Catie & Danny – Wedding Photography at the Mandarin Oriental

What do you get when you add together a couple very much in love, their beagle puppy, a white vintage convertible Bentley, one of the best wedding bands ever, a white grand piano in a glamorous reception, and a lot of energy and style?

Catie and Danny’s wonderful wedding, held at the Mandarin Oriental in London. I love this wedding!

Catie’s stunning dress is Elato by Elie Saab available from Pronovius. Her shoes are by Louboutin. The vintage diamond earrings were a gift from the groom.

With his wife to be so stylishly clad, Danny was not one to be outdone in the sartorial stakes. Rumour has it Danny’s shoes were flown over especially from Italy. There’s a story behind these I think, but Danny was a little coy about revealing quite how much effort went into his footwear. Loving the sharp well cut suit and immaculate coordination.

We headed out to do the couple shots before the ceremony; and Catie & Danny hired a vintage white Bentley especially for the occasion. We all got a little nervous on the way back as being an old car it was a little temperamental and didn’t want to start. And then just as we got going again, we hit good old London traffic. With it being a Sunday there was a cut off time for the marriage ceremony to be performed and it was a touch and go as to whether we would make it back in time. Catie started to look a little nervous as you can see here!

It ended up with the pair flying in full fabulous wedding attire through Knightsbridge on foot, flying past Harvey Nicks and up the steps to the Mandarin Oriental, followed in fast pursuit by myself and my assistant Karina. It was all good and we had time to catch our breath before the civil ceremony began.

The couple shots were really important to Catie and Danny and they wanted shots that reflects who they really were and showed their personalities and connection. They actually already booked a wedding photographer when they came across my work but decided they wanted me to capture their day instead and I love it when couples trust my vision. We scheduled the shoot for before the ceremony and we had an hour for portraits which allowed me time to create some fantastic images and for the experience to be relaxed and enjoyable. OK, so a good part of this time was spent cruising along in a vintage Bentley convertible but that was wonderful in itself!

Meet ‘Renny’, their adorable Beagle puppy, who is very precious to the couple. We arranged for Renny’s walker to bring her down just for the photographs and I am so pleased we did! She was so excited to see her mommy and daddy it was a while before she calmed down enough for the camera.

The chic elegant cake was by The Little Venice Cake Company, and the elegant flowers were by Rachel at Bud Flowers

Both of Catie’s sisters and her Dad gave heartfelt speeches. Catie’s Dad was like an actor with his command of the stage and his special words. He even made me cry.

Catie’s first dance with her Dad was sweet and emotional. And then the party began. Jewish weddings are always a lot of fun but this one took it to a whole new level.  Catie and Danny had a totally incredible band at their wedding – The Gilev ShowBand. They’re a 14 piece band with singers that actually get on in the audience and involve the wedding guests in the performance. Alexandra Burke was in this band before she won X Factor and they were totally incredible! So much energy and great performers.

I just knew I had to get Catie up there with Danny to dance on the white grand piano and I managed to persuade her to slip off the Louboutins and go for it! It was totally awesome to watch! So celebratory and special!

Later in the evening Catie changed into a chic Stella McCartney dress. Here they are again, on stage this time, having a brilliant time! It was like something out of a movie.

Thank you to everyone at the Mandarin Oriental, to Bloomsbury Films for being easy to work alongside, Karina for your help with lighting and for being fearless on the dancefloor during the crazy dancing, but most of all to Mr & Mrs Miller.

Thank you so much to you both for inviting me to be a part of your big day. You are a wonderful stylish and fun couple and have an amazing connection. I raise a glass of champagne to a fabulous long life together for you both!