More about Me.....!

The blog's been a bit neglected lately, but we promise to bring it up to date over the next week!

But, following an amazing week last week, with the birth of Hetty, I fullfileld a long term ambition yesterday when my good friend Nelson Wood and I piloted two 10ft long Flying Fish Hovercraft to France - and back - across the notoriously treacherous English Channel.

It took us 57 minutes to reach Sangatte, and 52 Minutes to get home safely to Dover. An unofficial recreational hovercraft record. Today, I ache but i'm walking on air!

So, sorry, second consecutive post about me..... brides will follow shortly!

Thanks to my good friend (and second best wedding photographer in Kent! LOL!) Dave Pearce for taking the photographs of the trip.

We had our baby!

Following two days of back-to-back weddings, I got in last night at 9.30pm....just in time for Emma's waters to break at 12.30 this morning. By 6.15am I was a dad and Hetty came into the world. I honestly can't begin to explain the emotions and feelings of being there and seeing my daughter born - me, who swore blind "I'll be in a pub somewhere until the whole messy business is over...."

She's just gorgeous - we had a home birth and as I write this, mum and daughter are chilling on the sofa eating! It really couldn't have gone any better.

I'll make no apologies for the shoddy photographs - i was completely freaked out and lost it a bit! Both our thanks, in abundance, to Becky our midwife - she was absolutely bloody brilliant!

Anyway, a quick post from an exhausted, happy and proud tog. And now dad....

Gessica & Sacha's Wedding in Buja, Italy

Back on June 28th, we were lucky enough to be invited to photograph the wedding of Gessica & Sacha, just outside Udine in Northern Italy. A few posts down the blog you'll find our quick pre-wed shoot with the couple the day before the wedding when it poured down with rain! Gessica claimed she was shy in front of the camera.....'sure' I thought after looking at the pre-wed shoot - 'very shy....!' I really had high hopes for the day. Saturday dawned bright and the temperature climbed to 35 degrees.

What a day! I can tell you, Italian weddings are chaotic, fun and ever-so-slightly-crazy! There is so much energy, lots of celebration and the party gets started at Midnight. A fabulous 8 course meal was followed by a desert trolley that seemed bottomless and the biggest cake - ever! A beautiful church, amazing reception venue, great weather and a good looking couple.....happy days!

Following a well earned rest on Sunday, we headed into venice on Monday for a post-wedding shoot with Sasha & Gessica. We tookone look at St Mark Square and headed away from it - it was absolutely heaving with people!

Anyway, I could go on, but we'll let the pictures talk and I have an idea that Sasha & Gessica, who are now laying on a beach in Antigua, are pretty keen to see a few pictures. Thanks guys, it was a pleasure to be part of your day.











'I need to strut....'










Not a bad venue - eh?








Cakes - also available in 'large....'










Tradition dictates that the couple undertake a challenge together. So outside the church awaited a wet log, a blunt saw and 35 degree heat! But they made it through when Sasha found a sharp saw and enlisted alittle help from the family!

Best Men - A plea from Level Eleven.....

Gents. Your best mate has just asked you to be his best man. You've only got two things to worry about. Firstly, the stag night/weekend/year to organise. Secondly, the speech.

As far as the stag night's concerened, that's between you and your conscience.

But the speech. Please, please promise me that you won't type "best mans speech" into Google because its pretty clear that this little beauty must be right up there in the search results. And I honestly don't think i can hear it again without maliciously barracking, and probably shouting out the punchline (such as it is) before running out of the room gibbering like an idiot.

So, ladies and gentlemen, the grand unveiling of the opening gag from the last 9 out of 20 weddings that we've photographed.....(seriously)

Ready....


it's a cracker....


wait for it.....


"I was actually a little worried as to how long the speech should last so I asked around and the general consensus was that it should go on for about as long as it takes the groom to perform his duties in the bedroom. So with that ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much, you’ve been a great crowd !! …"

In fact, if you want every cliche-heard-it-a-million-times gag, take a look at this page on hitched

Happy prosing....

