Andrew and Lynsey had their Wedding Photography at Gomersal Park Hotel

It was a day to remember  (12/06/2010) and I am not talking about the start of England’s  disastrous start to their World Cup Campaign when they could only managed a team “draw with the USA, but the fantastic Wedding day of Andrew and Lynsey at the beautiful Gomersal Park Hotel.Its a great venue, and, for this Leeds based wedding photographer it was great to photograph here on such a wonderful Summers day.

I arrive at Lynsey’s house a couple of hours before the wedding. It great to get there early as it just nice to be able to take some wonderful pictures of the Bride getting ready and also pictures of the proud parents before the nerves begin to surface.

Yvonne (my lovely assistant) and myself got to work taking some pictures of Lynsey. I decided to shoot a little bit different than usual, so I used a different form of lighting to compliment Lynsey. In this shot you see here we have used a bit of photoshop work on Lynsey, not because she really needed it but just to give her that extra special look that every Bride deserves on their wedding day. We also did a bit of PS on Andrew as well so he didn’t feel left out!

Once at Gomersal Park we photographed the “boys” in a selection of “set ups” I dont like to pose people as this often looks awkward and  unnatural, so we direct people which is so much better and looks great. The lads like to look “macho” as well so its a “win win” all round.

The day went along really well but the heat was a little bit too much on occasions  so we left the guests in the shade drinking “Pims” and eating the tasty looking canapes. I took some great pictures of the Bridal party down near the trees and Lynsey and Andrew had a great time with the photography.

Soon it was time for the Wedding Breakfast and the speeches which we always like to cover. You can get so many great pictures of peoples reactions to the speeches. After this we had another 20 minutes with the happy couple and shot some lovely romantic portraits of them both.

The day was a great success for everybody  and I have to say thar Andrew looked “dapper” in the white suit. Not many guys can carry this off but he did it so well.

For me personally it was great to have a couple who value the photography at their wedding. We will be looking into entering some into competition this or maybe next year so fingers crossed!

Damien and Wendy at Waterton Park Hotel Wakefield

Who cares about the weather not Wendy.

What a contast to the day before when the weather  was “cracking the flags”. When we arrived at Waterton Hall near Wakefield the weather was a compleateley different picture, rain rain and more rain. As it happens thats not such a bad thing at Walton Hall as the place is such a wonderful venue to tale photographs inside but as we stay all day I knew we had a good chance to take some pictures later on and indeed it proved that to be the case.

In the morning the rain never stopped but as Wendy crossed over the bridge to meet her future husband it looked like she didnt have a care in the world. I knew she was a little bit nervous as she had told me earlier but looking at the picture here I dont think you can tell.After the ceremony, Wendy and Damien had the reception on the Island. We took photographs  of the family groups in the Libarary  and ammassed the whole of the wedding party at the bottom of the stairs for the whole group shot, which worked really well.

Emotional speeches were the order of the day as Damien refused to have a scripted speech and let it come from the heart, and he had just about all the room in tears too.

Later we decided to go outside to take some more pictures of the happy couple. Thankfully the weather cleared up and we began to take some arty pictures.

The big scenic arch that bears the cross of christ on the very top of it, stands out as a place to photograph the happy couple and before long we were in front of the house by the columns and then by the door and then up to the top floor inside where we set some more romantic pictures.

Wendy also wanted some “nightime” pictures in front of the house but as it was only 7.00pm we arranged to go out again around about 9.30 just before it got totally black. So i finished off the slideshow that we were to show on the giant screen in  the “squires bar” at 8.30. The slideshow presentation went down great and all the people I met loved it then we were off to shoot the last remaining pictures.

All the couple that I photograph have an eye for a picture, I think thats why they pick me for my style. Wendy and Damien knew just exactly what they wanted and we so generous in giving up some of their time for me. The slide show you can view below is just a few of the pictures we took that grey day but because of their willingness to give that little bit more their album will be great. Thank you Wendy and Damien

Rogerthorpe Manor Wedding

Last Saturday we were invited to photograph a delightful couple called Victoria and Kevin at Rogerthorpe Manor. We arrived at the house where Victoria planned to get ready. The place was a hive of activity as you would expect on the morning of a big wedding. We photographed the biridesmaids and the lovely bride getting ready and of course we shot the finer details lie the flowers and shoes.

