Georgina and Stuart's Oxford organic wedding

I got out of the train to the rain lashing down and the sky dark with forbidding clouds...oh dear, this wasnt the perfect spring weather I had been hoping for, and this certainly wasnt the right coat to be wearing! But as I entered Harris Manchester College, Oxford and saw the beautiful settings that had been arranged in the Arlosh Hall my excitement grew for what was a brilliant wedding - hells bells to the rain!

The whole ethos of the wedding was to be easy on the environment, so the flowers were locally grown (by Bath Organic Blooms) and there were baskets of wild and spring flowers as table decorations that could be taken away by the guests at the end of the day. The cake was baked and decorated by a friend of Stuart's mum's and the band - the Sultana Brothers (which were rocking) was from where Georgina's family are based in Shropshire....best of all everyone was fed by home reared lamb and watered by a keg of good old beer.

Georgina is hilarious - she's so funny and easy going and amazingly clever. Stuart is perfect for her as she is for him, being the quieter but strong in his support of her. Together they make a truly perfect match...something you could see all day, from the quiet look when they met at the alter, to the laugher they shared afterwards as their family congratulated them and their amazing first dance at the end of the night. Here are a few of my favourite pictures...

I love this picture of Bo, Georgina's sister Elizabeth and Georgina's mum all helping her into her dress - swoon, how fab was the dress?! Lots of lace but also a great overlay of lace with stitched polkadots - it really stood out when it came to the dancing in St Edmonds Hall with the purple lighting.
I love this one too - Elizabeth and Emily sorting out the train of Georgina's dress.

Stuart looking down the aisle as Georgina is walking towards him - this gives me goosebumps - I know it doesnt seem much, but its the look that Stuart has. Love it.

And here's Georgina with her dad - beaming!

We had a really fun - and quick photoshoot, and this was one of the pictures where they are both smiling at the camera (rather than cracking up laughing which each other).

I grabbed this picture as they were walking back to their guests after our shoot - it just came together.
The reception and the speaches were fantastic, and so much laughter and a laid back atmosphere it was great. I love this picture of Elizabeth laughing...I would say in terms of photograph, whilst round tables seem to be the trend, its the long tables that are the best for photographing - you can get lots more people in a frame, and it is easier to take more candid pics of people...just in case you were wondering whether to have long tables Id say Definitely!

The evening dancing and merriment took place in St Edmonds Hall, which was a short walk from Harris Manchester College. So at about 8pm all the guests armed themselves with lanterns and walked down old alleyways to arrive at St Edmonds Hall...Photography wise I didnt want to use a flash - it would have killed the atmosphere, so instead had a high ISO and hired a particularly fast lens for the occasion (50mm L f1.2)...and hopefully you agree it was worth it - I think so!

I love this picture - look closely, you have the singer of the band, the best man grinning, someone taking a picture, one of the bridesmaids looking on, and a couple wrapped in each other - and then you have Georgina and Stuart and that dress, lit up - beautiful.

This is a picture of the Arlosh Hall whilst everyone was inside eating pudding. I dashed out before the light went completely and took a series of pictures...this is where the rain can really work well, reflecting the light from windows on the wet surfaces. Love the atmosphere of this shot.