wedding photography Bristol

Pre-Wedding Shoots and you!

Jul 03 2018 Leave a Comment

For me a pre-shoot is not only a wonderful way to get to know you both, feel comfortable in front of the camera ahead of your big day, but also an opportunity and excuse for you to commission some professional imagery of you as a couple!

Traditionally in the industry pre-wedding shoots, or engagement shoots, have taken place at your chosen wedding venue, and are a great way of the photographer to visit, have a look around and do that all important venue recce ahead of your wedding day. But for me it feels (excuse me for speaking out of turn!) not enough.

For a number of years now I’ve been encouraging my wedding photography couples to ‘vamp up’ their pre-wedding shoots, choosing a photography location or theme that really means something to them. Be it inspired by a physical place that means something to you as a couple, a sport one or both of you loves, a hobby you partake in or indeed where you got engaged. These images are yours and should therefore reflect you, and not simply be a replica of your wedding images, but in ‘normal’ clothes.

To get stunning pre-shoot images your location doesn’t necessarily need to be weird and wonderful or involve weeks worth of planning and a dozen Pinterest boards as Genevieve and Dave found when they took me on their favourite dog walk!

Venetia

Dad Spotlight | Andy

Jul 01 2018 Leave a Comment

Last week I posted a very personal Father’s Day Blog with my wonderful step-father Neville, I asked him a series of questions about being a Dad and what it means to him. I thought about all the wonderful families I have had the privilege or photographing and wanted to reach out to some of these top of the ‘pops’ and it’s been rather an emosh response actually !

I kick off with none other than Andy, one of my longest-standing clients! From engagement shoot to wedding, maternity to baptism, newborn to 1st birthday…we’ve covered it all and had a brilliantly fun journey along the way with Bethan and now gorgeous bouncy little James. Andy and Bethan now have beautiful albums of each photography session and proud pieces of wall art capturing their memories and family growing up perfectly. Just look at the image timeline below! (And Andy’s lovely words of course).

Tell us about your wonderful family!

I am Husband to Bethan and Father to James. Bethan and I have known each other for almost 15 years, and married for 7 of those years. James is a little over 16 months old now. We work well together as a family and seem to all get each other!

If you were going to get one gift for Father’s Day, what would it be?

Time with my family, my brothers and sisters and parents, this includes the in-laws too, both sides of our families get on well together, but we don’t get to see each other as much as I would like due to time constraints and distance.

We know there will be many, but does one memory stick out as being your favourite with your little one?

Absolutely has to be the first time he said Daddy, but with real meaning, after I had come home from a few days away with work, he came to the door and just cried out Daddy and it was wonderful! (and probably every time since)!

What 3 words describe James best?

Cuddly. Happy. Exploring.

Tell us about your experience having a photoshoot with Venetia.

The first time that we had a photoshoot with Venetia was for our engagement / pre-wedding shoot, she put us at such ease and became our friend over that first shoot, she was able to get the best out of our time together and make us feel so comfortable with having professional photos taken. Which explains why we have been back to her to get her to record a lot of James’s first year with our bumps to baby package! We have now had seven photoshoots with her, which is a testament to her as a person and as a professional photographer.

What is the best thing about being a Father?

Getting to watch this little person grow and be proud of their development, you can see it happen day to day and each new little thing just makes me that little bit more proud!

Your Wedding at Hotel Du Vin Bristol

Jun 27 2018 Leave a Comment

We have been getting to know the wonderful wedding team down at Hotel Du Vin Bristol recently and what a fabulous team it is! A gorgeous city centre venue for the perfect intimate wedding, boasting a stunning portfolio of all you need; to die for food and drinks menu, lavish hotel rooms, stunning building and courtyard, onsite sommelier team and just a five minute walk from Bristol’s registry office.

We popped down to take some beautiful personal branding photographs of Hayley Martin, and ask all about her role as Wedding Co-ordinator!

Tell us a little about your experience/background with coordinating weddings and what you most enjoy about it?

I have been working as the Weddings Co-ordinator at Hotel du Vin Bristol City Centre for a year. This is my first time working in a hotel and I absolutely love it! The most enjoyable part of my role is the sense of achievement that I feel when I have worked with a couple from the initial appointment through to their big day to create the perfect experience for them and their guests.

Tell us a little about the background of Hotel Du Vin.

Our building was previously a collection of Grade II listed warehouses which refined cane sugar in the 1700s. The building was abandoned for many years and we opened in November 1999. We are located adjacent to the Christmas Steps in Bristol’s city centre and have 40 stunning individually styled bedrooms including our stylish Veuve Clicquot with its mezzanine level and twin bath tubs. All of our bedrooms benefit from lovely added extras such as king size beds with Egyptian cotton linen, n’espresso coffee machines, free standing roll top bath tubs and walk in monsoon showers.

Upon arrival, our leafy courtyard welcomes guests before they move into our atmospheric Sugar Bar which is open to both overnight guests and non-residents. This is adjacent to our cosy bistro which is open every day for breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner. Specialising in fresh and seasonal produce, it’s about enjoying moderately priced à la carte dining in a down-to-earth, warm and relaxing setting. All served by attentive and knowledgeable waiting staff, happy to explain the dishes, the ingredients, and how our talented Chefs put them together. The hotel also boasts four unique private event spaces available for dinners, weddings, drinks receptions and meetings for 2 to 120 people. Exclusive hire of the venue is also available.

What makes Hotel Du Vin such a unique place to get married?

