David Lee Images Wedding Photography

2011-10-05T11:49:00.000-07:00

Cooling Down....... One more to go.
Couple: Tyla Davis and Tony Perrin
Date: 5th October 2011
Wedding Location: Cooling Castle Barn, Kent

This was the Penultimate wedding for 2011.
Tyla met me in Bluewater for a coffee and a chat to discuss her wedding, I should have realized that it was all going to go like clockwork from that moment on.
She was electric! So ready to be married.
Her enthusiasm was infectious and I was really looking forward to photographing her and Tony's special day.
I did another wedding the day before (Kate and James) and I wanted to try out the same location that I used for that wedding, a picturesque lane with Cooling in the background.

One of my favorite things to do at Cooling Castle is photographing the bride at night, by the towers.
The challenge is not just getting the lighting right or whether or not you can find someone to hold the video light, but doing it fast enough so you can get her back in time for desert.


Sunset Kiss

Tyla and Tony were up for anything and it made my job so much more enjoyable and easy.

Taking photos at dusk are my specialty and I do love it when I am able to stay a bit later so I can capture shots like this.

Time is the greatest enemy of a photographer at any wedding but with a couple like Tyla and Tony the photography speeds up because you get in the zone.
I finished in time for the wedding breakfast.

Walking back to the castle


Picturesque backdrop

There is a picturesque little lane that offers great views of the towers and makes a nice romantic setting.

Tyla, one second before Tony sees her

Walking to the Ceremony room

Groomsmen

Tyla Gets ready

The very iconic towers at Cooling always provide a perfect setting

2011-10-04T03:46:00.000-07:00

Cooling Down....... Two more to go.
Couple: Kate East and James Maher
Date: 4th October 2011
Wedding Location: Cooling Castle Barn, Kent

Saturday Issue of the Times Newspaper featured James and Kates Wedding

Two more weddings left to shoot in the 2011 season for me. 3 weddings in October and all at Cooling Castle.
This was the marriage of Kate and James.
James is head stylist at Nicky Clarke and he styled Kate's hair for her own wedding which I thought was very unique and original.

I am becoming quiet a regular at Cooling so its getting to be familiar territory. Every time I visit I try to look at it differently but its a challenge to be different every time.

I am constantly trying to find new ways of photographing this venue.
The things that make each wedding different are the people and the weather

2011-07-29T05:06:00.000-07:00

This August I will be photographing 8 weddings as it is a busy time of the season... 4 of those weddings are on successive days so a big challenge coming up. I just hope I have enough pain killers :-)

A right royal wedding

2011-05-03T11:38:00.000-07:00

Across the water to Essex

Couple: Laura Dolan and Andrew Woodison
Date: 29th April 2011
Wedding Location: St Mary's Church, Matching, Essex

It was a nice change to get out of my home county of Kent and drive into the heart of Essex for this wedding on the very day that William and Catherine were married

Laura and Andrew were married at St Marys Church in Matching, Essex.
A wonderful, quaint little church set in the countryside away from major roads and noisy city life.

Laura and Andrew had an album made and here is the design I came up with.
The album is the new 16" x 12 "Berlisimo "Perfeto" made by Loxley colour in Scotland.

2011-03-31T14:56:00.001-07:00

Back to Cooling Castle Barn

Couple: Ria Martin and Chris Lawson
Date: 26th March 2011
Wedding Location: Cooling Castle Barn, Kent

Ria and Chris were married at CCB. This was my 4th wedding at Cooling and the day went without a hitch again.

I was assisted by Carly, a friend of the family and promising photographer who did a little bit of reportage photography around the family.

I arrived early as I always do to get a feel of the place and even though I have been there on many occasions, I benefit by walking around without a camera and taking in the atmosphere prior to the start of the pandemonium.

Ria was getting ready at Cooling's apartments and we settled down to start taking some photos.

Walking out to find Chris and the groomsmen we tried to recreate the photography that I took on a previous wedding and it seemed to work out fine despite the fact that the weather was threatening to rain.

Ria and Chris were so up for this and that helped my photography so much. I wasn't hampered at all and was able to do most everything I wanted to do

We had a couple of power cuts during the speeches and the lights went out and the mic went down which meant that the best man had to stand on a chair and raise his voice to be heard but the ambiance looked great with just candles for illumination.

