Ivan Packer Photography blog

St Mary's Church wedding photography, Bristol

2012-02-05T15:43:00.000Z

I want to share with you all the beautiful wedding of Kirstie & Paul Fudge during the summer of 2011.

I arrived at Kirstie's Parents' house to take photographs of the Bride, her Bridesmaids and family making their preparations for the wedding. It was a full house, but everyone was surprisingly calm. Some homes can be complete chaos as everyone gets ready!

Kirstie and Paul were married in St Mary's Church in Shirehampton, Bristol before going on to the Port of Bristol Association for their reception.

It was a very blustery day, but this didn't stop us from having a very enjoyable day.

I love this photo. Kirstie's bridesmaids had their hands full stopping her veil from flying away!

2012 looks to be a very busy year

2012-02-01T15:15:00.000Z

Hello everyone and I hope that 2012 has started well for all of you. Apologies for not keeping my blog up to date, I promise to do better!

Judging by my calendar 2012 certainly looks like it is going to be a very busy year.

The wedding session has already started (despite the freezing UK weather), the racing session starts in earnest next month, and today I have spent time in London doing some business portraiture photography.

Pros vs. Amateurs: Why You Should Hire a Professional Photographer

2011-11-15T17:05:00.001Z

Whilst trawling through the internet and reading all the blogs by loads and loads of people involved in providing wedding services I came across this great Canadian blog: Vancitybride.com. Jeannine has recently written a great article on why you should hire a professional photographer. There is some great advice in Jeannine's blog post, most of which I provide to my clients too.
Vancity Bride Pros vs Amateurs blog post

I hope you enjoy reading it.

Movember - growing hair for charity

2011-11-11T18:58:00.000Z

OK, so this is definitely not photography related, but I had to share it with you. After last year I said I wouldn't do it again, but my conscience has got the better of me & I have signed up to grow a 'tash for Movember. A great cause raising awareness of prostate cancer. Take a look at my profile for more cool info, and to donate if you'd like to: My Movember page.

East Horton Golf Club wedding photography

2011-10-28T16:56:00.000+01:00

After a very busy summer 2011 wedding session I am slowly starting to catch up and would like to share with you the wedding of Tracy & Mark. Tracy and Mark were referred to me by the family of another couple whose wedding I photographed last year.

I started the day at their home, and photographed Tracy & her bridesmaids' preparations. I was also there to capture the surprise Mark had arranged for Tracy. She was expecting to be taken to the church in a car, but instead a beautiful horse-drawn carriage arrived to collect her and her Dad. Not even the bridesmaids knew about the closely guarded secret so the look of delight on all of their faces was a picture (excuse the pun).

The service was held at St Thomas Church, a picturesque 19th Century church in the parish of Fair Oak and Horton Heath.

Following the intimate service the guests were invited to Tracy & Mark's reception at the stunning East Horton Golf Club.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Tracy & Mark for allowing me to be part of their very special day. Their's was a friendly, intimate wedding and made photographing them and their guests a really pleasure!

Top 10 wedding pet peeves to avoid

2011-10-03T10:48:00.000+01:00

I have some weddings to post soon, but in the meantime wanted to let you all know about this great blog entry I have found. It's another great wedding blog that I have found and always has some really useful information.

This one is about how to avoid some of the biggest annoyances that I hear wedding guests complain about (thankfully none are about the wedding photographer). The entry is American (they are certainly at the forefront of blogging on other side of the Pond!). They include unruly kids, sitting next to strangers and long, boring speeches.

I hope you enjoy it:

http://www.weddingstar.com/wedding-blog/tips-top-10-wedding-pet-peeves-to-avoid/

Top 5 Wedding Songs for Autumn (or Fall in American)

2011-09-09T10:58:00.001+01:00

Summer is such a very busy time for wedding photography. For those getting married in the autumn I wanted to share with you this great post I found on Gig Masters, an American site: Top 5 wedding songs for fall.

Autumn brings with it cooler temperatures and a change in almost everything from the colour of the trees to the activities of the bees.

