Vintage Wedding Photographer in London and further afield - Eliza Claire » Blog

Lorna & Duncan’s Stoke Newington Wedding

Eliza — Tue, 15 May 2012 22:00:36 +0000

I have written before about how much I love Stoke Newington, I did one of my first ever weddings there, and have had a soft spot for the village-in-the-city ever since. I’m very lucky that I’ve had quite a few clients from Stokey book me, but many of them decide to return home for their wedding, or to make a weekend of it and go to Cornwall, Scotland or the Cotswolds. So when Lorna and Duncan told me that they were planning on a Stoke Newington Town Hall wedding, I was thrilled! They had their reception at The House in Islington, a gorgeous fine dining pub in Canonbur, where they partied until the early hours.

Gayle, Tom and Baby Max {Stowe Pre-Wedding Shoot}

Eliza — Wed, 09 May 2012 10:00:17 +0000

Tom and Gayle are getting married later this year, and booked me without us meeting, as they live in Manchester and Gayle was fairly heavily pregnant when they booked (if not, already overdue??)
We picked the only sunny day of April to do this shoot, and it was great to meet Gayle and Tom, and especially to meet Max, who is completely adorable. We chatted for the whole time we wandered, and it truly felt like meeting up with old friends, so much so that I’m meeting them again in a few weeks’ time to see the Church and the pub that they’re having their reception in.
I can’t wait for their wedding later this year, I know it’s going to be a lot of fun!

Tino & Pip Got Married… {Sneak Peek}

Eliza — Sun, 06 May 2012 13:32:16 +0000

Martin and Penny, aka photographers Tino and Pip, got married last week in Scotland – they ran away and did it alone (just them and a registrar, perfect!) and yesterday they celebrated their wedding with a fantastic wedding reception and party in Brighton. More photos soon!

Helen & Gurpreet’s Sikh/Scottish Fusion Wedding {Part 2}

Eliza — Wed, 02 May 2012 11:00:15 +0000

Immediately after Helen and Gurpreet’s sikh wedding ceremony, they both returned to their hotel to begin getting ready for the second ceremony of the day – their civil ceremony at Old Finsbury Town Hall. Helen got to wear her second dress of the day, and changed accessories, teaming her gorgeous vintage style dress with a pair of Chez Bec drop pearl earrings and beautiful Rachel Simpson shoes. She then made her way down to the Old Town Hall, where G was waiting for her. Old Finsbury Town Hall is one of my favourite venues, it’s such a great space, and a space that can be dressed and lit to look so amazing!

Helen + Gurpreet’s Sikh-Scottish Fusion Wedding {Part 1}

Eliza — Tue, 01 May 2012 12:40:58 +0000

So, if you’re Scottish, your husband-to-be is Asian and you live in London, how do you combine all the elements of your heritages into your wedding day to ensure that it remains personal, honest and truthful to who you are without alienating or upsetting more traditional members of the family?

Well, I think Helen and Gurpreet did an amazing job with their wedding – from the London bus to the traditional Sikh outfits to the flash of tartan, from the dhol drums to the bagpipes, from the Indian food to the Tunnock’s wafers and tea cakes, they combined elements of their heritage to show how their lifes can fuse together with perfection. It was amazing, emotional and beautiful. Part two to follow…

Sarah & Lea’s London Wedding {Kings Road Wedding}

Eliza — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 10:03:56 +0000

Sarah is someone that I’ve known for about – ooh, 6 years now? – but only met recently for the first time. Yep, I have internet weirdie friends and I’m not ashamed to admit it When she proposed to Lea, we were all so excited for her, and have followed their journey over the last few months from buying the dresses to the hunt for the perfect shoes, to the confetti tantrums… when I heard that she wasn’t having a wedding photographer, I must admit that I kind of forced myself on her very small and intimate wedding. Well, photography is important to me (dur!) and I truly, truly believe that everyone should have at least their ceremony photographed. Plus, I wanted to see the dresses first!