First Wedding of the 2011 Season

2011-03-04T14:37:00.000-08:00

Couple: Lynne Kingett and Fernando Ibarra
Date: 5th March 2011
Wedding Location: Ripley Arts Centre, Bromley, Kent

Lynne and Fernando were married on a cold day in March 2011.
Thankfully the rain stayed off for the photos in the garden which made my job a lot easier.
The Ripley Arts Centre is a nice little venue set in the suburbs of Bromley and comfortably catered for Lynne's 50 guests.
Fernando is from Argentina and that's where they will be going for their honeymoon.
The only member of Fernando's family to attend was his sister who arrived just the night before. She has never been to the UK before and she must have felt it was like visiting the antarctic.
I brought all my kit to this wedding as I always feel that I will need everything when I do weddings, I ended up using just 3 lenses as per usual.
Its better to bring it all and not need it then the reverse.
I am enjoying the use of Off camera flash these days and try to incorporate it into most of my shots.
The grounds were quite small but perfect for 50 people and I had no

trouble getting all the photographs I needed.
The best of the days work was from the secluded garden area and Lynne and Fernando were enthusiastic about the idea of walking around a cold garden in early March.

Fireworks

2010-11-07T08:47:00.000-08:00

The Winters Barns, nr Canterbury

Excellent rural wedding venue

Couple: Deborah and Steve
Date: 5th November 2010
Wedding Location: Winters Barns, Kent

This was my last wedding of 2010 and very enjoyable it was too, held at the excellent Winters Barns just south of Canterbury.
I do love photographing weddings under one roof and this was a very efficiently run venue, everything went smoothly and I even finished my photography in time for their meal.

I arrived at 12 noon to find Deborah in hair curlers :-)
The wedding wasn't until 2:30 so I had plenty of time to mooch about and get the best places for photos.
It was drizzling with rain at this point and I was worried that it was going to spoil their day.
After photographing the arrival of the guests over at the reception area I went over to see Deborah who was ready at 2pm, in her Dress.
I decided to only use the one camera for most of the day and I never even used my 70-200 lens at all which was unique because I always have it ready to go. Instead I dusted off the 85mm 1.2 which has not seen much action all season.
This practice changed my photography on the day.
As it was November the 5th I was hoping there might be an opportunity to photograph something firework related and seeing as I was not invited into the bridal suite, I settled for sparklers on the patio instead.

Late Autumn is my favorite season and when the trees are at the right colour it always makes for interesting photographs.
Dark skies and moody light is my choice every time.

Steve got more and more lubricated as the day went on and it was amusing to see his antics on the dance floor in the evening.

Deborah and Steve were a great couple and they were certainly up for any foolish antics that I got them to do. The sparklers photo took a couple of takes and used up a few sparklers to get it right.

Deborah and Steve

I asked them to stand still and scratch their Initial in the air so that I could record it.
What I failed to explain was why I wanted them to do this and Deborah was getting more and more confused.
Also I forgot to tell them to write their Initial back to front so that it would appear correct for the camera.
Everyone was was amused by all of this but we got right in the end

Lanhydrock house Cornwall

2010-08-13T08:37:00.000-07:00

The Beautiful Cornish Scenery of Lanhydroc k

Couple: Tony and Natalie
Date: 31st July 2010
Wedding Location: Lanhydrock, Bodmin Cornwall

This was a slightly different approach to the weddings I normally do because I hadn't met Tony and Natalie before their wedding day, having said that I did meet Tony for the first time the night before, in Bodmin, wearing a woman's dress with two balloons stuffed down the front.

I am a firm believer that a man can do what he likes in his own living room or bedroom, but this was in a pub filled with people who were very drunk. Yes! stag nights are wild in bodmin.

I was asked to do this wedding by a good friend of mine and business partner to Tony and that's the reason I never had a Pre-wedding consultation with them.

I had the pleasure of photographing Tony and Natalie's wedding down in the Cornish countryside and after a noisy Friday night stag party the night before (which I was invited to) I set about capturing their day.

The day started very well as I arrived at the Church and all the grooms men and stag party guys turned up. I knew them quiet intimately by this time of course and there was some knowing smiles from everyone.

There was a small threat of rain but nothing too serious to spoil this day and I was busy taking photographs of Tony and both families inside the church when someone pointed out the fact that Natalie had arrived in the car park outside the church.
I quickly walked out to meet her and she was waiting in the car for me.

