. B

Venue: Clay Hill Garden Events

lavender inspired05 A Lavender Inspired Bridal Shoot: Bit of Ivory Photography

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A few final words from Chelsea…

So, throughout this whole process, I learned a few things:
* I still don’t do well in heat. lol
* To see a simple vision become a reality still makes me emotional.
* My about-to-be dining room is now carrying on the “country lavender” theme because, again, obsessed.
* I know some pretty amazing and inspiring wedding industry people.
* … and there is a lavender farm in northern Virginia that you can visit. And I’m totally going in early June.

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Thank you so much to Chelsea and all involved for sharing this gorgeous, lavender inspired bridal shoot with us today – you’ve added some serious pretty to this little blog of mine x

The Proposal From The Groom’s Perspective

May 15, 2012 By Keith Leave a Comment

Big hello to all you Photography 1827 readers, I’m Keith and I’m hijacking Kathryn’s blogs in order to write the following…

As most of you know, Kathryn is a wedding photographer as well as running the Photography1827.com blog so she knows a fair bit about weddings and proposals and often when I come home from work she’ll have some article or video she wants to share with me. If it’s a proposal, it’s usually an over elaborate event either getting an entire tube carriage to sing or hiring out a cinema and doing a movie declaring their love. So no pressure then when it comes to proposing to someone in the industry.

I’ve wanted to propose to Kathryn for a long time. I thought of everything and anything for the proposal, I looked into hot air balloon rides, trips to Paris, trips to Ireland where Kathryn’s family are from, I thought of taking her to London for a show or a boat ride on a river but none of my ideas felt special enough. Back in December we booked a holiday to Oludeniz in Turkey for the following April. Oludeniz has the most photographed beach in Europe and Kathryn loves the water so I thought this would be the ideal opportunity.

In February I bought the ring. Kathryn had dropped several hints of the type she likes and I hoped the one I finally bought was just as she wished for. I’m terrible at keeping a secret and several times in those weeks leading up to the holiday, I almost blurted out that I had a ring and wanted to propose but realised that the holiday had to be the time to do it. Suddenly, the wind dropped out of my sails. Kathryn has a very close knit family and one week before we’re due to go away, Kathryn’s cousin Jess was proposed to by her boyfriend Alex who was soon to be deployed to Afghanistan. While I was really pleased for them, I thought that if I now proposed to Kathryn a week later, I would be raining on their parade. I felt awkward about proposing now but decided to take the ring on holiday anyway. I’d been building up for this moment and didn’t want to miss this opportunity.

The apartment we had on holiday was lovely but as with most holiday accommodation, the rooms aren’t massive. I wondered how I was going to hide a ring in our small apartment for any sort of time and more to the point, how was I going to get it on the plane without Kathryn knowing? I decided the safest place to hide it was in one of the camera lens bags… Kathryn likes me to feel needed and carrying her camera equipment is my responsibility so she was unlikely to look in there without me knowing. Once at the hotel I was pleased to find a safety deposit box in our room so I told Kathryn not to worry about money on holiday, I would look after it all so with any luck, she would have no reason to look in there. I thought I’d been rumbled on more than one occasion but thankfully I made it to the final day of our holiday without Kathryn catching on.

We had the best time on holiday and it was really needed for both of us. There was just one last thing I needed to do to make it complete and I decided that Jess and Alex wouldn’t mind sharing the celebrations…at least I hoped they wouldn’t mind… I need to marry this girl…and I needed to ask her now. After breakfast on our last day, we decided some souvenir shopping was in order. I’d suggested that we eat down at the beach on our final night but decided I would take the ring down with us in the morning in case Kathryn didn’t want to come back that evening. I stuck the ring box in the left pocket of my shorts and made Kathryn walk on my right hand side so she wouldn’t notice the conspicuous bulge in my pocket. We then sat down and had a drink at this nice little bar on the beach that had egyptian like seats to relax on and Kathryn joked about being the wife of a Pharaoh in a past life. The conversation made this the perfect moment to propose and while it’s cheesy I’m sure it’s a line neither of us will ever forget. “Kathryn, I’m no Pharaoh but will you marry me” and that’s all I needed. No balloon ride or clip that had 200,000 hits on YouTube, just a simple, natural conversation with a woman that I adore. Of course, she said yes and we beamed ridiculous smiles for the rest of the day, accompanied by phrases such as, ‘Hello fiancee’, ‘shall we go to the pool fiancee’, ‘night night fiancee’ and so on… Two weeks later and I’m still chuffed to be able to call her my fiancee and here’s why…

