Chelsea & Josh | The Italian Villa | Dorset Wedding Photographer
When we first hear the words “The Italian Villa”.. oh. Now you’ve got our attention. One of our favourite venues, nestled right on the south coast of Poole, mere yards from the beach, is the truly idilic setting of The Italian Villa wedding venue, Poole.
Chelsea & Josh’s day did not disappoint, sun shining through the Japanese garden and bamboo canopy, with the dazzling reflections from the Roman garden fountain, how can you not be in awe of this gorgeous venue.
With Chelsea’s jaw dropping bouquet, incredible dress and picture-perfect hair and makeup, this really was a dream day out for us. With Josh not scrubbing up too badly, in a slim grey tweed number with royal purple accented items.
With a gorgeous stroll through the gardens, comes limitless opportunities for images, countless pockets of light, endlessly colourful varieties of unique and interesting plants, oh and of course, a lovely couple to photograph in it all!
Naomi & Will | The Old Dairy Barn | Hampshire Wedding Photographer
Nestled into the gorgeous Test Valley, you’ll find the adorable Old Dairy Farm wedding venue, Andover, and it was here, that Naomi and Will gathered their friends and family to celebrate their love, after a perfect church service in the magnificent St. Mary’s church, Andover. What a really fantastic day, with the weather holding out, Naomi looking wonderful in her traditional, shoulder strap bridal gown. And Will, in-keeping with the rustic feeling of The Old Dairy Barn, in a lush Grey checked suit.
As usual at DM Photography, when the sun goes down, we pray for the rain, to create our fabulous rain pictures, and low-behold, they got one! After a full day of sunshine, out came the stars and the rain, leaving Naomi and Will with a beautiful image for their wall for years to come!
Once again, it was a pleasure photographing your wedding, and we wish you both an incredibly long and happy marriage together.
Charlotte & Craig - Sopley Mill
Talk about a heatwave, Charlotte and Craig’s wedding at Sopley Mill was easily the hottest day of 2018, and boy it was intense! Such a stunning venue, with it’s working mill, lake and forest surroundings, and on this day… absolutely filled to the brim with Charlotte and Craig’s nearest and dearest family and friends. Such a gorgeous rustic theme to go with the old Mill, and, side note, up there with one of the best-best man speeches we have ever heard, complete with soundtrack and leather bound storybook! And wow, what a party… dance-offs, funk jams and endless endless drinks! Congratulations you two!
Penelope & Connor - Royal Berkshire Hotel
If we had to describe Penelope and Connor’s wedding day in three words, they’d have to be; Beautiful, Classic, Car. Now, the last one might seem odd, but to friends of Connor Wilson, his real joy that day was taking his pristine Focus RS to his wedding, his Dad and son in-tow. With Penelope’s morning being slightly more subdued, with Prosecco on hand and her dearest friends there to support her! Having photographed Connors Dad’s wedding not too long before, it was such a lovely feeling to be welcomed back to another family wedding! It was like walking back into a room of old friends, we were made to feel so welcome from the start, we couldn’t have asked for more! The Royal Berkshire Hotel proved to be the perfect setting for their big wedding with all of their friends and family celebrating with them! Thank you guys, it was a pleasure.
Name: Penelope & Connor Wilson
Venues and Date : Royal Berkshire, St Micheal's Church, 27th October 2018
What was your favorite part of your wedding?: church
What made you choose your wedding venue and how did you come to the decision?: church was the same one my parents got married in, it was special to us.
What made you choose your details and styling for your wedding at and how did you get inspiration for this?: for me it had to be a white classy wedding
Who were your other suppliers and vendors.: did it all myself
What did you like best about working with DM Photography?: good laugh, relaxed and fun to be around.
Hannah & Michael | Pembroke Lodge
Hannah and Michael celebrated their love for each other at their church in the middle of Kingston town, London! A music filled ceremony and a quick drive over to Pembroke Lodge in Richmond park, sun shining and some incredibly confused deer! Hannah wowing the whole park in her gorgeous gown. Some portraits and bridal party photos in the most divine rose garden set the whole album up nicely! An absolutely exquisite three course meal was courtesy of the superb Pembroke Lodge wedding staff and the outdoor terrace provided some stunning sunset views of the west of London for the guests over a glass of wine after the meal! With Hannah and Michael performing for their guests before the first dance we were amazed, and they truly showed the bond they share!
