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.
Sally & James live right next to Smithfield Market in London, and are getting married in their local church in the spring, so it made sense that we started their engagement session from the area. We then strolled down to the river, nipping in and out of cute alleyways (oh, I do love a good back alley!) on the way. There’s nothing I like better than getting to know my couples, and hanging out with Sally and James was such a joy. Can’t wait for their wedding day!
I bet Californian photographers’ blogs don’t talk about rain quite as much as mine does… It’s just a fact of London life that with every session there’s that element of excitement about whether it will bucket it down on the day or not. When it came to Nirali & Kunal’s engagement session, the pressure was really on, as between the days they were visiting London from New York and my availability, we had such a narrow window of opportunity to do our session. And of course, as if on cue, it started absolutely peeing it down an hour before our session… Luckily the rain shower was hard but short lived, and afterwards we got to have beautifully gleaming wet pavements to add a bit of London flavour into the shots.
I’m so glad the weather worked out, and despite the rain, I do love London in the autumn! It was such a pleasure meeting you Nirali & Kunal, and I hope your wedding back in NY will be absolutely fabulous! x
I think I’ve made it pretty clear by now how much I love doing these Beloved sessions. As much as I adore photographing people getting engaged and all the happiness of their wedding day, there’s just something very special about photographing a couple who’s been together for longer. It’s comforting to find those roles and routines that keeps a relationship ticking, but as years go by we tend to forget to take the time to really have fun with each other like we did at the beginning. Beloved sessions are such a lovely way to reconnect and spend some quality time together. It’s like they give a permission to forget our busy lives for a while and just have a giggle and remember all the things we love about our chosen partner.
This Beloved session with Elizabeth & Steven was such a joy. Despite the threat of rain when we headed to Bushy Park, amazingly, when we got there the sun came out to play with us and made the gorgeous colours of the autumn shine. Watching these two was so very lovely, I got to laugh along with them, I got to feel moved, and when I got home I just felt incredibly grateful to be able to do a job such as this. At it’s best it can be pretty amazing. Thank you Elizabeth & Steven. x
P.S. do also check out Elizabeth’s photography blog.
Jane & John got married at 10am on a crisp October morning at Old Marylebone Townhall. I met Jane before the ceremony at The Landmark Hotel where she got dressed into her beautiful La Sposa Denia gown from Provonias, after Sam Sham worked on her makeu-up and hair. There were also some gorgeous Jimmy Choo’s and lovely flowers by Paula Pryke involved.
From there is was a skip and a hop across the street to the Townhall, where John was waiting in the Reception Room, which is one of my favourite ceremony spaces in London. After the ceremony Jane, John and I walked across town towards Mayfair, taking some portraits on the way, before joining the guests for some delicious looking dim sum at the Princess Garden of Mayfair.
It was unusual for us to cover such an early morning wedding, with a lunchtime reception, but there was something very personal and quaint about it all. I always love it when people do their own thing and go with what suits them best.
Thank you Jane & John for having us share your lovely day with you. I hope you’ve had an amazing time on your honeymoon! x
The weather has finally turned chilly in the UK, and as I’m sat here with my woolly socks on, I figured that reminiscing over Andrea & Sean’s wedding in Malta would make me a feel a whole lot warmer. And what a lovely wedding it was! Andrea & Sean are based in Texas, and the whole wedding party flew in from the US to celebrate the big day. The reason the couple chose Malta for their wedding destination, was that they met while both doing an internship there, so the island plays an important part in their lives and the history of their relationship.
The day kicked off at the Hilton Hotel Malta , which overlooks the beautiful St Julian’s bay, where both Andrea and Sean got ready (albeit in different rooms!). I just adored Andrea’s two piece Vera Wang gown, so unusual and absolutely stunning. For the ceremony we made the trip up to Naxxar, where both events took place at the incredible Palazzo Parisio. I mean, wow, what a place! Flowers by Alistair Fenech provided even more beauty, and the whole affair was visually almost overwhelming with such gorgeousness everywhere you looked.
I’d like to say a huge thank you to Andre & Sean, for letting us be a part of this beautiful day, it was an experience I won’t forget in a hurry! Thank you also to Jane from Palazzo Parisio for taking brilliant care of us on the day.
Now, let us soak up some sun…
Gemma & Rupert’s wedding at Luton Hoo Hotel was a small and perfectly formed affair. I was present just for the first part of the day, which consisted of an intimate ceremony, cocktails outside and dinner for their nearest and dearest. Later on in the evening more guests arrived to party the night away.