When someone asks ‘why do you love me?’ it’s a really difficult question to answer, it’s easy to tell someone they’re lovely… generous… kind… loyal… honest… beautiful… caring… thoughtful and genuine (which, Kathryn, you are all of those things), but lots of people could be described in that way. The reasons I adore Kathryn are for the random songs she insists on singing for me in the car, the way she misses me when I’m at work, the way she shushes me when I say something she doesn’t want to hear, the way she hates when I drive fast even though she’s a faster driver than me, the way she listens to me rabbit on about work whether it be good or bad, the way she flares her nostrils when she disapproves of something, the way she frowns upon my clowning around and then two minutes later she’s pulling faces at me, the way she makes a point of telling me she’s hanging my pants on the washing line – she may even phone me to tell me this if I’m not there, the way she gasps and covers her face when I tell her how long we’ve been going out and that we’re buying a house together (Kathryn’s a bit of a commitment phobe), the way that she deals with my drunk moments (which aren’t very often) – rather than get annoyed when I’m drunk, she videos it so she can laugh at me the next morning. I adore the way she wakes me up every morning whether I’m ready or not and the way she greets me at the door when I come home, when we can’t be together she’ll phone me just to listen to my voice and usually ends up making random noises at me while she edits photos on her computer, I love the way she gets me to do stuff or makes out she doesn’t know how to do something just to make me feel useful, the way she expects me to know what she’s thinking no matter how random it is (I’m getting better at this), and while I love all of the things about Kathryn, especially the way she makes me laugh, the one thing I love more than anything is that my fiancee, Kathryn, truly is my best friend in the whole world.

Love you Miss Andrews xx

Filed Under: Personal Tagged With: Marriage Proposal, Personal Post

The Proposal

May 14, 2012 By Kathryn 5 Comments

As many of you will know I was on holiday in Turkey during the end of April and the beginning of May. I can tell you, it was a welcome break. I haven’t been on holiday in about four years… ok, so Keith and I took a trip to Prague for a few days last September and while it was great to see the sights, it wasn’t a relaxing holiday and I was really quite unwell at the time. Two weeks in the sunshine was just what I needed, it’s what we both needed. The weather was perfect, the hotel we stayed in was lovely, the people were friendly and the scenery was just gorgeous. We seemed to alternate a day lazing by the hotel pool with a day at the beach or sightseeing. This holiday has left me feeling invigorated and ready for this coming wedding season, even my mum commented on how well we both look.

Anyone who knows me well will know how much I love the beach and all things aquatic. I swear I was a mermaid in a former life. On the last day of our holiday we took a walk down to the beach to buy a few gifts for people at home. We were planning to have dinner at a beach front restaurant in Oludeniz called Buzz Beach Bar that evening. We’d eaten there during our first week and were very impressed with the location, the food and the service. Definitely 10/10. Keith said we’d go back there on our last day. So although a little early (10 am actually), we made our way down to the seafront. On the way I noticed a salon with fish pedicure tanks outside the front of their shop. They had only just unpacked them and the owner of the salon called us over. We were to be their first ever fish pedicure customers. It was quite amusing sitting at the side of the road with our feet being nibbled by tiny fish – it’s something I’ve been meaning to try for a while and I’m glad I did. After an extra long fish pedicure, we carried on walking down to the seafront.