We then met the  Groom and the Ushers at church. Kevin and the lads were so funny and nobody seemed nervous at all. Kevin and Victoria must be a very popular couple as they had one hundred and forty guests at the wedding!. The church where the couple were married is  what we call a “high church” which is very religous and would not allow any pictures to be taken inside apart from signing the register, although they did allow three video cameras to film the entire event, strange that, but I managed to sneek a few pictures of the couple.

After the ceremony we set off to the delightful Rogerthorpe Manor which is over 400 years old, although its been refurbished a couple of times since then and looks great. With over one hundred and forty guests at the wedding we had our work cut out but with my assistant Yvonne with me, we managed to get everything done in time.

The speeches were ever so funny, so much so it was difficult to hold the camera steady at times. The day went in a flash and the evening slideshow which we presented for the guests went down really well. I got home around ten o’clock that night and i down loaded and backed up the wedding to the hard drives before getting a cup of hot chocolate and settling down to bed. Phew what a day

Wedding Photographer at Allerton Castle

Ian and Sophie chose the wonderful  Allerton Castle, just outside of Harrogate to get married, and for those of you who are regular readers of this blog, know that we are regular visitors to the Castle. Some of our “couples” choose us because of that. We know the best spots to photograph and of course we get on with all the staff there and it runs like a well oiled machine. Although we are regular visitors we always make sure that each individual wedding we shoot is unique. We will and do not produce the same old shots just because we are regulars there. If I ever got stuck in a rut like that, I would pack my job in tomorrow and do something else. This year we won a award in Las Vegas at the WPPI (Wedding and Portrait photographers International) with a picture from Allerton Castle and we are extremely proud of that fact. What has become more apparent is that more and more couples are turning away from the “snap happy” photographer. You know the one, he or she is the one that promises you “that you will not know they are there” and produce images that capture the very essence of the day without you having to lift a finger, well if a photography says this ( in my opinion) he or she are just scared to take charge of the situation and probally will not have the expeirance to arrange the groups. Yes we take “reportage, journalistic editorial” pictures but we have to have stucture to our wedding photography. This does not mean you and you guests are stood around for hours bored to tears, we have a tried and tested system for shooting  group pictures which really speeds up the process.

Ian and Sophie wanted a lot of natural pictures but they also felt that some romantic pictures were needed too. The day was perfect and went like a dream apart from the fact that we only have 6o minutes to shoot the main body of the pictures arrggghh!!. Anyhow it wasnt a problem because we stop all day and what pictures we missed out on we set up after the speeches. Ian and Sophie were a great couple to photograph and nothing was too much trouble for them. The pictures are fantastic and I cant wait to see the compleated album

A Marquee Wedding in Leeds

Saturday got off to a flying when rushing to answer the phone whilst getting out of the shower ( dont do it!!). A combination of a wet floor and me dashing was a recipe for disaster. So as I felt my feet slip away from the legs, i knew I was heading for a fall, and a pretty big one at that. Crunch!!! I came down like a sack of proverbiale potatoes, badly injuring my arm in the process. Worst of all, I had a wedding in three hours arrrgghh.

In the event of an emergency, i always have another qualified photographer as cover should such an accident happen.  I called on my good friend James Ballance of CWP Photography, who without hesitation covered the first two hours of my wedding while I sat in casualty with my injured arm. Luckly it was only badly bruised, so I join Bride and Groom just a little bit late.

Hilton and Karen decided to get married in a Church in Barrick in Elmett which was a stones throw from Dad’s house which is where they had a giant marquee in the garden and it looked fantastic. The weather was great which was a blessing as our British summers are not always accomodating.

Here's to the happy couple

I decided to shoot pictures of the couple in the privacy of the house. When you shoot a wedding at a marquee, it tends to be very busy with all the guests veying for the couples attention, wishing them congratulations. So when you have over one hundreds guests it makes sense to get the couple out of the way.

Hilton and Karen told me that they did not like having their picture taken, which to be honest it what I hear week in week out, but I convinced them that we could take some great pictures of them, and they trusted me. I’m really glad they did because I love the pictures I shot of them and I know that the finished album will be fantastic. i cant wait till they pick the pictures and get designing the album.

Thank you Hilton and Karen