It always feels really special being a part of such an intimate wedding, and I love the atmosphere of a small gathering of people who are close to each other. Also, Rupert is a photographer himself, and when ever another photographer chooses me to document their day, I can’t but feel a little bit chuffed.
Thank you Gemma & Rupert, for letting me be a small part of your gorgeous day, you and the adorable Heath make such a beautiful family! I’m hoping to hear all about the amazing honeymoon later. x
After a rare and much-needed day off yesterday, it’s time to get cracking again. To ease myself into all things weddingy once more, I though I’d share Lucy & Nick’s Surrey wedding with you. This wedding was such a beautiful affair – the weather was perfect on the day and the setting of Gatestreet Barn in Bramley was as idyllic as can be. Lucy looked simply stunning in her Benjamin Roberts Enzoani gown and Kurt Geiger heels, and I just adored the bridesmaids’ dresses. Such prettiness!
This is one of those days when I feel like I should let the pictures do the talking. There are so many smiles and so much flower girl cuteness to go around, that I’m sure you can’t help but smile along to the images.
Thank you Lucy & Nick for letting us share your beautiful day with you, it was such a pleasure. It was all so very lovely and you make such a gorgeous couple! x
Nothing I could write about Alexis & Jack, and their wedding, will do justice to the amazing people that they are. Ever since their Chinatown engagement session I had been impatiently waiting for the big day. And it certainly lived up to all my expectations, and then some! So where to start… Let’s try from the beginning.
The invitation suite was designed by Alexis and her mother (in conjunction with her stationery company Paper Dragon) and were all hand made by the lovely mother of the bride. I have to say that these, along with all the other paper goods designed by Alexis, set the tone for the day beautifully. But nothing came close to being more beautiful than Alexis on the day! She looked an absolutely knock-out in her Vera Wang gown, incredible Miu Miu heels and Atelier Millinery headpiece. Sophie Stafford on make-up, and Melanie Giles Salon on hair, completed the fabulous look. Alexis also wore her mother’s own bridal necklace, her grandmother’s tennis bracelet, and her bouquet was pinned with her grandmother’s art deco brooch. For the reception she added a belt made by Vera Wang Couturier with ribbon from VV Rouleaux and an AMAZINGÂ Vera Wang necklace.
The beautiful ceremony and glitzy reception of Alexis & Jack’s wedding both took place at the prestigious Bath Assembly Rooms in the city centre. Mary Lee Herrington of Forever and Ever Events was Day of Coordinator and my girl Steph Turpin of Fairynuff Flowers had created pure magic with the flower arrangements. Hannah Bowden from Searcy’s Catering was in charge of the fabulous food and the out-of-this-world cake was created by Linda Fripp and then customised with a cake topper by Cutture and ribbon from VV Rouleaux.
So many things made this wedding such a pleasure to be a part of, not least the other vendors, such as long time friends Wedding Smashers, who were on DJ duties, and Allora Visuals – a cinematographer team I’ve always wanted to work with and finally had the chance to. Can’t wait to see what they captured! I have to also give a shout out to Hot Buttered Soul Collective who sang beautifully during the ceremony, and the lovely staff at The Assembly Rooms who were so helpful and accommodating.
But most of all, Jack and Alexis… I can’t congratulate you enough, it is clear that you were meant for each other and I am so so happy to have been present on your big day. Thank you so much for having us, and thank you to your families for being as utterly lovely as you two are. x
P.S. you can read Alexis’ side of her wedding day on her fabulous blog OMG I’m getting married!
Kelly & Scott got married at Islington Town Hall and had a small reception at a restaurant in London prior to their bigger wedding celebrations in Scotland and Malaysia next year. They decided that instead of getting the whole day documented, they’d like to just do a longer portrait session around London and at their flat. Since their wedding was on a weekday, this was just fine by me, and I have to say that it was *so* much fun concentrating on just the portrait bit of a wedding day without worrying too much about the rest of the timeline. It’s nice to shake things up a bit sometimes!
