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.

Trinh & Alastair | Wedding

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Trinh and Alastair got married at The London Oratory, a beautiful Roman Catholic church, which is actually the second largest Catholic church in London. It was important for Trinh to get some beautiful portraits of herself and Alastair, so after the ceremony we got in their Rolls-Royce (seemingly driven by a moonlighting Tommy Lee Jones!) and drove to a few locations which were meaningful to Trinh and Alastair. I love it when there’s some proper time in the wedding day schedule for portraits – it always shows in the resulting pictures. After our shoot we headed to the reception at the Hotel Russell, where Susanna had already started capturing guests mingling. The rest of the day seemed to whiz by in a whirlwind of dining, speeches, a gloriously handsome cake and dancing. I should also give a shout out to Roger from Diamond Films, who was the videographer on the day, it really was a pleasure working with you!

Thank you so much Trinh and Alastair for letting us capture the beauty of your wedding day. I hope you’ll have a happy and long life together!

























































Magali & Jeff | Wedding

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I’d been looking forward to Magali & Jeff’s wedding for what seems like forever! It feels like ages ago when we did their engagement session on Hampstead Heath. Well the big day finally came at the start of September, and it certainly was worth waiting for! Magali & Jeff got married at St Marks Church, Hamilton Terrace and the reception was held at Burgh House in Hampstead (which by the way has a lovely cafe if you ever want to stop for a cuppa). There was, once again, a proper international vibe about this wedding, since Magali is Portuguese and her family came from pretty much all over the world to attend the wedding. Also, her Japanese heritage, and graphic designer background, definitely had an influence on the beautiful and quirky details of this wedding as well.

This is my first attempt at trying to make my blog entries a little bit shorter, as I think they can be a bit overwhelming. I must say it is absolutely killing me though! :D I find it quite hard showing pictures out of context and I think my work is at its strongest when the whole story is there. Alas, for various reasons I have decided to try a bit more restrained approach for now.



























Claire & Ben | Wedding

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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



























































Carolyn & Marc – Reception | Wedding

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The reception of Carolyn & Marc’s wedding took place at the Lamb Tavern in Leadenhall Market in the City of London. The Market itself is absolutely beautiful, and I completely fell in love with the lovely pub with all its gorgeous details and wonderful atmosphere (not to mention the amazing food!). I will definitely be going back – hopefully to shoot lots more weddings. :D

I don’t usually plan the pictures I want to take at a wedding in advance, since I want to let my mind, and eyes, to be free to react to what ever is happening around me. But prior to this wedding, knowing where the reception would be taking place, the one picture I knew I really wanted to get was the bride and groom with the beautiful market as their backdrop. I managed to drag Carolyn & Marc away from the festivities just before our time came to an end, and finished the day with the picture I’d had in my head, the last one in this entry. It literally was the last frame I shot and I couldn’t be more pleased with it.

I had so much fun at this wedding and I want to thank Marc and Carolyn for putting their faith in me and trusting me to ‘do my thing’ on the day. I’m still gutted I couldn’t stay for the whole night and thus missed Marc performing with his band – until 4am I hear! What a great party, you guys, quite literally, rock.



















































Carolyn & Marc – Portraits | Wedding

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The best thing about having a photographer as a client, was the amount of time that was scheduled into the wedding day for photography with just the bride and groom. It was such a luxury to be able to spend some time alone with Carolyn and Marc, trying out a few different locations for some cool portraits. At most weddings I’m lucky if I get the bride and groom alone for 15 minutes! I do think the shots we did get prove what a difference it does make to add in some extra time for portraits into your schedule on the day.

Leaving the Townhall, our first stop was Carolyn & Marc’s hotel, The Rookery, tucked away in an alley behind Smithfields Market, which really was a real gem. If you are looking for a sumptuous weekend break in London, or indeed an atmospheric place to spend your wedding night, be sure to check this beautiful little hotel out! We found lots of interesting places within the hotel and it’s patio area to shoot in. On our way to the reception at Leadenhall Market, we stopped for some more shots with the City as a backdrop – I really love the way these turned out. Oh yes, and the shoes. While I’m usually all about the bride’s shoes, on this occasion I couldn’t very well ignore Marc’s cool footwear! :D




















Carolyn & Marc – Ceremony | Wedding

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Carolyn & Marc got married at The Old Marylebone Townhall, which is an impressively imposing building, and a really beautiful setting for a civil ceremony. I loved photographing all the details of this wedding, from what the bride and groom wore, to the flowers and the all the individual touches. Also, the guests, from France, UK and further afield, where by far the coolest customers we’ve ever had the pleasure of photographing.

The fact that Marc himself is an accomplished photographer, added some extra pressure – in a good way. Obviously I always want to give my clients my best, but knowing that another photographer has chosen you to record something so important, really makes you bring your A-game. I have to add that Marc behaved himself impeccably well (despite Carolyn and I teasing him mercilessly for trying to check out my settings :P), even though I know how hard it is for a photographer to hand the control of photography over to someone else.