I hope this list provides inspiration for your choice of music for your wedding.

Ivan x

Ampfield Golf Club Wedding Photography

2011-08-17T16:14:00.001+01:00

Whilst we are in the middle of the 2011 wedding photography season I wanted to tell you all about the lovely wedding of Jacqui & Carl from last month.

Jacqui & Carl got married at the beautiful St Matthew's Church in Otterbourne. It was an incredibly rainy day; when I arrived at the church after photographing Jacqui and her bridesmaids & family's preparations at their family home there was torrential rain! It was strictly a case of umbrellas at the ready! This certainly didn't dampen anyone's spirits even if we had to try and make the most of the interior for the group photographs (as well as just 5 minutes outside!)

Following the very intimate and personal service at the church, the guests made their way to Ampfield Golf Club for the reception. The rain stopped just long enough for few impromptu photographs in the grounds, followed by a short ride in a golf cart for the bride & groom for a few photographs on a gorgeous, small wooden bridge.

Thank you to Jacqui & Carl, and to the team at Ampfield Golf Club for such an enjoyable day, I am honoured to have been part of it.

Ask the Expert : How to help your Photographer get those amazing detail shots!

2011-08-08T13:56:00.002+01:00

Being so busy at the moment I haven't had the chance to share with you any of my recent weddings, yet, but I did want to provide this post that I found on Hot Pink Brides.

Anyone who knows me, or who has recently visited my website, will know that I specialise in making couples feel relaxed and at-ease in front of the camera. I also specialise in photographing the important details all of your wedding such as the dress, suits, flowers, cars, favours, etc. This post really helps to ensure that couples consider this when thinking about their wedding photography. Of course the couple are the most important people to photograph, but everything else makes your day special too.

Ask the Expert : How to help your Photographer get those amazing detail shots!

Compass Inn Tormarton Wedding Photography

2011-07-26T15:00:00.003+01:00

In July 2009 when I photographed one of my favourite weddings ever, that of Verity and Ian at the Compass Inn in Tormarton in South Gloucestershire, I had barely heard the word 'Blog'. Now blogs have started to become an everyday word as the microwave oven did and I've been running this blog now for a few weeks.

I wanted to share with you the wedding photography that show the fun and romance of Verity and Ian's wedding as it will always remain one of the most memorable. Not only for the fantastic location at the Compass Inn in the idyllic setting of the South Gloucestershire countryside, but also for their infectious excitement and the welcome I received from their family and friends.

The team at the Compass Inn were very professional. Penny, the wedding coordinator, was extremely helpful and ensured that Verity and Ian's day was as they had planned and hoped it to be. I hope you enjoy the small selection of wedding photographs. Further details on the Compass Inn can be found here.

Not just wedding photography - useful information on QR codes

2011-07-25T16:46:00.000+01:00

Although my Blog is photography related, and more specifically wedding photography, I do like to bring you details of other, normally related, 'stuff'

You may have seen these strange barcode looking square mazes on billboard and magazine adverts recently.

It is a QR Code (even the name is abbreviated - it stands for "Quick Response") and is a mobile phone readable barcode. It has been big in Japan for ages now, is being seen more and more across Europe, and now even in USA.

In its simplest sense it contains a link to a website, product or service. You simply scan it with your smartphone using an appropriate QR reader software app and it will fire up its browser and go straight to that link (normally a website or 'URL').

Very useful for companies wanting to point their target consumers or customers to more information about them or their product or service. You can very easily create one by searching online for 'QR code generator'.

Try it scanning the one above on your smartphone and see where it takes you!

Not just wedding photography - iamstaggered for men

2011-07-15T13:50:00.002+01:00

This week I want to tell you all about a great website that I found recently, http://www.iamstaggered.co.uk/. As the name eludes to this is a site dedicated to helping the groom, best man, father-of-the-bride, ushers, stags - in fact all men involved in the wedding.

iamstaggered logo on website

One of the best items is the 2011 Staggered Directory which gives advice on all aspects of preparing for the big day, check it out at http://www.iamstaggered.com/2011-Staggered-Directory/.

