I used to teach with Ali so it was wonderful to be able to photograph her wedding to Paul.  I spent last year photographing Ali’s niece Erin in one of our Shutterbugs “Bump to 1st Year” packages so I knew the family really well and love that I have photographed some really special occasions for them.

The day started off at Ali’s parents where she was getting ready with her sister, niece and her 2 god children.  The 3 little ones made very cute flower girls & a page boy.

Getting ready

My competition

Final Touches

Flower Girls checking the rain

Whilst the girls finished up at home I popped up to the church to get some photos of Paul and the boys whilst they waited for the ceremony to start.

Paul & his best men

Here come the boys

The boys

Super Hero Socks

Arrival of the bride

Cute pink flower girls

An emotional arrival

The vows

Ali & Paul had a beautiful service in a stunning little church.  It was quite an emotional ceremony but wonderful to see them become Mr & Mrs Cantle.  After the ceremony there was time to greet guests and then as all the guests made their way to the reception I took Ali & Paul & their immediate family to Ali’s parents home to take photos in their garden.  Ali’s dad had spent months on his garden in preparation for the wedding so it was great to take photos of them all there.  We did have to dodge the rain showers but we got some lovely photos.

The new Mr & Mrs Cantle

The beautiful gardens

Happiness

Love Seat

Beautiful

After some photos with the family we made our way to the reception venue to meet with the other guests and enjoy the celebrations.  As we arrived at the reception we were greeted by a steel band. Ali and her family have spent most of their summers holidaying in Barbados so it seemed only right to have a steel band at the wedding.  I lived in Barbados as a child & then my parents were there again when I was in my late teens so Barbados is a second home to me and I absolutely loved going around taking photos of Ali & Paul’s wedding whilst being accompanied by the steel band…they made up for the lack on sunshine on the day.

Steel Pans

Laughter

Girls

All enjoying the day

The bridal party

Ali & Paul had 3 very cute little ones as their 2 flower girls and page boy.  I couldn’t resist taking photos of them as they were adorable and loved the day.

Playing in the fountain

Playing

Flowergirl .. one of my first little Shutterbugs

Fun

Flowergirl & Page Boy dolls

As the celebrations continued the friends & family enjoyed a wonderful meal and then were treated to some emotional & amusing speeches before partying the night away with dancing, limbo and a casino table.

Father of the bride

Here's to the happy couple.

Emotional speeches

Laughter & Tears

The First Dance

Congratulations to Ali & Paul, it was a beautiful day and I wish you both lots of love and happiness as you start your married life together.

Here’s a taster of their special day.

The beautiful bride

The girls and the blue shoes

Finishing touches

The boys

Bring on the boys

Calming those nerves

The ceremony

Exchanging rings

Signing the register

Confetti

The bridal party

Bridal bouquets

The newly weds

Mr & Mrs

Blue Sky

A quiet moment

The coolest guy at the wedding

A few extra guests

It was a gorgeous day.  I wish Shaun & Julia all the best as they start their married life together.

Jen got married on the beautiful island of St Lucia so it was great to be able to do a shoot with her in the English countryside.  At this time of year I love the bright yellow colour of the rape seed oil fields so we decided to do the shoot in one of those.  It really complimented her colouring and added to the romantic feel of wearing the wedding dress again.

As before when I did the Rock the Dress shoot with Liz I took Jen to Vicky from Passion Beauty Studios to have her make up done for the shoot.  Jen looked gorgeous and it was a real pleasure to photograph her in her beautiful wedding dress.  She rocked her dress as well as the Strawberry Hat!

Beautiful Bride

Beautiful Bride

Hidden

Beautiful Bride

Makeup by Vicky from Passion Beauty Studios

The Stunning Dress

A Country Bride

Rocking our "Strawberry" Hat

Having done a great engagement shoot with Simon and Kate in Sheffield’s Botanical Gardens I was really looking forward to taking photos on their special day.  On Saturday morning I packed up the car (including the wedding brollies which once again didn’t need to be used!) and headed out to Kate’s parent’s home in Macclesfield.  I arrived to a very serene bride and mother of the bride.  Kate’s bridesmaids lived down the same street so they came round about an hour before the ceremony to get their dresses on and add the final touches.

The beautiful dress

The beautiful bride

After taking photos of the final preparations I headed to the church to meet the groom and his groom’s men.  Both Kate and Simon and very happy and relaxed people which really showed throughout the day.  They are quite possibly one of my smiliest couples yet!

Simon and his bestmen at St James' Church in Taxal.

Waiting for the bride to arrive.

Here comes the bride.

I do...

After the ceremony I took Simon and Kate away for a couple of photos at the side of the church whilst all the guests lined the lane to throw confetti on the newly married Mr & Mrs Ross.  Not everyone had confetti so I was really impressed with the use of cherry blossom.  I don’t think I’ve seen quite so much confetti at a wedding!

Cherry Blossom...the improvised confetti!

Congratulations Mr & Mrs Ross

After heading up to the Moorside Grange Hotel the guests enjoyed a glass of pimms with strawberries.  Having taken a few photos of Simon and Kate with strawberries in their engagement shoot I had to do the same on their wedding day.  Unfortunately Simon isn’t a fan of strawberries so Kate obliged before we headed out onto the moor for some blustery and very cold photos with their immediate family and bridal party.  We were so lucky to have such stunning scenery which complimented Simon and Kate’s love for the great outdoors.

