Marianne Taylor Photography | Portrait & Family Photographer in Cornwall
On-location portrait and family photography in North Cornwall. Siren of the Sea sessions, couples, families. Soft, romantic, coastal.
Before I head to Essex for today’s garden wedding, here’s a super sneaky peek from Alix & Manu’s wedding in France. I’m off to Finland next week (for a few days of hols + a wedding), but can’t wait to get stuck in processing this gorgeous wedding on my return. Keep an eye out for future updates on Alix’s blog, where you can also find links to some pics from her super stylish guests!
I have to say, editing at 2am doesn’t feel nearly as strenuous as you’d think when you have beauties like these to work with! Keep an eye out for more from Sarah & James’ gorgeous Suffolk wedding later on.
During yesterday’s engagement session in central London I was feeling a little bit shell shocked by the amount of people and hustle and bustle everywhere. I think I just figured out the reason why! I’ve spent most of the summer covering weddings all over the UK, from cliff tops to quiet little villages, where the most ‘bustle’ you might bump into is a cow or two or perhaps a sheep – so it’s really no wonder I’ve forgotten how busy London can feel! Jacqueline & Simon’s wedding is a prime example of the lovely places I’ve got to visit this summer.
Jacqueline and Simon got married at the church of St. Nicholas Bratton St. Maur, with a reception at Bratton Farm House, in the gorgeous little village of Bratton Seymour in Somerset. I can’t tell you how beautiful a setting the village and the farm house were for a wedding! The day was amazing through and through, with a lovely relaxed atmosphere and so many beautiful touches, from Jacqueline’s exquisite Jenny Packham gown to the wild flower arrangements and all the little antique details. This really was the perfect garden wedding!
Thanks so much Jacqui and Simon for having me, I hope you’re having an awesome time on your honeymoon!
Is it another sneak peek? Why yes, yes it is! One day, not very far from now, I will have a full wedding to show, I promise. But in the meanwhile I couldn’t resist sharing some joy from Jacqueline and Simon’s Somerset wedding. Stay tuned!
Last month we had the pleasure of covering Elodie & Vianney’s magical wedding in France. It’ll be a while until I’m finished with processing all the pictures, but I couldn’t resist giving Elodie a little sneak peek of one of my favourite images from the day. Check out Elodie’s blog for her thoughts on the day, and possible further sneaky peeks!
If there was one wedding I had been waiting for impatiently for absolutely ages, it had to be Rebecca & Andi’s Cornwall wedding! Most people know that I’m a huge fan of Cornwall, and try to get down there as often as I can, so when Becks contacted me over a year ago about covering what she described as ‘party of a lifetime’ down in Cornwall I jumped at the chance! I can’t quite believe that the party is now over – but the memories of this most awesome wedding ever will remain with me forever.
Becks and the girls got ready at The Watergate Bay Hotel, which sits on one of the most beautiful beaches ever. Lil and Bridie at Kelly Anza, Penzance did a beautiful job on their hair, and makeup artist Suzi Winter made sure that everyone looked pretty as can be. Becks’ beautiful Temperley dress and Manolo Blahnik heels created such a lovely nostalgic look, and her Royst and Aran headdress really set the whole look off. The colour theme at this wedding was baby blue and red, and the gorgeous customised bridesmaids’ dresses from Anoushka G and red (burlesque!) shoes from Bordello fit so well into it.
The ceremony took place at the Chapel of the Franciscan Monastery of Lanherne in St Mawgan in Pydar, where only a couple of weddings in a year are allowed. Guests travelled to the reception at Bre Pen Farm in fantastic 1950’s coaches from King Harry Coaches, while the wedding party arrived in iconic wedding VWs from Cornwall VW Wedding Hire. The party itself was held in a marquee on a cliff top overlooking the sea, which was absolutely one of the most amazing places I’ve ever had the pleasure of attending a wedding at! Here’s what Becks told me about her vision for the wedding:
‘I collected all the jam jars and glassware myself and it was all inspired by “The Darling Buds of May”, but also we wanted it to reflect festivals (wellies) and our Northern/Greek/Cornish connections. It was a big-ish wedding, but I wanted everyone to feel like they got looked after and almost like they received a “hug” from all of the little details! The gingham tablecloths and bunting were made by my mum and the vintage lace tablecloths and vintage china were sourced by me and friends from charity shops and flea markets! The strawberry plants were grown for the occasion by a friend.’
‘The flowers (George Mackay Flowers) were so important to me and we even used apples (to reflect the origin of my name ‘Crabtree’) and olive branches for Andi’s Cypriot roots. We wanted it to reflect two people joining together. The rest were seasonal, mainly native and used to create a “just picked” feel.’
‘Another aspect of the day that was important was that we wanted to show how we don’t take ourselves too seriously and had quite ironic touches such as naming the tables after some of the worst nightclubs we’ve frequented over the years (as we met in our teens in a BAD nightclub) and giving everyone kebabs later in the evening to soak up the booze!’
‘The food (catering by Round Kitchen) was, again, slightly retro and ironic in theme and we went for old-fashioned desserts like trifle and black forest gateau.’
