Amanda and Kenyon were married last Wednesday. Because I was having Labyrinthitis issues at the time of her booking, I dared not commit to a wedding on a boat, even if it was the too-dreamy-to-be-true Spirit of Bermuda. I was so gutted to have to decline the wedding as I have known Amanda for years and she is so lovely, but I was just too worried that looking through the lens while standing on a swaying surface would make me, as Lola so succinctly puts it, really ever so not well. You can imagine how flattered I was when Amanda asked to do a day-after session with me in order to get the types of shots they would not have time for on the big day.
When Amanda first arrived in the Tucker's Point Hotel lobby to greet me on the day of our shoot, I asked where were her flowers. She told me they were trashed in the bouquet toss the night before so she had none. I was appalled. I informed her that you can't have bridal portraits with no flowers - you are a bride and brides have flowers! She agreed and disappeared to remedy the situation while I snapped some portraits of Kenyon on his own. The day before, when my sister, Amanda Temple, was shooting the official wedding, the chaos of the day prevented her from getting enough one on one time with Kenyon so I was happy to capture a couple of him in a more relaxed mode. This is one of the reasons day-after sessions are so amazing and I encourage all couples to consider doing one. It allows you to spend more time enjoying your friends and family on the real wedding day, and then you can relax into the session and just enjoy each other when the reception is no longer beckoning, and make some lasting memories at the same time.
When Amanda returned, she had the most vibrant bunch of gerberas in her hands. I assumed there must be a florist in the hotel, for although simple, they made the perfect bouquet. She smiled slyly, saying that she had actually just selected a few from the unbelievable arrangements inside the hotel. Since the couple had spent their wedding night in one of their fabulous suites, I am sure the hotel did not mind. Not to mention that the images of the couple around the property make it look like heaven on earth, and without the flowers, the photos just would not have been the same. Thank you Tucker's Point for the kind gerbera donation!!
We originally planned the shoot for the Friday but, after 3 months of not a single drop, Bermuda's skies have at last answered everyone's prayers for rain a plenty to fill our tanks and the clouds have barely stopped. The weather report suggested that the Thursday would be a hint better so we decided to go for it, even though their wedding was only the day before. As I drove from Somerset to Tucker's Point at the other side of the Island, the sun was shining. But as soon as I arrived, the skies darkened, and rain threatened our big plans.
Click on the triptych or diptychs to see the images large.
By the time we made it down to Mid Ocean Club's beach, it was actually raining a bit. The flat low light did me no favours and although I have done my best to rescue the amazing details of Amanda's dress in the digital darkroom, I fear you cannot see how truly beautiful it was. She'd had it custom made in Boston by Daniel Faucher Couture Design, picking her favourite details from several different designers and combining them all into one exquisite creation.
We left Mid Ocean at about 7:30, having given up on the idea of the sun returning at all. Just as I was dropping the newlyweds back at Tucker's Point Hotel, Kenyon remembered that he had left his sunglasses on the beach. My heart sank as my chance to kiss the kids good night disappeared out the window. So the pair piled back into my unglamourous family wagon and we headed back to search for the shades. As we were driving back out of Tucker's Town for the second time that day, the sun unexpectedly burst through the cloud cover at last. I was so excited, I nearly toppled my toaster oven car as I pulled onto the golf course. We ran to this enchanting banyan tree where we were able to capture the real magic of the day - It was after 8, but it gave us about 20 minutes of the most amazing warm romantic light which bathed the two as they nuzzled. Amanda laughed as Kenyon settled into his "Officer and a Gentleman" mode and she played her part perfectly too. The results were definitely worth missing good night snuggles with my children for one night! And thank you Amanda and Kenyon for such a fun session.
For more images from Amanda and Kenyon's Day After Session, click here. The awesomely tender song, Singing You Through, is by Heather Nova.
Great shots! Love the feet and ring shots! They look like an amazing couple!
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