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Antony Burdett-Clark ~ Hampshire Wedding Supplier Awards Photographer Of The Year

Let me tell you about my friend Antony Burdett-Clark.

I am very lucky to work alongside many brilliant wedding suppliers including some very talented photographers. Today I’d like to put the spotlight on one of them ~ the wonderful Antony Burdett-Clark the owner of Lightbox Studios.

This picture is one of my all-time favourites taken by Antony at Amy and Matt’s Wedding in 2013. It really captures an amazing moment that encapsulates my drive to make weddings all about the couple.

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I first met Antony when I was the DJ at The SuperBowl in Millbrook around 1996 and we renewed our friendship when we found ourselves booked for a SuperBowl colleagues wedding in 2010.

It was Antony who persuaded me to enter the Hampshire Wedding Supplier Awards and you may have seen the wonderful testimonial he wrote for me CLICK HERE

I was honoured to write a testimonial for him as part of his entry to the Awards ~ and here it is …

As a supplier of music, master of ceremonies and DJ services at weddings I have a unique view of what happens from about two hours before the ceremony until after the last dance. This means I have an amazing insight into what helps create a great wedding – a fantastic photographer is right at the heart of this and the photographer I’m writing this testimonial for is one of the very best.

A photographer captures images, a wedding photographer has to do that and so much more. I’ve had the privilege to work alongside this photographer on several occasions and seen the effort, passion and love that goes into their work – nothing is too much trouble in their quest to give their couples the best experience possible while capturing the special moments.

This photographer puts people at ease quickly and creates a great atmosphere, that’s fun to be part of it.

What’s best for the couple is paramount and being prepared to “go the extra mile” for them is normal. This isn’t a photographer who can’t wait to get away as soon as possible.

They are always keen to understand the requirements of the other suppliers working at the wedding so, for example, delivering the couple to the wedding breakfast on time is never a problem.

We’ve worked together at weddings where “family issues” were a possible concern and they have made sure that everybody was kept happy and had a great day.

You only have to look at this photographers pictures to realise they have great technical ability and a real eye for a perfect picture, but their ability goes beyond this. They are a real “people person”, making couples and their friends and families relax in front of the camera and enjoy the experience of being photographed.

Most importantly they love what they do, they love their couples and their couples love them.

I’m absolutely delighted that Antony Burdett-Clark won the award for the Best Wedding Photographer.

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antony-burdett-clarkIt was Antony who broke the news of our wins on FaceBook on Saturday morning when he posted this picture which has now received over 175 likes.

I’m really looking forward to the two weddings we are working on together next year.

To find out more about Antony Burdett-Clark and Lightbox PLEASE CLICK HERE

September weddings

Evening Photos ~ WOW Countdown … 3

Please don’t miss out on evening photos!

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Many photographers recommend a package that ends just after the first dance – as a DJ I see plenty of amazing moments that sometimes never get photographed! So how about asking your photographer about staying until the end and/or finding out they can be flexible at the end of the day.

It’s not uncommon for photographers insisting on the first dance being held too early – well in my opinion too early anyway. I think the evening guests should have arrived before the first dance – I could go on about this for days … ask me if you’d like to know more.

Another option is a photo booth or even booking a separate photographer for the evening? Just like photographers, photo booths need to be booked on reputation and quality – don’t make the mistake of thinking they are all the same. One of my favourite photo booth providers Toni from Speedy Pix will be at my event on Tuesday – he offers an amazing service and lots of very clever options. I totally you recommend you talk to him if you are considering having a booth – CLICK HERE to find out more about Speedy Pix

It’s quite common for new guests to arrive for the evening reception who will have missed out on the ‘official’ photos, so why not have your DJ co-ordinate additional group and individual shots at an appropriate point during the evening?

Book your places for my “Creating Your WOW Wedding event NOW – email paul@thepartydj.co.uk

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real weddings

Photographs ~ WOW Countdown … 6

Photographs ~ they say “a picture is worth a thousand words”, so displaying photo’s is a great way of telling your story and engaging with your guests.

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The first “W” in the “WOW” system is for “Weave” yourselves into the day – what better way than including your childhood photographs, your parents’ and grandparents’ wedding photos, shots from your hen and stag events, pictures of your pets ~ in fact anything you want! You can also add snaps from the day as you go along so that evening guests can get a real flavour of the whole day. You can display them in frames or on a screen or projected on a spare wall, is a great way to entertain your guests and help you weave YOU into the day.

If you are having a “destination wedding” abroad and having a party when you come back a photomontage of your trip and ceremony is an absolute essential!