After introducing myself to her with a very formal handshake I asked her to pose with her father by the car.
The long walk to the little church was full of tourists visiting Lanhydrock House and I had a bit of a job cropping them out "in-camera".

Every time I re-composed my shots, someone would find a way to spoil the background by waltzing past in his Nike Shorts and vest.
I even had people hiding behind bushes in an attempt to keep out of my background but I could still see their legs sticking out from under the tree. Too funny.
The Ceremony went very well and at one point Natalie got a little choked when she was saying her vows.

I had a great vantage point just behind the minister which is quite unusual to be allowed to go behind like that but I was able to cover all the angles from there thankfully.

This venue was stunningly beautiful and had such an English charm about it so I

was determined to photograph it in the best way I could. The reception was held in a marquee that had been erected on the lawn and I was able to take advantage of the wide open spaces and historic location. I think that Tony and Natalie were very up for the fun photography that was

happening and allowed time for me to take the photos I needed to take.
This is the furthest I have had to travel away from my home county of Kent but I am very happy with the outcome.

The Enthusiastic Julian and Claire

2010-07-05T03:30:00.000-07:00

Couple: Claire Finch and Julian Trusty
Date: 26th June 2010
Wedding Location: St Laurence Church and Pegwell Bay Hotel

How Lucky was I to have met this couple?
Both Julian and Claire were so up for the photography on their wedding day that I found myself in the easiest of positions to capture their day the way I wanted to.
Its not everyday that you have a job like this with absolutely no glitches whatsoever, It went like a dream.
After arriving at Claire's parents house I found Claire and her family all organized and well ahead of schedule.
I had time to do all the photos I wanted to do before leaving for the Church, the details of the flowers and the dress etc, I even had time to photograph Claire getting her dress laced up before she came down for some family photographs in the garden.
The Photos went well in the garden and I began to relax because we still had plenty of time before I had to leave for the church ahead of the Bride.
The church was only about a 4 minute drive away so off I go and once there I find a place to park and get my kit ready. Its always a struggle to think about what lenses to carry and what cameras to bring so I ended up doing what I always do, I bring the whole camera bag with ALL the kit.
Using both 5d cameras around my neck and the bag in one hand I walk into the church and find a place to store my gear.
I see Julian and some of the family and friends are already inside waiting so I fix lenses to my cameras (Canon 5d mk1 with 70-200mm f2.8 IS and Canon 5d mk2 with 24-70mm) These are my most used pieces of equipment for weddings.

The Priest has restricted me to "NO flash" during the whole ceremony and this was to be expected as most ceremonies in churches are carried out this way.

No problem for the mk1 and mk2 as they are more then capable of working in low light.
The ceremony went without incident and off we go, outside into the harsh sunlight. The grounds of the church were not very big and I had a bit of a struggle to try and take photos of about 60 people and NOT get any gravestones in shot.
I had an idea to do a series of photos with the confetti throwers outside in the street and this seemed to work well as I lined all the throwers along the short wall in the church grounds and got Claire and Julian to walk by in the street and get ambushed.
Afterward, we drove to the Pegwell bay hotel for the reception, It was uncomfortably hot with no breeze at the hotel so I took things steady because it was going to be a long day.
There were quite a few opportunities for taking photos at Pegwell Bay and we did just that. Claire and Julian had arranged to take a ride over to a local beach for some photos and this was quiet unique because we went after the wedding breakfast. The beach was 17 miles away and we had to leave all the family and guests to enjoy themselves until we got back.

I was looking forward to this part of the day and so were Claire and Julian.
I asked Tom, one of the guests to come along to assist me on the beach and was really glad I did so because it would have been hard to carry all the equipment to do the job.

The weather was still hot and sunny but at that time of the day the tide was out and I had hoped to get Claire to walk barefoot in the surf but perhaps that was asking too much of her.
As it turned out it was perfectly fine at low tide and being so late in the afternoon there were fewer people about on the beach and that meant less work for me to Photoshop them out.

Julian seemed to want to stay out longer and suggested that we stop off along the coast for some shots with the car before heading back.
I was happy to do so and so was the Driver of the Rolls Royce, Graham.

Back at the Pegwell bay hotel and all the guest are well on their way to having a good time so all there is left to do is the cutting of the cake and the first dance plus a few evening shots that I was keen to set up and photograph before I left.

All in all a great day, one of my best.

