We started the shoot in the old brick kiln woods in the village which have been in Clare’s family for many years.  I understand from Clare’s mum that the bricks used to build the houses in the village were made in these old kilns.  The old clay pits, settling beds and kilns are still visible.

It was a very cold day but that came with one major advantage – we didn’t get muddy because the ground was frozen!  I must remember to take my gloves the next time I do a pre-wedding shoot in February!

Later in the shoot we took some pictures outside the Grade 2* listed dovecote which apparently used to hold 999 pigeons.  The reason for 999 and not 1000 – surprise, surprise – the taxman.  If you kept more than 999 pigeons the tax went up!

It was a pleasure to take Clare and Lorna’s pictures that cold morning and I look forward to photographing their civil partnership later this year.  A full gallery of their photographs can be found on my online gallery system.

I will have a stand at the Barnham Broom Wedding Fayre on Sunday 22nd April 5th February.  Why not pop along for a chat about your wedding plans and see some of my work.  I look forward to seeing you there.

Nic Skerten – Norwich & Norfolk Wedding Photographer 

For my last wedding of 2011 I was off down to South Farm near Royston, Cambridgeshire to photograph the wedding of Lindsay and Chris.  I’d shot their pre-wedding photographs at South Farm during the early summer in beautiful weather.  Last Saturday it wasn’t quite as warm and it was a lot windier!  However, we were fortunate with the weather given it was November.

Lindsay and Chris are a great couple who came all the way up from Brighton for their wedding and I really enjoyed the day with them and all their family and friends.  South Farm is a great venue for a wedding and everyone had a relaxed and hugely enjoyable time.

Even though it was a bit windy, we managed to get away from the wedding party to get some great images of Lindsay and Chris on their own.  From past experience of their pre-wedding shoot, getting Chris to do a straight pose for more than 10 seconds is almost impossible!

Lindsay and Chris – my best wishes to you both for the future.

Here are a few of my favourites from the day – I hope you enjoy them.  A full gallery of Lindsay and Chris’s wedding photographs can be found here.

Jennifer and Mark are getting married next February at Sussex Barns, and last week we met up at Holkham Beach to shoot some pre-wedding photographs.  We were very lucky with the weather, as Holkham is one place you don’t want to get caught if it rains!  We got some great pictures. I look forward to covering their wedding next year.

A relatively local wedding for me last Saturday.  Georgina & Dan were married at St Margaret’s Church at Lyng followed by a reception at the Memorial Hall in Binham.  Georgina looked stunning in her wedding gown and we got some great shots around Binham Priory, particularly as we were blessed by some welcome late afternoon sun and a gorgeous sunset.  Georgina is a florist and her bouquet and flowers at their reception venue were beautiful. Georgina is a fan of retro-styled images, so I’ve processed quite a few of their photographs to have a vintage feel to them.  My best wishes to them both for the future.

Last week I shot my first wedding at Cley Windmill – that of a lovely couple, Andrea and Neil.  Now I’m not sure, but Cley Windmill must be one of the smallest, if not actually the smallest, venues licensed for civil ceremonies in the UK.  It is a beautiful and really different location for a small and intimate wedding – situated as it is on the Cley Marshes in North Norfolk.  Although the day started with overcast skies and rain, as you can see from the pictures the sun broke through and we were treated to a typical Cley afternoon with stunning blue skies and fluffy white clouds.

I started by photographing Andrea’s preparations together with her two bridesmaids, Katrina and Jodie.  I then caught up with Neil and his best man, brother Ian, before moving into the lounge for the ceremony.  Being a mill, this room is circular and the guests sit in armchairs and sofas around the room! After the ceremony everyone moved outside into the garden area for drinks and canapés – by which time the skies had cleared and the sun had made it’s appearance.  We took this opportunity to get some shots of Andrea and Neil alone together. Andrea looked absolutely stunning in her dress and given the length and shape of the dress she made a fantastic job of negotiating the stairs when we went up onto the platform of the mill to get some shots of the her and Neil!

To avoid the climb again, Andrea threw her bouquet from the platform down to the waiting ladies – and I have to say that the young lady who made the jump and catch should have been in the England line-out at the Rugby World Cup!

Andrea and Neil – than you so much for allowing me to photograph your wedding – it was a lovely day.  My best wishes to you both for the future.

It was a new venue to me last week – Chaucer Barn for the wedding of Rachel and Tom.  Chaucer Barn has only recently opened for business as a wedding venue and what a beautiful one it is.  The weather was great, Rachel looked fantastic and Oliver and Luke (Rachel & Tom’s two young sons) looked the business in their suits. Everyone had a great day and it was a privilege to meet Rachel & Tom’s families and friends.

Last Saturday I had the pleasure of photographing Clare & Dominic’s wedding at Barsham Barns, near Fakenham, Norfolk.  The day started with a legal ceremony at Fakenham Registry Office followed by a celebrant-led ceremony at the Barns.  Then it was down to the marquee for a BBQ and hog roast in the evening.  The heavens decided to open for a while later in the day but that didn’t dampen anyone’s spirits – just the poor guys from Byfords who were doing the catering.  The rainbow that appeared after the thunderstorm made up for the rain.  As it grew dark Clare & Dominic (assisted by their guests!) lit and “launched” 50 chinese lanterns.

These are a few of my favourites – I hope you enjoy them.  Comments are always appreciated.

Last week was a 3 wedding week and on the Saturday I was down in Cambridge covering the wedding of Nicola & Gavin. The ceremony and reception was being held at The Hotel Felix in Cambridge.  Unfortunately, the weather wasn’t kind and it poured with rain all day with just a break for about 20 minutes, which was enough time to get everyone outside for the group shots.  Nikki looked absolutely beautiful in her dress and despite the weather, everyone had a great time.  Here are some of my favourites from the day.

Last week I was off down to Suffolk to cover Rikki and Rebecca’s wedding, my first at the beautiful venue of  Hintlesham Hall in Suffolk.  I had shot Rebecca & Rikki’s pre-wedding photographs at the Hall a few weeks earlier and already knew that it had great locations for photographs.  As it turned out, the rain started as I arrived to photograph Rebecca’s preparations and continued on until after the wedding breakfast had finished.  However, Hintlesham has two gorgeous long north-facing galleries, so it was no problem to do all the group photographs inside. During the day we managed to slip away from the rest of the guests to get some beautiful pictures of Rebecca & Rikki alone.  Rebecca’s dress looked fantastic and I hope this shows in some of my favourites below.

Rebecca & Rikki are moving out the the US later in the year and they had a number of  guests over from Virginia.  I must thank Rebecca & Rikki’s family and in particular Rebecca’s mum Tessa, for making me feel so welcome.

Here are some of my favourites from the day – hope you like them.