Artis Studios Blog

A unique first dance...

Kat Toft — Wed Sep 03 11:52:00 -0700 2008

Some would say that a first dance should be for the newly married couple - but Serena and James thought a little differently!

Instead of following tradition, their first dance included their three children. There was lots of singing and spinning in circles to Take That's song 'Rule the World'.

The band, Rollercoaster, who sang their version of the song were brilliant, and continued to keep people dancing right up until I had to leave! The marquee that the people at the Royal Berkshire set up was also amazing. The ceiling of stars really made a really beautiful setting, and a great background for our photos!

Kat

Photographers/Bridesmaids!

Kat Toft — Thu Aug 21 12:49:00 -0700 2008

We really can't let go, even when its some of our best friends getting married and we are bridesmaids at their wedding! It's what we love, and so couldn't bear to watch any other wedding photographer do it, so we had to work it out. With the help of one of our best assistants we managed to have a good balance of taking photos, being in photos, and enjoying the party!

Here are some photos of us being on the other side of the camera for a change! It was brilliant doing up the dress, after watching so many other bridesmaids do it, and it was great getting our friends together for some fun group photos.

Kat and Hannah

The perfect getting ready room...

Kat Toft — Fri Aug 15 08:27:00 -0700 2008

We sometimes get worried brides who are getting ready at home and worry that their pictures are not going to look as nice as the brides who get ready in fancy hotel rooms - well this is to prove them wrong!

At our last wedding, Jo and her daughters (bride and bridesmaids) all got ready in a beautiful bedroom. The plain purple walls made great backdrops, and the mirror in the window gave me some really creative shots.

The light from the big window made all the girls look great, so our advice is always to keep the room uncluttered and have lots of natural light!

August Portrait Promotion

Kat Toft — Sat Aug 09 12:04:00 -0700 2008

August Portrait Promotion

An emotional wedding - even the cake was in tears!

Kat Toft — Mon Aug 04 09:25:00 -0700 2008

Yes, this joke was actually used by the father of the bride in the opening of his speech (I couldn't work out whether to write tears or tiers to best effect!). Unfortunately, the joke didn't go down exactly as he hoped which in itself had myself, the bride and I'm sure many others in stitches!

But it really was an emotional wedding and just to prove his point, here are some emotion filled photos from throughout the day. As well as tears, there was loads of laughter and the whole day was definitely enjoyed by everyone.

Kat

Wedding with the Jets

Kat Toft — Thu Jul 31 01:57:00 -0700 2008

We shot a civil partnership at the weekend and it was definitely one to remember!

Sam and Sarah were married at Westonbirt Arboretum in Stroud, then had their reception at Kemble Airport.

Sam, who is really in to her planes, arranged a jet fly by as they arrived at the airport. No-one was expecting it when it first flew overhead and the noise definitely got peoples attention!

We got some brilliant shots, despite the planes speed. We also did some couple shots next to the red arrow which came out stunning!

Hannah

Award winning puppy

Kat Toft — Sat Jul 19 10:04:00 -0700 2008

We had a gorgeous lab puppy in the studio a few months ago and the shoot was lots of fun. Sparky kept on bouncing over to me and sitting on my lap, which wasn't very useful but incredibly cute!

After Sparkie's crazy half hour, we turned down all the lights and wrapped him up in our fluffy blanket. He slowly calmed down and thats when we got our favourite image. We submitted it to the Pets section of the SWPP International print competition and was awarded a gold merit. It will go through to the final at the end of the year to compete for Pet Photographer of the Year.

Its the first picture displayed below, but I have also included some other great moments from the shoot.

Hannah

Silly Faces!

Kat Toft — Mon Jul 14 09:08:00 -0700 2008

One of my recent weddings at the Berystede Hotel in Ascot saw a fantastic turnout (150 guests).

The Bride and Groom had a great sense of humour and after seeing a sample piece at our studio, requested our pop-art style montage of all the groomsmen and all the hen-night girls, which we gladly sorted. We got some fantastic faces from everyone involved and it made a really great memento of the day.

