Carly and Ben's wedding at Rowton Castle

I first met Carly and Ben at a wedding fair at Peckforton Castle in 2009.  That summer they asked me to be their wedding photographer for their marriage at Rowton Castle the following year. 

Well, I have to give them 10 out of 10 for good taste.  Rowton Castle was a new venue to me, but from their description, not just of the look of the place, but of the friendliness and professionalism they were met with whenever they'd visited, I was looking forward to seeing the place for myself,  never mind the excitement of working there.

I arranged a visit a few months before the wedding date, as I always do.  I always visit a new venue or church before a wedding if at all possible.  There's simply too much going on on the wedding day itself to waste time looking for shots.  I like to arrive at a wedding with ideas in my head.  That way I can shoot more for a couple and adapt to the unexpected (such as rain - which is perhaps not always unexpected in Britain) much more quickly.  My visit confirmed all that Carly and Ben had told me.  The place was stunning; the staff were friendly and helpful; an air of professionalism shone.  I left knowing it was going to be a great day.

And so it proved to be. 

I arrived early to capture some shots of Carly and her bridesmaids, Kara and Stacy, getting ready in the bridal suite.  Kara, who runs her own hair and make-up business, was very busy getting everyone looking their best. 

A bridal portrait of Carly

Ben is a military man, and was dressed in full uniform.  Fantastic!

Here he is with his Best Man and brother, Sam

Being a military wedding there was, of course, a ceremonial Guard of Honour.  This was after the civil ceremony, as the couple came outside to the lawn to meet their guests.

Ben's dad, Frank, even supplied the meat for the wedding breakfast.  Well, he is a first class butcher, running Taylors of Sale. 

Kara and Stacy, the lovely bridesmaids.

And with the Guard of Honour

 It was a very hot day - the guys in their black wool uniforms suffered in the heat - but that meant a beautiful evening too.  Just look at the light on the castle - a perfect backdrop for this portrait of the happy couple.

The tree in front of the castle is both ancient and spectacular.  The last shot of the night had to feature it.

The full wedding can be viewed in the client of my website.

New look to website

I've made a few changes to the look of my website this week.  Nothing major, just tweaks to the look.  If you would like to visit and and let me know what you think, your thoughts would be much appreciated. 

Wedding Fair at Arley Hall Sunday 17th October

Well, the title says it all really.  I'm exhibiting at the wedding fair this Sunday between 11am and 3pm.  If you don't know Arley Hall, it is one of the premier stately homes in Cheshire, placed between Northwich and Knutsford.  I like the place so much I've had my studio in the grounds for the past three years!   

Please do come along to talk weddings and photography.  Hope to chat to plenty of you. 

If you want more information on the fair visit the Wedding Link website.

Ruth and Matthew's wedding at Statham Lodge, Lymm

In my last post I talked about some of the work I do for the Altrincham and Sale Chamber of Commerce.  It was through a contact there that I was asked to photograph this wedding.  I've done work for the accountancy firm Milner Boardman before, and was contacted earlier this year by Matthew, the son of the Managing Director, to see if I was interested in photographing his wedding this summer.

It was a fairly local affair, with the service taking place at St Mary Magdalen church in Sale. 

Inside St Mary Magdalen, Sale

The highlight of most wedding ceremonies!

Then it was on to Statham Lodge in nearby Lymm for the wedding reception.  I hadn't photographed a wedding there for several years, but a quick visit a few weeks before was very reassuring - still as friendly and professional as it had been last time round.  A special thanks here to Lance, who ran the day smoothly and discreetly.

Ruth, the bride, looked gorgeous (of course!)

As you can see, blue was very much the themed colour for the day.

Blue and pink bridesmaid

This fantastic bridal bouquet was by Eaden Floristry of Altrincham.

They also supplied the table decorations, of course. 

This is the Gainsborough suite at Statham Lodge, where the wedding breakfast was held.  I love the bold colour of the sashes on the chairbacks here - it really makes the shots. 

Ruth and Matthew had wanted some shots in the grounds, which have always been one of Statham Lodge's features.  One of the reasons to visit a venue before a wedding, even if I know it well, is to see if anything has changed since last being there.  One of the first things I noticed when going back was the pergola that had been constructed in the rear garden, as it's an ideal backdrop for portraits.  We got some great shots there - here's one of Ruth posing solo. 

Here are the happy couple together.

The bridal party:

A fnal shot of the happy couple, taken in the evening after the wedding breakfast had finished.

A great day and a lovely return to a wonderful venue.  Congratulations to Ruth and Matthew, and very best wishes for your future life together.



Altrincham Chamber of Commerce at the Cheshire Cookery School

When I'm not busy photographing weddings, I'm busy photographing other things!  I've been a member of the Altrincham and Sale Chamber of Commerce for a few years, and have been photographing their mixers, lunches and events for a couple of years.

The round of networking mixer events began again recently after the summer break, starting at the Cheshire Cookery School.  The School is quite new, an extension of COD Electrical in Altrincham.  A fantastic evening - not only the chance to chat about work (or otherwise) in a relaxed atmosphere, but also the opportunity to watch snacks being prepared prior to sampling them!

And very delicious they were too!

Here's a shot of Andrew and Jason from the Cookery School posing for a publicity shot with Barbara and Emma from the Chamber of Commerce in part of the new building.

And here's another, this time in one of the kitchens on display in COD Electrical.

All the photographs from this and other Chamber of Commerce events are on display in the Commercial & Corporate section of the Client Area of my website. 

Capesthorne Hall and Pavilion

One of the big perks about being a wedding photographer is visiting some fantastic locations.  In Cheshire, that means a stately home and one of the loveliest I'd had the privilege of working at over the years is Capesthorne Hall, just a few miles from Alderley Edge. 

It's a stunning venue, both from the front and rear aspects.

  

Of course, the interior is something special too!

Not forgetting the grounds.

A little over a year ago, a permanent marquee was built in the grounds, Capesthorne Pavilion, which allows this lovely venue to cater for larger weddings than previously.

Earlier in the summer I shot a superb wedding there, which I'll blog at a later date, but here are a couple of images of the pavilion from that day.

I've just been invited by the Pavilion to become their preferred wedding photographer - a great honour, and one that I'm very happy to accept!  I'm putting the finishing touches to a slideshow of wedding images of both the Hall and Pavilion which will be available for any couples interested in booking their wedding there.  If you'd like a copy, please contact either Vicki Thomson at Capesthorne Pavilion or myself at the studio.

To end, here are a couple of shots showing both the hall and pavilion at the end of a fantastic wedding.

Natalie and Tim's pre-wedding shoot

Natalie and Tim contacted me back in December last year.  They were living in Australia and looking for someone to photograph their wedding when they returned to the UK this year.  They found my website through Google, were impressed by the examples of my work, we exchanged a few emails and they asked me to be their wedding photographer!

We finally met in July; our first meeting included the pre-wedding shoot that I offer all my wedding clients as part of the preparation for their big day.  Despite suffering from a slight migraine, Natalie was keen to go ahead with the shoot, which turned out to be great fun.  The couple visited me at my studio on the Arley Hall estate, we dodged the few showers that were around and generally had a bit of a laugh.  Oh, and took some great photos too.

Here are some more shots from the session.

I love doing pre-weds.  It's a great opportunity to see what a couple are like in front of a camera, and helps me in advance of the big day to plan some shots at their chosen wedding venue that will best suit their personalities. 

Their wedding is coming up later this month, on Sunday 26th, at Sandhole Oak Barn near Congleton, a venue which I haven't worked at for a while, but which I'm looking forward to enormously.

It's going to be a great day!