Prestwold Hall Wedding Show

Just to let you know that we will be exhibiting at Prestwold Hall wedding show tomorrow (Sunday 28th Oct). Prestwold Hall is located near Loughborough, so if you are in the area then why not come along.

Prestwold Hall

I've just put together a slideshow of some pictures from Phil and Fru's wedding at Prestwold Hall, Leicestershire. This is a great venue and makes for some stunning photographs. The show only contains a selection of pictures from the day. Click here to see it:- Prestwold Hall Slideshow

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If you are not aware, Glen Ford Photography is now part of PureLight by Sam and Glen. You can see our new site at:- New PureLight website

We are PureLight...

Don't forget our new site:

Click here to see it:- New PureLight website

We have got loads more content to go on here over the next few weeks, so don't forget to bookmark it and come back and have a look.
Glen

The Barn at Bury Court, Farnham Surrey

This is the venue for Nick and Clare's wedding (see below). It was a real find. Lovely character, beautiful gardens and very friendly staff and owner. Click here to the right to see a slideshow:-The Barn at Bury Court Slideshow

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Nick and Clare - some beautiful pictures

Nick and Clare were married at Bury Court near Farnham in Hampshire.

Clare had seen one of our ads in You and Your Wedding Magazine and liked the natural style of photography and within a few days of speaking she had booked me to take their pictures - that was a year ago. The wedding was on Sunday 7th October. Clare and Nick were not too prescriptive in terms of their photographs, but they love black and white images and more informal pictures.

It was a bit of journey for me, from Nottinghamshire, but we cover weddings all over and I simply arranged to stay at a local hotel on the Sunday evening.

Bury Court is a delightful location. It was previously a nursery, so the gardens are more than wonderful - they are designer gardens, with beautiful long grasses. It made for some great pictures. There are a few below and you can see more at the Client Gallery.


Nick and Clare told me that they tend not to look good in pictures - I've told them to give up the day job with looks like these (above).


There was a cricket theme to the day, so they had a muster of cricket bats held high to walk under.


Clare just looked stunning, as you can see here.


Some of the grasses and gardens at Bury Court.


Such unusual flowers - which make the cake look fantastic.

New Blog

Now we have a new website, with a new blog, I will start to post there instead. Here is the link: New Blog

NEC and PureLight

Hi folks, well it has been a rather busy weekend for us. We were at the National Wedding Show at the NEC from Friday to Sunday - so I am a bit tired this morning - and we also have our new website live - PureLight. Click here to see it:- New PureLight website

We've also had a new brochure produced and some new sample albums. So if you saw us at the NEC or at another show, we hope you liked what you saw. It was great to speak to so many people and we again had very encouraging feedback from all the visitors to our stand.

Here is a picture of our stand:-

We will be at the NEC...

We're off today to exhibit at the national wedding show at the NEC, which will be open from Friday 12th Oct to Sunday 14th. This is our first time at the NEC and we have put a lot of work into a new display and some new sample albums. So if you're thinking of going then look out for us, our stand is by the cat walk, H51.

Phil and Fru

Phil and Francesca (known as Fru) were married at Prestwold Hall, near Loughborough, Leicestershire on the 22nd September. You can you see their images at the client gallery. I have posted some images below, all of which are in black and white. I just simply love the feel and texture that comes with black and white photography. I use film for weddings, so my black and white images are of course shot on film - and I think the effect is just great. These are the type of images that I love to take.

Mandeep and Sukdeep

Here are a few pictures from the wedding party of Mandeep and Sukhdeep. Mandeep's family held a party for the couple at their home in Leicestershire and we were asked to photograph the celebrations. This was a truly fantastic evening. There were around 900 guests and the reception was held in a large marquee, with a very large dance-floor. The whole event was planned and organised by Tania Tapel from Leicester, which meant that the organisation and display was just great. We enjoyed ourselves immensely, finishing around 1am in the next morning. Here are a few of the images:-

Update

Hi to all who read this blog, either on a regular or occasional basis. A lot seems to have happened since my last post, so I'll try and keep it brief:-

I have never had infected sinuses before and don't wish for them again. But last week I had a heavy cold, which led to this. I'm told most people will perhaps only get them once or twice in their lifetime. You feel like your head is in a vice. Thankfully, I could stay in bed and rest. All better now.

I was down in Hampshire on Sunday to photograph the wedding of Clare and Nick. They are a lovely couple and the venue - the Bury Court Barn - is just delightful. It used to be a nursery, so I was told by Suzanne the owner, and the gardens are stunning. I was able to take some lovely pictures of Clare and Nick in one of the gardens - can't wait to see the pictures.