You can probably see that Kelly is a huge lover of colour, which made my job thoroughly enjoyable – and a big yellow balloon is always a bonus! You might also spot a few Holga frames in the mix. Kelly & Scott, I had so much fun with you two! I hope you will have as much fun throughout your wedding marathon, and that you will always remember to have a giggle together. x
If there was a prize for persistence, Irene would win it hands down. It all went down a bit like this: Irene enquired with me about shooting her wedding, I told her I was out of the country so couldn’t do it. Irene got back to me saying she would consider changing her date, but my other available dates didn’t work, so I gave her suggestions for other photographers. Irene emailed me back and asked about yet another possible date, which happened to be available, it was only that I had a wedding outside of London the previous day and I’d sworn I wouldn’t take on back to back weddings any more. But, Irene emailed me back … and emailed me back, and… eventually I was so bowled over by her sweetness and her genuine love for my pictures that I decided to make it work somehow. And oh boy am I glad I did!
Both Irene and Benn are such sweethearts. Irene especially is one of those people who walks in the room and you swear the lights get a bit brighter, the smiles a bit wider. And she is also sooo super cute, made only more beautiful on the day by Yoshie Neko, who was in charge of make-up and hair. And, you know, the Vera Wang gown was alright too (that means fricken amazing by the way!).
Grove House was such a beautiful setting for the wedding, made even more gorgeous by all the hard work put in, and charming personal touches created, by Irene and Benn. Seasons Florists created magic with flowers, while Penni Black was in charge of catering.
There were so many things I loved about this wedding (apart from Irene, whom I adore), from the gorgeous traditional Korean outfits worn by many guests, to the cute coloured fans and name cards in shape of teapots, all the laughter and joy despite the rain, and of course Bean, the cutest little dog there ever was. Bridie finally got some competition in the ‘most adorable dog to ever walk down the isle’ stakes.
I think the whole day is a testament to how I tend to view the world in general, I think things have a tendency to work out how they were supposed to in the end… I really couldn’t have imagined missing this wedding for anything now. Thank you Benn and Irene, for being so persistent, so lovely and warm and just all round amazing. I wish you so so much happiness and giggles for the future! x
Every wedding is lovely in it’s own way, and completely unique, because it’s the people who make the day. But some wedding days are such that you just want to live inside them forever and ever. Lisa & Alex’s wedding was one of those days.
First of all, I love Lisa & Alex. A fact. Ever since their incredible Beloved session, I’d been anxiously waiting for the big day for what seemed like forever. When the day finally arrived, it was all that I hoped it would be, and so so much more.
Can you tell me what’s better than a sparkly pair of Kate Spade heels? How about three pairs, one for the bride and one for both of the bridesmaids of course (I could have died quite happily at this point of the day already)! After slipping into her amazing Olivia Couture gown (from Blackburn Bridal), Lisa and her dad got into a cute white VW Beetle, while me, the bridesmaids and videographer Mark Brown (yay, I love working with Mark!) travelled in style in a red VW camper van (both from Kent Beetles) to the out-of-this-world Preston Court…
I don’t think I’ve ever been quite as impressed with a venue before as I was with Preston Court (and all through the day I could hear both Mark and my assistant Susanna muttering ‘omg it’s so beautiful‘…). The beautiful Hello!Lucky invites had already set the scene for things to come, and it all really was perfection; with a fairytale island for getting married under a gazebo, beautiful barn with such quirky interiors, and of course the carousel, oh the carousel! Flowers by the legendary Euphoric Flowers added to the magic, and Relish did an amazing job on the catering front. I also have to give a shout out to Mega Booth for the cleverest photo booth set-up I’ve ever come across, inside an actual car. How cool!
But first and foremost, Lisa & Alex, two of the nicest people I’ve ever known, with families to match. I could not be happier for you two and all the love flowing on the day proves that I’m not alone in my sentiment. Thank you so so much for first of all giving so much of yourselves, and for allowing us to be such a comfortable part of your beautiful day, I will treasure the memories forever. x
P.S. no, it’s not your eyes going funny, Lisa’s identical twin sister Gabi was indeed one of the bridesmaids! :D
Four frames from four amazing days… stay tuned.
On the day of Rachel & Nick’s East Sussex wedding the main road between me and them was closed due to a bad accident in the night. It took some innovative orienteering and extra hours finding our way without getting caught in the chaos, but oh boy was Rachel & Nick’s wedding worth it all!
Rachel got ready in her childhood home with her bridesmaids and, despite everyone having been up to the early hours with wedding-related tasks, the atmosphere throughout the morning was more joyous than stressed or nervous. Toni and Guy created Rachel’s beautiful hairdo, which went perfectly with her Jenny Packham gown (from Miss Bush Bridal) and Rupert Sanderson heels – she looked so so glamorous! A gorgeous bouquet by Shimizu Flowers completed the picture (and got me a bit obsessed with David Austin roses!). A really sweet touch was the veil, which was Rachel’s mum’s and was shortened by Miss Bush for Rachel to wear as her ‘something old’.