We also got some great shots of the Groom in his mates Aston Martin DB9 (who generously volunteered it for a few photos). This proved a very popular moment in the day with a lot of the lads (and me!) and the Groom got to take it for a little drive too. Fantastic Day!

Hannah

The surprise wedding (yes, really!)

Kat Toft — Wed Jul 09 13:09:00 -0700 2008

I didn't know if the bride could pull it off - keeping the wedding day a secret for just under a year, but she managed to do it!

Pete, the groom, thought he was just having a 40th birthday party until he was called in the morning (he had been convinced to go out with the lads the night before his birthday) to say that he had to get to the Registry Office to get married!

He said that he was absolutely stunned, but so so happy - I really wish I had been there to get a photo of that first reaction! I did get the first moment they met at the registry office though, which was lovely!

Here are a few photos from the day of Julie, Pete and the kids.

The Modern Barndance

Kat Toft — Wed Jul 02 14:03:00 -0700 2008

This was a great wedding at Tynley Hall in Hook. The day went perfectly as the rain held off for all the outdoor shots.

Chris, the groom, told me towards the end of the night that they had decided just three weeks before to choreograph something for there first dance. I caught them practicing their moves a couple of times, and the bride even changed into socks for the event! They needn't have worried as they were great.

A great part for me was at the end of the night with a modern barn dance called a 'Ceilidh'. It really got everyone up together dancing and caused loads of laughter as the whole group were learning the steps. Once they got it down, I got some brilliant dancing pictures!

Kat

Italian Inspired

Kat Toft — Sun Jun 29 05:19:00 -0700 2008

One of our recent weddings was at the beautiful Chiswick House in London. The Grooms large Italian family perfectly matched the Italian inspired architecture.

We set up a unique group shot utilising the large pillars at the front of the house. We also made good use of the large gardens and grand interior of the house for the bride and grooms shoot. The small details of the whole wedding really came together to create some stunning photographs!

Kat

Wedding by the Thames

Kat Toft — Sun Jun 22 13:53:00 -0700 2008

Our other Wedding on 7th June was at the beautiful Runnymede Hotel and Spa situated right on the Thames. We all got to enjoy fantastic weather on the river banks and the ushers had some fun threatening to throw the groom into the river!

The bride and groom were really up for trying something different and trekked out of the hotel into some nearby long grass for some really lovely shots, despite the grooms (and my) hay fever!

Hannah

Best of British

Kat Toft — Thu Jun 12 11:32:00 -0700 2008

One of our weddings on 7th June 2008 was at the beautiful Aldermaston Manor, Berkshire. The couples theme was 'British'. This included arriving in a vintage Morris Minor, a cake made completely of cupcakes topped with a Union Jack flag and all this hosted in a classic English country house.

The cupcakes were a big hit (I know I loved mine - thanks Claire!), even though one of them managed to get all over the grooms face by the end of the evening!

Kat

The Dancing Shoot

Kat Toft — Sun Jun 08 02:31:00 -0700 2008

As a surprise for the dad's 60th birthday, this family came down from London to do a shoot. We started off with some really casual relaxed family poses, but then the daughter really wanted to try out some dancing photos! They turned out brilliant - got some great laughs and great poses out of them.

Right at the end the son wanted to do a couple of model shots - as he'd been working on his abs! The dad, also wanted to get in on these and do a couple of Samuel L Jackson poses with his kangol hat!

Kat

Married in Ibiza!

Kat Toft — Sun Jun 01 06:14:00 -0700 2008

This was one of those weddings that we knew would be something different from the beginning! Lisa and Jez had hired out a luxury villa in Ibiza for their friends and family to come and celebrate their special day with them.

It was great fun to photograph - so many beautiful locations and backdrops, and one of the rare opportunities Hannah and I get to shoot a wedding together. It was a really busy day with lots of running around - climbing on the villa roof and avoiding the pool!

The whole day had a really chilled out, relaxed feel and the photos definitely show what a great time everyone had. We were so excited about the images we had edited half of the wedding by the time we flew back the next day!

Hannah and Kat