Welsh College of Music and Drama Wedding Photography

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The Welsh College of Music and Drama was the venue for this Wedding and it was no ordinary wedding, it was the marriage of our very close friends Sera & Stuart and we were honoured to be involved in their big day from planning to pre-wedding photographs to attending and photographing on the day and enjoying being guests!  Sera started her day at Jolyons No.10 where Victoria from MAC Make Up expertly applied Sera’s and her daughter Georgia’s make up whilst their hair was coiffeured by Sarah Bonet who is a freelance hairdresser and Harry from Belle Toujours.  Sacha helped Sera in to her stunning ‘So Sassi’ Wedding Gown from High Society, it suited her perfectly, so elegant covered in small sequins and with padded shoulder straps and then Georgia in to her sleek, black Desi Bridesmaid dress, Sera rocked her dress with a fab pair of black Kurt Geiger shoes that were a gift from Georgia!  Sera’s son Sam arrived looking smart suited & booted in readiness to give her away.  Sera had chosen deep purple Cala-Lilies for her bouquet which incorporated a small photograph of her late Dad Tony and white Cala-Lillies for Georgia’s the contrast with their dresses was striking, Karen from The Florist in Birchgrove had done an amazing job.  We met Stu and his Best Man Shane outside the old converted stables at The College of Music & Drama, where both the ceremony and the wedding breakfast were to be held both looking extremely dapper in their Red Herring suits and managed to get a few pics of them before Sera arrived.  the cute Flower Girls Izzy, Lily Rose & Ruby were waiting patiently for Sera to arrive too in their pretty dresses.
Sam proudly walked Sera down the aisle, the ceremony was very relaxed and included a reading by one of Sera’s best friends Sarah!  In true Sera & Stu style they ‘rocked’ back down the aisle to Madness ‘It must be love…’ to which we all joined in to sing them out!  Once we had taken a few photographs the wedding breakfast took place and we enjoyed beautiful food prepared by the college and  the orange cake made by Paul at Happy Occasion Cakes fitted in beautifully for desert, with the wine & prosecco flowing it was on to the speeches!  Sera’s brother Nigel had written an awesome poem about him & Sera growing up which was just hilarious, Stu followed with a heartfelt poem that was completed with a slideshow of photographs compiled from their favourite occasions taken over the last couple of years, including some of their pre-wedding shoot with us!  Shane ended the speeches with some genuine, meaningful words and some funny stories thrown in for good measure. The colour theme for the day was black, orange and white, the button holes were orange Cala-Lillies and Karen had decorated the tables with orange gerberas in tall vases, Emma Hall Designs had supplied the chair covers with black sashes.  After our meal we went back outside where Sera, Stu and some of their family members released huge balloons from Dave at Cardiff Balloons with messages attached to Sera’s late dad Tony, a really moving gesture, then it was time to party!  The main entrance to The Welsh College of Music and Drama had been transformed in to a stylish party venue, with the band The Kiltics set up and the evening guests arrived Sera & Stu made their entrance by walking across the walkway above the room much to everyone’s delight.  Once they had kicked the evening off with their First Dance the dance floor didn’t empty as The Kiltics played all the best tunes!!
If you’d like to get in touch or view more weddings from Cardiff Wedding Photographers Andy & Sacha of A.L.S Photography please visit our contact and blog pages and feel free to have a look around.

Carten 100 Cycle Event 2015

 

[dt_gap height=”10″ /]Carten 100 Cycle Event 2015

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Carten 100!  Cardiff to Tenby, 105 miles, on a bike, why would you?!!!!  To have a great day out with your cycling buddies and to raise money for charity of course!  We followed 1700 riders who started out from the Cardiff City Stadium and arrived in Tenby Town Centre anything from 71/2 to 14 hours later, it is not a competition so a very relaxed atmosphere with plenty of stops along the way at pubs, a harbour, organised water stations and village shops.  The weather was kind to them in the end, though most had got soaked first thing in the morning, the weather improved as the day went on and the sun shone which made the journey slightly easier even though there was a head wind on times – also made it more fun for us spectators too!!  It was an absolutely awesome achievement for everyone who took part and the organisers had done a brilliant job from transporting cyclists kit to laying on food & drink for them at the finish!

