Real Grooms: James Livesley
Another week, another real groom courtesy of Chris Hanley who seems to have a knack for shooting stylish grooms, we suggest he strongly considers making a career out of it. This week it’s James Livesley.
Name: James Livesley
Age: 28
Bride: Katie Perry
Where did you get married?
Sandhole Oak Barn in Cheshire, it’s a gorgeous setting on a lake…with a really relaxed atmosphere, so we fell for it as soon as we saw it.
Where was your stag do – any scars?
Just a group of mates on a weekend in Edinburgh – no scars, just a sore head on Monday morning….and maybe dented pride if the pictures of me in an elephant suit ever go public! Had a great time paintballing, fairly relaxed drinking and footie watching before England was knocked out of the World Cup and it all turned bitter.
Best man and ushers names:
Jonnie Barlow, Martin Wallwork, Tim Sunderland, Mike Havard, Phil Perry, James Perry.
What did you wear on the day:
I wore a pale-ish grey Paul Smith suit with a pin stripe with a cornflower blue Hugo Boss tie that had just enough detail. I was talked into getting a new pair of shoes…as the ones I wanted to wear turned up at the toes like jester’s shoes! The wedding ones were Cheaney from House of Fraser.
Katie and I both felt really strongly that everyone should feel comfortable and at ease on the day, so my best man and ushers wore their own clothes, and scrubbed up nicely. Jonnie wore the same tie as me though…by design. Our button holes were large orchids that were the flower of the day. A nice structural look that worked for the boys as well as the girls.
What three pieces of advice could you give to other grooms going through the wedding process now?
Don’t stress just enjoy the day! Nothing can beat the feeling of seeing the woman you love walking down the aisle, about to become your wife. Anything else is just gift wrapping, so it doesn’t matter!
With that sentiment in mind, spend as much time with your bride on the day as you can. We were given that advice by lots of newly weds, but didn’t realise how hard it would be! You really have to make the effort to steal a few moments to just be together.
Choose a photographer whose work you love. Chris Hanley was recommended to us by Katie’s auntie, a lady of authority, who said we’d regret it forever if we didn’t have a lasting record that did the day justice. I’m so glad we listened to her as we’ve spent every day since the wedding poring over the photos…we keep noticing little details we hadn’t spotted about the day before, and great expressions on people’s faces!
A word for the lady, come on, say something emotional about your bride…
Katie looked truly sensational on the day, and it was an amazing moment marrying the woman of my dreams.
Staggered says: There’s not much to add to what James says really other than the fact that we’re seeing a lot of grooms choosing a pinstripe suit and blue is very much the colour of choice for 2010′s modern groom.
After initially being a bit unsure about the orchid – because it’s a hell of a flower to set to a lapel and presumably would require a fair amount of tarting about with on the day – the office opinion is that this really works but that’s largely because James isn’t over-shadowed by it. In the end it’s a good example of choosing things that work for you, and not being daunted by taking off-road decisions.
Finally – what a great group shot. If that isn’t better than a thousand formal staged photos then we’ll eat our starched shirts, kudos as ever to Mr Hanley and long life and best wishes to the Livesleys.
Are you a photographer who has shot a smart and stylish Real Groom? Want to help us showcase that there are blokes out there who put a hell of a lot of thought and attention into how they look on their big day? Why then, get in touch!
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