Alex and Sarah - Rowley Manor - 9th July

As a Yorkshire Wedding Photographer, Rowley Manor seems to be my second home of late! i love shooting weddings at The Manor, it has such an intimate feel, there is only ever one wedding there in one day and the grounds have everything I look for to give my client's stunning pictures for their albums.

I found myself back at Rowley on Saturday to help Alex and Sarah celebrate their big day. I had met them at a wedding I was photographing 3 years ago and we had sat at the same table and had a good chat whilst enjoying the wedding breakfast. I must have made a good impression as 2 years later, Alex and Sarah contacted me to shoot their wedding!

Alex and Sarah are 2 of the nicest people I have met for a long time - they are generous, kind, funny and very hospitable - so when they hired me I knew I would be involved in something special. Sarah is a 'reformed archaeologist' and now teaches primary school and Alex is your typical old entrepreneur - he owns 3 very diverse businesses from a pretzel shop in the station to a company that develops apps for the Iphone! I love tech geeks and Alex is definitely one of the team and has been helping me with my new website recently.

I started my day helping the boys prepare at Alex's house and I'm proud to say I tied 9 individual cravattes seeing as though the boys had no clue at all! One of the Best Men cut himself shaving and asked Alex if he had any after shave he could use and Alex replied "Why of course my good man, what would you like "Sex Panther or The English Gentleman - both will sting the nostrils" For any readers who love the movie Anchorman, you will recall this line and I almost had an accident I laughed so hard!

After photographing all of the boys and getting them out into the fresh for a group session, I left the 'News Team' and drove over to photograph Sarah's final preparations. Sarah's Mum was in charge of tying the girls into their frocks and after a shaky start, she nailed the most beautiful corset tying I have ever seen! Sarah is naturally very beautiful and has classic features so was an absolute joy to photograph. I was able to direct her into some very classic looks that I don't usually get chance to see. Once in her dress, I spent 15 minutes photographing her before heading off to church.

Alex has had a long relationship with St Mary's Church, Sculcoates Lane in Hull which is classed as High Anglican and is just about as close to the Catholic denomination as Anglican churches get. St Mary's is a big, airy church with bags of room and as I had attended the wedding rehearsal, I knew all of the best spots for the ceremony. Sarah's family have been connected to a Methodist church for a long time so instead of arguing about what kind of ceremony they would have - they just freestyled their own with 2 Anglican and 1 Methodist ministers conducting the marriage. It was a very powerful service and I was convinced thunderbolts would come straight through the roof from god when all 3 priests blessed Alex and Sarah's marriage at the same time!

After a champagne and canapes reception at the church, we headed to Rowley Manor for the wedding breakfast. After battling through a downpour on the way there, Mother Nature decided to play nicely and the weather was just gorgeous for the rest of the day.

A beautiful meal was served followed by 3 very touching speeches. Once the formal part of the day was over, the wedding party went outside to enjoy cricket, rounders and boules in the beautiful early evening sunshine. What a way to do an English wedding!

I'll be seeing Alex and Sarah very soon to share their story with them and I'm very excited to say the least - I shot over 2600 frames so if I can't find at least 500 crackers - I'll be hanging up my camera!

Sarah & Stuart - Rowley Manor - 25th June

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As a Yorkshire Wedding Photographer, Saturday saw me covering Sarah and Stuart's big day at Rowley Manor, East Yorkshire. Stuart is a Bombardier with the Royal Artillery and Sarah is a Primary School teacher and have been together for over 8 years. I was introduced to the couple through one of my good friends and colleague, Ian who is the father of the bride and a very keen photographer.

I joined the boys at 8am and I was a little skeptical as to how I may find the groom as his best man was his brother (another soldier) and thought they may be in a 'merry' state from the night before but was totally impressed when I arrived and the boys were munching on bacon banjoes, uniforms at the ready. I spent just short of an hour and a half photographing the uniforms, shooting the guys getting ready and creating portraits.

Onto Swanland for the girls preparations where I found our bride, Sarah, in a very giddy state! She was so excited and in fact i had observed her almost hourly posts on Facebook as she counted down the days to her wedding, from about 60 days in! It was a very humid morning and my reflector came in very handy as a fan as the girls dressed and the temperature rose.

The wedding ceremony was held in the church next door to Rowley Manor and it was the first time I had shot inside. It was very intimate setting and the Vicar gave me free rein to photograph the proceedings which I appreciated very much. After a beautiful marriage, we went for a drive in one of Alan Marshall's famous Humber Wedding Cars. Alan is undoubtedly, the most passionate wedding car enthusiast I have worked with (I seem to work with him most weekends these days!) and really makes his part of the day memorable!