This wedding is also a testament to what a difference it makes to have two of us photographers present instead of just the one. Just take a look at Susanna‘s amazing shots of guests on the underground and on the streets, which she took travelling to the reception venue while I was off taking portraits of C + M. This is something the bride and groom would never have witnessed were it not for there being two of us. Susanna’s first love, street photography, really shines through in the kick ass shots she captured at this wedding. Love them.

There’s plenty more to come so stay tuned.



























Sarah & Dan – Reception | Wedding

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I must say, I’d been looking forward to this reception at the stunning Landmark Hotel for a long time. You couldn’t really find a much more stunning venue for a wedding if you tried, and I felt very privileged to work there. Once again, this was a very international wedding, with guests from as far as Egypt and the US. Everyone was up for having a really good time, and the DJ (who was celebrating his birthday by the way) did a great job at getting people on the dance floor, which made for some great photo opportunities.

Congratulations again Sarah & Dan! And as always, thank you so much for having me.



































Eleni & David – Reception | Wedding

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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 – Ceremony | Wedding

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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.


























Päivi & Miikka – Reception | Wedding

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The biggest difference between English and Finnish wedding is the hectic schedule of the Finnish wedding day. There was a dizzying array of quizzes, speeches, dance competitions, singing, reading, games etc. which made sure the Bestman certainly had to work hard trying to keep everything happening on time!

Miikka always used to say his plan was to be married with kids by the age of 25, which means he was somewhat behind schedule. I suppose that can happen when you wait for the right girl though, and I think it’s pretty obvious he has found that girl. Congratulations again, I wish you guys all the best in your life together!









































Päivi & Miikka – Ceremony | Wedding

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First of all, I want to make it clear that if anyone wants to hire me to shoot a wedding in Finland, specifically in the capital area, I’m all up for it – what with it being my native country and all. However, if anyone wants to hire me to shoot their wedding in Juuka, some 8 hour drive from Helsinki, they better make sure they’re someone I consider practically a brother. So when one of my oldest friends, Miikka, asked, of course I said yes.

The weather was gorgeous throughout our road trip to Juuka and on the wedding day. Finland was definitely showing its best and it was lovely to experience a Finnish wedding after all the English ones I’ve been to recently. Despite different traditions and locations, the essence of all weddings is the same and there’s always a heightened sense of that elusive ‘world is a good place’ feeling present, which is what I love most about weddings in general. And this wedding was no exception.

More pictures from the reception to follow…





















Päivi & Miikka | Sneak Peek

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Just a really quick sneak peek from Päivi & Miikka’s wedding in Finland last Saturday. I’m still trying to catch up with emails etc. since returning to London, and I haven’t even started editing this wedding yet. This one shot just caught my eye when I was backing up the files.

I have a pretty busy period ahead of me, with weddings every week until September. Here’s hoping I will find some time to edit and post pictures as well!

Claire & Hywel – Portraits | Wedding

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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 – Reception | Wedding

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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!















































Claire & Hywel – Ceremony | Wedding

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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 – Getting ready | Wedding

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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.



















Maesha & Pete – Party | Wedding

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After the reception at Glaziers Hall, Maesha changed out of her wedding dress and into a gorgeous evening gown. Then a pied piper lead all the guests across London Bridge (yes, this would be the point where I was running backwards! :D), and on to Miyuki Maru, a party boat which would be cruising the Thames while the wedding party got down and dirty on the dance floor. Even though the evening was chilly, the party was SO much fun. From the second the music came on everyone w
as dancing. I had a such a wicked time and would like to once more thank Maesha and Pete for trusting me to be a part of their day. Also, again, thanks to my always wonderful assistant/second shooter Susanna – you’re the best!

















































Maesha & Pete – Reception | Wedding

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The reception of Maesha & Pete’s wedding at Glaziers Hall went by in a whirlwind of speeches and good food. Time completely ran away from us (as it generally tends to do at weddings) and we had to rush through our little portrait shoot on London Bridge at breakneck speed. It was a real effort trying to control the constant flow of people (thank you Susanna for doing a brilliant job at that!), navigating through the traffic with Maesha’s heavy gown, and getting the shots I wanted – all in 15 minutes!

























Lucy & Richard – Reception – Part II | Wedding

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Here’s finally the last instalment from the reception of Lucy & Richard’s wedding. The Northbank Restaurant truly was a lovely venue for a small wedding such as this. It is stylish and contemporary, with amazing views, and yet it has this really comfortable and intimately friendly vibe about it. And the staff is absolutely lovely! Thanks so much for taking such good care of our little photography team.

If the warmth and joy of their wedding day is anything to go by, Lucy and Richard surely have a wonderful life ahead of them to look forward to! Thanks again guys for letting me share your special day with you.
























Lucy & Richard – Reception – Part I | Wedding

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The reception of Lucy & Richard’s wedding took place in the Northbank Restaurant, with great views of Tate Modern and the Millenium Bridge. The party kicked off with champagne out on the terrace, and even the sun came out to celebrate. If you’re trying to figure out why the ‘wedding cake’ looks a bit strange it’s because it was actually made of cheese! Later on it was cut and served as a cheese platters.

There were so many shots from the reception that I wanted to show, that I had to divide them between two entries so as not to crash anyone’s rss reader. :D So, look out for the second instalment later on.


























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