The sun shone for Scott and Katie for their dream wedding in Cornwall at the stunning location of the Glendorgal Hotel at Newquay. Family and friends who had travelled from all over the country were ecstatic about the beautiful setting for the wedding overlooking Porth beach. Scott and Katie picked up the beach wedding theme in their  reception decor incorporating seashells, favours in the shape of a boat and tables named for Cornish beaches. The cake was amazing and was full of symbolism for Scott and Katie. Following the wedding the happy couple will be honeymooning for two weeks in Mexico.

It was a joy to photograph the wedding and meet Scott and Katie’s family and friends. We wish you both a very happy honeymoon and life together.

Planning your wedding in Cornwall – contact us for details by clicking here.

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Wedding speeches, before or after the meal – that is the question? Here is a brief look at the pros and cons.

After

Traditional the wedding speeches are done after the meal is over, it is the signal that the formal part of the wedding is over and the fun now begins. Your guests are all fed and watered and therefore more relaxed and ready to enjoy themselves

Before

This is increasingly popular. Its main advantage is that it allows the Groom, best man and father of the bride to relax and enjoy the meal. It does lessen the chances of a nervous participant drinking a little too much and saying something embarassing. The down side is that the other guests will not have had much to drink and will be a harder audience to engage with.

Consider – if you have them before hand, will your guests be hungry and thirsty? A little planning can avoid this by making sure there are plenty of canapés available and providing either drinks or opportunity to purchase them from the bar. Including the running order with the invitation is also a good idea.

During

An alternative is to have the wedding speeches during the meal: either one after each course or between the starter and main course. The disadvantage with this is that it tends to interrupt to natural flow of the event.

My personal favourite

As a photographer I prefer to have them before the meal because I’m more often than not contracted to photograph proceedings from the bridal preparation through to the cutting of the cake and wedding speeches.

Top Tip

Put a smart phone in front of the person giving the speech to record what is said, otherwise you’ll forget half of what was said.

For more helpful hints for your wedding – click here.

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I had a great day today with a wedding photo shoot for Epiphany House, Truro for a poster to advertise their wedding fayre in August. Shannon and Jay looked fabulous in their dress and morning suit, provided courtesy of Pauline Holt (originally donated by Benjamin Roberts Bridal Dresses) and Moss Bros. It was such fun not having any time constraints and to be able to pay attention to small details, like dropped flower petals and furniture in the corner of the shot. Shannon’s hair was done by Debs from Simply Hair and make up by Jade Louise. The brief was to get just one photo that could be used for the poster, so I was able to take almost as long in getting the shot as I normally do for a whole wedding ceremony. We needed the time though as it had been raining until about 15 minutes before the photo shoot and the dress will be on sale at the wedding fayre so we couldn’t get it dirty.

Epiphany House itself was formerly a residence for the Bishop of Truro and then later a convent. It is a beautiful house set in wonderful gardens just on the edge of Truro city centre. It is used for retreats, quiet days, conferences and, of course, wedding receptions. They don’t have their own license to conduct weddings but they’re only a five minute walk away from the church at Kenwyn and you can also have a blessing in the chapel at the house.

Here is the photo itself, together with a bonus one that we took just for the sake of it, because we could!

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Saturday was a beautiful day for a wedding in Cornwall. After rain in the night and the morning we packed coats and umbrellas before setting off for the Glendorgal Hotel, Newquay to photograph Mark and Joanne’s wedding. The weather began to clear almost as soon as we packed the umbrellas in the car and it turned into a beautiful sunny day. It was wonderful to meet up with Mark and Jo again and to meet their friends and family. As a photographer one wishes for some cloud cover and less wind, but the guests very much enjoyed the cliff top venue with beautiful views out to sea in one direction and over Porth Beach in the other.

After the ceremony and some formal photos we drove round to Porth Beach where we had a quick blast around the beach in my Land Rover before taking some photos of the happy newly weds walking on an almost deserted beach. Mark and Jo are finishing off their wedding in Cornwall by staying in the county for their honeymoon. I trust you continue to get glorious weather and wish you both a very happy future together.

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I’ve been looking to do more land and seascape photography in Cornwall as I love the outdoors and spend a fair amount of time there. When I was younger I was far too busy to take photographs as I was canoeing, walking, climbing, cycling etc. With age comes the ability to slow down, at least a little! Most of the photography I’ve done has either been commercial e.g. wedding and event photography or photojournalistic. Of course I’ve always taken photos of land and seascapes but have never really ‘put them out there’ before. Most of the photos from todays shoot have been uploaded to the Duchy Photography Facebook page but I’ve posted a few here just to whet your appetite.

See more photography in Cornwall by following me on Facebook by clicking here.

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As a wedding photographer I’m always looking for helpful wedding tips – and not just wedding photography ones. I came across an article online from “Bridal Guide” and thought it worth signposting. The article is entitled ‘Top 10 Wedding Guest Complaints,’ which is guaranteed to make anyone want to read it ! It lists ten things to be avoided to ensure that your guests have an absolutely fabulous day as befitting your wedding. It covers the following topics:-

1. An inconvenient date                 by all means choose Christmas day, but don’t expect everyone to join you
2. Invitation confusion                    how not to offend if you don’t want to invite children or ‘a.n. other’
3. Seating problems                          tips to ensure guests at the table don’t kill each other
4. Pulling out the wallet                   advice about providing a free bar
5. Climate crisis                               the British weather is something not to be relied on, so there’s a few tips to counter the blues
6. Inedible food                              or lack of – practical tips
7. Never-ending toasts                   or photo montages
8. DJ please stop the music             as someone who suffers from Tinitus, this one is close to my heart
9. Disorganisation to the max          mmm!
10. Ungracious hosts                     what, surely not!