We photographed the group shots on the croquet lawn at Rowley Manor and then a delightful wedding breakfast followed. After dinner and speeches, I took Stuart and Sarah for their 'Penny Drop Session' around the grounds and got some stunning images. There was no 'lull' in the day at all - there was a feeling of 'flow' running through and before we knew it, the evening guests arrived en masse. The cake cut was a classic as the boys had been gifted their regiment's sword to use and Andrew, Stuart's brother/best man, presented it to the groom. The first dance was totally classic as the couple had rehearsed the closing scene from Dirty Dancing with the famous 'lift' included - the performance brought the house down and started the party off with a massive bang! The video can be seen here on Youtube.

I can't wait to share the story with Sarah and Stuart in a couple of weeks time.

Mike & Sarah - Cave Castle Hotel - 24th June

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As a Yorkshire Wedding Photographer I had the pleasure of spending yesterday with Sarah and Mike as they were married at Cave Castle Hotel.

One of the things that really stood out when I met the bride and groom for their wedding pre-shoot a couple of weeks ago was their enormous smiles and I hope you can see from the collage above what I'm talking about!

I spent the morning with Mike and the boys in Beverley as they got ready, Mike had 2 best men - 1 who had come all the way from Nice, France to be part of the day. After leaving the boys, I made my way to see Sarah and her girls whilst she made her final preparations. Sarah's Mum has been trained in 'the way of the corset' but was really struggling to tie it so I jumped in and finished it off - I've seen over 200 brides getting ready and it now seems to be one of my 'party tricks' and helps keep everyone calm.

The wedding and reception was all held at Cave Castle and once again the staff did an amazing job of keeping everything on track. Speeches were truly hilarious and emotional at the same time - especially Mike's! He was definitely welling up as he spoke but had such 'comedy' way of dealing with it.

After dinner entertainment was provided by Mike's pals who are in a band down in Nice, France and they sounded really great and got the dance floor hopping from an early time.

I left Mike and Sarah around 9ish with a full dance floor and I'm really looking forward to sharing their story with them in a couple of weeks time.

Melissa & Paul - The Millhouse, Skidby 18 June 2011

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As a Yorkshire Wedding Photographer I spent yesterday photographing Melissa and Paul's wedding at Holy Trinity Church in Hull and then onto The Millhouse Restaurant in Skidby.

Melissa and Paul booked me around 14 months ago and I have never, ever come across a more organised couple. I play a big part in the organisation of a wedding day - with my years of experience in the hotel and restaurant business I'm usually the first one to present a timetable to the bride and groom usually about 4-6 weeks before a wedding. Melissa sent me version 1 of her 5 page wedding spreadsheet over a year before her wedding! Every detail was planned down to the tiniest detail and it was a real pleasure to go through this planning process being a pretty typical Virgo myself!

I spent the morning photographing the groom getting ready with the boys on Victoria Dock and then went onto Keyingham to cover Mel's final preps. The bride and groom were married in Holy Trinity Church, England's largest parish church and a building of such magnificent grandeur it really does take your breath away.

We took care of the group shots at the church and then travelled onto the Millhouse for the wedding reception. We had been watching the weather all week and to be honest, I had planned for a wet weather day but once again the weather men got it wrong and we enjoyed a beautiful day with just about perfect light. As always, The Millhouse put on an amazing wedding breakfast with such classical attention to detail.

Mel, Paul and I enjoyed a 'Penny Drop Session' with the Old mill as a backdrop before evening guests arrived and we went straight into cake cutting a first dance. The couple had been taking 'secret' lessons and totally owned the dance floor!

I really enjoyed the whole day and met some really lovely people, another reason I love my job!

Chris and Vicky - Cave Castle Hotel - 17th June

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As a Yorkshire Wedding photographer, yesterday found me back at one of my most regular and favourite venues in East Yorkshire – Cave Castle Hotel.

I had the pleasure of photographing Chris and Vicky's big day and although Mother Nature wanted to get the best of us, we dodged her bullets to get an awesome photographic story!

Both the bride and groom made their preparations at the Castle, so for me it was a relatively late start to day as I joined Chris at just after 11 to photograph his getting ready. Chris is a Humber Pilot and his job requires an enormous amount of skill, knowledge and focus but I'm sure he could do very well in stand up comedy – he really is one of the funniest, driest blokes I've met for a long time!

