Archive for May, 2010
Iranian wedding part 2! The reception
So, more on Owrang and Neda’s Iranian wedding.
The venue for the celebrations was the glorious Stapleford Park, near Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire. Stapleford Park dates back to the days of King Arthur and is very much the English country house.
Owrang and Neda had planned the most beautiful, elegant wedding. Their sense of style is impeccable and I was especially blown away by the gorgeous floristry work of By Appointment Only Design. Oh, not to mention the Jimmy Choos. I always get a little giddy over the shoes.
The ceremony was quite late in the day and started at about 5.30pm. Which meant we had the most beautiful golden sun light during the Bride and Groom photo session. And with such stunning landscaped grounds to work in you really couldn’t want for more.
And then the group photos. Usually the most dreaded part of a wedding for guests as most people are a little camera shy. But not so today. I’ve never met wedding guests so eager to be photographed. And they seemed to enjoy every moment, asking for more and more. Their expressions say it all.
Oh and the dancing. Neda had said that the first dance would be a little crazy. What I didn’t know is that the first dance was the entrance into the wedding breakfast! Everyone was on their feet: dancing, cheering and clapping along.
There was so much love, joy and laughter running through the entire day. It really was a pleasure to witness and to photograph.
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Engagement portrait photography – Richard & Amy
Richard and Amy were amazing in front of the camera and totally rocked their engagement shoot. Even some pro models find it hard to work different looks but Richard and Amy pulled off fierce, stylish, fun and in love with ease. They were a joy to photograph and I simply cannot wait for their wedding in August.
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Notley Abbey wedding photographs – Ben & Amy
Ben and Amy had their civil ceremony and reception at one of my favourite venues, Notley Abbey.
One reason why I love it so is because of the Buckinghamshire registrars. They are so friendly and really very relaxed about photography happening throughout the entire ceremony, which unfortunately is quite unusual.
Amy wore a Sassi Holford gown in the most beautiful lace and had the cutest pair of shoes, Buttercup by Diane Hassall. The raspberry colour scheme was stunning and I particularly loved Ben’s made to measure shirt with raspberry flower detail. There was a strict dress code of ‘hats’ on the wedding invitations and it was great to see that everyone complied, including some jester hats from the boys!
The dining tables looked really elegant with tall candleabra, simple white tulips and splashes of raspberry pink ribbons. Ben and Amy had debated the merits of candelabras vs flower arrangements at some length, finally opting for the former, which turned out to be a very wise decision since there was a power cut during the meal!
There was not one, not two, but three table plans. Between each course the guests would look at their placecard and then move to a new seat. It was a lovely way for everyone to mingle and get to know each other. I wanted to show the movement of people in my photo of this so chose a slow shutter speed and shot from above on the minstrels gallery – the resulting mix of colours is really fun and it’s probably the only time you can get away with a blurry photograph!
Some serious shapes were made on the dance floor later and fireworks topped off an amazing day.
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An Iranian wedding ceremony at Stapleford Park
It’s great to have a strong network of other photographers who can help you out in times of need and when a fellow local photographer called to say her husband had broken his collarbone and couldn’t shoot an upcoming wedding, I was more than happy to step in and help out. Cue my first Iranian wedding. I was really looking forward to experiencing the Persian wedding traditions but little did I know just what an amazing occasion it would be.
The ‘Aghd’ is the first and legal stage of an Iranian wedding. The thing that struck me most is that unlike a Western ceremony, it was very relaxed with lots of music, laughter and shouting. It was so loud in fact that I couldn’t really hear what was going on! Seats aren’t provided and the guests are free to walk around and mingle in the party. The entire ceremony is VERY upbeat.
Everything centres around a spread, or ‘Sofreh’, which is set on the floor facing east (so that the couple face the light) and is elaborately decorated with lots of items to symbolise different qualities that are hoped to be in the couple’s life and marriage. At the head of the Sofreh is a bench where the couple sit during the ceremony and at the other end a mirror (of fate), ‘Aayeneh-ye-Bakht’, and two candelabras (representing the Bride & Groom and the brightness of their future).
Many other items make up the Sofreh. A tray of herbs and spices, ‘Sini-ye-O-Baatel’, to protect the couple from evil spirits. A baked flatbread, ‘Noon-e-Sangak’ (in the shape of roses for Owrang and Neda), which symbolises prosperity for the feasts and the couple’s life. A basket of eggs and another of almonds, walnuts and hazelnuts in the shell to represent fertility. A bowl made of crystallised sugar, ‘Kaas-e-Nabaat’, to sweeten life for the newly-weds. A bowl of gold coins to represent wealth and prosperity. The list goes on.
As the Bride makes her entrance ‘Esfand’ (wild rue which has a simialr scent to incense) is burned to keep evil away.
The Officiant begins the ceremony with blessings and readings. After a few words the couple are asked for their consent. First the Groom is asked if he wishes to enter into the marriage contract. Then the Bride is asked the same question. She traditionally plays shy and makes the Groom wait by not answering the question straight away. The guests scream (yes, literally!) in the background, “she is not here” or “the bride has gone to pick some flowers” or “the bride is thinking”. She has to wait and not answer the question until it is asked a third time. She then says yes on the third try and they are pronounced husband and wife. Except, Neda forgot that bit and said ‘yes’ straight away. It took several minutes for the laughter to subside and the ceremony to resume!
During the service and the readings, married female relatives of the couple hold a Ghand cloth over the couples’ heads. Two sugar cones ‘Kalleh Ghand’ are ground together, showering the couple with sugar to sweeten the couples’ life when it is taken down. At the same time, a small part of the Ghand cloth is sewn with seven strands of coloured thread to figuratively sew the mother-in-law’s lips from speaking unpleasant words or meddling in the marriage.
Once the couple is pronounced husband and wife, the Officiant asks for God’s blessing to be with the couple in their lives together. They then exchange rings and take it in turns to feed each other honey to ensure a sweet and happy life. Last of all close family shower the Bride with gifts.
Never before have I seen such open raw emotion, happiness and joy in a ceremony. May there be many more.
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Harlaxton Manor wedding photographs – Ross & Natalie
I had the pleasure of being second photographer at Ross and Natalie’s wedding at the very beautiful Harlaxton Manor. I really enjoy shooting alongside fellow photographers from time to time – it’s all the fun of photographing a wedding without the relentless editing afterwards! It’s also a great way to see how other photographers work – you can learn from everyone. So when Stephen called to see if I could help with this particular wedding I jumped at the chance.
Harlaxton Manor is actually an American funded university, but with its grand architecture and gorgeous grounds it makes a fabulous wedding venue. I particularly liked the minstrels gallery over the Great Hall which was a great vantage point during the ceremony.
This was very much the fairytale wedding, well, apart from the weather! Natalie’s dress was a gorgeous pale pink and her bouquet a beautiful vintage mix of pale and dusky pink roses. Her Bridemaids wore a contrasting pale olive green.
The Long Gallery was styled perfectly for the wedding breakfast. Actually, there wasn’t much room on the tables for dinner (!) with all the lovingly hand-made scented hearts which Natalie’s mum had embroidered with the wedding date, the well received whisky fudge and miniatures for the boys (an ode to Ross’ Scottish heritage) and cuddly toys for the children.
Here are some of my shots from the day…
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