Sarah and Lea got married at Chelsea Register Office, and the staff there were amazing, the deputy registrar made it feel as if they were the only couple he’d ever married, so personal and so kind. There were tears from (almost) everyone and it was a huge joy to witness. Then onto the Blue Bar at the Berkeley Hotel for champagne. That’s where I left them, but I know that they carried on to Marcus Wareing at the Berkeley afterwards, for a fantastic (by all accounts) meal.

Happy Wedding Day, J and Dr J, I hope you have a very fun day today and a great honeymoon, and I know you’re going to have an incredible marriage and long life together. All my love xx

The Oxfam Shoot {Vintage Through the Ages}

Eliza — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 09:54:58 +0000

People that follow me on Twitter and Facebook, and those of you that read Love My Dress, will know a little about this shoot already. It’s an amazing project, and one that I am so proud to be a part of. Annabel has written about what Oxfam are doing, and why, so I won’t rehash that here – what I want to do is show you the concept behind the shoot, our inspiration, and how Tiffany Grant Riley brought the idea of Oxfam through the Ages to life with her amazing styling and fabulously creative ideas.

Annabel pulled together the most fantastic team – including Severin Hubert from The Hepburn Collection who specialises in vintage styled hairdressing, The fabulous Lucy Baker making our models look beautiful with stunning make-up, and Tiffany Grant-Riley from Grant-Riley styling to plan the entire concept, and bring that concept to life. I was assisted by my good friend Annamarie Stepney, who was invaluable to me on the day. Here are a few behind-the-scenes images:

We were incredibly lucky to have Minty Slippers along to film behind the scenes footage of the day – Minty Slippers are exceptionally good at what they do (they’re going to be filming my sister’s wedding next year, and I’m so excited!) so take a look at this first to get a feel of the day:

So, on to the photos. Each set was based on a specific era, and I thought I’d do something a bit different on the blog today to introduce each era. Hope you like it!

What do you think? What is your favourite era? I love the 1930s veil, and adored shooting the 1960s section, outside with lots of movement and a great sense of fun that I know will appeal to the people that book me! The 70s was the biggest surprise for me – I was dreading that section before I saw Tiffany’s look book, but having seen it, I was so excited.
So, over to the credits. I cannot express enough how great all of these people were to work with!

All of the images in this post are mine, with my own processing, but the images on Love My Dress are also by Annamarie Stepney, and those have been retouched by Chanelle at Retouch Me
Film Production – Mintyslippers
Stylist – Tiffany Grant Riley
Photoshoot Curator – Annabel, Love My Dress, supported by my bride and Annabel’s intern, the gorgeous Franky
Venue – Drapers Hall, London
Models – First Model Management
Male Model – Jack Rooney
Hair Stylist – Severin Hubert, Hepburn Collection
Makeup Artist – Lucy Baker
Make-up (for 70′s look) Frontcover Cosmetics, via PR agency Gloss Communications
Nails – Gemma Timms

And if you’re planning your wedding, don’t forget to check out the auction here on Ebay, between 29th April and 9th May. The full photoshoot can be accessed here and a list of donators can be accessed here, and from 29th April, via the Oxfam Wedding Auction Ebay Hub

It was emotional!

The Full Auction Listing:

