Church Ceremony, St Josephs Church, Thame
Christmas is a wonderful time of year for a wedding, and The Dairy at Waddesdon Manor really goes to town with its festive decorations!
Marion and Richard’s beautiful wedding ceremony was held at St. Josephs Church in Thame, just a few days before Christmas. This was my first time to this beautiful modern church, and the interiors were stunning for picture opportunities.
The emotional ceremony provided so many great moments for me to document. These two very loving families clearly had a really close bond.
Christmas Tree In The Courtyard, The Dairy Waddesdon
The Dairy on the Waddesdon Estate provided the setting for Marion and Richard’s fairytale wedding. And just by coincidence this was my third consecutive pre-Christmas Saturday wedding at The Dairy over the past three years. As always the venue looked sensational.
I can understand why couples fall in love with this gorgeous waterside venue. It really does have everything for anyone looking for the ultimate wedding setting! As the wedding guests arrived at Waddesdon from the church they were wowed by The Dairy’s beautifully illuminated Christmas tree in the courtyard. And, as Marion & Richard went to town with candles and fairy lights everywhere else, the overall lighting affect was stunning!
Father Christmas
Marion and Richard invited over 25 children to their wedding, and they were so well behaved all day. That might be because the grown-ups told them Father Christmas would pay a visit to The Dairy! His visit was perfectly timed to coincide with the speeches. As a result I dashed between the children’s play zone & the speeches to not miss a moment.
Seeing the children’s faces light up as they met Father Christmas was truly magical, then one by one they were called up to receive their gifts. However, once they’d unwrapped their presents & waved goodbye to Santa they were looking for their next adventure!
For 4-10 year olds, there can’t be a better combination than lots of other children to play with, yummy food, a children’s play zone, Father Christmas, wonderful presents, loud music & the ultimate party atmosphere.
As you can imagine, the picture opportunities flowed – they really made my job easy!
Low Light Wedding Photography
I’m always up for the challenge of a winter wedding. The light usually fades by mid afternoon. But, the results can be wonderful with a little bit of trickery from my special effects lighting department!
Marion & Richard were really keen to go up to the main Manor House for a few images. But, the lack of daylight and timing restrictions before the meal meant the timings were really tight. So, they arranged for the vintage Rolls Royce to return after the speeches for a special journey up to the Waddesdon Manor.
When we arrived at about 8pm we could barely see the Manor House as it was so dark. The moon was behind the clouds, and the sky was as black as could be. With no street lighting whatsoever, all we had was a tiny distant flicker of a light in the entrance portico. I’d never done one of my special effect night shots when it had been quite so dark, or when the couple had specially booked the car to return for an extra wow night shot, so talk about pressure!
The picture you see below was created in camera, using a technique that would look totally fake if attempted within Photoshop. You’ll see this technique used throughout my wedding portfolio during all the seasons. I’ve been using my special floodlighting effects for the past twenty years, and these unique illuminating tricks add another dimension to my work once the sun goes down.
Family Group Photographs
The close-up family portraits outdoors by the waters edge with all the distant fairy lights were also captured with my special lighting effects, as were the other outdoor night shots below. If I used a flash gun or on camera lighting, the lighting effect would be very flat and lifeless, and the distant buildings would be pitch black.
Any prospective wedding clients visiting my studio will be shown many before and after examples of these unique lighting methods. Although, how I achieve these striking results is a closely guarded secret! If a building is already floodlit these effects are a walk in the park. But, at 95% of the weddings I attend there’s no floodlighting, and then it’s over to me to illuminate the venue!
If you’d like to see more before and after examples of my lighting techniques, do take a look at my Low Light Photography blog post.
It was a joy to work with Marion & Richard, and I couldn’t have wished to end the year working for a nicer couple. This wedding was so well organised. So much thought had gone into every aspect of the day, the result was one amazing wedding.
Kind Words
Dear Mark,
We just wanted to say a massive thank you to you for taking the photos at our Christmas wedding at the Dairy in Waddesdon. From what we saw of your work when we chose you as our photographer we had very high expectations. I have to say you surpassed even these in every way.
We are so grateful for the extra time that you spent capturing photos of our guests. Particularly, when I saw you photographing the children having so much fun! The photos of them are simply stunning, not easy to achieve when working with children!
All of the photos in our gallery are amazing. You have captured the whole essence of us and our wedding day in a way I would never have thought possible, especially with a winter wedding where lighting can be a challenge.
The way you worked the light into the images is truly beautiful. As a result we have fantastic images from our special day that we will treasure forever!!
Warmest regards,
Marion & Richard
