Happy Christmas to all !

To all past, present and future clients of David Burke Photography, I just wanted to say thank you for your custom in 2009 and a very happy Christmas and New Year! I've met some fantastic couples and had the pleasure of being part of their wedding day and look forward to 2010!

Here's Jasper the dog getting in the festive mood (apologies for the poor picture quality - it's quite hard to capture a fast moving whippet who doesn't want to wear a santa hat on your camerphone!)

All pictures copyright David Burke Photography 2009

Jen and Chris' wedding

Sat 21st November saw the wedding of Jen and Chris at West Heath in Sevenoaks.  Unlike the previous weekend, the predicted downpour didn't materialise until much later in the day, so once again we were lucky to be able to use the impressive outdoors at West Heath.

Jen had arranged surprise transportation for Chris - a Ferrari Spyder picked him up from their home for the journey to the venue.

Whilst Chris 'posed' with the car and his guests admired the view, Jen was busy with the final touches to her stunning outfit.

The Ceremony took place in the Red Dining Room with the reception held in the Recital Room.

Then we braved the cold for some shots around the lovely exterior and veranda.

During the wedding breakfast, I took the opportunity to set up some off-camera flash lighting on the impressive staircase, which we made use of between main course and dessert. I'd also noticed the mirror reflection during my venue visit so was keen to set up this shot...

The day was a great family affair - lots of the guests had made the trip over from Portugal and there were also loads of children running around who always make for great candid shots....

Sometimes though, they aren't so unaware of the camera as I would have hoped for...cheers Ben!

Congratulations to Jen and Chris, I hope you enjoyed the rest of your day!

All images copyright David Burke Photography 2009

Janine and Ryan's wedding

Saturday the 14th November saw the wedding of Janine and Ryan at St Joseph's Church Bromley with the reception at The High Rocks in Tunbridge Wells.

Sat the 14th also saw the first major storm of the autumn, with gale force winds and rain from the church service onwards, eventually calming down towards the evening. Janine and Ryan kept smiling throughout though, I could tell that the day meant so much to them that the odd hurricane force wind gust wasn't going to dampen their spirits!

Janine was a picture of calm during the bridal preparations, despite the start of the torrential rain -  the champagne flowed as she was helped into her dress....

we finished off with some bridal portraits before I left to catch the Groom and guests arriving at the church.

By now, umbrellas were definitely required although people had a hard time keeping them up!

Many thanks to Fr Tom at St Josephs for his help with the guests during the inclement weather and also for his flexibility with two photographers and a videographer on scene...

One positive of the weather was very light traffic as we made the dash from Bromley to the High Rocks, where eventually the storm subsided long enough for the Bride and Groom to venture into the grounds at least....

After a fantastic meal and some very amusing speeches (complete with picture handouts of the groom for each table), we were onto the first dance...

Although Janine and Ryan were joined fairly early in their dance - some people just can't wait to get up and strut their stuff...

Congratulations to you both!

All photographs copyright David Burke Photography 2009

Katie and Ben pre-wedding shoot

I recently shot Katie and Ben's pre-wedding shoot on the SouthBank in London - always a good location and handy for those who work in London itself.

Katie and Ben will be getting married 22/05/2010 at St Lawrence's church in Abbots Langley and then having their reception at Hunton Park Hotel near Watford.

All photographs copyright David Burke Photography 2009

Chris and Rachel's wedding

Here are some sample photos from Chris and Rachel's wedding which I shot recently. Unfortunately the weather precluded any outdoor shots after the ceremony at Boxley Church, but we were lucky at Oakwood House - the sun even came out at one stage!











The speeches saw a great mixture of romance and tenderness (from Chris) and comedy from Ben and Barrie as Chris was well and truly stitched up...





And then after Shania Twain's 'From this moment' for the first dance, mild-mannered Barrie donned the shades and hit the dancefloor with the inflatable guitar (a regular feature at every wedding). The solo from Livin' on a Prayer was a sight to behold....







All photographs are copyright David Burke Photography 2009

Rachel and Chris's wedding

Saturday saw the wedding of two good friends, Chris and Rachel, at Boxley Church and then Oakwood House, Maidstone. Despite a very damp start, again we were incredibly lucky with the weather as the rain stopped just long enough for the group shots (we even had the sun out at one stage)....

Pictures to follow shortly, but congratulations to you both, a great time was had by all!

Yervant course

Last week I attended a 3 day seminar in London with Yervant, who is one of the World's leading wedding photographers. Yervant has a signature style with a very arty look to his fantastic pictures, which is quite different to my usual reportage style. Over the course of three days I got to work with Yervant on shooting stlyes and amazing photoshop techniques, and also liaise with some of Britain's leading wedding photographers - always nice to swap tips and techniques! I'm busy processing the images in a 'semi-Yervant' style, here's a taster!



Like all courses, it's going to be a case of taking some of these techniques and blending them into my own style - sometimes there's a tendency to go too much overboard and overdo every image suddenly...here's a few straight out of the camera...






All photos copyright David Burke Photography 2009

Sarah and James' wedding

Sat 12th September saw the wedding of Sarah and James at the Registry office Tunbridge Wells, with the reception at the Brew House Hotel.




Once again, we were lucky with the weather so stopped off at Calverly Park for a few outdoor shots before we went to the Brew House.





The hotel itself has some great features - we took some timeout from the main crowd to use the funky bar downstairs, which meant I could use some strobist flash setups!