The ceremony took place at St James the Great on Ewhurst Green and was made even more special by the fact that Rachel’s uncle, the former Abbot of Alton, conducted the ceremony with Rachel’s Godfather, the current Abbot of Alton, assisting. We then headed back to the village, to a field with stunning views, where a beautifully decorated marquee awaited. Super Event took care of the catering, and Rachel’s lovely mum organised a team of ladies who did all the flowers in the marquee.
Other vendors I ought to mention are Hummingbird Bakery, who created the adorable cake, and Blush Publishing who were in charge of stationary. It was also lovely to see Gareth of GJ’s Discos, it’s been a while since we last bumped into each other at a wedding!
I can’t say enough good things about Rachel and Nick and their lovely families, who all made us feel so welcomed. Rachel and Nick, I wish your life together will be as filled with love and warmth as your wedding day was! x
I first met Rachel & Greig when I photographed their friends’ wedding, where they were guests at, in 2009. It wasn’t long after that when they got in touch to book me for their own wedding, which back then seemed to be a loooong long way away in the future. It was somewhat surreal that the big day actually came around in what felt like a relatively short amount of time.
Rachel & Greig’s wedding took place at Warbrook House, with a trip to the ceremony at the beautiful St. Michael’s and All Angels Church in Sandhurst in between. To start the day off, Rachel and the girls got ready in the Morning Room, where Eric Perin worked his magic on hair and Mel Kinsman with make-up. Rachel’s beautiful gown was by Rosetta Nicolini, and her amazing shoes, which were the stars of the day (well, you know, for a shoe-lover!), were by Irregular Choice.
Florist Stella Charman had created flowers to match the fresh and unique orange colour theme, which ran through everything from the bridesmaids dresses, to the stationary by LilyLou and You and the reception room décor.
I have to say I just loved the setting of Rachel & Greig’s wedding. Warbrook House and the grounds were grand, but yet warm and inviting, and it was charming to have cows grazing right outside. It had been a long wait to celebrate this day, and I feel so happy to have been a part of the journey. Thank you so much for having us share your beautiful day with you, I hope the rest of your life together will be as filled with laughter and warmth as your wedding day was!
Sorry for the silence as of late, it’s all been a bit full on trying to catch up with everything after getting back to the UK. So that the blog wouldn’t feel completely neglected, here are a few sneak peeks of what’s to come once I power through the processing of these lovely weddings from Finland, Italy and Hampshire. Watch this space…
Let’s get this show back on the road (or off it, as it may be…)
I meant to blog about Beth & Julian’s cool London wedding whilst travelling, but I just never had enough time combined with a consistent enough internet connection to get it done. I’m now back in town, so here we finally go.
Soo Beth & Julian, such lovely lovely people! And their wedding? Pretty much off the hook with style and originality. After getting her make-up done by the talented Alice Moore at the always incredible Dean Street Townhouse, Beth slipped into her beautiful Sassi Holford gown from Pantiles Bride. We then travelled across London to the The Deck at the National Theatre, where the ceremony took place. I did say cool, right?
From the South Bank, we all piled into a routemaster for a trip to the reception venue, Kettner’s, in the heart of Soho. Rachel Morgan (whom I finally had the pleasure of meeting in real life as well!) had created such classy flowers arrangements, which complimented all the beautiful stationary designed by Hello Lucky and pretty cake by Cakes for fun. Kim from was Roseberry Weddings was in charge of everything running smoothly, (which it of course did, it’s always such a pleasure to work with her!) and the now legendary Wedding Smashers were on the decks once the sun sank down and the party started.
All in all, this was pretty much my ideal of a unique London wedding, and it was such a joy to work with some of my favourite vendors again.
Thank you Beth & Julian, for being so amazing. Here’s to many many decades of happiness ahead!
I’m (quite literally) flying all over the place at the moment, having just returned from Italy and heading out to Finland later today. But since I’m nice, I thought I’d leave you with some pictures from Emma & George’s London wedding, with a ceremony at Marylebone Town Hall and a reception at the RSA House in the heart of London. I don’t have much time for words at the moment, but I do hope the pictures tell you the story of Emma & George’s beautiful day better in any case!