Read the whole article at www.bridalguide.com/blogs/real-brides-speak-out/wedding-guests-complaints      -      you can also see more practical wedding tips by clicking on the “Helpful hints for your wedding” category by clicking here.

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It is coming up to that time of year again – school prom photography. I love photographing school proms because it is wonderful to be part of such an exciting and happy occasion and also I like the pressure of the event. Event photography is always pressurised as it is a fast-moving situation where the photographer has to have the confidence and skill to react quickly to changing situations. One of the keys to successful event photography is anticipating problems that may arise and having solutions to hand. Equipment is one of the obvious things that can cause difficulty, as indeed it can for any type of photography. There seems to be a maxim that the more important and unrepeatable the event – the more likely it is that something will malfunction! Over the years that we’ve photographed school proms we’ve had laptop issues, printer malfunction, card reader problems, lighting failure and problems with radio triggers. However, unlike many other photographers we carry just about a full set of duplicate equipment to ensure that whatever the situation, we can carry on without major disaster. This gives school staff complete peace of mind.

In addition to equipment problems there can also be venue issues. These can be lessened by inspecting the venue beforehand and communicating well with all staff involved. However, things change and you need to be both flexible and creative at times. One of the frequent tension points is the arrival of the school leavers in stretch limos, fire engines etc which cause traffic flow problems. It is by no means unusual to find myself or my fellow photographer on traffic duty helping keep things flowing smoothly. It is all part of the service.

Generally, we are the first to arrive at the venue in order to get set up and ready for the arrival of the young people in all their finery, and usually we are the last to leave as there is inevitably one or two students who only remember they need to buy a photograph as they leave to go home. Normally we just switch the laptop and printer back on again and print the photograph off. However if all the equipment is packed away they can simply go to the website the following day and purchase the photo there.

There are so many photographers coming into the market these days and they all think they can offer school Prom photography as part of their services. I’ve even had one school suggest that the year 12 students could do the photography for the outgoing year 11 leavers! Leaving aside the expensive equipment, backup equipment, insurance and technical know how – I was flabbergasted (not often one gets to use the word flabbergasted) to think they would imagine 17 year old students being able to pose or organise  their peers.

Top tips for those considering school prom photography

• Carry duplicate equipment in case of breakage or failure
• Know your equipment and your back up equipment
• Be sure you can adequately light large groups
• Use high end dye sublimation printers – don’t be tempted to use domestic printers
• Carry adequate insurance – don’t assume you are covered by the venue
• Be sure you are happy working in fast-moving situations and have good people skill

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Although based in Truro I don’t often get to photograph weddings in Truro, so it was brilliant to get the opportunity to do so at the weekend. I’ve known Emma since she was a little girl as her older brother was a school friend of my son – both Ian and Tim are also now married. Although I’d not met Dan before, he told me that he remembers me from my going into his school taking assemblies. It is a sure sign of getting old  to now be photographing their wedding!

It was a beautiful sunny day – great for getting married, but not so good for wedding photography as shadows create havoc and people tend to squint in the sun! Dan and Emma got married in the church at St Clement, down by the Tresillian River – a beautiful old Anglican church with longstanding family connections on both sides of the family. Following the service we took photos of the immediate family and dispatched the guests to Chacewater while we took a stroll down to the estuary for some photographs of Dan and Emma by the waterside. On completion we joined the rest of the family and guests at the village hall in Chacewater for photos of the larger groups and then afternoon tea.

Emma’s choice of flowers and colour theme were perfect for a Cornish Spring wedding. Emma looked absolutely beautiful and together she and Dan make a great couple. Congratulations to you both and we wish you a very happy future together.

Looking for a wedding photographer? Contact for details – click here.

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Bump Photography Truro – Monday was a fabulous evening with Stacey and Rob. Stacey’s bump was obviously the star of the show but it was great spending time with mum and dad too. Many years ago Rob was one of the older youngsters that helped run a teen programme that I was involved in. I know that it has been a long time but it still seems incredible that Rob is now married and a father to be. So, it was great to see Rob again but also a pleasure meeting Stacey – what a lovely couple they make together.

Being a winters evening (well spring really but you’d be hard pushed to tell) I had to get the studio lights set up rather than using natural light. It also meant we couldn’t get the silhouette of Stacey against the French Windows due to the absence of sunlight. Clearing all the books from one end of my rather large lounge means that it is an ideal space for individual portraits, baby and bump photography.White walls, wooden flooring and patio doors make it perfect for natural look photography.

For more baby and bump photography Truro examples check out the portfolio by clicking here.

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Next to wedding photography, event photography is probably my favourite type of photography. Although baby photography comes pretty close too. The NHS Blood Donor Award ceremonies are amongst my favourite events as it feels such a privilege to be amongst so many people who have given either 75 or 100 pints of blood. Sixty donors were presented with a commemorative Dartington Glass award inscribed (or is it etched) with the appropriate quantity of blood donated. In addition, one of the ladies has been organising blood collection for 66 years.

Donors and their guests arrived to a drinks reception and then the donors were immediately photographed so that they could be sent a souvenir of the occasion. Once the individuals had been photographed I photographed each area group so the photos could be submitted to the local press. Below are copies of the 6 area groups – the lady in the middle of each photograph is Pauline, who had been a recipient of blood transfusions and was one of the speakers at the afternoon tea which followed the photos.

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If you are looking for event photography in Cornwall, you can contact me by clicking here.

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