Equally as funny is our Bride Vicky who works as an emergency planning officer! I photographed her and the girls getting ready in the bridal suite and had an absolute scream! Vicky looked fantastic and with the support of her Nana Joyce, made her way down to the Balmoral Suite to marry her man during a gorgeous civil ceremony.

About 10 minutes into the formal group shots, the heavens opened and we had to put our wet weather plan into action however the champagne kept lowing and the show went on!

Speeches were followed by an amazingly talented singer who got the party started very early, the dance floor was full by 7.15 and stayed that way all night!

Chris and Vicky's first dance was followed by a spectacular firework display I then left them to party the night away. The bride and groom are honeymooning in Thailand but will take in a Kings of Leon show in Manchester before they leave on Sunday – so jealous!

Emma & Steve - The Village Hotel - 11th June

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As a Yorkshire Wedding Photographer, I had the pleasure of spending Saturday just gone with Stephen & Emma as they tied the knot at The Village Hotel in Hessle, East Yorkshire.

The forecast was for intermittent rain throughout the day but when I arrived with the groom first thing in the morning, the sun was shining and I thought that the weather men had got it wrong once again! How wrong I was!

I spent a great hour or so with the boys photographing their preparations and got them outside to create some really nice lit portraits, at this point the sun was still with us.

After leaving Stephen in the hands of my good friend Howard from Silver Lane Wedding Cars, I drove over to the Village Hotel to photograph Emma making her final preparations with the girls.

Emma is good friends with the registrar who officiated the wedding ceremony and I was so appreciative to be allowed total access to photograph the whole ceremony. This is not normal so I took full advantage and captured so many lovely glances and moments as Stephen and Emma shared their vows. I almost died a death when the bride began her walk down the aisle as the heavens opened in a very extreme way, but it didn't stop the magic - Emma even said that rain was lucky!

We managed to get the group shots done outside during a break in the rain and then whisked Stephen and Emma off to the Humber Bridge area for their first 'Penny Drop Session' where mother Nature continued to throw us curve balls!

A first class wedding breakfast was served by the hotel followed by emotional and hilarious speeches by the boys. Ben, Stephen's best man, was totally on top form and had the room in stitches as he systematically tore the groom apart and put him back together again! Stephen and Emma met whilst they were both working on cruise ships - Emma as a beauty therapist and Stephen as a dealer/croupier so it was very apt that they had arranged Blackjack and Roulette tables courtesy of the fantastic Casino Knights to entertain between the wedding breakfast and evening reception. Steve stepped up and showed that he still had the magic and looked like he had never been away from the casino.

The evening party started with dancing early and Phil Calver of Chrysalis Discos' set up looked amazing. I left Stephen and Emma with a packed dance floor and the party in full swing and I'm really looking forward to sharing their story with them in the next couple of weeks.

Image of the Week - Family Portraiture

As a Yorkshire Photographer, most of my Summer is taken up with Wedding Photography but I still love to fit in some family portraiture when I have the time and space. I recently photographed these 2 sisters at my studio and just had to share this one. So cute!

Leanne and James - Lazaat Hotel - 28th May

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As a Yorkshire Wedding Photographer, I had the pleasure of spending Leanne and James' big day with them at Lazaat Hotel and Restaurant weekend before last.

I spent the morning with James and his best man as they got ready in the sleepy village of Burstwick and we got some killer shots in the house and out on the street. James was quite nervous about giving his speech later on in the day and I was honoured for him to ask me for some advice - I told him to make sure he thanked the right people, but first and foremost to make sure that he made his wife feel like a million dollars - and that he did! His speech was so genuine and heartfelt and I felt incredibly proud to have been a small part of that!

After leaving the boys, I travelled to Beverley to spend the rest of the morning with Leanne, our bride, and her family. I hadn't met Leanne's family, but they were a lovely bunch! The light was perfect in the house and I got some great bridal portraits before heading off to Lazaat.

A perfect civil ceremony was held at the Hotel followed by group shots in Lazaat's wedding gardens. Some of you will know that I worked for Lazaat when I first came home from Canada. At that time, the area which is now the wedding gardens was scrub land. It has now been transformed into a superb environment for a wedding party's group photography including pagodas, beautifully maintained gardens and an ornamental bridge. It really is a pleasure to shoot there.

