Finally caught up with the blog! Although I am back shooting weddings now in the run up to Christmas.

Helen & Paul’s wedding at Meols Hall Tithe Barn was the last one we had in September before a bit of a hard earned break

We had a lovely day, Meols Hall is a fantastic place with vast grounds and a lovely feeling. The Barn itself is just fabulous, it was a warm rustic feel but is still nice and bright…

I couldn’t choose between these two flower shots, so you got both to look at

A slightly different one for the  ”pictures of people taking pictures” private collection.

Meols Hall’s Tithe Barnreally is lovely!

Best driver in the world!

Let’s off road !!!

Just one of those lucky moments, in the corner you can see Helen’s Mum with the son watching the first dance.

I always like to see a wedding band giving it full bore !!!

So there we have it, we had a very very busy summer wedding season, and Helen & Paul’s wedding was a lovely note to end on. You can see even more moments in the slideshow…

Kathryn & Stuart picked The Inn On The Lake as the stunning setting for their wedding. The Hotel sits right on the bank of Ullswater in Glenridding which I think is one of the most beautiful parts of the Lake District.

Gotcha!!!

How cool is that!

Not ones to wimp out, we here at Cris Matthews Photography don’t mind a bit of rain! This series of pictures was taken in the rain with all the gear wrapped in cling film borrowed from the Hotel kitchen.

What does a wet shirt matter when you can get shots like this by lying down in the rain

My shot of the day, Kathryn & Stuart were great sports and I’m so glad we braved it to get it!

Yep! Off out on the Ullswater Steamer, magic!

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Here is Nicola sporting the latest Wedding Photographer fashion. I think you will find most Wedding photographers wearing a bright orange raincoat over a crazy purple Willy Wonka coat next year! Also dangling your very expensive camera over the side of a boat in pretty high winds is not recommended for the faint of heart.

It really was that windy!

Not quite sure what this lady was doing, but she is having a great time doing it.

The boat trip was a true highlight of our wedding season, it really was. It was so wet and windy, but everyone had such a great time!

Kathryn & Stuart danced to a track by little known (here in the UK) Sister Hazel. They are a long term favourite of mine, and I got a little excited when it came on as I thought I was the only one who knew who they were in the UK!!! Despite the weather we had a great time, it really did rain all day, but it didn’t get in the way of the day. Everyone was up for everything, and the boat trip will remain a highlight for some time I think!

Laura & Chris live out in Kenya, and while Laura’s family live near to Cartmel I can’t imagine how difficult it must have been to organise a wedding at such distance. But they did, and they did it well. The weather was typically changeable, but it didn’t dampen the spirits and a day of fun lay ahead.

Cartmel Priory pretty much is Cartmel, you can see it from almost every angle of the village. From the outside it certainly is big, but it doesn’t quite prepare you for what is inside. It’s on a huge scale and is certainly one of the most impressive buildings I have photographed a wedding in…

Yep, that is a big Church alright!

That ‘aint just a Church !!!

One of the things I really liked about Laura & Chris’ wedding was the singing, to say they belted it out was an understatement. I’ve never heard such an impressive show by family and friends all backed up by an amazing choir. Great stuff!

We walked back through the village to Cartmel Racecourse where the reception was being held

Well we are at a racecourse!

We are off…

Bravest Wedding guests ever ??? I think so!

I have to admit, when I visited the racecourse for the pre-shoot and Laura & Chris told me about the race they had planned I wasn’t sure how it was going to work out. What a brilliant idea! It got everyone involved (and out in the rain) and really set the reception off in grand style. I think the free drinks for winning bets also had a lot to do with it. If you want to see more there are lots more moments in the slideshow…

Lyndsey & Craig’s wedding at Sandhole Oak Barn was the first of three that weekend for Nicola and I. So we started off with a spring in our step knowing we had a weekend of wedding goodness ahead of us (I was mainly excited about all the cake!!!). Lyndsey had picked a really stunning and beautifully detailed dress, the train was simply amazing…

See what I mean! The detail in the dress is amazing.

Of course, Lyndsey looked totally stunning!

Although it may look it, it’s not actually a HDR shot.

Loads and loads of cool details, see the slideshow for more…

I feel the need to point out this was Craig’s choice of shot not mine or Lyndsey’s

Hang on…

…almost…

…ahhh perfect!!!

One of our favourite wedding bands, Helter Skelter played the evening. Once we were all finished we stayed on to capture a bit of the evening action on video…

Graeme and the boys really are good at what they do. We already know we are seeing them at least once next year, and have no problems recommending them to anyone looking for a band.

This was our second wedding at Sandhole Oak Barn this year and if we are lucky enough we’ll get to go back next year, it’s a smashing venue. Lyndsey & Craig looked after us really well, a massive thanks for that it was amazing to be part of the day. If you want to see some more moments there are lots in the slideshow…

The Great John Street Hotel is slap bang in the middle of Manchester, in fact right next door to where they film Coronation Street. I think that city centres can make for some lovely wedding pictures, and Sonia & Tom picked my favourite area of Manchester. See how we got on…

That’s The Hilton in the background.

Super super flowers, and impressive shoes!

A risky climb on the the roof for this shot, the Manager warned me “Don’t go too far that way as you’ll drop straight into the street” Gulp!

A great location, just don’t ask about the smell!

I think Sonia & Tom had a wonderful day, a really unique location and it felt very special. If you’d like to see some more, you can in the slideshow…

Back in August Tom Arber asked me along to 2nd shoot with him at Middleton Lodge for Kate & Mark’s wedding. Tom has recently become a father for the first time and my help was enlisted just in case he got the call from Becky, his wife, and needed to dash off to the hospital. It was a pleasure to tag along and was really nice to just enjoy the day and focus on areas of the wedding Nicola would normally cover.

Middleton Lodge is a fantastic place to have a wedding, the bride and groom get exclusive use for the whole weekend so it’s a real event to get married there. Here are just a few images I shot on the day…

I gotta get me some of those trousers !!!

Middleton Lodge has quite the staircase !!!

Impressive and daring bridesmaids dresses

Middleton Lodge has a lovely marquee out the back to hold the reception in.

The frontage is very impressive, especially on a summers day

Out of focus yes, but still a lovely image

Hopefully I’ll get the chance to return to Middleton Lodge and shoot a wedding for myself. As the weather was so nice we didn’t really go inside too much, and it’s stunning!!!