Good afternoon sports fans!
How are we after what can only be described as a very hot and sticky weekend?
Well, I'm not going to mess about this week, because, well, we're behind on blogs, as it's been incredibly busy here at JDP HQ, with so many weddings through August to blog about, and now a good few upcoming in September. So, let's get into the main event, and talk about the lovely Gemma and Jake, who tied the knot all the way in Portsmouth!
Now, unlike the weddings of this weekend, it's safe to say it wasn't a dry one for them both, but nevertheless, the stars aligned and somehow we lucked out with all the key outdoor moments being nice and dry with a decent break in what was a good few torrential downpours.
I'm early for everything, so when I arrived at Portsmouth Registry office, there was at least an hour for me to explore the area and to scope out a few locations for photos in between the ceremony and the reception venue.
Or well, at least that would have been the plan, had the weather not had other ideas. Unfortunately, it was an hour-and-a-half-long wait for me to sit in the registry office car park, scrolling through TikTok, watching the rain hammer down. Between the breaks in the showers, you could even see the famous spinnaker tower which can't have been any more than just a few streets over from the registry office!
Eventually, the time came for the main event, so I got the cameras ready, headed inside and greeted a very nervous Jake and his guests ahead of the ceremony.
Now, during the summer, Registry offices are essentially a conveyor belt of weddings. It's one wedding in, and one out pretty consistently throughout the busier months, and Portsmouth was no different. It usually means the registrars are pretty stressed and working to a tight timeline, meaning that if one bride runs even a little late, it has a knock-on effect on the rest of the day.
Gemma decided to make a fashionably late entrance. But you know what? I won't hold it against her one bit. In fact, it kept Jake on his toes and added an extra layer of excitement to the whole affair. Meanwhile, behind the scenes, the registrars were doing their best to keep their cool despite a tight schedule with the next ceremony already arriving for the slot just after Gemma and Jake's.
What followed was a very swift but beautiful ceremony. You'll be pleased to know, that Jake held up perfectly, and before we knew it, we were back outside capturing a smattering of group shots for the newlyweds as we had that well-needed break in the showers.
Ahead of time, I'd asked Gemma and Jake to think about some locations for photos between the ceremony and the reception venue. Not being local to Portsmouth in the slightest meant that I was relying on them for some ideas, but I was quietly hoping for some beachside photos since we were right on the coast!
As luck would have it, their driver had selected just a couple of perfect locations for some pictures, the first being a concealed rose garden, just a couple of feet away from the coastline, and the second being a few cheeky pictures outside the entrance to Portsmouth Football Club, who the couple are avid supports of. I did joke about taking them up to Leicester to the King Power Stadium to see a proper club, but Jake was having none of it.
After we'd wrapped up those more intimate shots, we made our way to the reception venue, so they could both greet their guests and begin to relax a little after completing the more nerve-racking events of the day.
Whenever I do a wedding, the day seems to fly by, so after a quick drink, it was back to the final events for the day in the shape of speeches, the cake cutting and of course the first dance, which the couple had chosen to group together.
It was unfortunately a short and sweet day with Gemma and Jake, but that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy myself any less than I would have if it was a full day of photography. They were both champs through the whole day, and even though the nerves were definitely present, I couldn't have been happier with how they threw themselves into the photos from start to finish.
Just another AWESOME couple to add to the list!
Peace. Love and Photos.
Jono x
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