A wedding photography package with John Nassari, which includes a hair styling service from celebrity hair stylist Errol Douglass {free bridal hair consultation and a six month hair plan including cut, colour and conditioning treatments that would get a bride’s hair in perfect condition for her wedding day}. Combined value a huge £15,000
Engagement shoot including a pre-shoot make up session with Ciara Hatton, a 2-hour photoshoot in and around London, styling from Mel Tabner, DVD of images + 1 print (more could be ordered) Kat Hill Photography £350 1
All day photography cover + added extras with Fiona Kelly Photography, valued at £1,475
A 6 hour photography package with Kat Forysth Photography. Value £1200
Phillip White ’Save the Date’ wedding film, valued at £700
A full ’edited package’ wedding video via Shoot it Yourself, value £750
Pick of the season’ wedding bouquet thanks to Green & gorgeous, value £90
4 x pick your own flower buckets, via Bloomin’ Green flowers, worth £200
Bouquet worth £100, delivered anywhere in UK, via By Appointment Only Design
Bouquet worth £120, via Hayford & Rhodes
£150 worth of best-selling greetings cards from the Pearl Lowe Collection, sold in Selfridges and other stores, via Pearl’s stationery designer, Sugalily
20 wedding Cake Pops via Pop Bakery, value £50
Up to 60 Save the Date tea bags and bespoke wedding invitations, via Vintage Love Stationery, worth £198
£350 worth of free wedding stationary from Mandalay Wedding Invitations
The use of a structure that holds around 120 guests with a value of around £5,000 via The Stunning Tents Company
Free reception venue and reception hire at Senate House
Save the date cards – a bespoke design just for you, via Kate Gale Stationery and worth £160
Octavia Plum Stationary – bespoke design + personalisation, via Octavia Plum
2 x Gift Sweet Trees from Sweet Creations worth £50
Treasure chest of signs, stationery and button holes via The Vintage Drawer
Bespoke cake by Cake Maison, with up to 4 tiers and to feed 120 guests! Worth £750
Marry a Millionaire Lingerie set via Gilda & Pearl, value £100
Style and design service + 10 hours planning time, thanks to Helen Carter Weddings - worth £850
5 litres of delphinium and wildflower petals- in organza bags plus a litre of rose buds for the table, viaShropshire confetti petals worth £73
50 x Customised Postcard Maps from Cute Maps, worth £200
Sarah Haywood Luxury Wedding Planner - full details to be confirmed. Watch this space.
Tiered wedding cake + matching cupcakes from Elizabeth’s Cake Emporium, worth £600
Cheese ’Cake’ via the House of Cheese, worth £325
A pop-up wedding styling and design consultation including a leather-bound planner. FromQuintessentially Weddings and valued at £450
Philippa Craddock is offering a bouquet up to the value of £150, two hand tied bridesmaids’ bouquets and up to five buttonholes, to the combined value of £384
Amanda Austin Flowers consultation & bouquet, worth more than £100
Hire of beautiful vintage cups and saucers for your vintage wedding reception, via The Utterly Sexy Cafe
Half day personal stylist experience for mother of the bride, thanks to Thread Styling
Vintage pink table, via Vintage Style Hire
100 medium size cookies for wedding favours by Maki’s Cakes, including postage within the UK, value £350
100 Bea’s of Bloomsbury cupcakes worth £250

Accessories/jewellery…

1940s inspired coronet created from vintage jewellery dating from the 1940s-60s sourced predominantly from Oxfam shops, by Cherished Vintage
Silk face veil and our freshwater pearl & Swarovski crystal Lucinda comb thanks to Kelly Spence, value £350
18 Carat Gold wedding ring valued at £595.00 from Chocolate Couture
Various Flo & Percy headpieces valued over £200
Various Chez Bec headpieces, valued over £300
Various Jo Barnes Vintage headpieces valued at over £400
Headdress from Glass Oyster worth £165
Vintage comb donated by Connie & Dolly and valued at £60
Headdress from Hermoine Harbutt valued at £450
3 ear-rings gifts for bridesmaids thanks to Hermoine Harbutt, value £120
Various veils and headpieces from Vivien Sheriff
Sakuru shoes in any size thanks to Harriet Wilde, value £450
Aruna Seth Butterfly shoes, value over £600
Any hair accessory up to £200 thanks to Emmy
Emmy Martha Shoes, valued at £405 – any size
Ginger Ostrich Feather Fan & Evie Purse set via Britten Wedding Accessories valued at £646
Rose Blush Garter – silk, satin and English lace thanks to Saumarez Lingerie
Any single pair of Rachel Simpson shoes, valued at £165
Various headpieces from HT Headwear, valued over £300
Bespoke earrings, necklace and braclet for a Bride worth £500, by Susie Warner
Hair & Beauty…
Spa day for 2, including lunch and dinner – and a treatment from TItanic Spa, worth £350
One-to-one make-up tutorial + 3 boujois gift sets, from Lina Cameron & Bourjois, value £300
Make-up Lesson with celeb make-up artist, Maggie Hunt, worth £300
Champagne Spa Day at The Sanctuary in Covent Garden, worth £120

