Nicola and I had been looking forward to Louise & Geoff’s wedding at Hillbark Hotel since we first visited it back in May. The weather teased us all day, but it ended perfectly. It was a lovely setting, I think I will be better off letting the pictures speak for themselves…

We had a fantastic day, and the fireworks at the end really were the icing on the cake. If you would like to see more shots head over to Louise & Geoff’s Wedding Website where friends and family can view the whole set, watch the slideshow and order prints. A massive thank you to Louise, Geoff, their friends and family as well as the lovely staff at the Hillbark Hotel

A couple of weeks back I got an urgent email from Cherylynn of Focused On You, every Wedding Photographers nightmare had come true, she has broken her foot and had weddings coming up. One of the things I love about being in a network of like minded photographers is that there are always people out there to help you out. This time I was able to offer to photograph Anna & Gregor’s wedding in Cherylynn’s place.

I only did the shooting, Cherylynn is doing all the editing, but I thought I would share a few images here. It was very interesting for me, having never met Anna & Gregor before. Luckily I did have time to visit the Church and venue a couple of days before. We soon got to know each other and ended up with the most fantastic weather.

St Giles Church at Skelton is lovely, made from the left over stone from York Minster, it was packed out with Anna & Gregor’s 89 guests.

Then onto Burn Hall, you wouldn’t have thought we’d be out on the lawn a few hours before this was taken!

I can tell you that these were proper Scotsmen, that’s not a pair of boxers, but the Scottish flag under Gregor’s kilt!

Off for some couple shots…

Burn Hall is one of those places I’d like to go back to, so many places to explore!

I always think it’s those in between moments that are best.

It was lovely to spend the day with Anna & Gregor. It was nice to help out another photographer, and quite the challenge to fill the boots. It was fun to do, and if it should ever happen to me I know there is a happy bunch of photographers out there willing to jump in and make sure no brides day is ruined, you all know who you are, you guys rule!!!

I met up with Nicola & Alex for their pre-shoot in the Castlefields area of Manchester. This is a fantastic part of Manchester and one used by a lot of photographers, and for good reason. Within a short walk there are a massive number of locations, almost too many!

It was a typical Manchester summers day, grey but bright, and we set off in search. I like to use the couple of hours I have during these shoots to get to know the couples a little more, it helps us all relax with each other and I think get much better pictures on the day. I also like to show people that often the less they try the better the pictures will be, just relax and enjoy the moment. We all have a fear of photographers I think, just like dentists it;s something we pick up at school. I try not to be like the scary wedding photographer you hear about, I like to enjoy the day and become part of it.

We had a lovely time and I am really looking forward to their big day in the new year. Here is just a small selection of what we got…

We recently joined Louise & Warren at the lovely Heaton House Farm for their wedding.

It was our first time at the venue, and the weather wasn’t doing us any favours, it has been purpose built for weddings so there are still lots of opportunities for some great photos. Quite kindly a Tractor had been placed on the hill, which was a nice touch.

Here are just a few moments we captured during the day…

The Tree is an integral part of Heaton house Farm, the view from the new Bridal Suite as prime view of it and the Hills beyond.

A quiet word in the ear

The girls were collecting their own video diary of the evening, even in the rain!

If you would like to see a few more shots, you can watch Louise & Warren’s Wedding Slideshow…

A big thanks to Louise, Warren and all their fantastic guests for making us feel so welcome and sharing their big day with us. Also a big Thank You to the lovely people at Heaton House Farm for looking after us so well, we hope to see you soon

I’m really looking forward to tomorrow as I’ll join Dannish and 2nd shoot at my first Sikh wedding. Sunny (the Groom) is a most excellent photographer in his own right, so no pressure then!

As this is something totally new to me, even though I’m only 2nd shooting I went to meet Charanjit & Sunny to discuss their wedding and go over some do’s and don’ts. While I was there is seemed silly not to quickly go out and take a couple of shots, made even more interesting with Sunny’s interest in how I work and what I do…

Here is my take on this location, it was very interesting to be able to hand the camera over to Sunny and see what he saw, as you can see it was very different…

This image was taken by Sunny on my camera, using the same lights and settings. I’ve edited in my own way but I still amazed by how differently we saw the same location. I don’t think there are any wrongs or rights, but differences like this fascinate me, and leave me wondering what else was there that I didn’t see ???

Just around the corner from the first location we found a lovely field with access which meant we didn’t have to cause any damage to get these shots. As the light was dropping the sky behind gives these pictures almost a studio feel I think.

I’m really looking forward to tomorrow. It should be a very interesting day, although I not so sure the 5:30am start is so interesting! I’m especially looking forward to forgetting I am supposed to be on a diet and tucking into my first curry in what feels like an age!!!

3 weeks ago we joined Melissa & Matt at Bolton Abbey Priory Church to capture their Wedding Photography. It turned out to be the perfect day in the most perfect setting. It has to be one of the most perfect places to get married.

After the Wedding itself we all headed over to Ilkley Golf Course where Melissa & Matt had laid on a Marquee on one of the greens for their reception. The weather was perfect and the mood was all set for a night of eating, drinking and dancing.

I always try and keep my blog posts quite short, but this is was a big wedding so deserves a big blog post, here are just a small selection of the images we captured on the day…

Now here is a shot that took some guts to shoot before a wedding, luckily no stag night pranks were pulled

Another shot for my collection of people taking pictures, I seem to be fascinated with that these days!

Here is my long term pal Alison, not seen her in what feels like an age. It was so nice to catch up with her. I was really please when I saw this shot, it says pretty much everything about Alison in a picture. Best smile ever, well maybe apart from Nicola’s

It’s always nice to be allowed to take pictures during the actual signing, we just caught Melissa & Matt relaxing while the two mothers did their part.

Back at the reception everyone started to enjoy themselves…

Trust me, it tasted every bit as good as it looked!

Michael Kernall Catering did a really fantastic job

It was too difficult to decide which first dance picture I preferred, so I picked 3…

Helter Skelter front man Graeme giving it full on Bono for the first dance. Great band and a great bunch of guys to chat to, highly recommended!

On to the evening party, the lack of flash in these shots really allowed me to capture some atmosphere without people really knowing I was there…

Although some people spotted me

Looks like the staff were having a good time too…

Best Father of The Bride picture ever ???

Friends and family can now see the full selection and an extended selection in a slideshow over at Melissa & Matt’s wedding website  www.melissaandmatt.co.uk. If you don’t know the password just drop me or Melissa & Matt a line.

A massive thank you to Melissa & Matt as well as their friends and family for making us so welcome. We had a fantastic time. It was the best kind of wedding, a really nice relaxed feel to the whole day, everyone had a great time and I think it really shows in the pictures.

I have used Melissa & Matt’s pictures in a new sample album from the most fantastic Folio Albums. So be on the look out in the next few weeks for a blog update on that! If you’d like to see it in person just give me a call to arrange a time.