Simon Kemp - Hyde End Studios | Wedding and Portrait Photography, Reading, Berkshire U.K.

Trunkwell House Wedding Photography – Sarah and Darren

admin — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 22:22:34 +0000

Today I was at the beautiful 12C church of St. Mary’s in Silchester. It was a beautiful morning, a little cool (not necessarily a bad thing on a wedding day) and I am so glad the weather held out for Sarah and Darren’s wedding and the reception at Trunkwell Manor House in nearby Beech Hill. I love this time of year, my own wedding was on September 5th (note to self: buy anniversary present!), the change from summer to autumn is in the air and the light is slightly different than it was a couple of weeks ago.

I love photographing at St. Mary’s in Silchester. The church is right by the walls of the Roman city of Calleva Atrebatum and is an interesting place to get married due to it’s connectiions with the past. The marquee at Trunwell House is always fun to photograph at and the gardens behind the house are a lovely place to hold a wedding reception.

Here’s a few favourite wedding photographs from the day. The complete gallery will be uploaded in about 10 days. If you **click here** I’ll send you an email when that happens with a link to the gallery.

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I started the day at Sarah’s parents house in Silchester.

This weeks arty shoe shot

Sarah gets ready.

Sarah and the laydeez

Beautiful blue skies.

The guests arrive at the church

Darren and the boys (L) Sarah and her dad arrive (R)

Doing the paperwork.

Arriving for the wedding reception at Trunkwell Manor House

The beautiful bride

Darren and Sarah

Some favourite reception images

Wedding tradition 512b – small bridesmaids go mad on the dancefloor

One tasty looking cake

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Thanks again Sarah and Darren, have a great time in Venice!

Baby Photography Reading – Harrison

admin — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 16:56:13 +0000

Here’s baby Harrison. I photographed his parents wedding at Silchester House in 2006 and I photographed his big brother Jack a couple of years ago. It was great to see the family in the studio again and update the family heirloom that these kind of pictures comprise. Here’s a few favourites from the session.

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The Big H!

With Dad, Martyn. This is a favourite image from the session, it would look great in black and white as well. I am a fan of photographs of children with their parents- I think when your baby reaches the same age as you it’s a wonderful thing to see images of you with your parents. Perhaps it’s to do with knowing where we came from but I think it’s a sad thing when you have no photographs of your parents when they were young.

So Harrison is of course at that stage of power crawling just before the transition to walking (via staggering around the room hanging on to things). I love this sequence. Very often with babies, the developmental stages they go through pass so quickly. As a baby portrait photographer I love capturing these fleeting moments. And I just love his face in the first image :)

New Mill, Eversley – Alison and Will’s Wedding

admin — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 22:41:32 +0000

Alison and Will got married today at the lovely St. Andrews Church in Sonning, just outside Reading. Will stayed at the Bull Inn, right next door to the churchyard so there was no excuse for being late. It’s a pretty impressive church – you can feel the history oozing from the walls. Afterwards we were off to the New Mill in Eversley. I first shot a wedding there about ten years ago and it’s a favourite location, tucked away off the main road and right up by the river.

I started the day off at Alison’s parents house just down the road from the church, it’s always nice to get some images of the preparation from the day. I think it’s also cool that the bride and groom get to see a little of each others morning as well. Here’s a few favourites from the day. If you attended the nuptials and would like an email when the complete gallery is uploaded, ** click here**.

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A wedding dress and some beautiful shoes.

Details, details…

On with the makeup

Meanwhile at the church.

The interior of the beautiful St. Andrews in Sonning.

Vicars love bubbles, no confetti to sweep up.

The New Mill, Eversley. Since 1577!

The very new Mr. and Mrs.

My unbroken record of 100% rain-free weddings in 2010 continues.

A couple of reception favourites

Will and the lads.

A souvenir chocolate bar for the guests. The photo is from Will and Alison’s engagement photo session.

Thanks again Will and Alison, have a brilliant honeymoon!

Aldermaston Manor Wedding Photography – Michelle and Lewis

admin — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 18:43:44 +0000

I’ve worked at Aldermaston Manor many times over the years. It lies near to Reading about half an hour from my studio and it’s great for wedding photography. Today Lewis and Michelle tied the knot in the library at the Manor House. The last time we had met is at the pre-wedding session where we shot some relaxed portraits in and around Aldermaston Manor House.

It was a bit on and off with the rain that day but luckily we dodged the raindrops and it turned out just fine. Here are a few favourite images from the wedding – the complete gallery gets uploaded as soon as Lewis and Michelle have seen the pictures. In the meantime, here’s a few favourite pictures. If you would like to know when all the wedding photographs are uploaded, **click here** and I will email you.