We went in a few gift shops and Keith even bought me a couple of handmade vases for our new home that we’ll be moving into soon. It was about 11.30am by this point. It was already baking hot and Keith suggested having a drink on the beach. There was a small hut selling drinks and ice-creams with brightly coloured beanbags on the sand for customers to sit on. Keith sat on a bean bag while I perched myself on a lower seat which was shaded by umbrellas. After a short while, Keith asked if my seat was comfortable… there were no chair legs, it was literally a seat on the sand with a back to it, and it was covered in what I would describe as a patterned tapestry type of material. The pattern looked a bit Eqyptian. I felt very relaxed sat on the beach looking out to sea. It was quiet with a few people dotted here and there but there was nobody within ear shot. Being my usual daft self I explained to Keith that I liked sitting on these seats as opposed to the bean bags because they reminded me of the seats we had when I lived in Egypt and was married to an Egyptian Pharaoh. Yes, this is an elaborate story I made up there and then. Keith asked if this was a past life of mine and wondered how many other wives this Pharaoh had. “Just me.” I said with a smile. I looked out to sea and heard Keith say he was going to come and sit next to me on my seat. “I’m no Pharaoh,” I heard him say, “but will you marry me?” As I turned back to face Keith he pulled a small box out of his pocket. He opened it and inside was a beautiful diamond ring. “Will you marry me?” He asked again. Of course, I said yes!

It turns out Keith had bought the ring back in February but knowing how much I love the beach, he decided to wait until we were on holiday before asking. He had kept the ring hidden away in the safety deposit box during our holiday… he seemed to take charge of the money on our holiday and I had no reason to want to go to the safety deposit box. It was actually quite nice letting a man take charge. Keith had planned to propose to me that evening at Buzz Beach Bar while we were having dinner but decided to take the ring with him to the beach in the morning just incase. With just the two of us sat on the beach and me talking about being married to an Egyptian Pharaoh (which I never have been by the way), Keith knew that was the perfect moment to propose and it couldn’t have been more perfect. We sat there for a while longer with huge grins on our faces while I stared at my ring as it glistened in the sun. We then strolled over to Buzz Beach Bar for a celebratory lunch instead of dinner

Since the proposal my head has been racing with ideas for our wedding. I feel like a child inside! Expect to see more regular blog posts here as I delve deeper into the world of weddings. It really is interesting seeing things from the bride’s perspective. Right… I have to take some paperwork to our solicitor now or we won’t be moving house when we’re supposed to be. It’s all very exciting!! Happy Monday people

Filed Under: Personal Tagged With: Personal, Proposal, UK Wedding Blog

Another Beautiful Wedding Video by the Infamous Bayly and Moore: Jo & Liam

May 4, 2012 By Kathryn 1 Comment

Hey everyone, I’m now back in the UK and seriously feeling the cold. While I unpack and do oodles of laundry I thought you might enjoy another beautiful wedding video by the infamous Bayly and Moore for your Friday viewing…

Filed Under: Wedding Videos Tagged With: UK Wedding Blog, Wedding Video

Wedding Entertainment

May 1, 2012 By Kathryn Leave a Comment

While I was watching the Samba dancing on Sunday evening it got me thinking about wedding entertainment. While we’re enjoying ourselves here in Turkey, it is still very early in the season – in fact, most of the hotels in the area aren’t even open yet. I’m not sure why though, it’s baking hot and the scenery is gorgeous. Any hotter and we’d find it hard to enjoy. Being the start of the season, evening entertainment, particularly in the hotel is a bit thin on the ground. I can tell you, the Samba dancing on Sunday evening was a welcome treat – I particularly enjoyed the guy doing somersaults across the dance floor and most of the men had a smile on their face while the Brazilian girls were doing their thing. How I wish I could shake my tush like that!

Most weddings in the UK tend to start at around midday and go on until late into the night. Your guests will have loved watching you exchange your vows, will have most likely enjoyed chatting with friends and family old and new and will be looking forward to the food – most of them probably missed breakfast in the rush to get ready for your big day and spent lunch time watching your wedding ceremony and having their photos taken. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with this, far from it. Your guests are there because they want to be, they’re there to support you on one of the happiest days of your life. However, by 4pm their tummies will be rumbling and they’ll be only too happy to sit down and sample the food.

Once dinner and the speeches are over, people tend to disperse, either disappearing off to their rooms if they’re booked into the hotel/reception venue or they’ll wonder around the grounds (some might even prop up the bar). This is usually the time in the day when a few guests who aren’t up to late nights might go home and the evening guests start to arrive. While your evening guests will be happy to see you and you’ll spend time chatting with them, please bare in mind that while the day is likely to be a whirlwind for you and your new spouse, a lot of your guests will be mingling for 10-12 hours on average. They need something to shake things up a bit in the evening. Everyone will watch your first dance and then depending on how lively your guests are, people will dance the night away or …. you’ll have people sat at tables all evening while a few children display their latest break dancing moves on the dance floor.