Steph & Jake | The Long Barn
With Steph at The Long Barn, and Jake at the pub, sun streaming down and not a cloud in the sky, there couldn’t have been a better start to their wedding! Joined by his parents and groomsmen, Jake prepared with the customary full English breakfast, and Prosecco! Steph shared her morning with her bridesmaids and loving parents! A short walk around the corner for Jake and the boys, and then the wait… the nail biting wait for Steph to arrive in a totally beautiful mint green VW Campervan!
The Long Barn was utterly beautiful, hand decorated through Steph’s immaculate vision, the table centre pieces were a wash of colour and life! While the roof in the barn was bedecked with dreamcatchers and a gorgeous wreath of plants!
Congratulations Steph and Jake, we hope life brings you ever closer with the love you share!
Lauren & Gareth | Tithe Barn | Hampshire Weddings
Ahh how can we not love a barn wedding? Especially a wedding at the beautiful Tithe Barn in Petersfield, Hampshire! Sun shining, drinks flowing! Wow, what a day! Lauren & Gareth absolutely nailed it! Both getting ready at the spectacular apartments of Old Thorns Golf Club, before making the journey up to the equally spectacular Tithe Barn, with it’s woodlands, wide open fields and rustic boutique interior! An awesome day, followed up by one of the most gorgeous sunsets… wow! What can we say… wonderful.
Congratulations Lauren & Gareth!
Zara & Alex | Clock Barn
Clock Barn has to be one of our favourite venues, a gorgeous renovated dark stained oak barn, along with the simply breathtaking views across Hampshire from the top of their fields, it’s really something special. However, it takes a couple to make a venue, and Zara and Alex really did that, letting their beautiful and fun personalities show through to their rustic yet classic setting. No such thing as too many fairy lights eh Zara! With a classic dark grey and Burgundy theme for the boys, and matching Burgundy for the beautiful bridesmaids, it was a picture perfect day in the winter sunshine! Thank you for allowing us the pleasure of photographing your wedding!
DM's Favourite Places - Horsely Towers
A secret chapel, beautifully tiled cloisters, and a lakeside 19th century mansion; De Vere Horsley Estate near Guildford creates an unforgettable backdrop for your wedding day.
With the Towers, cloisters and secret chapel providing countless photo opportunities, we can’t help but love De Vere Horsely Estate!
You have to take 10 minutes and escape to the peace and serenity of the secret chapel, take a moment, be there, together, take it all in… oh and did I mention, get some cool as hell photos too?
Horsely Tower’s classic, traditional building really does add to the style and decor of any wedding, from the grand oak staircase and continuing outside to the utterly jaw-dropping carved stone entranceway.
Worried about it raining on your magical day at Horsely Towers? Seriously…? Do not worry about it. We got you covered!
All in all, Horsely has everything you could possibly want for your dream day, and we absolutely love capturing weddings there! We can’t recommend them enough!
Annie and Jordan | Gate Street Barn | Surrey Wedding Photography
Annie & Jordan, what truly selfless, incredible people! Travelling over 4500 miles from their home in Austin, Texas to be back with their closest friends and family in the UK for their wedding. I mean, really, that is something special. With considerable planning and organisational help from her Mum, Annie managed to plan a wonderful day, filled with colour, love and happiness from across the Atlantic Ocean. Incredible. Shame they couldn’t have brought the Texas skies with them as the English grey and drizzly skies descended upon Gate Street Barn Wedding Venue. Either way, these guys weren’t afraid of a little rain and took everything in their stride… big smiles all around!
It was a real pleasure to be there with you two and photograph your wedding! Now, send some of that Austin sunshine this way please!
Chris and Trine | Horsley Towers | Surrey Weddings
Well well well, what can we say about Chris and Trine, incredible. Wonderful wonderful people, and celebrating their wedding in the incredible surroundings of Horsley Towers, Surrey. Truly a real example of what can happen when people allow us to be as creative and unique as we can be! Giving us the time to create some incredible photos for them! It was a real pleasure to be there with you guys, so thank you!
Emma & Clem | Burnham Beeches | Berkshire Wedding Photographer
Well well well, what can we say about Emma and Clem, wonderful, awesome people! Full of life, love and joy! Burnham Beeches provided the perfect setting for their amazing wedding! Sun shining (perhaps a little too much!), drinks flowing! Wow wow wow, what a day! Thank you thank you for having us there to capture your day.
Charlotte & Brad | Barnett Hill Hotel | Guildford Wedding Photographer
Combine two ridiculously joyous, happy people, with one of the nicest venues in the county.. what do you end up with? Brad and Charlotte’s absolutely wonderful day at Barnett Hill Hotel in Guildford, Surrey. That’s what! Kicking off his day with some bar games with the lads, a beautiful scrapbook of their relationship, and a mustang.. Brad certainly had a good day in store! And with Charlotte surrounded by her closest friends in the spectacular Barnett Hill bridal suite, things couldn’t have been better for either of them. Well, that is until they saw each other! With ear to ear smiles all around, what a beautiful moment between two people and their family and friends.
