First trip back this year for some weddings. I have one in Kent and one in Richmond, both will be great I know it. I am also going to a school friend’s wedding that I am extremely excited about. Extremely. Also going to try to hook up with some other very good wedding photographer so we can all work together in the same style as I am just getting so many wedding photography enquiries this year but, obviously, living in Mexico most of time, I am unable to do most of them.

Well, there has been a great deal more talk of weddings in the last week that usual. Even I had a moment of weakness in my studio when I logged onto Radio 4 for the Royal Wedding coverage. I ended up listening (very happily) to the entire day’s commentary of the event. Even my girlfriends – who are generally interested neither in weddings, dresses or the monarchy – let alone all of these combined – admitted feeling ‘moved and excited’ by Kate and Will’s (or should it be Kate and Wills’s) nuptials. I also heard several comments on the dress (all good) from people who rarely speak of anything but international politics or the latest NGO they’re setting up. My dad still keeps asking me why I didn’t get the job as the wedding photographer – I also find it very strange that I did not – I mean how else would the royal family find a wedding photographer if not by typing in ‘wedding photographer London’ into Google. Some people are so old-fashioned.

Right, returning to London for the second time this year, first time was all for other non-wedding work but this time it is for everything. I’ll be doing lots of scanning and printing for a portrait series as well the wedding photography for two weddings. I’m also going to a friend’s wedding as a non-photographer (commonly known as a ‘guest’) which will be seriously nice. The first wedding I am the photographer for is in Richmond, Surrey the second is in Kent somewhere – the bride was put onto me by someone who’s wedding I photographed in the past. Both will be very nice and pretty to photograph I imagine. And I am actually looking forward to them! Oh England!

I have just got a more few bookings for wedding photography jobs in London and UK this year but am hoping for more….. I have one in May in Kent, one or two in London in August and one a friend’s in Dorset that I am really looking forward to. It’s funny, I really feel as though I will not be so nervous when working as a wedding photographer this year, I actually feel quite excited about them all, a bit of nerves is definitely a good thing but I just feel so experienced and so confident in this arena now that I think I will enjoy them more than ever before and will hopefully do a better job than ever before as well.

I was so pleased how these wedding photographs came out. The couple were so nice and happy so I thought I would do a good job, the outcome wasn’t all due to my skill! Sometimes it seems very easy to do a very good job and sometimes a bit more of a struggle. The help I got in organising the group photos was faultless, the ushers were incredibly officious, I don’t think it did any harm that many of them were ex-army, including the groom.?Seriously funny speech from the clearly brilliant best man, I was in hysterics, the speeches can be so moving and so amusing sometimes, despite not really knowing the couple, I just love the speeches. There was also an extremely moving aspect to these speeches in particular. There was also quite a crazy magic trick guy who everyone seemed to enjoy massively. This was my last wedding photography job this year so felt especially pleasing to end on such a note. Next Saturday, our own wedding party (got married in Mexico in May at short notice and with few guests, more from Mario’s side but still very few, so wanted to come over a celebrate with my family and our friends here, actually most importantly I wanted all my family and friends to meet Mario as otherwise it could have been ages until they make it to Mexico or we make it London together). I feel immensely satisfied with this year’s wedding photography jobs. They get better and better every year as I get more and more confident and also I hope, better and better at this part of my work.

So nice to photograph a wedding of someone I know. This one was in near Newbury in Berkshire with a very nice couple (who also happen to be fantastically good looking). I went to boarding school in Dorset with Jessica (the bride) and there were a few old friends and acquaintances at the wedding, very fun to catch up with them. Jess was unbelievably relaxed and was ready after half an hour before all her bridesmaids, very funny and very rare. The group shots were very easy and informal and came out really well. I also did a shot of everyone from an upstairs window. An extremely pleasant wedding to photograph!

A long drive to a beautiful part of Somerset. All the bridal party where getting ready in a newly done up farm house that the couple had recently moved into, no electricity I seem to remember, quite impressive. All was quite hectic but got some really fun photos, especially of the very outgoing bride. The reception was at Bishop’s Palace, a very impressive medieval building where the bishop of Bath still lives. There were very nice cats in the grounds to chat to as well, quite smug living in such surroundings. Again, lots and lots of fun and laughter at the reception and got lots of nice pictures. The drive back to London lasted forever, I think I must have taken a very bad route back to the M4, logistics logistics.

Started off at the bride’s flat in Bath, everyone very relaxed and got some really sweet shots. Then….my sat nav took my to the wrong church, as I drove for longer and longer I realised I must be going to the wrong place so turned around, knowing that by this time I would be late, then got stuck at some traffic lights on a bridge for what seemed like forever, nightmare stuff. Usually I will have left from wherever the bride is getting ready substantially earlier than her for precisely this reason but this time it just did not happen, everything was quite last minute and then I got stuck behind wedding car getting out of the drive. Eventually, feeling decidedly un-relaxed, I arrived at the church, late, ran up the path and saw the bridal party waiting outside the church looking slightly nervous. Luckily the bride was extremely chilled out and was not too worried. I think they had only been there for a couple of minutes. Anyway, a horrible start, has never happend to me before and I will make sure it never happens to me again. The reception was great, sunny and with lots of games outside on the lawn. The bride made a speech which I always approve of so I enjoyed that.

And finally a wedding to photograph in London! It is just so nice to have one less thing to worry about and one less thing that can go wrong, ie transport to somewhere far away that you have to drive to. I love tubing to weddings, it just feels so easy and nice not worrying about traffic or breaking down. A very beautiful bride her super fun and friendly Spanish family. The groom was a very nice professor of pharmacology or something equally or more impressive. I first went The Berkely where Catherine (the bride) was getting ready and then literally next door to St Paul’s, Knightsbridge for the ceremony. The reception was in a fancy restaurant, also in Knightsbridge I think, called Roussillon. The party was great and everyone laughed lots at the speeches and I got some really nice photographs. I was very pleased with the results. And…..they had an incredible 10 course (or something like that) meal and I was given every course, so nice of them, such luxury….I never again expect to be so well fed when working as a wedding photographer.

Just photographed one of the most excellent weddings at a place called Newick Park in Sussex, one of the sweetest brides ever and such a beautiful day, so great. Truly impressive and fun, one of those weddings that makes me feel that this part of my work is unbelievably good, has made me very happy.