Wedding Photographers Southampton, Hampshire, Solent Studios

These are photos from Gemma & Simon's shoot down at Warsash Shore. The shoot was much later than we'd originally planned because the bad weather meant we had to keep postponing the shoot. However, we managed to find a blue sky day, even if it was a bit breezy – it did put Simon's hair gel to the test – and it passed with flying colours. I was a little apprehensive prior to their shoot as their wedding was not so long ago and the photographer they hired produced some amazing images, one of which was on the front cover of Your Hampshire & Dorset Wedding magazine, and I was a little unsure whether my style would suit what they were looking for – but their feedback has been good and put my mind at ease.

So, after a year of training, a lot of hills and a lot of miles I finally ticked something off my "before I'm 40" list and cycled Land's End to John O'Groats.

I did the 900-mile ride with my not-so-little brother Rich and our support driver and top family friend, Bob and we got it all complete in 10-days!

It was a tough slog, we got so much support from friends, family and colleagues and managed to raise over £2,500 with online and offline donations that has gone to help a very close family we know and Great Ormond Street Hospital.

As much as my body knows it's cycled the mammoth route it's not yet quite come to a realisation in my mind.

Here's a few photos from the very gorgeous Rebecca and rather dapper Shaun's wedding at Warbrook House in Hampshire.

Warbrook House is a truly stunning venue and is ideal for wedding photography. Here's a few photos from the day.

Last week I caught up with Jenny & Jamie for a pre-wedding shoot to warm things up ready for their big day later this month at the very gorgeous Chewton Glen Hotel in New Milton.

These guys are a serious pair of love bugs that are just full of energy and heaps of other good stuff that make it so easy to get some great images.

Just so you know, from 31st August to 9th September 2011, Rich (my lil' bro') and I are cycling from Land's End to John O'Groats in aid of Great Ormond Street Hospital. That's around 1,000-miles in 10-days on what feels like a razor sharp saddle.

Originally I was going to do the task alone as "something to do before I was 40" (which is at the end of 2011)  but when I told Rich we sort of found ourselves doing the trip together. Also, we now have Lee (my brother-in-law) volunteering 10-days of his holiday to act as our support driver.

You can find out more about the ride on our dedicated website: www.2brothers2bikes.com or if you wish to donate a pound or two to our charity fund raising please visit our fund raising page at Just Giving.

Dean and Natalie’s wedding day was back in April and like two other weddings I photographed that month it was blessed with sunshine.

The building works at Bartley Lodge were finished just in time for their wedding and the new reception area is so much better than when I was last there shooting a wedding.

There’s so much I could write about Natalie & Dean’s wedding, but hopefully the pictures will describe their day better than my words.

Gemma & Jay got married at Stanwell House in Lymington. It’s a wedding venue I’d heard of but not been to before. When I arrived it was easy to understand why these guys chose this place. The intimacy, the character, the location, everything about the place just provides an amazing atmosphere – although I think that was also partly due to the family and friends at Gemma & Jay’s wedding.

After the ceremony Pimms was served in the country style garden, there was a handful of group photos and lots of chatting and chilling as so many guests knew each other. After the wedding breakfast and some rather fine speeches we popped down to Lymington harbour to get some bride & groom photos and take advantage of the low sun.

2011 for me is turning out to be a strange year for wedding photography. The usually busy months of June, July and August all seem to be quiet for weddings, while April, October and December are really busy. This past weekend I was fortunate to photograph two very different but equally fantastic weddings in Dorset.

Here’s a quick sneak peek from Lisa & Chris’s wedding that I photographed on Saturday at Sandbanks Hotel. As the weather was so sunny we held off photographing their portraits until after the wedding breakfast when the sun was lower in the sky and a much softer light.