Brecon Castle Hotel hosts a Valentine's day Wedding

Craig y Nos Parc a beautiful place to relax on your wedding day

       As the bride said to me when arriving at her mother’s house, I failed to recognize her. “I scrub up well, don’t I?” 

She' s in the pink! Wedding day glamour for Angharad

        Always a pretty girl, the joy and excitement of her wedding day transformed her into a beauty. When I mentioned this,  I got a sardonic hmph! 
"Being made up to within an inch of your life will do it every time!"

         The bride on the arm of her father comes down the aisle of Saint David's church in Abercraf, South Wales. 

For more gorgeous brides visit my website

Weddings in charming Welsh Churches

October  6th 2012

St Crallo's, a lovely Welsh wedding in February

A wedding at St David's beautiful church in Abercrave in 2013

A nice wet Sunday morning and time to have a look at the interior of a church where I shall be covering a wedding in February. No point in going on a sunny summer’s day when I’m trying to reassure myself that I shan’t need to use flash during the service.

     What a joy, the church looks stunning from the outside and has a large area around it, where if it is not pouring I can perhaps grab some formal shots before the guests set off across the Brecon Beacons to the reception. Despite the large number of soldiers amongst the guests presumably they are driving rather than yomping.

     The interior stained glass windows are an attractive mix of ancient and modern style and the walls are a charming light cream colour with none of the dark nooks and crannies that older churches have. (Photographer chortling with glee as no need to fight with the vicar about how and when a flash gun may be used!) And if, with permission, I do use one at all, lots of light walls to bounce it off.

Light and bright, the church of St David in Abercrave, a photographers delight

   

    The main thing to note is that many of the parishioners park their cars on the asphalt entrance.  Hopefully the bride and groom can discourage this or they will  lose the picturesque background this handsome building makes and our chance of getting some formal groups in the can before everyone gets into the chocolate fountain waiting at the reception venue!

As yet no details on their choice of vehicle?!

For more beautiful brides in picturesque churchyards click this link

    

Striking fear into your wedding photographer

When discussing their wedding day, there is one phrase that bridal couples, very occasionally, come up with, that reduces me to goldfish status ie: mouth open, blowing silent bubbles and totally unable to communicate!

         “We only want a couple of pictures”.
 I might understand if the words came from an older couple who consider themselves un-photogenic and dread ploughing through 500 plus images of themselves, looking less attractive than they were in their youth, but the older age group are much more positive. 

         Older couples seem to know exactly what they want "Two hours flat " and then please disappear photographer. Or the full works. 

Bridal bliss looks wonderful at Coity Castle

When they order an album this age group know how to make a big effort and look wonderful.
Looking wonderful is not the only issue here. For those 'plighting their troth' who do not marry 
in church, how should such a momentous day be recorded, if not by photographs and an album, preserving the photographs for posterity? Even more importantly these albums are charming records to be enjoyed by their children (and the children from previous marriages) and their children
ie: the grandchildren of the bridal pair. All of which is right and proper and exactly how it should be.
 (And what's more the kids love them).

 I would like to explain to those who who utter these words, as a prelude to trying to book a photographer for an hour or two, my first thought which is:

          "But I might not get anything!"

The one thing that strikes terror into the heart of any photographer, let alone a wedding
photographer, is the chance that he/she might not have the opportunity to do justice to
 the subject (in his/her own judgement).
          During the event the best photographs may not come from from any of the set pieces.
          The arrival of the bride
          The ceremony
          The kiss
          The walk down the aisle
          The cutting of the cake
          The first dance
          Or even from the photographs of the couple immediately after the ceremony in
the twenty or so minutes allotted to the photographer (although often this time does
produce lovely shots which form the anchor stone of the album).

Wedding day magic, they do it with mirrors

 Reluctant subjects are not unusual, some men consider their wedding day as a chance for a binge with their mates.........
          On one occasion the bride and groom were not speaking by the time it came to cutting the cake, let alone sharing the first dance.  So there simply were no pictures of these moments. However having got some delightful shots earlier, with a bit ofcreativity, the album was a great success. (With the bride at least).
         Did they live happily ever after.......... so far history does not relate!

Moved to tears by the beauty of his bride

    For more touching moments on my website just click here      

        

Glamorous wedding day memories

Years of wedding day photography leave me in no doubt that sunny skies and fabulous seascapes  provide a wonderful setting for any wedding. If your budget runs into the tens of thousands and you can afford to bring the entire family and many of your friends to a top end resort in Antigua or the Costa del Sol your photographs will be fabulous and you will have a day to remember all your life.

