Hugo and Jane at St Michael’s Church, Highgate

On Sunday 22nd January Hugo was christened at St Michael’s Church in Highgate.

It was a lovely to see so many of Jane’s friends and family giving Hugo a special welcome into all our lives.

Jane and Hugo with his Godparents Sacha, Katie, Guy and Alex.

Revd Dr Thomas Renz baptising Hugo.

Jane and Hugo with Godparents and Grandparents.

Jane and Hugo with Rosemary and Paul.

Jane contemplating motherhood at Glastonbury in 2007

As Jane may have anticipated, none of my friends receive any photos without at least one image being included from my extensive (and often embarrassing) back-catalogue of photos.

There are so many to choose from – the parties, the birthdays, the quiet nights out that finished as the sun rose… but this is one of my favourites!

More photos of Jane looking glamorous in wellies can be seen here.

The Torridon hotel, nestling between sea and mountain

Deep in the highlands of Scotland, amid magnificent coastal scenery a slow food revolution is taking place. In the vanguard is Kevin Broome, head chef at The Torridon, perhaps Scotland’s most famous small luxury hotel. His ethos is to use local, fresh ingredients from sutainable sources. By taking this approach, he’s ensured almost all of the food served in the hotel’s elegant wood-pannelled dinning room comes from within a 50 mile radius.

Head Chef at The Torridon, Kevin Broome

The slow food movement began in the 1980′s after Italian food journalist, Carlo Petrini began to campaign against MacDonald’s restaurant opening on the Spanish Steps in Rome. Since then, enlightened chef’s, hoteliers and restauranteurs have embraced its values. The Slow food movement is about food – but it also has a wider meaning, as it questions western societies fast-living culture and advocates returning to a more meaningful pace of life.

‘I moved to The Torridon from Jersey in 2002,’ explained Kevin. ‘I’d been running a couple of two-starred Michelin restaurants. It was a hectic lifestyle, and I’d achieved a local fame of sorts, but we decided it was time for a quiter existence, with more time to ourselves. That’s why the whole slow food philosophy now fits perfectly with what we want from life.’

‘The highlands are a beautiful place to live,’ he continued, ‘and everybody looks out of the window and says, ‘God you must have an open larder here,’ but it’s taken five years to get regular supplies of all the ingredients I want.’

A Loch Torridon Langoustine – or a ‘prawn’ as the fishermen call them

A good example of a hard-to-get-ingrediant, are the Langoustine which the local fishermen simply call ‘prawns.’ Nearly all of the local catch is sent to Spain where the prawns command much higher prices than in the UK. The fishermen run a sophisticated operation. In business-speak, they have a modern integrated supply-chain, to make sure their prawns catch the right plane – but they are also comitted to sustainable fishing.

Hauling creels on ‘The Sea Fox’ one of the Loch Torridon prawn boats. ‘We have good days, and bad days,’ muses Kenny MacLeod, ‘but that’s why they call it fishing and not catching!’

An escape hatch on a creel - this allows the smaller prawns to escape

If the Loch Torridon fishermen don’t carefully manage their stocks then there is a risk the fishing will collapse. Skipper of prawn boat, ‘The Sea Fox,’ Kenny MacLeod explained the changes the local fleet made several years ago. ‘We limited the number of days we fish each year and have ‘escape hatches’ for undersized prawns. We also throw back what we call ‘berried’ prawns. These are the ones carrying eggs – which are of course the next generation of prawns.’

In 2003 this initiative was recognised and the Loch Torridon fishermen were awarded the prestigous Marine Stewardship award by Prince Charles.

Prawns, ready to be served

Enjoying Langoustine in The Torridon’s dining room

The Torridon hotel has managed to divert some of prawns normally sent to Spain and now takes a regular delivery. ‘Our guests love them,’ explains Kevin. ‘But in Britain, shellfish is still seen as a luxury item. People have a mind-set where they will only eat lobster when they go on holiday. But this is daft really. We are surrounded by lobsters and prawns – after all, we are an island!’