Travel…

A decadent hen party afternoon tea at Fetcham Park, with Idyllic Days crockery and Cakes byKrishanthi cakes, worth £1500
Lovedub weddings transport (campervans) hire
A week’s self-catering for two people at Ann’s Hill in Cumbria with the following extras: Champagne and chocolates on arrival, Breakfast basket for 2 delivered each morning, 1 afternoon tea for 2 with home-made cake during their stay, 1 restaurant-standard chef meal for 2 delivered to their cottage one evening, 2 x spa treatments at Ann’s Hill – various massages, facial, manicure, pedicure (to be booked with the owner before arrival). All via Sawday’s and worth £850
A vintage tea party hen do with amazing vintage make over by Flamingo Amy, make up by Milk and Honey and pics to keep of the event by awesome wedding photographer Joanna Millington. The tea party will includes sandwiches and cute cakes from Cupcakes by Jess and some bubbly! All via A Most Curious Party
Vintage Photoshoot Hen Party via Charleston Dance, worth £100
Posh & Swanky Cupcake Hen Party Class, via Posh & Swanky Cupcakes
Hen Party Dance Experience, via Seen On Screen Fitness
2 x Champagne experience tickets from The London Eye, worth £70
Dance tuition & Champagne reception at Karen Hardy Studios, worth £85

All items in this post are from suppliers linked to above, aside from the following extras which are not part of the auction:

Beautiful stationery from the 1940s shoot by Dottie Designs
The stunning vintage bike in the 1960s shoot by LuvHandles - the bike boutique
Cupcakes and cookies in the 1960s shoot (which were truly delicious, the best cookies I’ve tasted!) from Olofson Designs

Sneak Peek {Lorna + Duncan}

Eliza — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 00:35:05 +0000

A quick sneak peek before bed – today I returned to one of my favourite wedding ceremony venues, Stoke Newington Town Hall, to photograph Stokey locals Lorna and Duncan. It was a fantastic day, full of love and laughs.

That triptych shot was from a particular rowdy table (christened “The Sambucca Table” by other guests ) and this was a game that they called “Drink the Horn” – the best man had a little toy horn, which they filled with larger and took it in turns to down and then toot the horn. I’m not sure they even knew that I was capturing evidence of this game!

James + Alison’s St James’ Park Pre-Wedding Shoot

Eliza — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 19:23:43 +0000

It was so great to meet James and Alison, who booked me for their wedding at Cripps Barn in June without meeting me. It’s always lovely when people book me based on what they read here, and also quite exciting as I really don’t have any pre-set notions about them before I photograph them. The great thing about a pre-wedding shoot is I get to see what you’re comfortable with, in front of the camera, and what works, before the stress and excitement of your big day.

James proposed to Alison on the bridge at St James’ Park, in the rain, so it was right and appropriate that they should return there for their engagement shoot. The rain stayed away this time, and the spring flowers were in full bloom, the park looked beautiful. I also took the opportunity to crack out the film camera and have some fun with that. Film is scary but also incredibly fulfilling – it demands that you really slow down and focus on the moment, and I love the experience of shooting on film. Unfortunately, I’m impatient and HATE the wait! I’ll definitely be using more film this season, but I won’t ever be a 100% film photographer – I like the almost-instant gratification of the digital age a little too much

Easter Family Photos {Personal}

Eliza — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 10:36:01 +0000

I hope you all had a great bank holiday weekend! I think Easter may be one of my favourite holidays of the year – it’s early enough that work isn’t too hectic, I can take time off without feeling (too) guilty, and it has none of the pressure of Christmas. We spent the weekend chilling out, watching movies (we introduced the children to Harry Potter!), eating our combined bodyweight in chocolate, having nana naps on the sofa and going for walks around the lake to our local pub. Then Ysella decided that she wanted to “pack to go to Spain” which inspired this mini photo shoot. Doesn’t she look adorable? And WHY won’t her hair ever look this good when she has a party to go to??!