Mark Miller photoblog

Sunday – Wedding Day!!!  It’s raining!!!  Oh no!!!  During the preparations we went from the wet weather plan to the dry weather plan and back again about 10 times (a slight exaggeration) but Nick had the final, optimistic, call and got it right – we had gorgeous sunshine the whole afternoon.

The ceremony the garden at Moulin le Coq was full of special, personal touches.  Anna’s Uncle presided over the ceremony, Nick’s brother sang, the vows were written themselves and the ceremony was on the same Gazebo/Pagoda (the name kept changing) that Nick proposed in.  It was just gorgeous.

Then we were off to Châteaux de Messy for wine tasting, including a wine that was made in 1998, the year Anna and Nick got together.

Whilst everyone travelled on to the restaurant, I stole Anna and Nick for a trip to a vineyard that I’d scouted out.  For me this was the highlight of the weekend  (I think Anna and Nick were pleased with the idea as well!).  Beautiful scenery, a cool breeze and peace and quiet – just what we needed.

The food at Au Relais D’Ozenay prepared by Chef Florian Giraud was stunning, and as for the speeches – they were the best I’ve ever heard at a wedding.  They were hilarious, touching, romantic, embarrassing (a 10 year old secret to do with carpets was revealed!) and competitive (we had a touch of Britain’s got Talent, although I think that Dan, the MC was the winner).

And that’s it, Fini.  An amazing wedding with lovely people, fantastic food, stunning scenery and (finally) wonderful weather.

Enjoy some of the pictures below (and in the other posts).  The rest will be online in The Viewing Lounge at the end of the week.

Saturday, and the celebrations begin!

A walk around Tournus market was followed by a picnic, boules and (full contact) rounders. A gorgeous (but rainy) BBQ occupied Saturday evening at Le Chardon in Chardonnay. I tried a local speciality – Andouillettes – a pork sausage I was told. Whilst that definition is true, it doesn’t use the bits of the pig we normally refer to as Pork. Here’s the wiki link and you must read this person’s experience of these sausages. I thought it was quite nice though.

Last year I had a great time travelling to Sorrento to photograph Rebecca and Scott’s wedding.  This year I’ve travelled to Burgundy, France for the Wedding Celebration of Anna and Nick.

What a beautiful part of the world – every village is full of gorgeous old stone houses.  There’s a Châteaux waiting around every corner and there are vineyards everywhere.  In fact my B&B was only a couple of miles from the village of Chardonnay, yep the home of that grape.

So, to begin:

It was late on Thursday when I arrived at Moulin le Coq (Anna’s Aunt and Uncle’s home in Ozenay near Tournus).  Aunt Liz is an amazing cook, so after stuffing myself on lots of tasty treats and birthday cake (t’was Anna’s sister’s birthday) I followed Anna and Nick to my B&B in Plottes. (You pronounce it ‘Plot’ – not very  French sounding is it?).  After a brief stop off in a ditch, I met my fabulous hosts, David and Jacques.  David was a ring master (and is now artistic director) for Zippo’s Circus!!!

Today (Friday) was meant to be just a tour around the various locations that would be used over the weekend, but the weather forecast for the weekend wasn’t good so we took the opportunity to have a photo-shoot around Châteaux de Beaufer, the rather lovely accommodation used by the wedding party before touring around the area.

Claire and Chris’ pre-wedding shoot was only a couple of weeks ago (and it rained!).  I’m pleased to say there wasn’t a drop of rain for their wedding day – the sun was gorgeous.

The boys started the day with a quick snifter of Brandy (but it didn’t distract them from their important duties Claire!) and Dave (the best man) had some trouble with his tie.  Thankfully Dad (Matthew, Chris’ Brother-in-law) knew what to do.

Sandra Rose supplied beautiful bouquets for the day and Penny from Pink Treacle was hard at work arranging the place settings in the Marquee when I arrived – they looked great Penny!

Claire looked amazing in her gorgeous wedding dress and Benjamin Adams shoes.  Note to self:  Check who made the wedding dress, it’ll make these posts much more informative.

The ceremony was held at St Nicholas’ church in Guisborough and then we were off into The Priory (no, not the rehabilitation centre!) for some portraits afterwards.

Back at the Marquee, Paul Lytton, the fantastic magician, entertained the guests before dinner.

As great as the speeches were, Nicola (Chris’ sister and one of the Brides Maids) was given a present that stole the show ‘Chunk’ (you’ll spot Chunk in the pictures below).

The legendary Jump The Q finished the night off with some fantastic music.

You can see all of Claire and Chris’ wedding day in the Album Design, or if you have the password, view the pictures in The Viewing Lounge.

And, now I’m off on holiday for a week in Woolacombe.  Bring on the surf!