Slow food scallops at The Torridon: good, clean and fair food

‘Although we are perceived as a luxury hotel,’ Kevin continued, ‘I’m very happy to put down prawns, scallops or mussel’s simply cooked with some salad – but without any fussy embellishments. These are sometimes seen as Bistro dishes, but I can’t sell enough of them – and when our regular guests come they ask for the local seafood.’

Les, head gardener at The Torridon

Nearly all The Torridon’s salad and vegtables come from its own garden which is tended by Les. He makes modest claims that he isn’t an expert, but this is belied by the fact he’s been gardening and crofting for decades and has an encylopedic knowledge of permaculture.

‘We have a real mix in this garden,’ Les explained. ‘I aim to supply salad leaves on a daily basis with a mix of long lasting crops like brussel sprouts, purple sprouting broccoli, kale and chards.’

‘The key is to make sure it doesn’t all come at once. You have one crop sowing, and then another. The trick is to make sure there is always something available for the kitchen.’

Les has a background in environmental science, and honed his permaculture skills working in forest gardens. ‘In a forest garden you have all the levels that you would have in a natural woodland from the canopy down to the roots and fungi. But those top layers don’t have to be a huge Scotch Pine – the tallest plant could be redcurrants which then helps create a protected habitat for the plants below.’

Raspberries: come back and see us in the summer

The highlands are a beautiful environment – but also a very hard place to grow a diverse and plentiful range of crops. However, Les’s instinctive understanding of the conditions mean the crops continue to grow year on year. The soil is nourished with traditional fertilisers like nettles and comfry, and of course the addition of the readily available sea-weed. Les pauses as his tour of the vegtable beds continues.

‘Gardening,’ he observes, ‘is about soil management. In the same way that growing for the kitchen is about a little and often, the same approach is needed when adding the nutrients that maintain and develop the quality of the soil.’

Up close and personal with a highland cow

As guests arrive at the Hotel, the Highland cattle wandering in the fields adjoinging the trip are impossible to miss. They add a striking visual element to the character of the hotel, and provide intrepid guests with the lively experience of taking the cattle buckets of food. They also provide another source of food for the hotel.

‘All the meat we serve at the hotel is slow reared,’ explains head chef Kevin. ‘Whether its our cattle or the pigs which we get from a very interesting lady called Lucy. She inherited a farm from her parents which was in debt, but she thought she could make it work. She sought out people like myself and said, ‘look, would you be interested in using these ingredients if I breed them for you?’ It meant that she could keep her farm, and I have these fantastic quality ingredients coming into the kitchen.’

‘The meat is outstanding, so I have to very little to do except prepare it, cook it and keep things simple. Lucy now has over 40 people working for her and is a major employer in this area.’

Talk of all these fantastic, local and fresh ingrediants had my mouth watering, and extremly keen to sample them first hand. Except, at The Torridon, its not just about the food, its about the experience. Nothing is rushed, and everything is given time.

The Torridon whisky bar: you won’t leave here thirsty

The perfect evening for me at The Torridon, begins in the whisky bar. The selections of malts on view elicits a sense of excitement and trepidation, but the bar staff are expert at guiding both novice or coinoisseur in the right direction.

A tipple while perusing the menu

While comparing lowland versus highland malts the menu slips its way onto the bar. The choices are superb, but deliberately limited. ‘We don’t do an a la carte menu anymore,’ Kevin explained. ‘Because we work with local, fresh ingredients I do a daily menu with two starters and two main courses. I always do a soup course, a couple of puddings, cheese and that’s it.’

The starter platter – often enjoyed in the bar before going into the main dinning room

There are five course ranging from morsels to whet the appetite to ample main courses.

And then its on to the dinning room. Most people stay at the hotel for two or three nights, and have the same table for breakfast and dinner. ‘It helps them feel at one with us,’ explains Kevin. In a stark contrast to the over-the-top service characteristic of many London restaurants each dish seems to make an understated but perfectly timed arrival from the kitchen.

Organic salmon by candle-light

This particular meal felt like a cullinary tour of the nearby Glen’s, gardens and coastline. Vegtables pointed-out by Les in the garden were now on our plates, next to fish caught by people we’d been chatting to in the local pub the night before.

