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.

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!

Bill proposed to Fiona on their 3rd anniversary.  We were all hoping it would happen so it was great when I got a text saying:

“He did it!  Got down on one knee in a cell at the courthouse hotel.  I have a ring on my left hand. You’re the first to know (as promised in Notting Hill). Yay x x”

They got engaged at the place where they went on their first date which I think is so romantic!  Bill had planned it properly and had even bought the ring ready to propose.  Now this is something which I thought could be very risky!  My sister and I had always said we’d like an antique ring if we got engaged and it’s the kind of thing where we would need to be there to choose.  However Bill chose the ring for Fiona, with the help of a friend who’s mum is in the antique jewellry business, and Fiona absolutely LOVES it! Lots of brownie points for him from her as well as the rest of us!

Bill is already part of the family but  it’s great that we’ll be celebrating their wedding later this year.  I took a couple of photos of them when we spent time together at Christmas so thought I would share this with you.  I am looking forward to swapping my camera for a bridesmaid dress for this wedding, although I think I may have to take a few shots…..it’s what I love to do at a wedding after all!

The ring..

Fiona & Bill

Happy

Proud Dad.

Engaged & Happy