Blog - Mark Lord Photography

Lucy & Vince – The Tythe Barn

14th July 2018

It was another sunny Saturday as Kiti & I returned to one of our favourite venues The Tythe Barn, Launton to photograph the wedding of Lucy & Vince.

The sun was shining brightly as I made my way to The Nook, which is the Tythe Barn’s dedicated bridal preparation area. No need to get ready in a hotel room miles away from the venue before crushing your dress in the back of a hot car for the journey. The Nook is a beautiful area full of style & elegance & is a wonderful place for bridal preparations. It is such a lovely space to photograph the bride & bridesmaids getting ready for the celebrations ahead.

Whilst I was with the bride, Kiti was photographing the groom & his groomsmen who were at the nearby pub having a couple of drinks to steady the nerves before making their way to the church next to the barn for the service. She captured some great shots of the boys – including their socks! & then the guests arriving.

After getting ready in the peace & calm of The Nook Lucy, her Mum & Dad & Bridesmaids made the short walk to the church where an expectant groom & congregation was waiting for her.

It was a lovely service & a very happy couple made their way into the sunshine, followed by a flurry of confetti!

We then took some of the group photos in the shade of the church before we all walked back to the barn. The guests enjoyed their drinks & mingled whilst we took a few more group photographs. Then we took the opportunity to go out into the grounds of the barn to do some stylish bride & groom shots. It really is an honour to share the couples first few minutes of wedded life. We think it is a lovely to time for the bride & groom to take a few moments out of the craziness of the day. The sun was still quite high in the sky & hot so we made plans to pop back out during the evening when the sun would be softer.

So with plans for later we made our way back to the barn & Lucy & Vince returned to their guests. It was a fabulous wedding breakfast with some lovely speeches. The guests then returned to the lovely barn garden to play garden games & relax in the evening sun.

We then took the lovely couple back out into the warm evening sun to do some more shots of the two of them. I am really thrilled with these images & I am really looking forward to the Bride & Groom seeing them.

We headed back to the barn & the Bride & Groom cut their cake & then they hit the dancefloor for their first dance. Soon they were joined on the dancefloor by some keen guests who were having great fun.

Congratulations, Lucy & Vince – Wishing you every happiness! We hope you enjoy your sneak peek

Wedding Photography

Golnar & Paul – The Tythe Barn

4th June 2018

A couple of weeks ago Samson & I photographed the Friday wedding of Golnar & Paul. We met at the wedding venue, our home from home The Tythe Barn & Samson then went to the pretty Oxfordshire village of Aynhoe where Paul was getting ready.

I went to the best bridal getting ready venue, The Nook at The Tythe Barn. Not only is it fully equipped with everything a bridal party may need but also it is only a short stroll the barn itself. As I captured shots of the bride, both her & Paul’s lovely Mum’s & the bridesmaids getting ready Samson met up with the Groom & the lads.

The boys got themselves suited & booted & made their way the short distance to the barn ready to meet the guests as they arrived.

It was soon time for Golnar to make her final preparations as she had an expectant groom awaiting her arrival. She made the stroll with her bridesmaids under the arbour, which looked absolutely beautiful covered in wisteria blossom.

Golnar looked wonderful in her beautiful dress as she walked up the aisle on the arm of her very proud Mum. The barn was strung with simple, yet gorgeous lights & there was barely a dry eye in the house as Paul turned to see his bride.

The Tythe Barn is such a beautiful building & backdrop to images. What I really love is that they are always striving to improve what is already such a fab venue. No resting on their laurels here! Since my last wedding they had installed a new backdrop behind where the registrar stands. A magnificent pair of original barn doors strung with white lights added a wonderful addition to the images of the service.

It was a beautiful service & a very happy couple made their way back down the aisle to the congratulations of their friends & families. They waited a few minutes whilst their guests gathered outside & then they made their entrance to a flurry of bubbles. Bubble ‘confetti’ is becoming ever popular, who doesn’t have fun when blowing bubbles & it is certainly more fun than being pelted with rice or lavender!

We took their group photos in the lovely garden of the barn with the wisteria arbour as a backdrop. We then took the opportunity to take the couple away for a while to get some shots of the two of them. The barn has a variety of lovely backdrops & I am really pleased with the images we took of Golnar & Paul.

It was soon time for us to get the happy couple back to their guests. Their guests cheered & clapped as they made their way into the barn. There were some fantastic speeches & they had a quiz on who knew the most about the Bride & Groom – with some very interesting answers. They also had a game of wedding Mr & Mrs, quite a test for the newly married couple!

By now it was just beginning to get dark so as everyone was mingling over coffee we did some lovely shots of Golnar & Paul under the wisteria arbour. It was then time for the happy couple to make their way onto the dance floor for their first dance. Soon they were joined on the dance floor & we left them dancing the night away.

Congratulations Golnar & Paul, we hope you enjoy the sneak peek – there are lots more to come!