One of The Torridon’s many specialities is is incredible (and award winning) selection of Scottish cheeses…

… accompanied of course by oat-cakes made in-house.

At the very least, I’d recommend popping into The Torridon for afternoon tea.

There is home made chocolate cake…

…home made shortbread and scones…

… it’s the perfect way to spend a couple of hours.

Time standing still at The Torridon. Just seeing this picture has me looking forward to my next visit.

When you look around the dinning room in the evening, the range of guests is intriguing. There are young, sporty types next to people in the full tweed outfit. What all the guests seem to have in common though is that they’re taking a proper time-out. ‘You watch people de-compress from their busy lives,’ observes Kevin. ‘They arrive in city-mode. The next night they start undoing their tie and you think, ‘right, we’ve got them.’

‘Really,’ he continues, ‘if we do our job properly, time should stop when people arrive at the door of The Torridon. There’s no rush. I would love people to take their watches off and just sit back and relax.”

Karen and Ben were married at St Alfege’s Church, Greenwich on the 10th December 2011. They held their reception at the Old Royal Naval College, London.

Sam and Shane were married at the Crown House Hotel, Essex on the 21st October 2011.

Caroline and Michael were married at the County Hall, Matlock on the 1st October 2011. They held their reception at Chatsworth House, Derbyshire.

Claire and Sean celebrated their wedding at the East Anglian Railway Museum in Essex on the 18th September 2011.

Jennifer and Edmund were married at St Peters in Ayot St Peter on September 17th 2011. They held their reception at Brocket Hall, Hertfordshire.

Emily and Simon were married at St Mary’s Church, Woodham Ferrers, Essex on the 9th July 2011. They held their reception at Greenwood’s Hotel, Essex.

Lizzie and Andrew were married outside at Leez Priory, Essex on the 1st July 2011. They also held their reception at Leez Priory in the lovely converted barns.

Vicky and Mark were married at St James Church, Bushey, Hertfordshire 18th June 2011. They held their wedding reception at Grim’s Dyke Hotel, Middlesex.

Hilary and Malcolm were married in Poles Hall, Hanbury Manor, Hertfordshire on the 28th May 2011. Their wedding breakfast was in the Thundridge Room at Hanbury Manor.

Julie and Scott were married at the Park Lane Hotel on April 23rd 2011.

Rosie and Clive were married on March 5th at Hedingham Castle in Essex.
The following photos are a sneak-peak of their photos. The full gallery will be online by 18th March.

Fiona and Nick were married at Islington Town Hall, London on the 8th January 2011. They held their reception at The Almeida Restaurant, London.

Gabriella and Richard were married at St Mary’s Church Wimbledon on 6th November 2010. They held their reception at The Bank of England Sport’s Centre, London.

Gabriella and her father Geoff walking down the aisle

Richard and Gabriella exchanging vows

Gabriella and Richard’s first kiss

Richard and Gabriella walking down the aisle

This is one of those portraits where everything comes together perfectly – for just a few seconds. As I was photographing Richard and Gabriella in the doorway of the church their daughter Georgia came and joined us. To have this beaming smile from her – at the same time as her Mum and Dad was fantastic.

Gabriella and Richard were driven to the reception in a black cab. Their guests were taken in London red buses (more photos of these will be on the main gallery of photos.)

Gabriella chatting with guests at the reception.

Richard and Gabriella just after walking into their reception.

Geoff’s speech

Richard’s speech

Gabriella’s speech

Great speeches too from best men Tristan and Philip

Gabriella and Richard’s first dance

Gabriella and Richard’s wedding photos will be online by Thursday 2nd December.

Catherine and Brad were married at St Peter’s Italian Church, Clerkenwell on the 9th October. They held their reception at The Andaz, in the City of London.

Cathy getting ready at The Andaz Hotel

Cathy arriving with Ian at St Peter’s

Cathy with her bridesmaids Louise, Nadia, Mia and Jo

Ian giving Cathy’s hand to Brad

A really special moment – as part of the service, the parents told everyone how they felt about Cathy and Brad’s marriage.

