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.

It was colder that it looked out on Saltburn Beach for Anna and Nick’s pre-wedding shoot.  Anna was Helen’s bridesmaid back in August and I think she and Nick were pleased with the job I did because we’re heading off to France later this year for their wedding – I can’t wait!!

I think they both enjoyed this shoot although it’s important that Kudos is given to Nick for the ‘winning’ shot (the piggy back).  It was all his idea – I had nothing to do with it!

As well as the images below, there’s a slideshow of the highlights here – post a comment and let me know what you think.

]