After the wedding breakfast, I took Leanne and James for their "Penny Drop Session' around the grounds and used some of the contemporary features in the interior of the hotel. The cake cut and first dance where a joy to shoot from a photographer's point of view - the DJ had the most awesome lazer lights which made a really modern effect - first dance shots can sometimes look a little bit static but I'm sure James and Leanne will love the dynamic look of their shots!

I'm, really looking forward to sharing the bride and groom's story with them when they get back from their honeymoon in Mexico next week!

Vicky & Adam - Walcott Hall - 28th May

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As a Yorkshire Wedding Photographer, I had the pleasure of spending the day with Vicky and Adam yesterday as they became man and wife at the spectacular venue of Walcott Hall Estate, North Lincolnshire.

It was my first time photographing a wedding at Walcott Hall and although I had driven to meet with the wedding planner a couple of weeks ago and had a brief look around, I certainly hadn't taken in the true beauty of the hall and its surrounding grounds - it truly is a magnificent venue!

Vicky and I have know each other for a couple of years and she is also a photographer specialising in family lifestyle portraiture, I have always admired her work very much and you should definitely check out her Go! Photo website to see how modern and contemporary her work is.

I was really honoured when she asked me to photograph her special day and was very excited to shoot at Walcott. The day started for me with the bride's preps at the Hall and although rain kept poking through, spirits were certainly not dampened. A lovely civil ceremony was followed by a very classy marquee reception with live music throughout the day. I managed to whisk the bride and groom off for 2 'Penny Drop Sessions' after Adam's heartfelt and emotional speeches were over.

I'm really excited to share the story with Adam and Vicky when they get back from 2 weeks of sunshine in Jamaica!

Image of the Week - Carl & Louise

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In my work as a Yorkshire Wedding Photographer, I often see scenes when I am driving in my car that just beg to be used on a wedding day. The yellow rape seed fields of East Yorkshire have long been on my list to shoot against but for some reason, location and timing haven't presented the perfect opportunity until a couple of weeks ago when I photographed Louise and Carl's special day at Rudstone Walk just outside of my home village of South Cave.

We drove down to this field in the early evening before evening guests arrived as I had spied it on my way to the venue and knew that this was my opportunity. I think the bride and groom sensed my excitement as I worked with them for about 20 minutes to create some beautiful images shot against the fading light. I could hardly keep still on top of my ladder I was so chuffed to be in the right place at the right time and I alsmost fell off a couple of times!

I shared Carl and Louise's wedding story with them a couple of nights ago and they loved this section of the photography and are planning on using one of these shots as a double page spread in their A3 sized album.

All Smiles...

As a Yorkshire Wedding Photographer I'm privileged to spend what will no doubt be the most special day of a couple's life up to that point! Smiles and laughs are not in short supply on a wedding day and they certainly weren't on Lucy and Marc's big day!

I've just finished edited their wedding and one of the things that jumped out was how happy and 'smiley' Lucy was from the start to the end of the day - her grin beamed from ear to ear and was so contagious!

The collage above sums up her day-long smile-fest perfectly! I love my job and it's so great to be around the people that make the stories!

In Support of Young Entrpreneuers

As a Yorkshire Photographer, I have been involved with supporting Young Enterprise in our Region for the past 4 years.

I have a very strong connection with this amazing charity. I was in a YE team 18 years ago at Hull College as MD of a company called 'Z Shirts', I then taught Business Studies during my time as a teacher in Canada and now as a business owner back in the UK I strongly believe in supporting the development of the next great business minds for our area so volunteer my time on a regular basis.

This is the time of year when the Young Enterprise teams are celebrating their achievments in regional awards ceremonies and I donate my services as a photographer to make sure there are great PR images to use for press releases etc. I also sponsor an award and this year I sponsored the 'Best Company Presentation Gong'

There are not many better feelings than been around excited, motivated young business minds - I'll be heading over to Doncaster later on this afternoon to cover the South Yorkshire finals and I'm looking forward to meeting some more of these great young people.

Jemma & Paul - Tickton Grange - 24th April

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As a Yorkshire Wedding Photographer, I had the pleasure of spending last Sunday with Jemma and Paul at Tickton Grange, East Yorkshire as they tied the knot with their friends and family.

It was another gorgeous day when I arrived and I spent the first couple of hours between the bride and groom as they made their final preparations. A beautiful civil ceremony took place in the Rose Room with gorgeous music provided by the amazing wedding pianist Morris Williams who comes highly recommended, a nicer guy you will never meet!