Russ

Rebecca & Matt's wedding at Herne Bay & Chilston Park

Having been let down by their previous venue, Rebecca & Matt were forced to book a new date, reception venue and, crucially(!), photographer at short notice. Being a sunday, we were free so we were delighted to photograph their wedding at 'Our Lady of The Scared Heart' church in Herne Bay on June 22nd. Then it was onto Chilston Park for their reception.

We really enjoyed this wedding, which was really lively and had a great bunch of bridesmaids and groomsmen (including three best men to make a joint speech!) and though we were safely home, i'm sure the party went on well into the night - fantastic fun!

Becca looked fantastic and was a natural in front of the camera - take a look!

Vicky & Rod's Wedding at The Lost Village of Dode

Well, playing catchup afterthe 5 day Venice trip, and managed to find time to blog a few images from Rod & Vicky's wedding on June 21st.

The Lost Village of Dode is a favourite venue of ours. Set out in the rolling countryside near Luddesdown, Kent - it's a 1000 year old church with amazing histiory - take a look at the website to get the story!The venue caters for around 40 guests maximum, so the weddings tend to be very intimate affairs.

Vicky and Rod had a fantastic day, with surprisingly good weather and a wicked hog roast! Vicky made both her own dress and Rod's outfit too and they both looked brilliant. We had some great fun photographing them.

Here's a few.

















A poignant moment, Vicky's father's ashes are scattered in the grounds of Dode and both she and her sister laid their bouquets on the plaque in his memory.

Sacha & Gessicas wedding in Italy

So! Its late at night in Udine, Italy - and we’ve just knocked it on the head (the bars here close early - I didn’t expect that!) James and I are here to shoot the wedding for a really lovely couple called Sacha & Gessica. Sacha’s an English guy living and working here, and Jessica’s a local gal! We’ve had a lovely dinner and a few drinks with them, their friends and family.

We went out today with Sacha and Gessica to check out the venues for tomorrows wedding. When we shoot destination weddings we always make double sure we know locations, routes and timescales very clearly, my Italian isn’t up to asking for directions! It’s a full-on Catholic church wedding with 120 guests in a fabulous looking church in a village called Buia, close to the Austrian border. The receptions a secret so I can’t tell or show, but suffice to say, when you see the pics….it looks just amazing and is full of atmosphere and great light! I've got very high hopes for a killer album tomorrow!

Anyway, we found ten minutes for a quick pre-wed shoot at the Villa today. Neither of these guys had been photographed before and both were really nervous, but as you can see, they soon got over it and we soon got that ‘Level Eleven look!’

Tomorrow’s wedding starts at 4pm (probably 5pm given Italian indifference to time!) and the dancing/cake cutting is at 11pm…..so its going to be a late one! No promises for pictures tomorrow, but I’ll post a few on Sunday.

Enjoy!


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Dawn & Scott's Engagement Shoot

Dawn & Scott's wedding in September is being held at the environmentally sustainable Pines Calyx in Folkestone, up on the white cliffs and with lots of photo ops!

In case you're wondering about one or two of these shots from their engagement shoot at Margate last weekend, we've been playing with using studio flash outdoors.... makes for some some pretty punchy images with a high-fashion feel. Thats what you get from reading too many of the wife's Vogue magazines!

Steve & Michelle's Engagement shoot

Steve & Michelle are planning a really laid back wedding for July this year - formality is formally ditched!

Here's a handful of images from their engagement shoot - there were too many good ones to choose from.....and my flight leaves in 6 hours!

Paul & Steph's Engagement Shoot

Happy days! Sunshine, a great looking couple and a snowboarding, classic beetle-driving groom. I'm really looking forward to Steph & Paul's wedding in September....!

Here's a few from their engagement shoot - Margate never looked so cool!