2010 and the first Wedding

2010-03-21T02:43:00.000-07:00

Couple: Claire Libbeter and Anthony Lindsay
Date: 15th March 2010
Wedding Location: Cooling Castle Barn

This was the first wedding for 2010 and it featured the stunningly beautiful Claire, who married Anthony Lindsay at Cooling Castle Barn.

The day started out with a promise of good weather and we were not disappointed although it was a little chilly.
I like to arrive early for all my weddings just so I can do a bit of location hunting for photographs although I have been to Cooling Castle twice before it always pays to scout around before everyone else gets there.

Tony was the first to arrive and at first I failed to recognize him as he was wearing sunglasses. All the guests were arriving too and I decided to take Tony and the best men out into the road for some photos before Claire arrived. Before this, Tony had to call Claire on his mobile phone to make sure she would not see him on the road outside when she arrived.

Right we have a 20 min window for photographs and out we go. Les Watts is also here to Video the event and we go out together.

The day is great with the sun shining but its making everyone squint. There hasn't been much sun in recent weeks and everyone has a hard time dealing with it when it turns up on our door step.

After, we walk back to join the guests.

Claire is late arriving but when she does arrive we grab a few photographs of her up in her room.

Time was getting a bit tight and we had to leave after just a short while but I am pleased I got some nice photos of Claire before she tied the knot.
The guests and Tony were waiting in the ceremony venue, just across the way and we set off round to the front entrance.

Claire went with the registrar to be prepared for her vows and the rest of us took up our positions downstairs.

Her Grandfather was waiting at the foot of the stairs when she emerged and descended.
Bridesmaids joined the Bride and they all walked past me to the Groom who was waiting.
I wanted to keep out of the way of Les who was at the front videoing the wedding so I stayed towards the rear and photographed from there.
Everything was going smoothly and when the ceremony was over, Claire and Tony retreated to have a moment to themselves and the rest went out to have drinks.

Cooling Castle is a lovely venue to have a wedding and the weather held to complete the day. The staff were always on hand to make the day run smoothly and praise must be given to Lesley the Toast master, and Becky the duty manager who were organizing things.

The outer grounds of the venue were just showing the first signs of spring and we went outside for some photographs in the chilly sun.

Claire and Tony were my first couple for 2010 and if the rest of the season goes as easily as this wedding then I will be very happy. Both families were happy to be photographed on the day and that is sure to make the Bride and Grooms day.
Congratulations Claire and Tony.

Your Kent Wedding magazine wedding of the year

2009-11-08T05:42:00.000-08:00

As mentioned in the earlier post, Ada and Amechi are featured in the November issue of "Your Kent Wedding"

Wedding Photography and other pointless discussions

2009-11-06T04:19:00.000-08:00

I have decided to join the ranks of the Blog set out there in an effort to use this medium to exchange information with all people interested in photography and in particular Wedding photography.

I have a web site which promotes my business and on it there are testimonials that happy couples have given me but I have created this blog so that I can give something back.

I am going to post my experiences of weddings past. Just my thoughts in these pages about good, and bad things that have happened to me whilst photographing a wedding.
I will talk about the couples and their families too but for the most part I want to concentrate on how I went about the day and how I got through it.

I would like to keep it light natured and I will be inviting couples to read what I have written.

So! first up will be a wedding I had been looking forward to do all year.

Couple: Ada Eze and Amechi adigwe
Date: 18th July 2009 Wedding
Location: Canterbury Cathedral
Reception: Leeds Castle
Photo Shoot: The White Cliffs of Dover

Ada and Amechi are two lovely people, both doctors who really decided to make their wedding day a special occasion.
I invited a Professional wedding photographer and good friend along for the day to help me out as I knew it was going to be a long one.

We started early, Petra and I, by treating ourselves to a nice big English breakfast at the Beano Cafe in Canterbury, Petra must not have eaten the night before because she had four slices of bread and an extra sausage, but that's another story.

After breakfast we drove the short journey across the other side of the city to meet Ada at the hotel where she was getting ready.