After taking care of the group photography in Tickton's gardens, I took Jemma and Paul off for the first part of their 'Penny Drop' session and we got some great images under the blossom trees which were in full bloom for the couple. After dinner and speeches, Jemma couldn't take her wedding dress anymore and she changed into a gorgeous evening dress which looked great for the second part of our penny drop session.

I left Jemma and Paul on the dance floor rocking out with their friends to the sounds of one of my favourite DJs, Sean Barlow who always does an amazing job. Jemma and Paul snook off for a 4 day break in Portugal and I will be seeing them next weekend to share their story with them.

Carl & Louise's Big Day at Rudstone Walk.

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As a Yorkshire Wedding Photographer, Saturday was the start of my busiest stretch of weddings this season. 3 in a row to be precise and I must admit I was a little nervous before taking on such a marathon! 1 wedding leaves me totally spent - but 3 on the bounce - would I peak too early, would I make it to the end?

Carl and Louise's big day was the start of my stretch and when I woke up, I knew it would be an awesome day. The weather called for sunshine all day and the meteorologists didn't fail! I met the boys at Carl's house and after spending some time drinking coffee and chatting, I photographed them getting their suits on and then took them into the train station for some modern shots on the overhead walkway.

Once I finished with the lads, I drove over to Rudstone Walk where our bride was getting ready with all of her family from Middlesbrough. The Tigers were playing the 'Smoggies' in a really important game for Hull City so there was a natural banter with the family straight away. I've always loved the people of the North East, and Louise's family were no different - genuinely funny, witty folk with a great zest for life. We had a blast getting the bride ready and I got some awesome images!

After a lovely civil ceremony, I took care of group shots in the sweltering heat before a sumptuous wedding breakfast was served. Emotional speeches were given after the meal where the bride's father took great joy in announcing The Smoggies had thrashed The Tigers - a cross-room volley of heckling followed!

After dinner, I managed to persuade Carl and Louise to jump into my car and drive down to a local rape seed field which was just starting to bloom in all of its golden glory. I have been trying to nail this shot for the last couple of wedding seasons but always managed to just miss a field before it was cut. I was super excited to get this shot and just love the colours.

I left the bride and groom after their first dance with a packed dance floor and a thumping DJ belting out the tunes. Carl and Louise are honeymooning in Morocco and I'm really excited to share their story with them when they get back.

Have a great holiday weekend!

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Yorkshire's very own Royal Wedding!

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As a Yorkshire Wedding Photographer, I had the highlight of my UK career as a wedding photographer yesterday. Matty Davidson and Amy Lyon 'tied the knot' at St Andrews Church in Kirkella and held their enormous celebration at The Hallmark Hotel on a glorious Bank Holiday.

If you're a celebrity voyeur, you will no doubt have come across Matty - he is one of the UK's most highly decorated hair stylists working with the internationally renowned icon Mark Hill for over 25 years. You may have seen a piece on this wedding on GMTV yesterday morning!

I have had the pleasure of knowing Matty and Mark for about the same period and they have become great friends and total inspirations to me from a creative and commercial aspect. You will never meet 2 more hard working men in your life and their commitment to raising the bar of British hairdressing is widely recognised.

I met Amy about 6 years ago when I returned from my 9 years of 'retirement' whilst living in Canada and when they approached me to cover their special day, I was totally honoured. Matthew has been battling Hodgkins Lymphoma for over 2 years now and he and his wife had been planning to tie the knot in July however due to the rigours of his treatment, the couple pulled out all of the stops to move their wedding to Bank Holiday Monday.

Their wedding day yesterday was nothing short of one of the most moving experiences I have ever witnessed. I normally describe a wedding day in detail when I blog but I think on this occasion, I want the images to speak for themselves, so please click on the collage above and spend some time witnessing for yourself. Just to put Matthew's popularity into perspective, personal messages were read out during the speeches from Fearne Cotton, Ant & Dec, Johnathan Ross, Trever Sorbie and Nicky Clarke - all apologising for not being able to make it due to the 'other' Royal wedding which is apparently happening this coming weekend!

An average wedding will see me coming home with around 1800 images - I came home yesterday with over 2700! I have never been so honoured to call myself a wedding photographer as I did yesterday, a true legend married his bride in a style that only Matty and Amy could pull off under such incredible circumstances.

I am really proud to say it was definitely a defining moment for me and a total privilege to capture the most special of days and I will never, ever forget seeing Matthew's face as Amy walked down the aisle and the beam of light that emanated from this couple all day will never leave me.