Thank you Emma, George and adorable little Jessie, I wish you lots and lots of sunshine in your future life together!
It’s a rare treat for me to cover a truly ‘local’ wedding, so Abigail & Simon’s day felt very special indeed, taking place practically just at my doorstep. Abi & Simon tied the knot at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish Church in Thames Ditton, in a ceremony which was made extra special by the fact that after the ‘I dos’ Abi & Simon’s son Charlie got christened. So this was indeed a huge day for the whole family!
From the church we made a quick jump, via a portrait session in Bushy park, to Kingston-upon-Thames for a wedding reception at the gorgeous Warren House. Pesky rain cut our portrait session short, but not before the deer got a good glimpse of Abi’s beautiful Suzanne Neville gown. Personally I think that every wedding portrait session should come with mandatory deer!
The reception was a true labour of love from Abi’s part. She had handmade most everything, special mention going to the amazing tea cups with wine glass stems for the girls and wineglasses attached to toy cars for the boys. All hand glued by Abi! I also loved the dessert table, which consisted of a variety of cakes, all made by the guests. At the end of the evening, when the happy couple had sampled all the flavours, prizes were given out to the top cakes. Such a fun idea.
I can’t thank you enough Abigail, Simon and Charlie, for letting us share your beautiful day with you. I wish your whole gorgeous family all the happiness for the future!
You might remember Saleema & David’s engagement session in Vienna, which was so much fun. Well, the wait is finally over as the couple tied the knot in London at the start of June. Actually, they had not just one, but two weddings! First they had a Ghanaian wedding in May to honour Saleemas roots, followed by this quintessentially English afternoon tea party wedding, which I was lucky enough to capture.
Working in fashion, I knew that Saleema would look nothing short of super stylish on her big day, but her glamorous look still managed to blow me away! How about that gorgeous Temperley gown and the most utterly beautiful Louboutins I’ve ever seen! Swoon. Stunning flowers by the Blue Dove Wedding Company completed the beautiful vision.
Saleema and the girls got ready at the super trendy Shoreditch House (how cool is a private member’s club with a ‘no tie’ policy by the way?), from where we headed to Islington Town Hall for the ceremony. One of the most memorable moments of the day was when, after the ceremony, everyone joined in on a sing-along to ‘It had to be You‘. Uh-mazing.
After the ceremony it was onto a routemaster for a short drive to Farringdon and the Crypt on the Green, where the cutest tea party had been set by Louise from Bow Occasions and was catered Capital People.
Despite the skies opening up and major thunder sweeping over London just when I headed out to this wedding, all my memories of the day are sunny and bright. Happiness trumps weather every time.
Congratulations Saleema & David, I’m so so happy for you! And thank you for having us. x
Ever since Katie & John’s engagement session (actually, ever since I first met them!) I had been like on hot coals waiting for their wedding day. I absolutely love their venue, Nothbrook Park, which, once again, didn’t let me down. Steph Turpin from FairyNuff Flowers was in charge of the most adorable flowers, which stole the show over and over again – from the stunning arrangements at the outside ceremony, to the gorgeous bridal flowers, not to mention the reception flowers and the cutest flowery ‘escort cards’ ever. Even Katie & John’s bunny Shakespeare, who ‘walked’ down the isle, had his own carrot corsage!
I love a wedding where everything takes place in the same place, and Northbrook Park is the perfect venue for this. To kick the day off, Katie and the girls got ready in one of the cabins on site where Tania Gent from LoveHair was in charge of make-up and hair. Katies gorgeous wedding gown was called ‘Lucy’ and it was from the Vineyard Collection at Priscilla of Boston in Phoenix. The gown was complemented by to-die-for Jimmy Choo shoes, which were a present (one of many!) from John. I think it’s fair to say Katie looked drop dead gorgeous.
Even though the day was quite rainy, the outside ceremony went ahead, which I’m so happy about. It was simply stunning, and the atmosphere was something a few drops of rain could ruin. Planner Andri Benson from Always Andri made sure things ran smoothly, even when backup plans had to be put into action when the skies opened properly.
Katie & John’s day was so individual and beautiful, and I felt very priviledged to have been a part of it. A few other vendors worth mentioning are the caterers, The Three Bees, DJ Firebird Events, the beautiful stationary from Wedding Paper Divas, and the cake by Edith Yemoh from EmaCakes.
Thank you Katie & John, for creating such a beautiful day and for allowing me to be a part of it all! x