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Aldermaston Manor’s gothic exterior. The first thing Michelle and the bridesmaids told me on arriving was stories of the the ghostly noises the night before (!) Apparently strange noises were heard from the top floor of the building….mwahahaha… Thankfully the only spirits around on the wedding day were behind the bar (I kill myself with this stuff sometimes).

Note the large black clouds – thankfully they pretty much disappeared during the afternoon.

Lewis the groom. Nothing like a swift pint to calm the pre-match nerves.

A couple of favourite images from the getting ready period in the bridal suite.

The beautiful bride.

The long walk to the registrar’s briefing.

The library at Aldermaston Manor is a great place for a wedding ceremony. The bride and bridesmaids enter the room through a concealed door in the library shelves :)

‘Chelle and the laydeez

Bridesmaids – a different kind of photograph from the usual.

The Nintendo DS. Weddings would be a lot noisier if it hadn’t been invented,

An intimate moment in the corner of the reception :)

Freshly married and released into the wild.

In keeping with the surroundings, Michelle and Lewis do the ‘Victorian Bride and Groom’ pose.

Dinner is (swiftly) served.

Thanks for booking me Michelle and Lewis, it was a great day wasn’t it?

Ellie and Jag get married

admin — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 19:40:52 +0000

Ellie and Jag tied the knot today in West Chiltington. I set off early that day (you never can tell with the roads) and arrived in good time to have a look around the village. A fine rain was drenching everything in sight but I found Jag up and about early and sorting out the reception. Ellie’s grandparents had allowed the couple to hold the reception on their land so a sizeable marquee had been set up plus a fantastic swing roundabout and a smaller roundabout for the kids. The rain continued most of the morning but I am pleased to say it cleared up just in time for the wedding. It was a great afternoon – the small church of St. Mary’s was packed out with friends and family, they had to set up extra chairs in the aisles!

Here’s a few favourites from the day. The rest of the images will be online as soon as Ellie and Jag have seen them. If you were at the wedding and would like to see all the images, click here and I will email you a link once the gallery has been uploaded.

Phew, the satnav didn’t let me down (this time).

Ellie and the girls getting ready.

How ‘new man’ can you get? Jag walks to the church with his baby boy, Henry.

The open top bus with Ellie and the bridal party make their way through the village.

Probably my favourite confetti shot ever :)

The Tuk Tuk was the transport of choice

The brand mew Mr. and Mrs. take to the air.

So Steve the best man heads to tbe bar to get Jag a pint. Naturally the best thing to do is to sample the merchandise just to check it’s all OK…

Lots of cute babies at the wedding!

The bouquet toss. Seems the catcher was having a couple of regrets about catching :)

MC Jag takes to the floor.

Thanks again for having me at your wedding Ellie and Jag, speak to you soon!

Oxfordshire Wedding Photography – Katharine and David

admin — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 12:49:27 +0000

Recipe for a quintessential English summer wedding: take one beautiful 1000 year old church in a small Oxfordshire village, add a lovely bride and groom, mix together with family and friends in an 11th Century country house hotel and simmer gently for several hours in beautiful July sunshine.

Here’s some favourites from Katharine and David’s Oxforshire wedding at St. Mary’s in Iffley and Weston Manor Hotel, Weston-on-the Green. If you were at the wedding and would like to know when the complete gallery of photographs is posted, click here and I will send you an email.

A couple of candid photographs of the guests as they arrive.

A very relaxed (well relaxed looking) groom.

The boys

Katherine and her Dad arrive at the Church door. Is the bouncer going to let them in?
Edward the lutenist did a great job during the ceremony.

Confetti time – and an aerial bombardment from bridesmaid Sophia. A well earned drink for the bride and groom on the way to Weston Manor. The brand new Mr. and Mrs. The amazing Baronial Hall at Weston Manor Hotel.David and Katherine mid-mingle.

On the way into the meal.

Hope you have a great honeymoon, David and Katherine, see you when you get back.

Wasing Park Wedding – Keeley and Frankie

admin — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 18:59:17 +0000

Wasing Park in Aldermaston is a beautiful place for a wedding at any time of the year and with the weather on our side today it was a great place to be to celebrate Francois and Keeley’s big day. The venue is based around and old estate farm with ceremonies taking place in the small church adjacent to the reception area. I like it because everything takes place a short distance from everything else – Wasing Park lends itself to a nice relaxed wedding day.

Frankie and Keeley both work for QVC so not surprisingly were relaxed in front of the camera. We had a great day and they had booked a photobooth in the evening which was fabulous fun. Incriminating evidence coming up below.

