If someone mentions the words Oxnead Hall wedding, it sends a little wave of excitement through me at the prospect of shooting it! When Nicola first contacted me about her upcoming Oxnead Hall wedding to Joe I’ll admit it was a venue I had not yet come across. A quick google search later (other search engines are available….oh wait…I don’t work for the BBC do I?) and I soon realised it is quite simply one of the most stunning venues we are graced with in our little area of the UK. The title ‘Hall’ is used quite far and wide in the wedding venue industry and although it always conjures up notions of grandeur, quite often the venue doesn’t quite live up to the hype…..Oxnead is not like that….in fact ‘Hall’ almost does it a disservice.
I arrived early on the day to join Nicola, her mother and her bridesmaids in the main house for the all important preparations. One thing I learned about Nicola early on that day is she has a great sense of humour, an infectious laugh and a smile that makes my jaw ache just looking at it. As a bride she is what I refer to as a photographer’s dream…it’s almost impossible to take a bad photo of her.
As the initiated among you will know, I always work with a second photographer. So important to me are they, that a second photographer is part of every one of my packages! On this occasion it was my good friend and all round nice guy (not to mention awesome photographer) Winston Sanders. It’s pretty hard not to like Winston once you have spoken to him for even just a few minutes. I love that about him, not just because he’s great to hang out with for the day, but also because it lets him get in close to people, which for me is a key part of wedding photography…..a famous photographer by the name of Robert Capa once said “if your pictures aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough.” Winston spent the morning with Joe and the rest of the boys before we all met up at the church for the ceremony. Then it was back to Oxnead for the rest of the festivities. Anyway, enough from me…Oxnead needs no introduction really; enjoy the pics!
Images copyright of Suffolk Wedding Photographer Hillier James.