Our venue is very romantic full of candlelight, big comfy chairs, an open fire and exposed wooden floor boards. It is an intimate space and creates the perfect backdrop for a magical wedding. We have found that many of our couples had their first date or got engaged in the hotel which then makes the use of Hotel du Vin as their wedding venue even more special!

What options are available to couples at Hotel Du Vin?

We understand that every wedding is different so we work closely with each couple to create the perfect day. This could involve anything from our Chef designing a bespoke menu to arranging for a couple’s dog to carry their rings down the aisle! The possibilities are absolutely endless! We can accommodate one (or all!) of the following; the ceremony, wedding meal, rehearsal meal, evening reception, accommodation, afternoon tea, hen/stag do or equally guests can take exclusive hire of the hotel. We also have an onsite Sommelier team who are happy to work with you before the big day to plan the perfect wine choices to accompany your meal. Also we are located a five minute walk from the Registry Office so some guests choose to get married there and then walk over to us.

Thanks Hayley!

We will be finding out Hayley’s top 5 tips for planning your wedding next time on the blog so watch this space!

Charmouth Beach Engagement Shoot | Becky & Simon

Jun 12 2018 Leave a Comment

I went along to Charmouth beach recently to photograph this wonderful couple and what fun was had! I am totally in love with this set of images, the connection is so evident it shines through! Here is Becky and Simon’s engagement story they told me about on the day…

Becky’s lifelong ambition had been to see Phil Collins live in concert. She grew up with his music, but thought her dream was never to happen as he said he would never tour again. Then he announced a concert. And Simon began to hatch a plan.

Managing to get 2 tickets for the Royal Albert Hall in London, it seemed that all was lost when a couple of days before the concert Phil Collins tripped in his hotel room and needed to reschedule.

In early November, finally getting her dream come true, Simon whisked Becky off to the ‘Big Smoke’ for a relaxing day of mooching and to Becky’s delight and amazement, an overnight stay at The Ritz! What could be better?!

As if pre-proposal nerves (and Phil’s false start) weren’t bad enough, this wasn’t going to be made easy for Simon. After losing the tickets prior to the night, the re-issued tickets wouldn’t scan, the second replacements tickets were for the wrong seats and finally just minutes before Phil made his grand entrance, they were seated!

The concert was amazing and a third of the way through the second half during Becky’s favourite song ‘In the Air Tonight’, Simon tapped Becky on the shoulder and when she turned round he presented her with her engagement ring and mouthed ‘Will you marry me?’. Cue celebrations and the perfect end to the night…pink champagne at The Ritz!

Venetia

Meeting & Greeting | Wedding Fairs, Shows & Open Days in April 2018

Apr 06 2018 Leave a Comment

Let the Wedding conversations & connections begin

Come and find me this April!

I’ll be dropping anchor and rocking my spot at the following fairs and shows over the coming weeks…

Happiness Blooms Wedding Fair, Saturday 28th April at the Deer Park Country House, Honiton

VOW Live, Sunday 29th April, at Lloyds Amphitheatre and Harbourside, Bristol

Each showcase will hold masses of opportunity for couples to connect with some seriously stunning hand picked South West wedding suppliers and their services. A ‘must do’ date for your wedding planning diary!

A heart pumping platform for you to gain ideas, chat wedding plans and ideals with some of the best in the business.

I love love love meeting new faces, hearing about couples wedding journeys, sharing how I work and my wedding photography portfolio.

And I nearly always have a nice little show booking discount for the couples I meet – and I know I’m not the only supplier with a snazzy opportunity up for grabs, so come along and get that Wedmin well and truly nailed.

Hope to see you there!

Much love,

Venetia x

Rain, rain go away…..

Apr 14 2012 Leave a Comment

“…..oh well. We’ll come back another day!”

I NEVER give up the opportunity to photograph a couple. I’ve shot in rain, snow, -4 on beach in January, where it was so cold my fabulous assistant took off his coat and laid it on the floor to stop the poor brides bottom freezing to the pebbles. If my clients are up for carrying on, then I’m there with bells on….well usually gloves, hat, scarf…..but no brolly as I can’t hold it at the same time as a camera!

A few weeks ago, despite finding some gorgeous covered areas around the Bristol docks and Katie and Alistair doing their absolute best to smile and look ‘toasty warm’ and relaxed, I decided they deserved better than a few rushed shots as we ran from shelter to shelter.

So, today we re-scheduled another complimentary shoot for them where we can get lots more beautiful images celebrating their fabulousness as a couple and really ‘limber’ them up for their photography on their wedding day. And the best bit….we get to meet up again and spend yet another fun afternoon together!

Katie & Alistair – it was so lovely to see you last time and thank you for putting on such a brave face and being so amazing. I LOVED hearing about big day, can’t wait to see everything come together (your Mum sounds like a creative genius!) and really look forward to seeing you again later today for ’round two’!

Venetia xx

Despite the rain we still managed to get some beautiful photographs of the two of them.

I love this little series!

This is my ultimate favourite from the shoot…..

I don’t know if it was deliberate but Katie and Alistair were beautifully colour co-ordinated!

One of the things that made it possible to re-schedule was the fact that Katie is so wonderfully organised and booked their first pre-wedding shoot in so early. Things are hotting up and dates are going fast, so please book earlier rather than later if you have busy diaries.

Katie & Alistair are getting married at Clifton Pavilion alternatively known as Bristol Zoo so we nipped up there for a look round and sheltered in the Butterfly Enclosure. I couldn’t resist this one…how beautiful?!