Mark Sisley Photography

This would be like choosing my favourite child! Each & every wedding is unique, and I love them all, whether it’s in a village hall or a stately home!

Colourful, informal, very organised and quick, dramatic night-time images

Having so many four and five star Buckinghamshire venues recommending me is the ultimate compliment. The wedding coordinators know that I get consistently great feedback on the wedding day from both the couple and the guests. They know I'm quick with any requested group pictures, and that when there are inevitable hitches in the plan for the day I'm flexible, adaptable and cheerful. I'm recommended by: Cliveden House Hotel, Waddesdon Manor, The Five Arrows Hotel, The Dairy Waddesdon, Hartwell House Hotel, Missenden Abbey, Taplow House Hotel, Hampden House, Chartridge Lodge Hotel and Dorton House.

Be brave, in your choice of colour scheme! Some of the most beautiful, dramatic weddings I've attended have included bold, vibrant colours in the flowers, bridesmaids outfits and decorations. Especially on a dark or overcast day when your guests may choose more sombre colours, your bridal party will stand out with a vivid splash of colour. One of the most dramatic weddings I've attended recently chose a black and white theme, with accents of vibrant yellow sunflowers. It was clean and modern, and the sunflowers gave just the right pop of colour. Another couple chose vivid pink and brilliant orange as their colour scheme. Although it rained on the day, the photographs are bright and colourful.

I'll never forget the school children who came to congratulate their music teacher after her church service; 40 children sang thier hearts out in an aisle as she exited the church with her new husband. I've never seen so many tears of happiness, not to mention the big hugs all around.

Most couples make their initial contact via phone or email. I usually invite them to my Amersham premises for an informal chat. This is an ideal opportunity for you to view my portfolio and for us to get to know each other. After this meeting I encourage you not to make a quick decision; instead I guarantee your wedding date in my diary for the next 7 days. If you decide to proceed, I ask you to complete my booking form and pay a securing deposit (usually about 30% of the total package.) Once I've received that, I'll send you a confirmation letter by return. For weddings of six hours attendance or more, I like to meet with you a few weeks before the wedding at your venue to run through timings, types of photographs, any family considerations etc. It helps for us to walk around the various backdrops together to discuss our ideas. For weddings less than six hours' attendance, I'll arrange a phone chat with you instead. Approx 2-3 weeks after the wedding, a mini-gallery of about 50 images will be ready. Once you've approved these and paid the remaining balance, the remaining images will go live in an online preview gallery. All of these images have been processed to a very good standard. You'll select your absolute favourite, to be optimised to a fine art standard. Please allow an additional two weeks for these to be prepared, at which point I will send you the USB of your wedding. If you would like an album, I'll need to know your favourite images to include in the designs. My graphic designer will produce the artworks for your approval. Once we have the go-ahead, your album will be ready for collection within 4-6 weeks.

The most popular image I capture is at dusk. I'm known for my unique lighting techniques, which capture the details of the building and landscape whilst you are positioned in the foreground. These images create a fabulous grand finale to your wedding album. To see more about the beauty and dramatic results of these images, do take a look at the blog posting on my website showing the Before and After results with this lighting.

The most original and the most difficult photo I've ever been asked for was when I was asked to capture an owl flying the wedding rings down the aisle. This happened in the blink of an eye with zero chance of a second take! I'm pleased to report the couple were thrilled with the images I captured for them.

You never plan for it to be raining on your wedding day, but it's good to have a Plan B. Many of my weddings are during the winter months, and I'm often working in difficult lighting conditions. If your ceremony is taking place in a church, I like to use the church interior for a fantastic, dramatic backdrop for group pictures. (Not to mention warm and dry!) Older buildings can sometimes appear quite dark; my unique lighting methods keep both the foreground and background crystal clear. The architectural features of your venue also make great rainy day options: archways and doorways are beatiful for silhouettes, and even in the simplest of venues window light portraits are beautifully flattering. At my studio I keep several display albums from weddings captured on rainy days, and most people viewing them can hardly believe how awful the conditions were! No matter what the weather outside, you'll still have beautiful, bright colourful images.

I got the bug for photography on a trip to Africa as a 14yr language exchange student - with so many mesmerising landscapes I just couldn’t put the camera down! I studied photography for the next four years before going on to become an assistant for the next four years in London. I worked for some of the capital’s leading advertising photographers, and this training proved invaluable to me. I’ll never forget working on many of the big budget billboard campaigns, then being able to see these huge posters as I commuted into London each day.