GREG & KATIE BRUMLEY'S WEDDING - PART TWO

Elham, Kent. Saturday 5th June 2010, Elham Village Hall. And so the newly married, pride filled couple made there way to their first breakfast as husband and wife.

Having made it to the hall with some time to spare, we managed to find time for a quick breather and a water break - cue supplies - and a quick bite of some emergency snacks. The weather had stayed just fine and the lowering sun bathed the grass and trees with soft light, giving shape without too harsh a definition. The marquee looked perfect, complete with a hog roast n the go, welcome drinks ready for serving and a hall filled with beautifully decorated tables. We both fired off some nice candid shots before Greg and Katie arrived with a very proud Mr Fleming delivering them to the reception.

 Phil the toast master announced them for the first time to the waiting guests to rapturous applause and they were quickly enveloped by family and friends wanting to congratulation them on their wedding.

By now, we had set one of the cameras up with the Nikon 18-200VR to shoot plenty of candid shots. Light was not a problem outside and so 'lens speed' as a priority was replaced by the flexibility of the telephoto zoom lens. The telephoto lens allows you to pick out and 'pop' subjects out from the background in the same way that a wide aperture (small f-number) would create a small depth-of-field. For more information on photography terms, please take a look at the glossary. The second of the two cameras still carried the 17-55 f/2.8G but we mixed this up with the Sigma 105 as the fast f/2.8 of the Sigma would be required for the inside shots.

Before food was served, we managed to pull Greg and Katie away from the guest to make some beautiful, memorable wedding portrait shots of them both. The background to their portraits was simple and beautiful. Distant rolling hills, soft directional sunlight and countryside green providing a scene fit for the gentry. Greg and Katie's wedding attire jumps out from each image, emphasising their togetherness, closeness. To say that they were both unsure about posing for the camera is somewhat of a surprise now after seeing how well they both did. 

Greg & Katie has decided on 'high tea' followed by the hog roast. What a great idea! The guests had enough to eat to keep them going without feeling so full before the speeches. By this time, Michelle and I had managed to grab a quick 15 minutes sat at our places to much relief of our feet.

The speeches were short but heartfelt, although some high pitched singing may have been attempted by Greg! As with tradition, presents were given out by the page boys (Archie and Haydn) to very adoring grandparents. The hall was full of laughter and everyones attention was firmly fixed on a little round table at the front with a certain Mr & Mrs Brumley occupying.

Joviality followed, with numerous candid shots of friends and family getting in front of the camera - not just ours but all of the disposable cameras that Greg and Katie had put out. It was great to be part of a wedding where everyone just got on so well.

The cake cutting ensued - with some direction (hey, has anyone ever cut a cake with four hands before!) The legend that is Stevie Wonder was the theme tune of the evening. Ribbons in the Sky, one of his greatest, serenaded the couple for their first dance. The music choices for the whole day, while extremely personal to Katie & Greg were just perfect for any wedding I think. Each song matched the moment and it couldn't have been anymore perfect.

And so the shutters of the night started to turn but not before the final wedding portraits were taken. The closing daylight and the surrounding vista gave a perfect setting for the family portraits. With so much colour at the wedding it seemed ever so appropriate to capture images that suited as such. Deep blue skies, rich green grass and rainbows of colours flowing through clothes meant we were able to produce two images that literally and metaphorically summed up the day, full of happiness, colour and love.

Finally, the day came to a close and Katie's mum had quietly arranged for lanterns to be released. A fitting end to a wonderful day.

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The Brumley wedding collection can be viewed here. Please note this gallery is password protected, if you have not received login details please contact Greg, Katie or Gareth.