We are exhibiting at the NEC this coming weekend. We have a brand new brochure and our new website goes live this Friday. How exciting.

I have just uploaded two recent weddings to the client gallery, so I'll post a few images here in a moment.

It has been a busy few months, we have just finished around 20 weddings over the last 3 months, so we are looking forward to catching our breaths over the coming months.

bye for now, Glen

John and Kelly

Here are some pictures from John and Kelly's wedding, which was on the 1st September and was held in Allington, near Grantham, with the reception held at Allington Manor.

It was a lovely day, with the service at the parish church, which I have been to before, and the reception was a short walk away. There was very much a village feel to the day. The beautiful weather, a marked change from a month earlier, made the afternoon very pleasant. Allington Manor is a delightful location and we have done two weddings there this summer. There is so much character to the house and the gardens at the rear are lovely. Kelly had some family from China at the wedding too - it always adds a very special touch to a wedding when guests take extra effort for the day, like coming half way around the world! It says so much about the overall commitment and how special the day is to them.

You can see pictures from John and Kelly's wedding at the client gallery.


Make up is a important part of any wedding. Many brides opt for a lighter touch rather than use a trained make-up artist. But good make-up is essential for good pictures - it also makes for some nice, candid moments, like this one, when it is being applied.


I really like the colours and contrast from the bridemaids dresses.


Kelly looked stunning throughout the day and this picture captures her well. We call this type of picture a perspective shot, where one person is in the foreground and the other is in the background. It is slightly different from the more usual mantle-piece type picture.


Some might ask the rationale for photographing the backs of people. It is not a picture you would have seen say 20 years ago. But less is more with photography and this picture has a nice composition and is aided by the fact it is black and white. John's pose, with one arm behind his back, helps to define the picture also and you can see the back of the dress, in all its beauty.


The speeches make for some great, candid moments. We spend a lot of money on good lenses for our cameras and this is why. There is a small amount of flash but not so much that it bleaches the picture, and enough light in the background, which is out of focus, to help frame the picture. You need a good lens to take this type of picture.

Salima and Arif

Salima contacted me around 3 months ago to photograph her wedding. She was looking for something different from the more typical type of photographs taken at Asian weddings. She wanted a fresh and contemporary style, something that would capture the day without taking it over and leave her with some great pictures. Well she and Arif, her husband, tied the knot in Birmingham on the 1st September and had their main reception on the following day at the Marriott hotel at the Forest of Arden.

You can see a handful of pictures below and all of them at the client gallery.

I was not available for the Saturday, as I was already doing a wedding, and so Samantha covered the Saturday and we both photographed the Sunday. We have now photographed three Asian weddings and they have all been great occasions, and this was certainly the case here and was a very enjoyable experience for us. The wedding organiser was Ranjna from Tania Tapel in Leicester - she had put Salima in touch with us. Needless to say with Ranj on the case the organisation was spot on, to the very last detail. And, details are very important with Asian weddings - the major arrangements, the little touches and the overall atmosphere - and this was very much the case with Salima and Arif. We so enjoyed taking the pictures and mixing with their families and guests - by the end of the celebration we almost felt like we had joined them.


This picture, taken by Samantha, captures so much. Hena is symbolic of Asian weddings and is instantly recognised as such. But the delicate light and the composition in this picture, with the differential focus, makes it very appealing.


What a picture! Another taken by Samantha from the Saturday - this could be on the front page of a book! The expression is so warming, it is almost infectious.


I mentioned above that details are important and this applies to the pictures we take. We like to capture the details of the day, especially so for Asian weddings, as so much time, effort and expense goes into the planning for the day. Typically there are many hundreds of guests, so there are lots and lots of details to plan. Here is the inside of the marquee.


This was taken by Samantha on the Saturday. I like this shot. It takes some courage to set this up at a wedding, when the couple might start to wonder what is going on when you lead them into a blind ally - but in this case the picture works really well. The colour and the contrast between the ally, with all its pipes, and the bride and groom is just great. The lighting is also really good.


Dancing is a very big part of Asian weddings. You do not get the more typical situation that is the case with non-Asian weddings, where the dance floor remains empty for much of the evening, except for a few children and the odd bridesmaid. I could perhaps be forgiven for thinking that the highlight of Asian weddings is the dancing! This is a slower version than the more normal bangra music and dancing, but it captures a nice moment of them both.