The noise and crowds were a bit too much for Grace van Cutsem on the balcony, but the photographer said she was adorable and knew how to pose for pictures (pictured right with Eliza Lopes)
An Old Harrovian and seasoned society photographer known for his charm and discretion, as well as his talent for portraits, Mr Burnand represents a more traditional choice than Mr Testino, who is famed for his glossy celebrity and fashion photoshoots.
However, Mr Burnand has photographed his share of A-listers, including Bill Clinton, President Mikhail Gorbachev, Baroness Thatcher, Victoria Beckham and Michael Jackson. He was also responsible for taking the pictures at the 1996 wedding of David and Samantha Cameron.
The Royal Wedding commission was a major coup for the London-based father of four, who has worked at Tatler magazine since 1993.
Yesterday, he described it as ‘the gig of the century’, adding: ‘It was amazing, incredible, and there were a couple of moments where I did pinch myself.’
Of the mood in the Throne Room, he said: ‘From where I was, and from their point of view, it was two families coming together and that was the feeling – the sense of family and love going between everyone.’
He described the happy couple as ‘just so nice as individuals and as a pair’, and revealed that Kate, who has worked as a photographer for her parents’ company Party Pieces, had contributed her own ideas for the pictures.
Mr Burnand got to know Prince William when he photographed him on his polo pony and at Windsor Castle as part of the wedding party for his father’s second marriage in 2005.
He shares with the prince a tragedy in his past: he, too, lost his mother in a car accident. Susan Gordon died in 1964, the year after he was born.
His stepmother Ursy Burnand, whom his father Peter married in 1967, is also a photographer – and was one of his assistants on the Royal Wedding shoot.
Born in Cannes, France, Mr Burnand won his first photography competition at the age of seven, at Cheam School, which was also attended by Prince Philip and Prince Charles.
During his time at Harrow, he became the school’s unofficial photographer, taking portraits of school-leavers.
He did not become a professional photographer until 1991, after a string of jobs including stable hand and insurance broker.
THE PHOTOGRAPHER AND HOW HE PREPARED FOR THE BIG DAY
Hugo Burnand, the official wedding photographerMr Burnand spent months preparing for the wedding.
He was accompanied by assistants including his stepmother, photographer Ursy Burnand, 71, who he says is an invaluable member of the team.
As well as cameras, spares and spares of spares, the team were carrying extensive lighting and computing equipment.
They were also using stopwatches to ensure perfect timing.
Mr Burnand has photographed everyone from Spike Milligan to Michael Jackson and former prime minister Lady Thatcher.
He was commissioned to photograph the marriage of the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall in 2005 and the wedding of David and Samantha Cameron in 1996.
Charles also asked him to take the birthday image which marked his 60th year in 2008.
Mr Burnand, 47, who has four children with wife Louisa, has also taken pictures of William and Prince Harry and the Queen.
He has been a photographer for Tatler magazine since 1993.
He has had an interest in cameras since he was a young boy and learned to develop his films and make prints using a makeshift darkroom in his family’s kitchen.
The old Harrovian, based in Notting Hill, west London, said: ‘I never really got nervous. You almost go into another zone when it’s happening.’
The Importance of Commitment
One of the biggest reasons why marriage is more successful than cohabitation is commitment. With marriage you make a pledge before God, your family and friends. Everyone knows you’re married; it’s a public declaration. In marriage, you’re more likely to make sacrifices for your mate and to strive to make the relationship work. Additionally, divorce is costly, both emotionally and financially. By its very nature, cohabitation encourages a lack of commitment and independence, and is an easy out for the partner that wants to pack a suitcase and leave.
According to Dr. Scott Stanley, a professor of Family and Marital Studies at the University of Denver, another reason to avoid cohabitation is what he calls “relationship inertia.”
“People who are cohabiting might end up marrying somebody they might not otherwise have married,” he says. In essence they’re “sliding, not deciding.”
Dr. Wilcox says that young men and women today think about marriage as the “Cadillac of relationships.”
“They want everything established including the perfect relationship, house and income,” he says. “Thirty years ago, someone cohabitated with a future spouse and were married within six months. Now, men and women are having more relationships and becoming habituated to starting intimate relationships, breaking up and starting over. It’s setting up a pattern of failure and not preparing them for a lifelong relationship.”
Cohabitation and habitual cohabitation not only involves fornication (Hebrews 13:4), which violates Scripture, but it also gives your heart away to someone that God has not joined with you. Indeed, we are admonished, “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life” (Proverbs 4:23).
Alicia and Al now have three young boys and a thriving relationship.
“Marriage would have been a tremendous event in our life had we waited and done things the right way,” said Al. “For me, that’s the biggest loss.”
“Getting married was like coming into this safe place suddenly,” said Alicia. “As a woman, most men look at you as something to be desired. Then I got married, and I had a safe place to be still and process.”
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