I think that’s more than enough for the introduction, let’s get to the pictures and relive this incredible party. Enjoy!
I’d like to thank Rebecca and Andi for taking us with you on this incredible ride, it was an unforgettable day!
Also a huge thank you to Susanna, as always, and to Maz from Light and Day Photography, who came along to assist and to be ‘on call’ in case my ankle couldn’t take the long day up on a hill.
Where do I start! Rose & Brendan’s garden tea party wedding at the Larmer Tree Gardens in Dorset really was a pretty special affair. I don’t think my words could ever do it justice (hence I take photos), so I’ll borrow some words from the bride herself – this is how she described her theme for the wedding: ‘I’m a sucker for tradition, but I love tiny personal details. For the day I wanted to create a real inside outside feel – like a vintage 1940s tea dance that has come through time and ended up in a garden – so everything’s a little distressed from the elements but still beautiful.’
Rose and the bridesmaids got ready at the gorgeous Launceston Farm, which really set the mood for the day from the start. Rose’s dress and veil were from Pronovias Bond Street, her shoes were Louboutin and her lovely little bag was a last minute buy from Monsoon Bridal.
One thing that made this wedding feel very special, was the fact that the whole wedding party was just 14 people in total (Brendan lost his best man as he had to be onboard his Navy ship on the day of the wedding as the queen was visiting). It really felt exceptional to be a part of such an intimate party, and it made for a beautifully relaxed day – the often normal ‘stresses’ of a wedding day seemed far away. I still can’t get over how beautiful all the carefully selected details looked. Here’s what Rose told me about them: ‘I collected a lot of mercury glass as it looks like formal interior decorative items that have been left outside – silver glass that has been worn away with sun and rain. They came from places such as Niki Jones, Cox & Cox, Graham & Green, and from antique shops.’
‘The candelabras were from eBay and all our cut glass vases, candle sticks, bowls and ornaments were all vintage/charity shop finds. There are some fantastic charity shops in Devon and Cornwall where you can find the best things for a bargain. Woodside is probably the all time best where most of the things came from.’
‘I used all country garden based flowers that were in season, very unstructured – no “floristry” as such, just flowers in pots and vases. I ordered all our flowers through our local market Petals Florists and we made our bouquets and buttonholes ourselves the night before the wedding. My mum did all the vases at the venue for us in the morning before the wedding.’
I should mention that Rose is a designer and she made all the table cloths and linens, and designed and made all the beautiful stationery herself (Rose’s website). ‘I tried to keep all the stationary formal in style as I really like formality, but like the contradiction that it was a garden party event,’ she said. I think that in itself sums up the feel of this wedding.
Thank you so much Rose and Brendan for letting us share your stunning and intimate wedding day, we really felt privileged! Thank you also to Susanna (whom I really should thank at the end of most weddings, as she’s quickly become my ‘right hand woman’), without whom I probably couldn’t have covered this wedding as it was the first one after injuring my ankle.
I have to start packing for tomorrow’s wedding now, but I can’t wait to finish editing Rose & Brendan’s beautiful Dorset garden wedding on my return, so that I can show you more images. Everything about this wedding was prettiness turned to the max!
It’s been a bit of a traumatic week so far, as on Monday, on my way to a engagement session, I fell down some stairs that gave way due to rust and tore the ligaments in my ankle. Ouch doesn’t quite cover it! It’s been a busy week rescheduling things and arranging for cover and extra help for upcoming events. Fingers crossed I’ll be back on my feet soon though!
In order to cheer us all up I’m finally posting some pictures from Amy & Jonny’s super pretty Kent wedding. I have to say I really adored Amy’s style on the day. Amy’s gorgeous dress and veil were by Amanda Wakely Sposa and her beautiful hair bloom, an ivory feather peony which I absolutely l-o-v-e-d, was designed and made by Yasmin Rizvi. Her perfectly ‘imperfect’ hair was carefully teased into place by Victoria Boorman and her make up was done by Vicky Snepp from Space NK in Tunbridge Wells.
The ceremony took place in the charming St Peter’s Church in Ightham, made really special by the beautiful singing from the members of the City of London Choir (with soloist Louisa Brown). This was followed by a reception in the family garden, held in a marquee decorated beautifully with flower arrangements made by a family friend, Judy Debenham (who was responsible for the gorgeous boquets as well), and lots of personal touches, such as the cute lavender bags made by Amy’s mum and the napkins which were made by Amy herself from fabric off-cuts from Cabbages and Roses‘ gorgeous fabrics. Henrietta Donovan was in charge of the catering and I must say that all the food looked simply divine!
I feel so privileged to have been a part of this lovely wedding, with such loving atmosphere and beauty all around. I wish Amy and Jonny all the best in their future adventures together! <3
Amy & Jonny’s gorgeous Kent wedding, coming to a blog near you soon!