Galleon Bay in romantic Antigua in the Caribbean

     Wonderful Hotels with beautiful grounds proliferate in the high end, jet setters paradise venues of Caribbean Islands, Marbella on the Spanish Costa del Sol, and the French Riviera. If money is no object what better way to spend it, than to bring all your family and friends on a holiday of a lifetime to celebrate your wedding. 

       The warm turquoise seas and white sandy beaches of the Caribbean live up to and exceed expectations while the life style of T-shirts and flip flops is relaxed and simple, however the mosquitoes at certain times of year are ferocious, so brides to be should pack anti-hystemine tablets and repellents to be on the safe side.

        The French Riviera is well known for it's sophisticated locations, boutiques and yachts and Marbella on the Costa del Sol has a similiar vibe with wonderful churches and old town scenery.                      

Probably the only downside to both are the hideous coastal motorways and the constant roar of traffic.

  

        On their wedding day the bridal pair stroll in the grounds of their Spanish Hotel

    The gorgeous grounds of King Arthur's Hotel in Wales are not very different, the lake is a little smaller but the green countryside surrounding it seems to go on forever. Bring your own swans and, yes of course, an umbrella, just in case.  

King Arthur's Hotel Reynoldston on the Gower peninsula, not so different



For  more pictures of King Arthur's Hotel, Margam Park, and Swansea venues click here

Marquee surrounded by beautiful grounds

      However, much nearer to home are some outstanding wedding locations in South Wales: 
 the Castle Hotel Brecon, Margam Park in Glamorganshire near Bridgend and many scenic areas on the Gower peninsula and Swansea Bay.

Margam Park historic wedding venue in West Glamorganshire Wales

The weather is cooler and the historic stones are older.

Hot enough for a barefoot walk in the grass above Swansea Bay in Wales

Gower peninsula Wedding proves Cakewalk for photographer

       Probably the only easy 'bride and groom with wedding cake' moment I ever had was in Reynoldston on the Gower. So delightful were the couple with each other over the tricky job of cutting the cake that they provided an entire page of pictures for their album. 

Gower Peninsula, Swansea. A piece of cake.

     In theory it should be easy, you the bride should wave the knife around foolishly (as if you'd never cut a cake before) until your new husband steps forward in manly fashion to help you cut the wedding cake, this should produce a charming image and make your photographer very happy.

       Estepona on the Costa del Sol provided another great moment with a wedding cake, not that this couple showed any interest in cutting it.

Wedding on the Costa del Sol, Estepona

Not the cake anyway.

Wedding at the Gower golf club in Swansea Beccie and Simon cut their cake

         This pic is really what as a photographer I'd rather didn't happen. I don't encourage couples to look straight at me when they cut their cake but I don't want to be posing everything up and telling them what to do either. In the end, as I hadn't seen the groom look this happy and relaxed all day, it seemed to be one to go with.

          To look at more Swansea weddings and more of my pictures click here

             

Photo-journalistic Wedding Photography

      Looking at wedding websites on line, both in Wales and in Spain, I see that for many wedding photographers, the current buzz word is photo-journalism. I imagine that the suggestion is that the photographer shoots what he sees and not the line-ups of family and friends so dear to the hearts of brides and their families the world over.

      For somebody who was a photo-journalist for 25 years (ie: earned my living as a photographer and occasionally wrote articles for newspapers) it’s irritating because it’s incorrect. Anything except hard news, war zones (and even here, history relates, a slightly singed teddy bear has been known to be strategically placed in scenes of devastation to increase the pathos) and sports photography, were totally posed and controlled by the photographer.

Wimbledon 1986 we were not disappointed

   A slice of photo-journalism specifically for everybody who knocks Andy Murray 

      In the late eighties, Andrew Castle, shared two things with Britain's current number one tennis player. His christian name and the fact that he was the British white hope and number one. His highest singles ranking was 80 and in doubles he made it once to the third round of a grand slam tournament but as far as I remember he was never vilified the way our current number one is. In fact he was never vilified at all, he was charming, good looking and we all knew that, "it wasn't the winning that mattered, it was the taking part", after all we were British and that was the British way. Ooh how we've changed.

Andrew Castle down and out in 1986

     In this era of vastly higher tennis ability and achievement Andy Murray has committed only one crime: he has allowed the British public to hope! And so far he has not quite delivered what they want. 

        How greedy and impatient we are!

