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I recently came across a journal entry I wrote on 22 February 2010, part of which read: “we have agreed to pursue our dreams wholeheartedly; with the aim to be working as full time photographers within 24 months. big dreams at the time of economic uncertainty? you bet.” Today Cam joins me full time. Dream big today.
Every time I come to blog a wedding I find myself starting with, “One of our favourite weddings…” and Claire and Scott’s is definitely one of those. From the moment we met them at their pre-wedding shoot, where they totally embraced the downpour we found ourselves caught in (without umbrellas!) and allowed me to capture what will always be some of my favourite images, I knew their wedding was going to be special. Oh, and if you don’t know the love story of how it all began, you must read the post. Seriously. This is the stuff films are made out of!
If possible, the proposal just adds to the romance of it all, and in Claire’s words: “In May of last year, Scott and I went to Spain with my parents. Once we’d got there he pulled out a story from his bag and told me that he’d written it for me to read by the pool. It was a mock fairy story in which I was a princess and he was a scribe and all our friends and family members had amusing roles and titles. It was loosely based on reality and ended with our first kiss. It was funny and beautifully written and by the last page he had me crying on my sun lounger. The next day he took me for a walk on the beach. He seemed a bit anxious and he asked me if I’d enjoyed the story. I said I had and he said there was another, secret chapter I had yet to read. He sat me down on a mound of sand on the water’s edge, pulled this ream of paper from his bag and began to read. The story was set in Spain, on the beach, and Scott’s character was telling my character how much he loved her. All very postmodern. At this point, to my surprise, Scott began to cry. He asked me to carry on reading it aloud. By this point, I was a bit confused, but I took the story from him and began to read. In the story, Scott’s narrator was telling my character how much he loved her before adding that he wanted to say something else. Four more words in fact. At this point I realised what was happening and my head began to swim but I carried on reading. ‘What he wanted to say was…’ I turned the page and heard Scott say aloud the words I was reading. ‘Will you marry me?’ I turned to look at him. He was smiling and holding a ring.”
Claire and Scott chose The Lantern Theatre for their ceremony, an old 84-seat Victorian theatre with anaglyph wallpaper and red velvet seats; it was perfect. And the details of the day were unconsciously designed around the two important aspects of the couples personality. “Literature and music have always been important to us and during the planning it soon became apparent that though we hadn’t intended to have a theme for the wedding words and music were a recurring motif. Our invites were designed to look like classic orange and white vintage Penguin paperbacks, with library tickets inside for the RSVP (we’d stamped the wallet in which the library ticket sat with the key dates of our relationship). We used a Smiths’ song title (There Is a Light That Never Goes Out) as the title of the paperback/invite. Our place settings followed the Penguin theme, with the guests’ names replacing the author’s and a lyric we’d individually chosen for each guest replacing the title. Inside the place settings were CDs with the key songs from the wedding day. The orders of service that were handed out at the theatre were designed to look like vintage Penguin Plays paperbacks, with the title on the cover taken from a Velvet Underground song. Our readings were taken from books, except for one, which was the lyrics of the Pulp song, Something Changed. During the service, we exchanged copies of our favourite books, around which the rings were tied on a ribbon. Even the confetti followed the literary theme. Using a heart-shaped holepunch, we punched confetti from the pages of our favourite books.”
For me, the soundtrack to Claire and Scott’s day really stands out, and I have to admit I have listened to my CD (from the place setting) many times over and certain tunes take me right back to the theatre. “We put a lot of thought into how the day was soundtracked and I think the choices we made added a lot to the atmosphere, especially at the key moments such as when the guests walked into the theatre (Danny Elfman – Theme from Edward Scissorhands) and when Claire and I walked back down the aisle (Arcade Fire – Wake Up). The moment I most loved though, was when Claire walked in. I had to bite my lip. She floated into the theatre like a fifties filmstar. Clair de Lune was playing, the glitterball was casting out shimmers of light and just as she came through the doors a quote from the Princess Bride (‘This is true love. Do you think it happens every day?’) played over the music. It was a beautiful moment; without doubt the best moment of my life.”
“When we have champagne we often have oysters and we thought that there was no reason not to continue with this at the wedding. They’re not to everyone’s taste, however, and we were worried that we’d be left with a platter of uneaten shellfish. In the event, they went quicker than either of us had anticipated. A lot of the guests had them for the first time and there was lots of laughter around the oyster table. In retrospect we’d have ordered a couple of dozen more.”
