20th September 2013
The wedding of Sheri and Chris took place at The Manor hotel in Elstree, Hertfordshire, a classic timeless, English Tudor Mansion. I was so excited to shoot this wedding as it was to be styled mixing the cultures and heritage of both Sheri’s English/Indian background and Chris’ Scottish roots! Sari’s and kilts!!
Sheri wore a traditional English Wedding dress by Ronald Joyce ‘Posy’ with Jimmy Choo shoes, Chanel No.5 Perfume, costume jewellery from Glitzy Secrets and a hand tied bouquet of Roses, Jasmine, Thistle, Fern and Ivy from Your London Florists in Southgate, a purposeful mix of eastern exotic and western flowers to represent their culture and a white thistle for the Scottish element.
The Bridesmaids wore beautiful dresses from Vivien of Holloway and all the girls had their hands Henna’d a week before at Sheri’s Mehndi night. The overall colour scheme was Blue and Green which tied in with the tartan on Chris’ kilt which was ‘Black Watch’
I arrived early to meet Sheri for her morning prep shots in a huge room filled with friends and family, excitement and bubbles, even afternoon tea arrived at one point! With the ceremony not being until 3pm it felt like there was plenty of time to relax and enjoy the preparation, I was able to wander around the grounds checking out locations for the portraits and group shots.
I have to let you know that this couple are probably one of the most romantic couples I’ve shot this year…even though they’ve been together for 9 years, it was like they were still in those first few weeks of falling for each other! There were lots of romantic surprises throughout the day, Sheri had organized a car for Chris to arrive at the venue, he had no idea what it was so I waited for his roaring arrival in a fantastic and beautiful blue Mustang! Sheri chose well! Chris looked ecstatic!
Chris surprised Sheri with some beautiful gifts in the morning, which arrived in a paper bag…. we were all convinced he’d ordered a Chinese, which would have been pretty amazing, but the Vivian Westwood necklace was a real winner, as were the bridesmaids plastic tiara’s! – Comedy and Romance all in a paper bag, what more can a girl need?
So despite the long morning, the emotions ran high as the time ticked on and with the arrival of Sheri’s mum and dad into the room the tears began to flow which all contributed to the fashionable late arrival to the ceremony downstairs where Chris anxiously awaited his beautiful bride.
The intimate ceremony took place in a bright sunny room overlooking the grounds where we had some fun doing photos on the chequered lawn.
The rest of the day was all about catching up and partying with friends. The wedding breakfast was served on tables named after their favourite films. The speeches were fantastic, emotional and highly amusing! It struck me that Sheri and Chris have adoring friends and family who really made that clear in their speeches re-living the adventures they’ve had together all made for a tearful photographer! The speeches always get me!
With an extra 70 guests arriving for the evening drinks and dancing I prepared myself to capture the first dance which was to Bob Marley ‘Is it love?’ and romantic as it was, I do believe that Sheri’s dad stole the lime light towards the end with his amazing moves across the floor, he put everyone to shame! What a guy!
A note from Sheri: It really was the best day of our lives. We were so overwhelmed with the effort made by friends, family and suppliers. We’re so pleased that our ideas came to plan and the subtleties of the little touches worked, like our love of movies and music, the stationary and most importantly our defined mix of culture. The day was really emotional on all sides and I think it was testament to the support of our family and friends and how the wedding was a long time coming!
I want to thank Sheri and Chris for asking me to photograph their special day, it was a real honour to witness your marriage and to meet some amazing people. I wish you all the best for the future and really hope I get to hang out with you guys again! You both totally Rock! x