Some of you may already know that I have been working on a new venture with my brother Nick. Ever since I can remember we have loved fireworks, and always looked forward to the annual display at the Shrewsbury Flower Show. Earlier this year we went on a course to learn how to work with professional fireworks. At the end of that day, over a pint, we decided to go into business together and Matthews Bros Pyro was born !!!

We have been working on things over the past few months, and while the website is still not quite ready I thought I’d share the finale from a show we did last weekend…

A proud moment for both of us as everything went to plan. If you are interested in fireworks for your wedding or event get in touch. We will be doing some fantastic offers to get us started

Two if my mates, Ben & Jason, have set up shop in aid of Saint Michael’s Hospice. They are being human mannequin’s all week long, and I mean all week long! From 6PM last Sunday to 6PM this Sunday they are living in a shop window on Parliament Street in Harrogate, 24 hours a day !!! Maybe a deceptively simple challenge, it is real hard work and the lads are holding up on about 3 hours sleep a night. I’m not sure I’d be able to last the distance !!!

It really is a worth while cause and if you are in a generous mood you may want to head over to their JustGiving page, or even better bob down and pop a few quid through the letterbox. You can follow their activity on Facebook too.

I was happy to go along last night and film the fantastic Annie Drury doing her thing in the window. All week talented up and coming local artists and businesses have been supporting Ben & Jason by putting on gigs on the smallest stage in Harrogate, or providing activities for the lads to do. All very amusing, and it has attracted quite a bit of attention as you can imagine. Here is my little contribution…

So, as I said head over to their JustGiving page to help them smash their target…

I was super super excited to be photographing Katie & Leo’s wedding, they had booked PapaKata to put up some of their beautiful tents at Knowles Lodge just outside Appletreewick. It was our first PapaKata wedding, and had been something to look forward to from the moment they booked.

Rather unusual for us, our day started with the boys at the Red Lion in Burnsall as Katie requested for us not to capture the preparations, which turned out to be a lovely way to start the day.

I have a history with Morris Minors, lost the end of a finger to one, long story!

Off into the dales…

The weather was super !!!

If you look closely PapaKata are using this image on the front page of their website at the moment, click on the Christmas link and you’ll see another one I took last year.

I made you wait all the way to end for a shot of the tent

I just love the PapaKata tents !!! You can see more in Katie & Leo’s slideshow…

Abbie & Mark’s wedding at Solberge Hall was a true pleasure. The weather was just right, the venue is stunning and they both looked amazing. The room that Abbie got ready in was a photographers dream, large with high ceilings and light pouring in through 3 great bay windows. I think pictures speak louder than words…

Solberge Hall was looking amazing over the fields

The photography rule book says you should never photograph women from below. This photo has to be the proof that it’s just not true!

Abbie looked amazing!

The vicar was great, he sped off in his MG after the service, how more british country vicar can you get ???

Nicola spotted this

So as you can see we had a great day, and certainly captured some of my favourite moments of the year, you can see some more in Abbie & Mark’s slideshow…

I don’t normally endorse other wedding suppliers, but sometimes you come across one that just stands out. We first saw Helter Skelter at Melissa & Matt’s wedding in Ilkley and we have seen them a couple of times since. Most recently was at Lyndsey & Craig’s wedding at Sand Hole Oak Barn (soon to be blogged). When we had finished for the night I thought I’d try and capture a bit of what Helter Skelter do…

Each time we have seen them they get the dance floor full and play a great set that covers almost every musical taste. Wedding bands are funny things, it’s not often that we come across one who really put on a good show and are really into what they do. Graeme and the boys will even do the DJing for you between the sets.

They also invited along last Saturday night to one of their Heros of Rock & Pop Through The Ages nights, after one of the most amusing starts I have ever seen in a live show (council worker caught napping and forgetting to open the curtains) they rocked out over 4 decades of hits covering a very wide range of tastes. Really great. So if you are looking for a band, look no further than Helter Skelter !!!

Annabel & Greg’s wedding was very special, it was held in the gardens of Annabel’s parents house, the home she grew up in. The church was just around the corner too which made it all the more special.

Annabel is certainly a bride who knows what she wants, and this made for vastly amusing bridal preps. Everyone walking around in their underwear, the 3 sisters shouting orders at each other, just a fantastic atmosphere. I was a big fan of the house, the light outside was just perfect and the original architect knew how to use it very well.

It was stunning !!!

See what I mean about the light in the house ???

The very best thing about the house is the fact it’s walking distance to the beach. Too good an opportunity to waste…

So we had a fab day in the sun. I think it’s safe to say everyone had a fab day

You can see some more on the slideshow…