 

Chinese Wedding Photography Wales & UK

Chinese Wedding Photography Wales & UK

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Great Fosters in Egham, Surrey was the gorgeous setting for this Chinese Wedding, it was our first wedding of the season, also our first Chinese one, we were so honoured to be asked to capture all of the ceremonies that were performed throughout the day that included ancient Chinese Customs that had been passed down through the generations.  It was an early start for all of us as Siene had to be ready a couple of hours prior to their Civil ceremony so that Wing had time to play the traditional pre-ceremony games that lead to his greeting Siene and her family.  Wing and his five Groomsmen, including his brother Yuen were encouraged to perform some bizarre forfeits such as, wearing frilly knickers, passing balloons between themselves without using their hands and waxing sections of the hair on their legs!  Wing was finally accepted by Siene’s Bridesmaid Elyn as suitable to meet Siene and her cousins led him to her.  So the first ‘Tea Party’ of the day took place and a lot of tea was drunk and gifts were passed from Siene’s family to Wing, with all of Siene’s family watching on, it was a little crowded in the hotel room, however, it made for a great atmosphere.  When it was time to leave the hotel to head to Weybridge Registry Office for the Civil ceremony, Siene’s Uncle lead her to the car under a red umbrella and Wing’s Father Kim drove them both, the rest of Wing’s family were waiting at the registry office for them.  The ceremony was lovely, attended by close family and friends, the Registry office is a lovely old building with pretty gardens, so we photographed the first of two confetti shots that day in the small garden along with a couple of immediate family groups before heading back to the hotel.  Even though it wasn’t the warmest day, it was dry and we could walk around the grounds photographing in the many pretty areas including the building itself, then around to the bridge, where the Bridal Party joined us for some photographs and for general antics, they were all great fun!  Once we had photographed all of their family & friends groups, the Big Group of everyone and the second confetti shot, we could all get back into the warm and listen to Paul Holgate a Frank Sinatra Tribute singer!  There were more traditions to come such as Siene changing in to her second outfit of the day, which was red and beautifully embroidered and once the wedding breakfast had been served, Siene & Wing walked around to each table and said a ‘Yamsay’ (cheers) the competition was fierce to be the loudest and make it last the longest!  Fabulous speeches followed, then came the ‘Tea Party’ from Wing’s relatives welcoming Siene officially in to their family.  The whole day had been so much fun, with so much going on and everyone enjoying every aspect of it, as we enjoyed capturing it.  The First Dance kicked off the evening entertainment and teh floor was soon full of guests dancing, only stopping to grab some hog roast for supper!

 

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Our style of wedding photography is a mix of documentary photography, unobtrusively capturing moments, personality and emotion with natural, fine art style Bridal Portraits at a variety of wedding venues in and around Cardiff, South Wales and the UK.  For a further look at our images of our Cardiff, South Wales Wedding photography, please have a look at our Gallery or other Blog Posts and if you have any questions about our services don’t hesitate to leave a comment below or contact us.  Also if you would like to arrange your own Family, Child or Couples Portrait Session please email [email protected]

Family Portrait South Wales

South Wales Family Portrait

[dt_gap height=”10″ /]Family Portrait Shoot Vale of Glamorgan

We are back with this gorgeous family to welcome their new addition Archie!!  Having photographed Jules & Dave’s Wedding at The Coed Y Mwstwr Hotel, their first born Evan when he was a baby and a toddler, it is safe to say that we know the family really well and have a giggle with them all when we are asked to photograph them!  Capturing them in their lovely home means they are all comfortable and if Archie needed comforting and Evan needed occupying whilst we were photographing Archie, everything is on hand!  Archie obliged beautifully and slept throughout his shoot, then Evan made sure he was awake for their joint pics!  And then we added the ‘grown ups’, the perfect family shoot!

 

 

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Our style of portrait photography is a mix of documentary photography, unobtrusively capturing fun, moments and personalities at natural locations.  For a further look at our images of our South Wales Portrait photography, please have a look at our Gallery or other Blog Posts and if you have any questions about our services don’t hesitate to leave a comment below or contact us.  Also if you would like to arrange your own Family, Child or Couples Portrait Session please email [email protected]

Central Coast Portugal

Foz Do Arelho Portugal

 

[dt_gap height=”10″ /]Central Coast Portugal – Nazare, Peniche, Obidos and Foz Do Alerho

Here are some images from the coastal region in Central Portugal.  We stayed at Nazare, a popular seaside resort at the base of a huge cliff on Portugal’s Silver Coast/Costa De Prata.  This stretch of coastline is a surfing mecca with the famous ‘Suprtubes’ at Peniche and the Big Wave Break at Nazare, click on this video to view a world record 100 foot wave surfed!  Also in the area is the beautiful Roman hilltop town of Obidos, a great place to explore the narrow streets and stop for some local seafood!  the sunset shots are taken at the beautiful lagoon at the coastal town of Foz Do Arelho a great spot for a sundowner!

