French Destination wedding : Clarisse + Thomas

When Clarisse and Thomas asked me to head to France and shoot their wedding this summer I didn’t hesitate to agree. Just a year after capturing the celebrations of Astrid  (Clarisses’s sister) and James in the perfect French seaside town of Le Croisic, I was thrilled to visit again and catch up with their welcoming family in their hometown.

Living in Paris, both Clarisse and Thomas are French. Although they (and most family / guests) spoke good English, it was obviously an all french speaking day. My approach is about observing and anticipating moments, a key element of which involves listening. Therefore before hand I wondered if my lack of French (other than the required ordering a glass of wine!) would affect my ability to “tune in’ and follow the story of the day.  Luckily all was well, I fell straight into my usual rhythm, floating around in my own bubble, looking for connections, light, compositions and emotion.

The day before the wedding, the beach reception marquee had nearly been blown into the sea and the rain equalled that of Manchester. Clarisse and Thomas were so laid back, just ready for a huge party and knew it would all be ok. Luckily come lunchtime of the big day, the French sun had returned and the wind died down, it was time to get married and have fun.

It was an honour to be part of the celebrations, everyone was so welcoming (yet again) and the love was flowing. Huge thanks to Clarisse, Thomas and their families for having me along. Who would believe capturing days like this is my job!