The other weekend, just as Spring officially arrived, we had the pleasure of doing a little engagement shoot with this charming young couple. They were keen to keep away from the crowds and any of the typical London landmarks, so we took photos in their local neighbourhood and ours. Below are just a few of the results. Thanks to both Andrea & Adrian for being such great sports!
We all know that when it comes to planning your big day, possibly the most difficult but equally important decision you’ll have to make is choosing a wedding venue that will fulfil all your expectations. In our experience, the choice of venue is THE key factor that will set the tone for the entire day and determine just how much fun you and all your guests will have.
Putting up tipi’s and having your wedding on private land will always be a lot of fun, won’t break the bank and can provide a relaxed and fun feel. Then the world is your oyster when it comes to finding a theme and planning your decoration and entertainment. Only if have faith in the English weather, mind! Stately homes and country mansions are a plenty in the UK and will always give a wedding a touch of that British elegance from a bygone era. However, there are often restrictions that it’s worth taking into consideration, particularly if you are expecting to party till the sun comes up! A city wedding in a upmarket hotel might not be for everyone, but these establishments are usually experienced at running smooth, successful events where quality of service and product is key, meaning that a lot of the stresses of your average wedding will be taken care of!
Despite beginning our journey into the wedding world in France and continuing to shoot frequently on the continent for couples from all over the world, we still believe the UK has a wonderful variety of unique and interesting venues to choose from. We’ve had the pleasure of photographing weddings at Aynhoe Park, Cripps Barn & Matara centre in the Cotswolds, Emmanuel College in Cambridge, Burgh Island Hotel in Devon, Middleton Lodge in North Yorkshire, Gaynes Park & Creek Sea Barns in Essex and Claridges Hotel in London to name just a few. We’ve picked 4 quite different venues below as a taster for you that we really enjoyed shooting at.
For those on the hunt for a venue right now, check out VenueFinder.com for a handy way to find the best of what the UK has to offer!
Aynhoe Park – Super stylish and quirky Oxfordshire stately home.
Claridges Hotel – A touch of luxury in the heart of Mayfair.
Burgh Island Hotel – Original Art deco hotel on an Island in Devon where time has stood still since the 1930’s.
Louise Blouin Foundation – A beautiful blank canvas in West London for couples with a creative spirit.
In June last year we were delighted to photograph our very first single sex wedding for a lovely couple from Paris. The wedding took place at the perfectly serene Bastide de Puget (25mins from Aix-en-Provence).
Coming from a design background, the couple themselves had created most of the decorative details around the venue, including a beautifully inventive & personalised photo booth under a tree in the gardens, which was decorated with hundreds of origami birds hanging from the branches. Favours came in the form of bottles of local olive oil accompanied by scented lavender bags from the Lubéron valley. Food, including foie gras with freshly grated truffle, smoked salmon, an array of shell fish, gazpacho and meat ‘a la plancha’ was served at various stations during the afternoon and followed by a traditional provençal meal on the terrace in the evening. A bbq and pool party the next day with plenty of local rosé wine was the perfect way to top off an extraordinary weekend.
The couple and their guests wish to keep things private but for those of you planning your outdoor/garden wedding this summer, we hope there’s plenty of inspiration to be found in these detail shots alone!
Towards the end of last summer we were lucky enough to photograph the wedding of Jessica & Benoit, a lovely young couple from Biarritz who now reside in Paris. We were there for the civil ceremony at Biarritz city hall followed by an intimate lunch by the sea in the spectacular fisherman’s village of Guéthary. And then the next day for the humanist ceremony and celebrations at Hotel Château du Clair de Lune just outside of town. As you can see, Jessica looked stunning in white on both days and it was a wonderful weekend!
We’re so pleased that UK magazine Wedding Flowers & Accessories has published a double page spread of our photos from a beautiful Yorkshire wedding we shot earlier this year. On sale now!
We can’t explain how great it is to continually receive the kind of feedback from our bride and groom’s we’ve just had from newlyweds Cassie & Gareth. They were so easy and fun to work with this summer in the French Dordogne. Thanks guys!
You can see more of our client testimonials by clicking here.
“M&J photographed our wedding in the french countryside this summer and we really can’t recommend Jonny and Morgane enough!
We met them several months prior to the wedding so they could find out more about our wedding and how we wanted the day captured. They are excellent at communicating (which is so helpful planning a wedding) and even gave us recommendations for bars and restaurants in bordeaux to explore leading up to the wedding!
Jonny and Morgane are professional yet relaxed and fun, they made us feel completely at ease being photographed and on a frantic wedding day they are two of the calmest, coolest people you could ever wish for! We are delighted with the photographs, the light, bright and natural style is exactly what we were after and they have really managed to capture the essence of the day perfectly.
Thank you Jonny and Morgane
Cassie and Gareth xx”
With friends and family traveling from all corners of the world, our recent clients from New York knew London was the perfect destination for their wedding. The stylish Louise Blouin Foundation (home to the Stella McCartney brand) was chosen as the stunning blank canvas with which architect Yi-han and oriental arts specialist Emily could design the perfect setting to celebrate their big day. The Bijou Bride made their ideas reality, skilfully transforming the large West London warehouse conversion into a beautifully chic wedding venue for the ceremony, drinks reception, dinner and dancing. Creative caterers Kalm Kitchen served up a delicious meal followed by the most stunning dessert buffet we’ve ever seen… the beautiful selection of bite size treats didn’t taste bad either. Afternoon tea was kindly put on the following day back at the Marylebone Hotel’s Pantry at 108 for all the guests who’d traveled from far and wide.
Planning & Design – The Bijou Bride
Hotel – The Marylebone Hotel
Venue – Louise Blouin Foundation
Stationary – Designed by the Bride & Groom
Catering – Kalm Kitchen
New Yorker’s Laura & Jon were working in London last week and wanted to celebrate their recent engagement with a photo session whilst in town. It was Saturday afternoon, so to avoid the crowds we took them on a quick stroll around the beautiful back streets of SW3, finishing up by the Royal Albert Hall where they had their first ever date!
A few weeks ago was London fashion week and Christina from Troprouge took the opportunity to visit the UK for the first time. We hung out one afternoon around Shoreditch and I couldn’t resist taking some pictures!
Last month we headed to Pamplona for a few nights to photograph our first wedding in Spain. Biarritz couple, Renaud & Sandra, along with their friends and family had taken over the oh so elegant Muga de Beloso hotel for 3 days of exquisite food & wine, romance and lots of fun! Below is a sneak peek at the images we captured along the way.