Another strawberry wedding

Heading out to the peaks..

Simon carries his bride over...the cattle grid!

Kate and her beautiful bridesmaids.

Simon and his groomsmen

"Heathcliffe and Kathy"

After braving the very cold winds out on the moors we headed back indoors for warm cups of tea, speeches and the evening meal.  To top off the amazing day Kate and Simon got the most stunning sunset so I took them out for a few more shots to capture it for them.  It was the perfect end to a truly wonderful day.

Kate and Hedgy. (Hedgehogs were a running theme throughout the day due to her love for Hedgy.)

Lots of laughs during the speeches.

A stunning end to a truly beautiful day.

Couldn't resist another sunset shot of the happy couple.

The evening finished with Simon & Kate’s first dance and then all the guests were issued with silly hats.  It was a brilliant way to get everyone involved and keep the celebrating spirit going.  As I left the venue it was clear everyone had had an amazing day celebrating with a lovely couple.  I wish Simon and Kate all the best as they start their married life together. Feel free to add any comments for them here.

First dance gives way to silly hats!

Happy Guests at the end of a Happy Day.

1st May is a special day for Alex and Jessica which is why they had chosen it for their wedding day.  Not only was it their wedding but they were sharing it with Jessica’s granddad who was celebrating his 85th birthday.  The other very special guest at the wedding was Alex and Jessica’s beautiful daughter, who was born in January this year.  When they found out they were expecting a baby Alex and Jessica called me to ask me to do my Shutterbug “Birth to 1st Year” package for them.  I first met Blair when she was 2 weeks old and will be going back to more photographs of her later this month.  The combination of Alex and Jessica being the first wedding I ever booked, doing a Shutterbug package with Blair and waiting 2 years for their special day it was great to pack up the car and head up to Leeds to capture their wedding.

When I arrived at Jessica’s home she was looking very calm, the nerves were coming from her mum and bridesmaid.  Jessica looked absolutely radiant as she put the finishing touches to her hair and got into her dress.  Quite a few tears were shed by everyone in the room.

Getting into the beautiful dress.

The stunning bride.

Beautiful, stunning & serene...as every bride should be.

Once I had taken photos of Jessica and the girls I went off to Jessica’s granddad’s house where the boys were gathered.  When I arrived they were all enjoying a glass of whiskey and ready to send Alex off in style.  They were great fun to photograph and it was so good to have quite a bit of time with them before a 2 minute walk to the church.

Alex fooling around with his 2 nephews..loved this shot!

Here come the boys.

Stop him! (Now is Alex running away or is he just eager to get to the church?)

After a few fun shots with the boys we wandered up to the church to wait for Jessica, her dad and bridesmaid Kirsty.  It was fairly overcast and a bit chilly but feeling optimistic I kept the white wedding umbrellas in the car.  We had been worried about the weather as heavy rain was predicted but the only issue we had was the brisk wind which made for fun with Jessica’s veil.

The happy bride arrives at the church.

Pink and white rose bouquet for the bride.

Beautiful bride and bridesmaid with a white tulip bouquet.

The ceremony was beautiful with the 2 mother’s lighting a candle at the start of the service.  Both fathers did a reading and Jessica’s niece said the prayers.  It was a wonderful family occasion with a lot of love and emotion.

The very proud father of the bride gives his daughter away.

Pronounced man and wife

The very happy couple.

Confetti

One of the most special moments for me after the ceremony was when Alex and Jessica were given Blair for a few photos before heading off to the reception.  It was lovely to see the photos of them as a family on such a wonderful occasion.

What a beautiful family.

After the ceremony the bride, groom and all the guests headed to the reception venue for pimms (accompanied with strawberries), the formal group shots and then the wedding breakfast.  It was quite chilly as we took the photos but I’m pleased to say that my wedding umbrellas were not needed.

Strawberry Pimms

Toasts & Speeches

Happily Married

I absolutely loved being part of Alex and Jessica’s wonderful day. I hope I have captured some wonderful memories for them and would like to wish them both every happiness as they start their married life together with their beautiful baby daughter.

Congratulations

Laura and I planned a day which would consist of two shoots, a “Rock and Trash the Dress” shoot and then a “Paint the Dress” shoot.  This part is about our “Rock/Trash” shoot which we did in Rivelin Woods.  Laura volunteered to model for this and was brilliant on a sunny but freezing day.  We did a mix of shots in the river and a few “sex and city” inspired shots as she was walking through the woods.  The shoot ended up with Laura jumping up and down in the river, getting water & mud in her boots.  We even had a few passers by helping out by throughing wet leaves at Laura.  One old man got really involved and I almost had to step in to get him to stop! There are a few “behind the scenes” photos which I’ll blog about later.

Laura created her dress from an old dress she had.  The bouquets are from Petalis and the head pieces/hats are by Imogen’s Imagination.

Taking a stroll

Rocking that dress

Sex & The City inspired...

Fun & Sassy

Bouquet by Petalis and Hat by Imogen's Imagination

Trashing the dress

Doing what we all want to do!

Mud, mud glorious mud!