There was the usual chaotic bedlam you would expect to find at any Bridal prep but many of her family were arriving to offer their congratulations and there were so many things going on that it was a job trying to capture it all.
Petra and I worked in alternating pairs, photographing the colorful event and if I say Ada wanted all aspects of her wedding covered, I am not kidding, she also had the day covered by a video crew (Copper tree Media) http://www.youtube.com/coppertreemedia#p/u/13/YVr_ssyA_eI

I found myself liking the experience of working with Dan Orrell's from Copper tree and it was my first time shooting a wedding alongside a videographer.
Ada is a very beautiful bride and she was stunning on the day so I really didn't find this a difficult job.
As the time was ticking on she became more concerned that she was falling behind schedule and then the limo had arrived down stairs and we were not ready.
I saw what was happening and she was getting a bit panicky so I decided to put my camera down and help with loading up the cars with all the flowers and gifts and generally vacating the hotel.
I had a look around at the bar downstairs and found some family members and asked them to help Ada get things loaded in the cars outside. They were more then willing and the departure went off ok.
Petra had already blagged a lift from Dan and went to the church ahead of us.
Just a four minute journey to the centre of Canterbury and we arrive at the cathedral.
After getting signed in by security I decided to drive into the grounds and right up close to the main entrance, dodging french tourists who are looking up at the huge cathedral spire.
Petra and Dan are waiting at the huge doors outside the Cathedral and we prepare ourselves for the arrival of the Bride. It was a gloriously sunny day and everyone was in a happy mood. The tourists sensed something was going to happen when they saw 3 people waiting in the sunshine with bigger cameras then they had......

She's here and the mood changes, Petra goes short and I go long to try and get all the angles, Dan steps back to get it all in the picture. The french tourists are grateful for the chance to photograph something, other then 300 year old architecture and they turn their attention to Ada as she gracefully strides towards us.

Everything seems to speed up at this point and its like being swept away in a fast moving river as we enter the church and navigate through all the tourists that are gazing at this spectacle. The inside of the cathedral is HUGE, easily the length of Gillingham football club, including the outside toilets.

Down to the crypt we go and the wedding begins.
Its dark! very dark, perhaps the darkest I have ever encountered in a wedding venue but what a fabulous place this is. Its moody and atmospheric and that's all I need to produce something special. Its also a chance for me to use my new little toy. My 85mm 1.2 Canon lens is more then capable of attaining the shutter speeds needed for this gloomy cavern.

After the wedding we go out to the cloisters and this is where I am looking forward to taking some great photos of Ada and Amechi.
The photography goes well despite the tourists getting in the way and jostling for the best shot with my fellow professionals.
Its at this point that I suddenly realized that I left my kit bag on a bench back in the crypt. I run back and the place is alive with tourists, they must have opened the place straight after the wedding ceremony.
My kit bag is missing! Panic stations. As I walk back to the cloisters I see a church employee who tells me that he put my bag in a cupboard for safe keeping. With a cheery smile he shows me where the bag is. I could have kissed him, but that's definitely another story.

Back at the cloisters and we have a great time photographing the newly married couple.

After the photos, we drive onto St Margarets at Cliffe, this is a lovely place to take photographs of this nature and I have done so twice before on other weddings.
Ada and Amechi were so up for this and it really shows in the photography, she was having the time of her life and I was thrilled to record it for her.

I did not realize it at the time but I lost my iphone on the cliff tops at this point. It must have fell off my belt as I was crouching down to do the low angles.

So after the cliff top shoot we travel to Leeds Castle, and I am thinking. we are certainly getting to see a bit of the Kent Countryside. Ada and Amechi are following behind in their chauffeur driven Rolls Royce, and Dan from Copertree Media is also racing along the M20.

We have spent a lot of time away from the couples guests by diverting to Dover for the photos but it was definitely worth the effort and Ada really wanted this.
So now as we arrive at Leeds Castle, all the guests are waiting and wondering where the newly weds are he he, well they did not disappoint , because just before the couple get to the reception venue, they transfer from their 60 grand roller into a horse and carriage that was waiting in the outer buildings.
I am thinking that this day has been run like a well oiled machine because everything was coming together like clockwork, despite the fact that I lost my phone.
The reception was great too, and more photo opportunity's to be had in fact it was 3 great venues and all totally unique, a wedding photographers dream.

After the wedding I drove back to the cliffs and tried to find my phone by walking along the cliffs at 1 in the morning with a video light in the dark.
God knows what it must have looked like to the coast guard.
I did not find it but it was handed in by some kind and honest day tripper so in the end, a great day

No surprise then that Ada and Amechi have nominated their wedding as a hopeful winner to "Your Kent wedding" magazine's wedding of the year.. Good luck to you both.
David