Thank you for having us!
DM's Favourite Places - The Elvetham Wedding Venue, Hartley Witney
Elvetham isn't simply a stunning events venue in Hampshire, Elvetham is actually a region of approximately 4,000 acres in the Hampshire countryside. With a well documented history dating back to the 11th century, The Elvetham's history is full of royalty, nobility, and scandal.
The first mention of Elvetham dates back to 1086, in the Domesday Book, and states that the yearly rent for the property was 30 shillings and there was enough woodland to support ten swine. Some 200 years later, in 1426, The Elvetham became home to the Seymour family. In 1535 Edward Seymour entertained King Henry VIII right here. This is when he met and later married his third wife, Jane Seymour.
Now, enough of the history stuff, although, if you want to dive a little deeper, definitely check out The Elvetham’s website for more information! It’s actually super interesting!!
But, weddings eh? What’re they like at The Elvetham?
In a word?
Fantastic.
With it’s gorgeous oak panelled ceremony room, and either the magnificent library room or light, bright and airy conservatory for your wedding breakfast, The Elvetham has everything you need for your big day!
And in the grounds we find magnificent, centuries old trees, the incredible red brick bridge, and the awesome yew tree avenue, which is perfect for any and all types of photos! From bridal preps to night time photos!
With quite possibly the most attentive staff, amazing food, and plenty of booze to go around, The Elvetham Hotel certainly has your wedding day covered! You can even spring for their exclusive use package and really enjoy your own private historic house for your celebrations!
And when we say the gardens can be used for every conceivable photo… boy do we mean it!
All in all, we love The Elvetham Hotel Wedding Venue in Hartley Witney, and if you’re considering them for your big day, you should definitely get in touch with them! And us, we’d love to capture it all for you!
Let's Not Forget It Takes Two
Right lads, we all know it’s her big day, but that doesn’t mean you can’t be in charge of your morning, that’s your time! To do with, as you wish! Why not hit up the local driving range to hit a few balls? Or pop down to Spoons for a wicked breakfast and a pint? Whatever you decide to do, we can be there to capture it all for you. So whilst your dear fiancé is doing all the hair and makeup rubbish, you have one of your photographers out on the golf course, in the pub or in the nearest greasy spoon, telling your side of the story from the day.
Thinking of giving the lads a little somethin’ to say thanks for being there with you on your big day? It’s super super helpful if you let us know, that way we can capture their reaction, and also guide you on the best moment and location to give them the presents. Some little ideas, how about some personalised cufflinks? Or a tie pin? We also love the look of the personalised hip flasks, helps them avoid those pricey hotel bars too! If your lovely lady has bought you something, it’s normally best if you wait until your photographer arrives in the morning before you open it! However tempting!
Now, since she’s going to be having all the pretty photos of her shoes, jewellery, flowers and perfume taken… you might as well have the same right? We agree. So, here’s a couple things you can do to help the morning go smoothly. Firstly, try and keep all of your things together, shoes, cufflinks, aftershave, watch.etc, that way when your photographer arrives they can just crack on and get snapping away! Just, one more thing on this note… please lads, please, tidy up. Photos do not look good with a background of Papa John’s boxes, corona bottles and playstation controllers. No matter how much you think they do.. they don’t.
Now, where are you getting ready? So, yes hotel rooms are lovely, big open spaces (normally), however, there’s something a bit more personal about getting ready at home, if that’s possible with where you live compared to the venue.etc. Right, timings gents, plan to be at the venue, ready to greet your guests about an hour before the ceremony, that allows for travel issues, any hiccups or delays… and just keeps everybody nice and happy!
One last thing we wanted to talk about, have a think about who you want to be there with you in the morning. Dad’s? Brothers? Just mates, Just family? We’ve been there and done that with all variations, we’ve had super nice, chilled groom preps with just the groom and his father, and we’ve also been to the pub with 15 lads including dads. Either way, just have a think about who you want in the photos and things! A nice little idea for a photo, is ask your Dad/Brother/Best Man to give you a hand with the ole’ tie, cufflinks.etc.
DM's Favourite Places - Millbridge Court
Nestled into a patch of woodland at the bottom of Farnham town, you’ll find the utterly delightful Millbridge Court wedding venue, with it’s rustic chic style everywhere and immaculately manicured gardens, this idyllic venue has been the setting for some of our favourite and most memorable weddings over the years!