Questions to ask your wedding photographer

2011-07-07T20:46:00.001+01:00

My blog is evolving over time. My initial intention was to use it to display photographs from weddings, but I now also feel it's important to use it to help couples in their planning of their wedding. I am in contact with so many wedding suppliers from florists, dressmakers, designers, planners, make-up artists, etc that I'll keep an eye open for useful pieces of information.

To start off; there are a number of important questions that couples need to ask their photographer before signing them. This ensures that there are no nasty surprises later on. It is, after all, a once-in-a-lifetime day!

I have published some questions on my website: http://www.ivanpackerphotography.com/questions.html.

I hope it helps.

Savoir Weddings: Wedding photography is like wine

2011-07-06T11:08:00.000+01:00

Savoir Weddings: Wedding photography is like wine: " from Swanson Vineyards A large part of being a wedding planner is helping a couple have the wedding they want. So even if a couple wan..."

All the important wedding details

2011-07-04T21:52:00.004+01:00

Couples can spend hours, days even weeks trying to decide on the best flowers, the best favours, their rings, their shoes... the list is almost endless. Here are just a few from recent weddings that I wanted to share with you:

Website cosmetic changes

2011-06-13T21:58:00.001+01:00

I've been only posting details of weddings on my blog so far, except for my Licentiate qualification with the SISLP, but I've made a few cosmetic changes to my http://www.ivanpackerphotography.com website over the past few days. I hope you like them:

Wedding Photography Torridge Registration Office and Pebbleridge Cafe for Tina & Mishka

2011-05-30T21:26:00.006+01:00

With the 2011 wedding season well and truly in swing I thought I would share, with their permission, the lovely wedding of Tina and Mishka Lossky that was held in Devon in April 2011.

Their intimate service was held in the Torridge Registration Office in Northam, North Devon.

After the service their guests were invited to a champagne reception held at The Pebbleridge Cafe owned and run by Tina and Mishka. The Devonshire weather was kind to all with beautiful sunshine all day.

What great characters - custom-made bride and groom on their cake.
Easily the feature foto from Tina & Mishka's wedding!

Successful SISLP Licentiate submission - January 2011

2011-05-30T18:40:00.001+01:00

It is with great pride and pleasure that I am able to announce that I have qualified for a Licentiate to the Society of International Sports & Leisure Photographers and am now allowed to publish the letters LSISLP after my name in correspondence.

I submitted the 20 images below to be judged at the SWPP Convention held at the Novotel London in January 2011.

Wedding Photography at Portsmouth Registry Office and InnLodge for Linda & Steve

2011-03-09T22:44:00.001Z

My final wedding of the 2010 season was that of Linda & Steve Robinson who were maried at Portsmouth Registry Office on a warm, sunny October afternoon. Linda & Steve's wedding was one of the most memorable as their friends and family were so welcoming and friendly.

After the service the guests all made their way to the reception at the InnLodge in Portsmouth.

There was no doubt that this photograph would be the 'feature foto' from Linda & Steve's wedding.
One bridesmaid drinking wine out the bottle, another has lost something. Hilarious!

Wedding Photography at Hotel Du Vin Bristol for Amanda & David

2011-03-09T22:37:00.001Z

Another lovely summer wedding in 2010 was that of Amanda & David Bastiani who got married at the Hotel Du Vin in Bristol in May 2010. Amanda & David's day was an intimate affair and certainly reflected their personalities. Everyone had a truly fun and special day.

This may be the last photograph, but definately not the last as it is the 'feature foto'.
No-one was expecting the Bride to stand up and make a speech. Classic moment!

Wedding Photography at Cooling Castle Barn for Teresa & Joe

2011-03-09T20:21:00.003Z

I thought I would start with one of my favourite weddings of 2010, that of Teresa & Joe Koller who got married at the beautiful Cooling Castle Barn in Kent in May 2010.

This had to be the' feature foto' from Teresa & Joe's wedding.
The flower girl in her beautiful dress, playing in the gravel. Priceless!