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For a further look at our images of our Cardiff, South Wales landscape and travel photography, please have a look at our Gallery or other Blog Posts and if you have any questions about our services don’t hesitate to leave a comment below or contact us.  Also if you would like to arrange your own Family, Child or Couples Portrait Session please email [email protected]

Aviero & Porto Northern Portugal

Kopke Port House Porto

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Aviero & Porto

Here are a few images of our recent trip to Aviero & Porto in the North of Portugal.  We stationed ourselves just below Aviero, a beautiful old town set on Canals complete with Gondolas.  On the other side of a lagoon is the Atlantic beach that stretches for miles and fringed with colourful striped beach houses.  From Aviero we took about an hour long train to get to the centre of Porto to spend the day discovering this beautiful city along the banks of the Duoro river.  Even in the cold and rain, we absolutely loved the compact city centre.  Of course we had to visit one of the many Port houses that flank the river.  We chose the Kopke Port House recognised as the first and oldest and had a memorable tasting session, what better way to shelter from the rain?

 

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For a further look at our images of our Cardiff, South Wales landscape and travel photography, please have a look at our Gallery or other Blog Posts and if you have any questions about our services don’t hesitate to leave a comment below or contact us.  Also if you would like to arrange your own Family, Child or Couples Portrait Session please email [email protected]

South Wales Baby Portrait

Newborn Portrait South Wales

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South Wales Baby Portrait

We first met Natalie and Dan when Natalie was a Bridesmaid at a Wedding we photographed, so we were extremely pleased to hear from them just before Reuben was born to ask us to photograph him!  It is always a good idea to be thinking about the Newborn Baby Shoot prior to giving birth as it is the last thing that you think of once that gorgeous new bundle arrives, but if we know when the baby is due we can keep in touch and know that when the baby is born that we need to diarise a date for when the baby is between 8 & 12 days old.  Reuben was amazing, so were Natalie and Dan, Natalie providing top up refreshment for Reuben and Dan providing coffee for us 🙂  He slept for pretty much most of the shoot, allowing us to change backdrops and props, we always bring a few items along, however, it is always nice to include personal items to the baby, we even incorporated some of Dan’s Fireman Uniform!

Our style of portrait photography is a mix of documentary photography, unobtrusively capturing fun, moments and personalities at natural locations in and around Cardiff, South Wales.  For a further look at our images of our South Wales, Cardiff Portrait photography, please have a look at our Gallery or other Blog Posts and if you have any questions about our services don’t hesitate to leave a comment below or contact us.  Also if you would like to arrange your own Family, Child or Couples Portrait Session please email [email protected]

Angela Gray’s Cookery School

Wales Food Photography Angela Gray Team

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Wales Food Photography at Angela Gray’s Cookery School

Here are a few images from part two of a our shoot at Angela Gray’s Cookery School in Llanerch Vineyard, this time we photographed the ‘Lunch Club‘!  Angela and the team needed images for their fresh new website which has recently gone live.  Watching people’s faces whilst Angela was explaining what she was cooking, including methods and ingredients was fun, they were so captivated and delighted with the results – as were we!!!!  We were also lucky enough to have a pasta demonstration and got a chance to try out some of the equipment.  Sacha has even tried to make one of the pastry dishes – think she needs to go on a course with Angela!!!  Please click this link for further information on the cookery courses.

For a further look at our food photography Wales, please have a look at our Gallery or other Blog Posts and if you have any questions about our services don’t hesitate to leave a comment below or contact us.

Llansantffraed Court Hotel Wedding Photography

Wedding Photographer Llansantffraed Court Hotel

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Llansantffraed Court Hotel Wedding Photography

Llansantffraed Court Hotel was the stunning venue for the wedding of Nikki & Tom on a chilly but dry December day! Nikki got ready at the venue where Alex Gallop applied beautiful make up and Lisa Bidwell styled her and her Sister Helen’s hair, Helen was also Nikki’s Bridesmaid.  Their Mum Jane was on hand to assist with proceedings like lacing up the beautiful gown that Nikki had chosen from Tantrums and Tiaras in Sittingbourne and adding the veil, whilst Helen helped adding the shoes and jewellery. Continue reading