The complete gallery will be uploaded as soon as K and F are back from their Italian honeymoon. If you would like to know when the pictures are available for viewing clickez-vous ici.

In the meantime – a few favourites from the wedding:

Get a load of those baby blues

Shoes!

Happy bridesmaids – a good start to the day.

Best Man Mark fearlessly takes on the tricky buttonhole job.

Almost ready to go.

Jasmine and Amelia. Butter wouldn’t melt… eh?

The beautiful bride.

The FOG waits for the ceremony to start.

She’s not late, just ‘fashionable’.

On the way to church

A great ceremony with capacity crowd in St. Nicholas Church.

Peter the toastmaster, on hand with refreshments.

The brand new Mr. and Mrs.

A couple of favourites from the reception.

It’s going to end in tears.

Be proud of your bap.

Laydeez and Gennlemen – I give you….Keeley and Frankies.. PHOTOBOOTH!!

Be afraid…

Thanks again Keeley and Frankie, have a great honeymoon in Italy :)

Wedding Dresses

admin — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 14:37:03 +0000

I was asked by Julia of Village Brides, based not far from me in Spencers Wood, south of Reading to photograph around 100 wedding dresses. Today we shot around 30 beautiful wedding dresses with the rest being schedule for next week. As you might imagine, the dresses themselves are quite heavy and large to transport so I took my studio equipment to the Village Brides showroom and set everything up there. I was amazed by the variety of dresses and the many different styles. The pictures are for Julia’s publicity for a major bridal trade show and exhibition in September.

Michelle and Tom’s Buxted Park Hotel Wedding

admin — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 22:59:40 +0000

I’ve had a brilliant year this year, shot some lovely weddings in great locations. Maybe it’s just luck but all my brides and grooms have been wonderful, none more so Tom and Michelle whose wedding today at Buxton Park Hotel in Sussex was great fun to photograph. I’d not photographed at Buxton Park before and enjoyed it immensely as it was one of those wedding venues that has plenty of room inside and out for the wedding guests to mingle and enjoy the afternoon. The bridal suite where Michelle and her sister Nicola got ready was huge – with great big bathroom, ideal for shooting pictures.

The complete gallery goes up when Tom and Michelle get back from their 4 week honeymoon. If you would like an email when the gallery goes live please click here.

In the meantime here’s a few images that I liked.

Gotta start with a photograph of the shoes -

Michelle get’s tiara’ed (I’ve invented a new verb).

Tom, pre-ceremony.

And on with the frock.

I like the depth in this shot.

There’s never a bridesmaid around when you need one!

One nice touch with the wedding was the petals scattered over the flagstones of the ceremony room. Of course someone decided tbey needed tidying up, And handing out to the guests :)

Small bridesmaids, waiting to be unleashed.

Tom catches sight of his beautiful bride.

This is a fine example of paparazzi pose nr. 17b.

The brand new Mr. and Mrs. released into the wild.

A couple of favourite bride and groom portraits.

The new Mrs. C.

Some favourite reception images.

Tom waits to get stitched up during the FOB’s speech.

PHOTOBOOTH TIME!

The first dance, I love taking pictures of this part of the day.

Only married a couple of hours and already Tom’s been snapped up!

Thanks again Tom and Michelle, have a great time in Canada and Hawaii!

Pennyhill Park Wedding – Sarah and Chris

admin — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 22:50:07 +0000

A beautiful Saturday morning and I am at Pennyhill Park Hotel for the wedding of Chris and Sarah. Pennyhill Park Hotel is one of my favourite wedding venues – I first shot there in 2001 and have had the pleasure of recording many happy days there since. Chris and Sarah were great to work with, we met for some engagement pictures a few weeks ago and I knew then the wedding was going to be great fun to shoot. I’d been booked to shoot the evening celebrations, the first dance and also the hyde end studios photobooth so we were all set for a terrific day.

On Monday morning after the wedding, Chris texted me “The entire day was as we dreamt it would be…”

You can’t ask for more than that, can you?

Sarah and Chris are sunning themselves in the Far East so here’s a few images to tide you over until the complete gallery is uploaded. If you’d like to know when that is, click here and I’ll send you an email.

A couple of detail shots from the venue.

Apart from a beautiful bride, beautiful shoes are needed for the perfect wedding day.

Sarah gets ready…

…Chris waits downstairs.

A little detail shot.

At the top of Pennyhill Parks main staircase

A brand new wedding ring…

To have and to hold.

A couple of favourite images of the C & S.

mmmm pudding is on the way…

The receiving line.Photobooth!

Thanks again, Chris and Sarah. Have a brilliant honeymoon and see you when you get back.