Bourton -on - water was the location for our latest wedding. The beautiful Bekky and Alistair met us last year at Helen and Camerons wedding her in Newcastle, Northern Ireland. When they started to plan their own wedding, they called us and asked would we travel to the Cotswolds to cover the photography at their very elegant wedding. Well, you know me, never one to miss an opportunity to travel and see a new part of the world...... so the answer was yes.
We are starting to loose light at this time of year, so we always carry lots of lights with us incase its a dull wet day. For this reason, we decided to drive across rather than fly. So the road trip began.
We got to call in to see our little nephew Owen who is now 4 and has such a strong English accent now that he is at school.
When we arrived in the Cotswolds, the scene was breathtaking. The foliage had turned burnt orange and all the villages were like little picture postcards. So quaint and fairytale like. This is the home of Beatrice Potter and you can understand why living in a place like this would feed the creative mind. With little towns called Stow on the Wold, Bourton on the Water, Cirenchester, the place just feels like a fairytale book.
The couple were married in St Lawrence's Church of England Church in Bourton on Water and then later held their reception in Washbourne Court Hotel, Lower Slaughter. Both village were built up around the meandering river which ran through the centre of each village. The weather was cloudy and still - just perfect for wedding photography.
During the signing of the register I took an informal shot of the bride signing. I was told by the minister that he could have me arrested as it is illegal in UK law for a photographer or videographer to capture the true signing. It should always be done as a set up pose without the original documents. Something or us all to learn. When we left the church (without me being arrested!) all the guests were so well prepared with rose petals and confetti. In England everyone brings confetti to a wedding and it really creates a celebratory feel. Here in Northern Ireland, the priests and ministers are so worried about cleaning it up that they never allow it to be thrown. Such a pity really as it is a lovely tradition and a great shot.
Its always great to get a new location, we have now covered weddings in the Loire Valley in France, in the Algarve in Portugal, in New York, America and now the Cotswolds in England along with all those wonderful weddings we cover in the North and South of Ireland.