When Rachel got in touch with me originally, she booked me for a few hours to shoot her and Ben’s engagement party in Oxford. They were planning on getting married in Switzerland, but wanted to throw a party for their friends and family in the UK prior to that. Three weeks before the party Rachel phoned me and asked whether I would be available for a longer coverage, as they had just then decided that they were going to change their engagement party into a wedding! The short notice was a bit of a shock for everyone involved in the planning, but it did make sense since Rachel and Ben had already put so much time into the preparations, and since all of their loved ones were going to be under the same roof.
Rachel and her bridesmaids got ready at the beautiful Old Bank Hotel in central Oxford, but from there on things got a bit more adventurous. The unusual, and beautiful, ceremony took place outside on a hilltop in Shotover country park. It was a bit of a new situation for us as photographers logging our stuff across a huge hill, but the setting sure was worth it! I really loved the idea of guests hanging wishes onto the branches of the three underneath which the ceremony was held. In fact, there were lots of lovely details to this wedding, not least Rachel’s beautiful flowers from Daisies, and the gorgeous cars, which came from London Legend.
After the hilltop ceremony, it was back to central Oxford for the evening reception at Gee’s Restaurant, which was the perfect setting to for eating and dancing the night away.
Thank you Rachel and Ben for giving me the shock of my life by changing your plans at the last minute, it really did result in one of the prettiest weddings I’ve had the pleasure to attend this year!
Another wedding at The Garden Museum and another bride called Claire, what were the chances! :D Claire & Ben got married at Chelsea Town Hall early in the morning, and since their reception wasn’t until the evening, they hired us just for the party bit. It was kind of weird not being present at the ceremony, but it didn’t really take away from the joyous atmosphere of the wedding day. The last time we worked at The Garden Museum, was when we shot Claire & Hywel’s wedding at the start of the summer. Things looked somehow a little bit different now, more autumnal perhaps – and certainly the light was different, but the venue still had that magical quality I remembered from the first time around. It really is a gorgeous place for a wedding reception.
Thank you so much Claire & Ben for letting us be a part of your day, we had a blast capturing it! x
The reception of Eleni & David’s wedding was held at Tamesis Sailing Club in Teddington, which was the perfect location for a beautiful summer’s day, and Eleni & David’s grand arrival on a boat across the Thames really set the mood for the rest of the party. There was a great relaxed atmosphere to this wedding, and all I have to say is that if you have to spend your birthday working, you couldn’t choose a nicer event for it. Oh and I totally have to name check David’s aunt Toshi, who came over from New Jersey and hand made all the sushi and the flower arrangements! How cool is that.
Congratulations again Eleni & David, I wish you all the best for your future together!
Eleni & David chose pretty much the most awesome day ever to get married, what with their wedding day also being my birthday. In light of this I believe I can take full credit for the weather on the day being simply divine. :D The ceremony was held in St Mark’s Church in Teddington, and afterwards we popped into Eleni’s parents’ garden for some portraits. And what a garden it was! It really made for an absolutely magical backdrop for Eleni’s beautiful dress, which, by the way, was made by her sister!
P.S. check out how David has blue steel down to pat.
We nearly missed the window of opportunity for some portraits of Claire & Hywel because the dinner was served just when sun started going down. Thankfully the couple wolfed their food down in order to go out for a few pictures literally minutes before we lost all the light. And I’m so glad they did, as these are some of my favourite portraits I’ve shot this year!
Claire and Hywel are just the sweetest couple, and I hope they’re having a blast on their honeymoon in Crete. I wish you guys the happiest of lives together, and want to thank you so much for having me!
Claire & Hywel had their wedding reception at The Garden Museum in Lambeth. I adored this unusual venue, with pretty flowers and colours everywhere! I might have in fact gone a bit trigger happy with all the lush greenery around, but I just couldn’t resist! This was a perfect venue for my style of creati
ve wedding reportage, as I could sneak up from behind trees and bushes like a ninja (well, I like to think). Also, Lettice did an amazing job with the catering, the food was gorgeous and Katie made sure everything ran like clockwork!
I really did have a great time, and I just love the fact how wonderful and different each and every wedding I work at is. Love it!
The ceremony of Claire & Hywel’s wedding took place in St Andrew’s Church in Chelsea. It was conducted both in English and in Hywel’s native Welsh, and was altogether a very touching affair. I know it sounds super soppy, but you could really feel the love that everyone in the church was reflecting, and projecting. Even I got a bit teary eyed in places.
After the ceremony the bride and groom, followed by all the guests, piled into two old routemaster buses, that drove us to the reception at The Garden Museum. And oh my was it a bit of a bumpy ride, at times I felt like I was holding on to dear life when the bus sped its way across London!
More pics from the gorgeous reception later!
Claire & Hywel’s wedding day couldn’t have been any more beautiful. The sun was out for most of the day, and even though rain did make a little appearance, it was perfectly timed for just after everyone had gone inside for the evening reception.
I just love taking getting ready pics! The atmosphere of nervousness and excitement is so catching, and there are always beautiful girly details everywhere to capture. One of my favourite shots from these is the one where Claire went ‘Oh my god I’m getting married in half an hour!’.
Stay tuned for pictures from the ceremony, and from the reception at one of the most beautiful venues, The Garden Museum.