        Nobody can doubt how talented and committed our gravel voiced Scot is. 

       Don't give up folks, remember Ivanesovic, always there or thereabouts until his last and final slam.




And for a photo-journalistic style of wedding photographs
Go to: patsyfaganphotography.co.uk

Crop Rotation

At PatsyFaganPhotography we believe our job is to make every bride look and feel like a star on her wedding day. So that is what we do.

    But like every other photographer once we get into post production there are issues that arise.
  "To crop or not to crop, that is the question?"

The bride pauses to see the Costa del Sol below her. The shot as taken on the day

For more wedding photographs see my website

http://patsyfaganphotography.co.uk

Nerja on the Costa del Sol, beautiful Christina on her way to the roof of  the Castle Hotel.

A headshot portrait of lovely bride Christina

   There is a theory adhered to by many purist photographers that the only acceptable image is the one framed in the camera on the day. I beg to differ.
      I imagine, in this case, the hotel might like the top one, the bride the second one and the bridegroom the bottom one.
     In the 1st one, the bride adds to the charm of the staircase, with its rustic tiles and lamps.
     In the 2nd one the bride can see how delightful her dress looks and in the 3rd one the bridegroom can clearly see the beautiful face of his new wife.
      Guess what, the photographer likes all three versions!
To choose your wedding photographer click here

http://patsyfaganphotography.co.uk

Dramatic Landscapes in Wales

Moorish landscape under the sun

When I first came up to live in Wales it was with no very clear idea of what I intended to do. After 25 years as a newspaper photographer it was time for a change.

        After getting my tumbledown house on the edge of the Brecon Beacons into a liveable state I set out camera in hand to create life-changing art. I intended to record great, dramatic, soul enhancing Welsh landscapes.

         It never really occurred to me that this is something to which I am totally unsuited.  After a couple of weeks of reducing the rolling scapes of Brecon to flat, unsatisfying prints it began to dawn on me that as I don’t much like walking and I like getting wet as much as the average cat, dramatic climactic effects are perhaps not my area of expertise.  I spent a week of evenings chasing sunsets over Three Cliffs Bay on the beautiful Gower peninsula,  and I got stiff, tired and soaked for my pains without a single glimmer of red or gold in the sky. Every evening the sheep in my field of choice crept nearer and by the last night I swear they were laughing at me. Ha…ha, baahahha!
           As a landscape photographer I was a non starter, I missed the people, the interaction and the pressure of capturing an event.
          In the past I had done many weddings in the course of my journalistic career, it was time to dig out some pictures and start again.
Photojournalistic wedding photography in Wales
http://patsyfaganphotography.co.uk/

Remembering one or two nice waterfalls in the Rhonda Valley while I was shooting a wedding in Margam Park I decided it was too soon to give up. And set my sights on gentler, more attractive landscapes, those that make good wedding venues, the bays around the Gower Peninsula.

Rhossili Bay on the Gower Peninsula

    Gorgeous Rhossili Bay is impossible to spoil and never seems to be crowded with sun worshippers not because it lacks sunshine but perhaps the heat of the sun is not sufficient to encourage even the hardiest worshippers to get their kit off.

Maybe Worms Head is different, it certainly had them basking when I was there.

Worms Head with basking Cattle

Langland Bay on a summer morning

Langland Bay, water's edge with people

Another of my all time favourite bays on the Gower Peninsula is Langland. But it wasn't until I shot this 2nd image just because I was there and it was there that I realised what it is that was missing in my landscapes........People! To contact me on my wedding website:
http://patsyfaganphotography.co.uk/

http://patsyfaganphotography.co.uk/

On a glorious Saturday in June, with no wedding to cover, what better way to spend time in the sun than photographing a junior tennis tournament at Swansea Lawn Tennis and Rackets Club. Unlike a wedding not quite everyone is happy. Many of the under tens lose a match with a few seconds stoic indifference and are soon playing on and off court with their vanquishers. The slightly older ones have a few heartbroken moments in defeat but the atmosphere on the day is that jolly good time is had by all.

THE WEDDING OF CERI CANNON AND ANDREW SMITH

Baby Jessica Louise 

May 4th 2011

Very much the centre of attention at the wedding of Ceri Cannon and her delightful new husband Andrew Smith was their eight week old baby daughter Jessica Louise who behaved delightfully throughout the ceremony and was the only one who appeared completely unaware of the sudden drop in temperature as the brave party approached the beach.




http://patsyfaganphotography.co.uk/