Having been to more than a few weddings myself, I’m very conscious of choosing some form of entertainment for the evening. I cringe at the thought of my daytime guests being utterly bored by 7pm and having a DJ play to an empty dance floor. I want my guests to enjoy themselves – I want everyone at the wedding to enjoy themselves. You know when you’re at a party and wish you could leave cos you’d rather be sat at home in your PJs watching Bridget Jones’ Diary for the umpteenth time with a mug of hot chocolate and a few naughty snacks? I don’t want guests to be feeling that way at my wedding. So the question is – what can you do to keep everyone entertained? I’m not saying you should spend a fortune but there must be something to keep people upbeat and enjoying the celebrations whether you hire a professional entertainer or provide some entertainment of your own e.g. garden games at a summer wedding. So I’d like your suggestions, from superstar DJs to the best live bands, from wedding singers to tribute acts, from dance acts to magicians, from children’s entertainers to garden games. If you know of a GREAT wedding entertainer, please leave a comment with the name of the act and a link to their site or email their details to kathryn@photography1827.com – alternatively, if you or have some brilliant, less costly options please also let me know your ideas. I’ll be compiling a post with a selection of the best nominations in the near future.

Happy Tuesday

Filed Under: Wedding Suppliers Tagged With: UK Wedding Blog, Wedding Entertainment, Wedding Suppliers

A Sunny Bridal Shoot At The BRC Photography Headquarters

April 30, 2012 By Kathryn 1 Comment

Good morning! It’s Sunday night as I type this from the hotel reception in Turkey. After a day spent lazing by the pool in the baking sun, we’ve just eaten dinner and have found some time to update the blog before heading off to watch some Samba dancing. We’ve seen the dancers arrive with their costumes and I’m excited to see it… I’m hoping Keith will get the buzz for dancing and enrol in some classes when we get back to the UK. Speaking of the UK, I’ve heard numerous reports that most of you are having quite a time of it with the rain and flooding. Can’t say I’m sorry not to be there but hopefully I’ll bring some of this glorious Turkish sunshine back to the UK with me later in the week. Gee, I really hope it’s stopped raining by then.

In the mean time, I thought these beautiful, sunny bridal shoot photographs taken by Benita R Cloward of BRC Photography might cheer you up this Monday. These gorgeous photographs were taken at the BRC Photography Headquarters i.e. Benita’s home in Oklahoma USA. Benita, you’re one lucky lady having such stunning surroundings at hand.

Photography Credit: BRC Photography
Model: Lauren M. {Anthony David Agency}
Hair & makeup: ONEnineteen Beauty
Dress: OTTO

Filed Under: Bridal Photo Shoot Tagged With: Bridal Photo Shoot, Bridal Shoot, UK Wedding Blog

A Heythrop Park Wedding: Dot & Ayo

April 27, 2012 By Kathryn 4 Comments

Dot and Ayo met seven years ago in a Mexican restaurant where Ayo used to work weekends and after dating for a while, Ayo decided that Dot was the woman for him and plucked up the courage to propose. “Ayo told me to pack a weekend bag but didn’t tell me where we were going.” Explains Dot. “He took me to Rome and proposed over breakfast. He had planned to propose over dinner that night but he couldn’t wait any longer. I think the nerves got the better of him.” [Read more...]

Filed Under: Real Weddings Tagged With: Real Weddings, UK Wedding Blog

Photography 1827′s Image of the Year Winner

April 25, 2012 By Kathryn Leave a Comment

Good morning! At last I’ve managed to charge the Mac Book and can finally carry on blogging. For those who follow me on Twitter you’ll probably know that I’m sunning myself in Turkey at the moment and although I brought the Mac Book with me so that I could keep the blog updated, I’ve had problems getting the battery to charge – hence the lack of posts this week. However, the problem has been solved so before I head off on today’s boat trip (and can I just say, this boat has a flume which goes from the top deck, winds through the lower deck and shoots out the side of the boat!! Today is all about fun!) I wanted to announce Photography 1827′s Image of the Year Winner.