For starters, the awesome Chris and Katherine, who travelled a mighty 5800 miles from their home in Shanghai, China to celebrate their wedding with their friends and family back in England, choosing Millbridge Court as their venue, and bringing with them a lovely Chinese monsoon! But, despite the rain, nothing could dampen the smiles and laughs on their faces all day!
And of course, that most infamous of snow storms, the “Beast from the East”, or as our Scottish photographer called it… a light flurry. Tamsynn and Mark refused to let a little snowstorm freeze their love on their day at Millbridge Court, even venturing into the snow for some truly magical photos at Frensham Pond in the snow. And come on, wedding dresses look good at the best of times, but… in the snow.. Damn!
Millbridge Court Wedding Venue is really one of those special places, with a slick, professional atmosphere but also a warm, homely feeling. Maybe it’s the couches, or the fireplace… we’re not too sure, either way, we love it! And we think you will too.
Kalm Kitchens provide some of the finest wedding catering in the county, and boy oh boy is it good! I mean, we get really, really excited when couple’s say they’re feeding us at Millbridge Court! Like, really excited. It’s seriously good.
All in all then, Millbridge Court is one of those unique and special places that’s quite hard to put into words really, a house, a home, a wedding venue, a party house, a really really wonderful, magical venue that really needs to be seen to be felt.
Those Hot Summer Nights
So, we all dream of those mid July, August weddings, sun blazing down, birds chirping, a light refreshing summer breeze, glass of bubbles in hand and guests enjoying themselves. However, as the summer of 2018 taught us, the reality of this can be quite different, so, here’s some things to think about when planning your perfect summer wedding.
Sunset’s tend to be much much later in the summer, especially up where Cammy’s from in Scotland, sunset can be close enough to midnight! Down south in the home counties it tends to head towards 10pm in mid summer. Now, in terms of photos, and the scheduling of your evening, this tends to work in your favour, as it means you can get all of the “weddingy” stuff out of the way, cake, first dance.etc before we can whisk you off for 15 minutes for some gorgeous photos and a little break from the mayhem!
Now, one from your guests point of view. Those warm summer nights. Now, obviously, this is an amazing thing! But, think about providing some extra entertainment/activities for those guests who will want to be outside with a beer in hand. Along the lines of bouncy castles, make your own pizza stations, gin bars - just ask us if we have any ideas! We’ve seen it all!
Why not take advantage of the later sunset, and therefore longer days, to push your ceremony back a bit in the afternoon, 3pm or there about. Give yourself that nice, calm relaxing morning with the girls, lads and enjoy yourself! Lads, get down to the driving range! Ladies, put your feet up and have an extra glass!
Now lads, let’s be sensible here, we love a good three piece tweed suit as much as anybody, but, as the 2018 summer taught us, after watching countless grooms sweat it out in the sun, they’re not necessarily a great idea in July. So, alternatives: ditch the jacket! Rock the waistcoat and bow tie look? Or just ditch that too. A cracking shirt, braces and a bow tie will sort you right out for the summer heat!
Yes yes yes this all sounds lovely, but. There’s always a but. This is the United Kingdom. Infamous for it’s unpredictable weather. I hate to break to you, but, just because your wedding is booked for the August bank holiday weekend, does not guarantee you the perfect weather. And I know you won’t want to hear that, but someone’s gotta tell ya. So, plan for indoor and outdoor activities! Please! You don’t wanna fill the garden with giant Jenga, hoop tossing and a bouncy castle just for it to rain on your parade. Literally.
Chris and Katherine… Sorry to use you as an example but you made the absolute best of it and were such troopers in the July rain! We salute you!
Rachel & Tim | Highfield Park | Hampshire Wedding Photographer
Highfield Park, Hook always steps up to the plate and provides our couples with a magical setting for their special day! Rachel and Tim’s day was no different, with sunshine, drinks flowing and a whole helping of love, smiles and hugs! We couldn’t be happier for the two of you, and we know you’ve got an awesome life together ahead! Congratulations again!
Kaley & Candice | The Copse | Berkshire Wedding Photographer
Kaley & Candice, your love is infectious, your smiles are delightful and your wedding was really, truly very special! One that will not be forgotten for a long, long time! The Copse Wedding Venue from Weekend Weddings in Caversham was really some incredible! A gorgeous country house, surrounded by acres of it’s own fields, gardens, a lake and some beautiful barns! Thank you for having us!
