Civil Partnership ceremony photography at Marwell Wildlife Park.

I recently attended Marwell Wildife Park and Hall to photograph a local Civil Partnership and I am a frequent visitor to this particular venue which has to be a favourite of mine. With fantastic grounds and helpful staff (thank you Izzy!) - Marwell is both attractive and enjoyable to work at.

If you are holding a civil parnership ceremony or marrying locally and looking for a local and affordable wedding photography service - why not get in touch. I am presently offering all new clients a 10% discount and other incentives to book their 2012 wedding photography with Martin Lewis Photographer for any remaining dates. Whilst 2013 and 2014 dates are filling fast, some availability for 2012 still exists, so please feel free to get in touch and check my availability and to inquire about any special offers I may be able to offer YOU. I cover some short duration and mid week weddings, so please do not be put off and assume that I only cover all day Saturday weddings and Civil Partnership ceremonies, as this is not the case.

Attached are just a few of my favourites from this memorable day.

As always these images are © Martin Lewis Photographer and are protected under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 and may not be used for any purpose without written permission from myself.

Wedding Photographer at St Nicholas Church in Wickham in Hampshire.

Today was a fantastic wedding at the Church in Wickham, Hamshire, of St Nicholas. I was doing the wedding photography for Rebecca and Rodney.

St Nicholas is lovely church and the Revd Elizabeth Groves conducted a family orientated ceremony. After a small number of photos outside the door of the church - everyone went a couple of miles along the A32 to a local rural Water Authority Pumping Station, where a large marquee, games and gazeebos, bar and nine piece band, kept everyone comfortable and entertained into the evening. I left at the point all the guests had been seated for their meal after a very relaxed, hot, sunny and laid back time, between ceremony and meal time.

The wedding car was provided by Steve of Lawnswood and was a classic Black and White Rolls Royce. I enjoy working at weddings with Steve and his cars.

The images will be available for viewing for Rebecca and Rodney and their families very soon. There are a few varied images - some of my personal favourites, shown here.
As always these images are © Martin Lewis Photographer and are protected under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 and may not be used for any purpose without written permission from myself.

Wedding photography in Surrey | The Mercure Farnham Bush Hotel.

Lorraine and Nick’s wedding ceremony was at The Mercure Farnham Bush Hotel in Farnham, Surrey.

I started my day with some shots to capture some detail of the venue and rooms we’d be using and then met up for photos of Nick and his Best Man John, followed by Lorraine and her Mother at the hotel room.

The hotel is an extremely intimate and traditional place. The ceremony room had a tapestry type painting on the wall which is apparently around 300 years old. In a central courtyard is an ornate statue with a fountain too.

After a 15.30pm ceremony and a couple of shots at exit to the gardens - we posed for some family photos at various locations around the Hotel before the couple headed off to take some further portraits with me – indoors and also by the hotel fountain. Whilst clouds loomed around – it remained dry this day and was a reasonable temperature and so the guests were able to socialize for a while in the welcoming and well maintained gardens.

The guests all sat for their wedding breakfast at around 17.30 and at that stage I was ready for a trouble free trip back to the South Cost, despite it being at the tail end of rush hour on a Friday.
The website of The Mercure Farnham Bush Hotel is: The Bush Hotel The staff were all helpful and fantastic to work with (the wedding co-ordinator herself was exceptionally helpful) and there was free and secure parking which is always a bonus at such single location days for me. The contact number for the hotel is: 01252 715 237.

The images will be available for viewing for Lorraine and Nick and their families very soon. There are just a few here to let you have an insight into our day.

As always these images are © Martin Lewis Photographer and are protected under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 and may not be used for any purpose without written permission from myself.

Wedding photography in West Sussex | Farbridge near Chichester

Tori and Gareth’s wedding ceremony was at St Thomas a Becket church in Warblington, near Emsworth, Hampshire. It's a fantastic small Saxon church in a tiny hamlet near to my home town of Emsworth.

The reception was at Farbridge, West Dean, near Chichester, West Sussex.

I started my day at the church, with arrivals of Gareth and the Ushers, followed by bridesmaids, then her Mother, Father and Tori herself. Tori and her parents arrived in a White Rolls provided by Chris’s cars.

Both Tori, Gareth and members of their bridal party were fantastic to photograph as they were all very relaxed and clearly looking forward to a FUN day. The ceremony was good to photograph as the church benefits from a fair amount of natural light and the Vicar and Verger are always very helpful to me at Warblington.

Having photographed the ceremony and signing of the registers, we opted for some photos outside the front door of the church. We then rejoined the guests after a few photos and all gathered at the red Routemaster Bus from Local Haunts for the trip to the reception venue.

This visit to Farbridge was a first for me. Farbridge is a wedding photographers and couples dream as it is located in private land on a rural estate (just off a Main Road) near to West Dean and Chichester. It is a complex of flintstone wall buildings located in the beautiful rural West Sussex countryside, shrouded by rolling hills with sheep grazing. It also has a pretty bridge over a Winterbourne – the River Lavant (currently dry). You can view the website of Farbridge here. You can also contact John Mickerson at the venue on 01243 776 776 or email him via their website.

On the day, I worked alongside Lisa and Oli from Buns to Banquets who I met previously at a wedding earlier this year at Arundel Town Hall and Lisa effectively coordinated things once the guests arrived at Farbridge.

Buns to Banquets provided a fantastic meal for the guests and I can testify this as they also fed me too - THANK YOU!!

I stayed right up to the speeches and cake cutting, as the couple weren’t planning a first dance, on this occasion.

The images will be available for viewing for Tori and Gareth and their families very soon. I try and allow my images to reflect an honest and thought provoking documentary approach and these, rather more than usual, are some of my favourites from this fantastic day.

As always these images are © Martin Lewis Photographer and are protected under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 and may not be used for any purpose without written permission from myself.

Wedding Photography in Hampshire | HMS Warrior in Portsmouth.

Today was a Hampshire wedding at one of my favorite locations – HMS Warrior in the Historic Dockyard in Portsmouth. I was doing the wedding photography for Oxana and Paolo.

Oxana and her two bridesmaids arrived at HMS Warrior in a replica vintage taxi.

The ceremony was great to photograph and was on the ‘Half Deck’. The mood and atmosphere at this venue is fantastic and around 60 guests made for quite an intimate atmosphere.

We were lucky to get great (UK Bank Holiday!!) weather conditions - for some great opportunities for photos around the ship. Things were a little tricky at times during the photos as Oxana and many of her guests were from Moscow and Paulo from Italy.

Having photographed the ceremony and signing of the registers, we opted for some photos on deck and at various locations, before the couple and their guests headed below for a great meal, provided by the staff of County Caterers. I was pleased to be invited to eat with the guests and sample the fine cuisine they provide. You can view their website here, or via the link to them from my own website links page: http://www.countycaterers.co.uk/

The website of HMS Warrior is here: http://www.hmswarrior.org/ and I always enjoy working with the staff here and particularly Julie and Andrew who coordinate their events and weddings.

The images will be available for viewing for Oxana and Paolo and their families very soon.

As always these images are © Martin Lewis Photographer and are protected under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 and may not be used for any purpose without written permission from myself.