Congratulations to Cheshire wedding photographer Adam Riley for winning the competition. There were some very strong candidates and although I think all the images are of a very high standard, Adam’s image of the bride and groom stood watching the fireworks with the wedding party really is breath taking and makes him a very worthy winner. Here’s the winning image below and a few words from Adam:

Camera: 5d mk 2

Lens: 24-70 2.8

Focal length: 24mm

Aperture: 2.8

Shutter Speed: 2 secs

ISO: 800

Flash: did not fire

This shot was taken at the end of an amazing wedding at Eastnor Castle. I’d been advised fireworks would be set off over the lake at the back of the castle, so had this shot in mind early on in the day.

As I’m documenting the wedding, I don’t interfere with the day, instead, capture events as they unfold. I could have opted for a stylish posed shot of the Bride and Groom, with the fireworks in the background, but that is just not me or my style – and the Bride and Groom want to actually see the fireworks! The master of ceremonies ushered everyone outside and as the spectacular firework show began.

I took up position on some stairs leading from the castle to elevate my position, and shot with a wide lens to capture the fireworks, guests and lake. I had to alter the shutter speed and ISO during the fireworks, as the lighting was changing throughout. I opted for a fairly long exposure, allowing me to capture the firework trails, I braced myself against a wall, and balanced the camera on the edge of a wall, ensuring there was no camera shake and the scene was sharp. Luckily the Bride, Groom and guests were fairly static during the exposure.

Post production is very simple, basic colour correction and contrast have been added – with some dodging and burning of the fireworks and sky.

Once again, many congratulations to Adam Riley whose prize is one year’s worth of free advertising on the blog. Once his advert is designed I will upload it asap. I think this image is really beautiful and the bride and groom must have been thrilled with it. For those of you who are non photographers, this type of shot takes a lot of skill to capture due to the difficult lighting situations and Adam has done a fantastic job. Many thanks to Adam and all the other photographers who have taken part in the image of the week/month/year competition here on Photography 1827.

You can contact Adam via the following:

Website

Twitter

Facebook

Right… I’m off sailing and by the looks of the weather forecast you might be needing some sort of Arc in the UK

Filed Under: Image of the Month Tagged With: Image of the Year Winner, UK Wedding Blog

A London Engagement Shoot: Emily & Matt

April 19, 2012 By Kathryn 2 Comments

Emily, a Marketing Consultant and her fiance Matt, an I.T. Specialist live in South London. They’re due to marry later this year at Farnham Castle in Surrey and opted to have a London engagement shoot with photographer Martin Price before taking their vows. Often, a couple’s wedding is the first time they will have had professional photos taken (unless you count your school photos) and many find it a great relief to meet with their photographer beforehand and practise posing in front of the camera – some think of it as an ice breaker, a chance to get to know your photographer better (after all, they will be quite a big part of your day – no matter how discreet they are). Some even view it as a rehearsal of sorts and it’s a great opportunity to have some photos of the two of you to frame and display in your home.

Living and working in London means that Emily and Matt also do a lot of socialising in the capital and so they were keen to have their engagement shoot there. They particularly wanted to include some London landmarks in their photos and so Martin suggested the South Bank for its fabulous photo opportunities.

Many thanks to Martin Price for sharing these photos with us today – I really like the variety of backgrounds, especially the coloured panels on the buildings. I’d also like to wish all the best to Emily and Matt for their upcoming wedding at Farnham Castle and I look forward to seeing the wedding photographs!

All images copyright of Martin Price Photography

Filed Under: Engagement Shoots Tagged With: Engagement shoot, London Engagement Shoot, UK Wedding Blog

Photographs That Pack A Punch: BRC Photography

April 17, 2012 By Kathryn Leave a Comment

I’ve mentioned Benita on the blog before, you know, Benita R Cloward of BRC Photography. Benita is based in Oklahoma USA and has a great talent when it comes to wedding photography and lifestyle/portrait photography. Her style is fresh, modern and very editorial and I love the whole fashion vibe she has going on. I checked out what this hot to trot photographer has been up to lately and damn! This girl knows how to rock it. I mean that… Benita clearly knows her stuff when it comes to photography and judging by the set of images I’m about to show you, I reckon I’m gonna have to book her in to take photos of me the next time we’re on the same continent. Check it out…