If you haven’t already read “Your WOW Wedding” email me and I’ll forward a link to you ~ paul@thepartydj.co.uk

We are now one week away from the “creating Your WOW Wedding” event at Ampfield Golf Club when I’ll be running through a wedding day timeline and explaining how you can use use “WOW” to make yours the best wedding day ever! Tickets are £10 per couple with all proceeds going to The Countess Mountbatten Hospice Charity ~ CLICK HERE for more information. Reserve your places now ~ email me today ~ paul@thepartydj.co.uk

Antony on me! A testimonial from a professional colleague.

“Antony on me!” is the second of three posts featuring recent testimonials in support of my nomination for The Hampshire Wedding Awards.

This review is from Antony Burdett-Clark of Lightbox Studios.

Antony was the photographer at one of the first weddings I did on my return to DJ’ing a few years back and we’ve done a fair few together since. He is an absolute joy to work alongside, and creates a relaxed, fun atmosphere which he captures brilliant with his photography. Here’s what Antony had to say about me …

“Picture your stereotypical Wedding DJ… Now scrap that image completely. Paul Taylor is far from your average DJ.

Most DJ’s rock up whilst the Wedding Breakfast and Speeches are being finished, ready to set up their gear as soon as guests are out of the way, with the first meaningful part of their responsibilities being to play the Bride & Groom’s First Dance “…if I’ve got it!”.

They’ll play a ‘fun’ mixture of music they think people will like, throw on a few laser lights that resemble an over-enthusiastic S.W.A.T. Team, and for the most part of the evening, the dance-floor will remain empty, except for a few kids doing knee-slides and Granny having ‘a little bop’ with the Bride or Groom.”

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“On any given wedding day. by the time DJ Average is jumping in the car to head to the venue, Paul Taylor has already been working hard for several hours for his Wedding couple.

In fact, weeks of preparations, including several meetings with the couple, designed to build a relationship and trust, and to learn about the Bride and Groom almost intimately, have been undertaken to make sure that the wedding party isn’t just a bit of music and dancing, but it’s a full-scale celebration for everyone, with the couple at the heart of every aspect of his role.

All of Paul’s celebrations could almost be called an immersive experience, from ‘getting to know’ the Bride and Groom, fun quizzes to help break the ice amongst guests during the wedding breakfast, and just from his ridiculously ‘at-ease’ nature, beaming smile and warm personality, he can keep even the feistiest wedding party or the most challenging of circumstances completely under control. You can’t ever accuse Paul of being unprepared, even including props and inflatables for the evening party, not that his packed dancefloors need any more encouragement!”

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“From a personal point of view, working alongside Paul is an absolute dream. As a photographer, I have to keep to tight schedules and fit in a lot in a short space of time, so having someone like Paul in his role of Master of Ceremonies means that I know what’s happening and when, and everything runs like clockwork. We’ve worked on more than a few weddings together, and not one has seen a problem that couldn’t be quickly solved by Paul.”

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“I immediately recommended Paul to my brother when he was preparing to get married 3 years ago, along with various other suppliers that I knew, from photographers to florists.

I was delighted when I heard that Paul would be there, and as expected, Paul’s ‘laid-back but in total control’ style won everybody over, and the compliments just kept on coming all day and night from many of my friends and relatives who were there.

Even finding an obscure backing track to an old 60’s comedy song for a (badly rehearsed) song about ‘My Brother’ was no challenge for Paul, and it was greatly appreciated.

After the wedding, reflecting on everything, both Dads (who’d paid for most if it!) agreed that “The best money we spent on the whole wedding was having Paul there. He was superb”. After the effort, stress and emotion of a wedding, this is the ultimate testimony to how good someone is at their job.”

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“Paul is always the first person I recommend to every one of my wedding couples, and whilst he continues to do this job that he clearly loves and enjoys with such enthusiasm, and especially as he’s the best in the business, I always will”

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Weddings in Hampshire

Thanks Antony for your kind words, it’s always a pleasure to work together and I can’t wait for the next time!

All the pictures on this blog were taken by Antony at Aimee and Matt’s wedding back in 2013. It’s amazing how my enquiries come in – click here for another blog post relating to Aimee and Matt’s wedding. Aimee posted this on her FaceBook page the morning after her wedding …

“Our DJ and photographer were … well … more than we ever expected. You both made our day truly fabulous, unique and absolutely perfect for us. You will remain special people in our hearts leaving us with the best memories of our life!”

For more about Antony and Lightbox Studios CLICK HERE.

You can see more testimonials from my professional colleagues at the bottom of this page (click here) If you need a photographer, a cake maker, florist, venue, whatever, I’ll do my best to help you find one even if you chose someone else to be your DJ.

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* Note to self … Stop Apologising ~ Start Blogging!

Lyndhurst Park Wedding DJ

For goodness sake Paul, how hard is it to find a few minutes to keep people up-to-date with what’s happening.

After all the last few months have been AMAZING and what have you posted?

… NOTHING!

Sort yourself out man, get a grip, let’s get this started … NOW!!!

Photo c/o the brilliant Kim Collins