Cathy and Brad exchanging rings

Watching the ceremony are Brad’s brother Daniel, and Cathy’s sister Louise. Just over five years ago I photographed Louise’s wedding to Michael in the same church. Cathy and Louise’s parents were also married at St Peter’s.

Confetti outside the church

Cathy and Brad’s guests travelled to the reception on vintage London buses.

Brad chatting with guests at the drinks reception

Cathy at the drinks reception

The Atrium at The Andaz

Cathy and the girls on the balcony

The group photo

The Andaz’s banqueting suite

Cathy chatting during the reception

Ian’s speech

This was a touching speech, full of fatherly anecdotes and a long list of Cathy’s drink-related misdemeanours… it’s what every girl must dream of…

Brad’s speech

Daniel’s speech

Cutting the cake

Cathy and Brad’s first dance

To see Cathy and Brad’s full set of wedding photos click here.

Claudia and Paul were married at St Peter’s Italian Church, Clerkenwell on 25th September 2010. They held their reception at Gibson Hall in The City of London.

Claudia and her Father arriving at the church

Claudia and her Father walking down the aisle

The Church from the organist’s gallery. St Peter’s is a stunning building, and from a photographer’s point of view, it’s great working in such a bright building. But something that is also special about St Peter’s is the relationship the ministers develop with the couples. They really care about the people they marry and promise to pray for them in the years to come.

Claudia and Paul during the ceremony

Claudia and Paul walking down the aisle

Kissing on the steps to The Royal Exchange

Just before this photo was taken, the buses carrying all of Claudia and Paul’s guests zoomed by and they got a big cheer!

The group photo

Paul and Claudia in Gibson Hall’s gardens

The wedding party in the cloisters

Entering the wedding reception

The main room at Gibson Hall

Gibson Hall is a relatively new wedding venue. It used to be a bank and there are some fantastic photos (in the downstairs of the building) showing what it looked like about 100 years ago. It reminded me of the bank in Mary Poppins…

Cutting the cake

John’s speech

Richard and Neil, the best men, during their speech

Claudia’s speech

Claudia and Paul during the reception

Claudia and Paul’s first dance

Claudia and Paul’s wedding photos will be online by Tuesday 12th October.

Amber and Mike were married at the Abbey House Gardens, Malmsbury on the 7th May 2010.

When Amber and Mike were first telling us about their wedding plans, they mentioned that the gardens were quite amazing. And they were right… the Abbey House Gardens are stunning and worth a day-trip to go and see them. They’ve been created by Ian and Barbara – also known as ‘The Naked Gardeners’ – and they have ample photographic evidence to prove their unusual style of horticulture.

The Gardens from above. Being slightly more conservative than Ian and Barbara – and more susceptable to the cold than I imagine they are – I’m quite happy to be known as ‘The fully clothed wedding photographer (with an extra jumper in his bag just incase.)’

Amber, about half-an-hour before the ceremony.

Mike, about 12 years before the ceremony, contemplating Glam Rock. (As Mike is one of my oldest friends, he must have known that an old photo would appear from the archives.)

Mike and his Dad share a moment in the hotel before the ceremony.

Mike and the fellas walking to The Abbey House.

Amber and the bridesmaids in the grounds of Malmsbury Abbey.

The registrars in Wiltshire seem to run a stricter regime than those in other counties – and for a while it seemed that they might prohibit any photographs of the ceremony. However, due to some delicate negotiations, with a great deal of help from Barbara the venue’s owner, the registrars allowed me to photograph Amber and Mike exchanging their rings.

Mike and Amber just after the first kiss.

Walking down the aisle.

Amber and Mike’s first glass of Champagne

Ambers boquet resting in the gardens.

Mike and Amber chatting with guests during the drinks reception.

The chess set on the lawn.

Fiona and Andy remember that they’ve left the kids with their folks.

The group photo.

Amber and Mike in the gardens.

