I get a lot of testimonials and thank you letters from couples, some of which can be seen on the testimonials section of my website www.captiv8.uk.com but I received a lovely email last night from Lucie & Chris who were married last year in Peebles. They live in Holland, and were married at St Peters Church in Peebles, with the reception at Neidpath Castle. Here’s the link to the original blog post : Lucie & Chris
Anyway, their beautiful album was delivered to Chris’s family and they have only just received it, and sent me a beautiful email last night which I felt I had to share. It’s too big for the testimonial page so deserves a blog post of it’s own! It’s things like this that make this job so special and often bring a tear to my eye. It really is a great privilege to play such a big part in the happiest day of someone’s life, and I think sometimes people get too bogged down in the business side of things and forget this. The emotions and feelings on a wedding day are the main reason I am a wedding photographer and not concentrating on other types of photography. I still get the same buzz from seeing the day unfold as I did when I started, well over 300 weddings ago. It is a great honour therefore to be chosen to capture all these moments, and I am very grateful to everyone who puts time and thought into choosing me to do this. Anyway, enough waffling, here’s the words from Lucie and Chris.
Dear John,
So, finally, I managed to get back to the UK and pick up the wedding album this weekend. Even then a volcano nearly scuppered the trip!
It was such a thrill to open the box and see the album for the first time – I love the aluminium look, it’s different and has a real wow factor. And the images themselves are fantastic. You made us both look like superstars – some of the images look like they’ve come straight from the pages of a fashion magazine.
It’s hard to pick favourites, since there are so many wonderful memories within each picture. I think we both agree though that the shot of us dancing together in the wooden room is absolutely amazing. I also think some of the shots you got of Lucie in the castle are simply stunning….I could look at them for hours.
Two other things strike me about your work. One is that you have captured all the classic wedding poses – bride arriving at church, bride and groom coming down the aisle, cake cutting etc. – but somehow put a movement and an emotion into them which gets away from cliché, which is no mean feat. The second is that wherever I turn a page, I see genuine smiles and laughter, which is how I remember the day. You truly captured the most precious day in our lives in a way that will refresh our memories forever. Thank you so much.
With sincere regards,
Chris Goater
Hi John,
At last Chris was able to get the wedding album from his parents and I’m actually really glad it we had to wait, as the pleasure of having so many wonderful memories vividly awakened was even more intense because of the time lapse.
You have captured my darling Chris perfectly in his full handsome splendour and I was just saying to him last night that the album will probably be on the Antiques Road Show in 200 years time as a work of art (well, I was getting a bit carried away which I can blame on the hormones but you never know!)
I loved your judgement in knowing exactly when something will best express the moment in colour, black and white or sepia shades and in the way you put together the whole wedding as a story with very clear chapters in different styles. I’m so glad we had you as our photographer. So many wedding albums can be a bit on the twee side, but you managed to make the whole thing look very cool and super stylish with not a cliché in sight.
We will be in touch very soon to order more prints so that we can enjoy them every day and give them to our friends and family.
With warmest wishes,
Lucie Goater