show 5 comments Oh my word! Such a beautiful story of two wonderful people! I got all teary when reading)) Love this wedding! Beautiful photography as always Oh wow, gorgeous venue, beautiful details, want those red shoes and most importantly a wonderful story of love told by your as ever, lovely images xx This is easily one of my favourite weddings you’ve ever covered. Gorgeous!!!! WOW! What a wonderful wonderful story, had me crying! Beautiful words and stunning pictures as always Thanks, Pen. Lovely words. x
Despite both being in the same year at Lancaster University, Becca and Mark didn’t actually meet until some time after they had both left. Madly it was a mutual Uni friend who introduced them, and although they later discovered many shared acquaintances from the heady days of student life, it wasn’t until that fateful evening in the Summer of 2007 that their paths actually crossed at a working man’s club in Hammersmith. Mark was playing in a band called The ‘Snatchers and Becca was persuaded he was worth making the trip from Hull to meet. Thankfully he was, and after a flurry of text messages, so began their long distance adventure. Starting on neutral ground, somewhere between Blackburn and Hull (Leeds!) they were soon traveling every other weekend to be with each other; but it wasn’t long before they realised it was serious and Mark won his Lancastrian Lovely back to the right side of the Pennines!
3 years after meeting each other, Mark decided to propose to Becca, and had it in mind that their camping holiday in France would be the right time. The ring was purchased (drawing around an existing ring to ensure it was the right size – smart man!) and smuggled in a box with his cycling shoes. After a nice meal on the last night, snuggled up in the tent, with the ipod playing ‘their song’, Mark went on bended knee… The answer was an immediate ‘yes’ followed by many tears, and excited calls back home! What I particularly love is Mark and Becca said that as they waved good bye to their campsite neighbours the next morning, they were greeted with a cheery wave of “Have a safe journey, and congratulations!” Clearly those tears and calls were louder than they had thought!
Getting married at The Midland hotel in August, Mark and Becca want their day to be relaxed, laid back, and fun; a “good party with close friends and family to celebrate ‘us’ and to thank them for helping us be who we are.” Instead of a best man and bridesmaids, they have 7 “best people,” and they want to create a day full of personal and homemade touches, from having the flowers arranged by Mark’s mum, to the cake which will be made by Becca and her mum.
One of the best finds for the wedding so far for them has definitely been The Midland. “The seaside location is stunning and the art deco theme is not only impressive, but it’s something a bit different. The fine details of the hotel and period are inspiring many of our plans for the day.” Many of which Becca is busy creating herself, and which I can’t wait to see!
We met Becca and Mark at Mark’s great Aunt and Uncle’s home in the village of Church Lench. This is somewhere Mark has visited all his life with many wonderful childhood memories of camping in their large garden, and a place Becca has also grown to love during the time they have been together. I have to say we loved it too – particularly when Mark’s great Aunt welcomed us with coffee and homemade shortbread! Such a wonderfully warm family and couple, we cannot wait to see them all again.
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Ben knew within a couple of months of meeting Sarah, that she was The One: “Sarah had booked me a ticket to see a play with her at the National Theatre; we’d only been dating for a couple of months and I don’t know how or why I knew, but I remember quite clearly cycling home over Waterloo bridge when I said to myself rather loudly- “Blimey, this is the woman I’m going to spend the rest of my life with!” I love that. And I love that we were able to capture a glimpse of their special day.
When it came to planning the wedding, the only vision Ben said he had for the day “was of love, lots of love.” Thankfully this was not hard to achieve, and Ben looks back on this wonderful day and says, “I can honestly say I’ve never felt so much love and happiness in one day and I’d like to think our guests felt the same. I am so lucky for that day and so lucky that Sarah is now my wife.”
As an artist, Ben put his skills to work for the reception, making the table plans, favours and designing the menu…
Ben and Sarah are currently expecting a new addition to their family, and in fact Sarah goes to pregnancy yoga a few doors down from the bar where they first met, “We’re very much in love and looking to the future with a mixture of spine chilling anxiety and absolute faith and excitement to the unknown. At least we have each other and soon one more, and in the last three years, I still haven’t beaten Sarah at a game of Scrabble!” show 2 comments A gorgeous wedding Pen, love the couple shots…. Beautiful!! Beautifully captured. I love the signing of the register shot and the confetti shot is beautifully done too! |
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Eliza - Keep sending that positivity into the world and the universe will keep rewarding you. So happy for you both xx
Dasha - Oh, guys, this is so wonderful!!! Well done for believing and following your dreams! So so happy for you! x
Debs - Pen and Cam, today is such a special day for both of you. I am so excited for you and know that today is the start of amazing new things for you both xxx
Lee Robbins - Awwwwww…. well done guys!!!
great news!!!
Lee Robbins - P.S… love that photo!
Annamarie Stepney - Awesome…love it! Dont you just love the laws of the Universe – you get back what you give out! Positive energy all the way. Respect and love to you in your continued adventures on your photography path
xx
Lisa - This makes my heart sing. There is nothing more inspiring that to lovely people following their dreams and dreaming bigger with every step. You make me feel a little less scared about my future xx
megg - SO happy for you guys. I love you so much and when I saw you guys working together at Sas & Ash’s wedding, it felt like the most natural thing in the world. You inspire me.
xoox