Mike and Amber with Andy and Fiona (on the right) and me and Bronny (on the left.) I got to know Mike because he was good friends with Andy and Fiona at Leeds University. Over the years we’ve been to dozens of parties together, had some great times and due to my travels in the USA, I’ve visited Mike several times since he moved to Chicago seven years ago.

It is always a privilidge to photograph someone’s wedding, but it was very special to be asked by Mike and Amber to photograph their wedding. Bronny and I were very touched that Mike – one of the most considerate people I’ve ever met – even thought to mention our recent wedding during his speech.

Amber’s Dad just before giving his toast.

Mike’s Mum during the speeches.

Mike’s speech.

Amber’s Mum during the speeches.

Mike’s brother and best man Julian during his speech.

Lead singer and drummer of pop sensation ‘Circus Mcgurkus’ laughing during the speeches.

Mike and Amber kiss at the end of the speeches.

Amber and Mike dancing the night away.

I’d also like to say a big thank-you to Mike and Amber for the very generous donation they made to Mibila Village Clinic – a project that provides primary healthcare for 5,000 people in rural Zambia. I have supported this project for several years with Tavistock Avenue Photography and The Gadget Scientist. Read more about Mibila Village Clinic.

To see more photos from Mike and Amber’s wedding:
Highlights
Full wedding gallery

Jenny and Conor were married on 24th April 2010. The ceremony was held at Ealing Abbey with the reception at One Whitehall Place.

Jenny and her getting ready at her parents house

It was the first time I’d been to Ealing Abbey – its a magnificent and beautifully maintained church.

Conor with his bestman and ushers

Jenny arriving at the Abbey

Jenny and her father walking down the aisle

The ceremony was conducted by Abbott Martin

Conor and Jenny during mass

Jenny and Conor in the doorway of the Abbey at the end of the ceremony.

The group photo – this took a couple of minutes to arrnage, but with the stunning backdrop it was well worth it.

After a coach journey, the next stop was One Whitehall Place which used to be the old liberal club. It looks like little has changed since its Victorian and turn-of-the-century heyday. There are paintings of Queen Victoria and Albert, Churchill, Gladstone and other eminant figures from that time. Its a fascinating place for anyone with an interest in history to visit and you can almost imagine the conversations about empire, war and reform all being discussed in its rooms and corridors.

We took several photos on the stairway – and even a couple in the lift which you can see in the main wedding gallery.

Gladstone, bride and groom – a photo that should be on every wedding photographer’s shot list…

Jenny during the drinks reception

The library just before the wedding breakfast

The top table

Jenny’s father’s speach

Conor’s speach

Best man James’ speach – don’t let his droll, dry style of delivery fool you…

… his speach was funny and very entertaining.

Jenny and Conor’s first dance

The view across the river to the London Eye.

To see more photos from Jenny and Conor’s wedding:
Wedding Gallery Highlights
Full Wedding Gallery

Michelle and Andrew were married on 30th January 2010 at St George’s Hanover Square and held their wedding reception at Claridge’s.

Andrew with his brother and best man Michael before the ceremony.

Michelle and her father just after they arrived outside the church.

Michelle just after arriving at the end of the aisle to meet Andrew.

St George’s is a magnificent church, with a long and illustrious history. This is the view from the back of the church, right next to the organ.

Michelle and Andrew exchanging rings.

Michelle and Andrew walking down the aisle.

The room for the wedding breakfast at Claridges looked fantastic. Just before the guests entered for their meal Michelle walked round and said to the staff, ‘Everything looks wonderful and I’m so happy with what you’ve done!’

Before the speeches we found a couple of minutes to take a set of photos in one of Claridges beautiful art-deco corridors. Michelle and Andrew were illuminated by candles in storm lanterns.

Michelle kissing Andrew at the end of his speech.

Michael managed to produce a couple of first class visual aides during his best man’s speech. Some photos of Andrew from the family archive and a signed photo of Daniel Craig! Apparently, he is Michelle’s favourite actor.

Michelle and Andrew’s first dance…

…and dancing the night away…

To see highlights from Michelle and Andrew’s wedding, please click here

To see the full collection from Michelle and Andrew’s wedding, please click here