Wedding Photography

Chris & Victoria, Bampton & Kirtlington Park

26th May 2018

Another sunny Saturday morning meant that #teammarklordphoto headed off for another fabulous wedding. This time it was the turn of Chris & Victoria in Bampton & at Kirtlington Park.

Often, due to logistics, we require an additional driver so for this wedding Becky joined us as getaway driver. We drove around Oxford to the picturesque village of Bampton, best known as the village in Downton Abbey. We took a look at the historical church & left Kiti there before she made her way to where the groom was getting ready.

Becky & I made the 40-minute journey to the beautiful Kirtlington Park to meet with the bride, her bridesmaids & family. I always love being part of the day from the very start & this wedding was no exception. There is an almost ceremonial feeling to the process of preparing a bride to meet her groom.

I was really pleased to see one of my favourite florists Charlie from Flower Fairies who had done an utterly wonderful job on the stunning floral arrangements & bouquets.

Meanwhile, back in Bampton Kiti had made the short walk to Chris’ parents home & commenced photographing the boys getting ready, fixing buttonholes & enjoying a glass of bubbly. Before long it was time for the Groom, Best Man & Ushers to make their way to the church to greet the guests & await the arrival of the bride.

Victoria made her way down the beautiful staircase & into the handsome vintage cars that were waiting. I dashed to the car where Becky was waiting for me & we flew back down the drive back to Bampton.

I was positioned outside the church ready for Victoria’s arrival & before long the wedding cars arrived. The bride made her way up the aisle to meet her expectant groom.

It was a beautiful service & a very happy couple made their way back down the aisle to the smiles of their friends & families. Everyone mingled in the sunshine before lining up for the obligatory confetti tunnel & the Bride & Groom made their way to the vintage cars to take them back to Kirtlington Park.

We followed the cars & then on the A40 made our move so Kiti could get a shot out the window (whilst I drove very carefully obviously!) We got back to Kirtlington Park just before the Bride & Groom & captured images of the cars travelling through the park before getting shots of the two of them & the men in front of the cars lined up in front of the impressive house frontage.

It was then to the garden where their guests were gathered for the drinks reception to take their formal group photos. After which we borrowed the Bride & Groom to capture some shots of the two of them.

Before long it was time for the happy couple to make their way back to their guests who were waiting for them. Their fantastic toastmaster announced them into the room & their guests greeted them with cheers & hollers.

There were some fabulous speeches with tears & laughter. Then it was time for Chris & Victoria to cut the cake & enjoy their first dance as man & wife. Their guests joined them on the dance floor & we left them boogying the night away.

Wedding Photography

Susannah & Andrew – Dorchester on Thames & Tipi Wedding

21st May 2018

On a stunning May morning Kiti & I headed off to the picturesque village of Dorchester on Thames to photograph the wedding of Susannah & Andrew.

I headed straight to Susannah’s Mum’s house where I was to photograph the bridal preparations. It was lovely to see everyone again; I photographed her sister Caroline’s wedding back in 2006. It is so lovely when people remember you after all this time & ask you back to photograph the next wedding in the family.

I took photographs of everyone getting ready & the beautiful flowers by Green & Gorgeous, a elegant mix of British-grown white flowers.

Whilst I was at the house, Kiti & my friend Richard, who was helping on the day too, captured images of the beautiful abbey, village & the groom in the pub across from the abbey.

Kiti also got some lovely images of the groom & his sons in the abbey grounds.

It was a charming village wedding & soon it was time for Kiti & Richard to be in place for the wedding guests making their way into the church. Soon everyone was awaiting the arrival of the bride.

Susannah, her bridesmaids & father made the short walk in the sunshine to the abbey & were greeted by the vicar.

It was a lovely service in the beautiful surroundings of the abbey with the sun streaming through the windows.

A very happy couple made their way back down the aisle after saying their vows in front of their friends & family.

Their guests mingled in the church for afternoon tea & cutting of the beautiful buttercream wedding cake.

Whilst their guests were chatting we took the opportunity to take their formal group photos & to do some of the two of them.

Then it was time for me to take the long climb in the dark up the church tower to get a photograph of everyone. I took this image all those years ago for Susannah’s sister & they were keen to recreate it. I was so pleased that the vicar was happy to give permission & that it was such a lovely day. It’s a beautiful shot with the village & then the countryside in the distance.

The couple then headed off to their reception in a very cool, vintage USA army jeep. Their reception was in a tipi in their garden near Wantage so a little distance away but we agreed to meet up to get some shots of the two of them in the countryside.

Their chosen location was just beautiful with wonderful views across to their home & the tipis in the distance.

We then whizzed onto the reception venue to capture the happy couple arriving. It was such a lovely reception in wonderful, relaxed surroundings. There was a gin bar in a converted VW campervan & Susannah & Andrew’s much loved dogs enjoyed having so many people to play with. Susannah’s cat was a little more reserved!