Last Saturday was a lovely day for our first wedding of 2012, we couldn’t have asked for better. The sun shone through threats of snow showers which didn’t happen. It was pleasantly warm for Ying and Ollie’s Wedding. We had a very early start at the Cavendish Hotel in Baslow. The frost still lay on the ground but soon disappeared with the rising of the sun. Cavendish Hotel lies in the heart of the Derbyshire landscape with magnificent views to die for. A fantastic backdrop for photographing a wedding. Ying was up early getting her make up and hair done so that we could spend some time taking beautiful portraits of her. The wedding ceremony took place at the George Hotel in Hathersage and then we were back at the Cavendish for the wedding reception. Ying’s family came all the way from China to celebrate with her. It was their first time to England. Before the wedding breakfast there was a Chinese tea ceremony which symbolises the acceptance of the bride and groom into their respective families. For this Ying changed into a stunning red dress as the colour is considered as good luck. Ollie went with the flow and even made a fantastic attempt in translating some of his speech into Mandarin for Ying’s parents. Not an easy task but it was appreciated. After the meal Ying got back into her wedding dress for further photographs in and around the hotel. To say that she had organised everything in just two months is incredible. Here are a few photographs that I have put together to give you a flavour of Ying and Ollie’s day.

Naomi and Richard booked me a year ago at a wedding fair in Lincoln. Straight away I knew that we were going to have a fun day as wedding photographers. The preparations and reception were at the Angel and Royal Hotel in Grantham. The ceremony was at The Church of St Botolph and St John the Baptist in an idyllic village of Croxton Kerrial in the Vale of Belvoir.  The village was a perfect background for wedding photographs so we took the opportunity to find locations that were dear to Naomi and Richard’s heart. One location was in the middle of a field full of geese. This was the centre of their village life so it was a must to try and photograph them with the geese. It was a laugh as the geese were having none of it. We had to move with them in order to get the most unusual wedding shot. I think we managed it.

A few months ago Nimisha and Chris booked me as their wedding photographer at Thrumpton Hall, Nottingham, for their civil wedding ceremony as well as their Indian wedding ceremony. Thrumpton Hall is a lovely venue set within acres of beautiful gardens with a lake, rose garden and marquee. As a wedding photographer it is a venue which lends itself to wonderful photographic opportunities both inside and outside.

Get To Know You Shoot

We met up with Nimisha and Chris at Thrumpton Hall to finalise the arrangements for the wedding photographs on the day. As usual we did a ‘Get to know you’ shoot. It was great fun talking about the different ideas and looking at the endless locations around Thrumpton Hall where we could photograph. Nimisha and Chris were a little unsure to begin with but soon got into the swing of things and  settled down well when they realised it wasn’t about looking into the camera and saying ‘cheese’. My style of wedding photography is totally opposite to that. I love capturing the natural personalities of my clients. That is why the shoot is important as it enables the clients to feel more relaxed and comfortable in front of the camera knowing what to expect from me behind the camera.

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After a lot of organising and several meetings with Nimisha their big day finally arrived. It was glorious to say the least. The weather could not have been better. Only one downpour but luckily that happened when we were indoors. First the civil wedding ceremony in the morning and then the Indian wedding ceremony in the afternoon followed by the evening do. It was all full of fun, love, laughs, colour, romance, music and dance. Nimisha looked beautiful in her wedding sari and Chris looked cool in his formal Indian outfit. Both Brian, myself and Martin thoroughly enjoyed photographing the whole day especially the girls’ dance to Jai Ho near the end of the evening. I would like to thank  Martin for helping out with shooting as the third photographer on the day.

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A few weeks prior to Liz and Adam’s wedding we met up in Burton-on-Trent to go over their final arrangements for their wedding day. We did a ‘get to know you’ photographic shoot around the location of their venue, The Meynell Ingram Arms in Hoar Cross.

A few weeks later we made our way down to Burton-on-Trent again to photograph their big day. We started off with the wedding preparations then went on to SS Marys and Modwens Church in the middle of Burton-on-Trent for the ceremony. It is located by a very busy road with not much room for photographs. However, the inside made up for it as it was stunning. All day we were fighting with the elements … sunshine, cloudy then torrential rain. Luckily the rain came just as they were going in for their wedding breakfast. To top everything the day ended up with a fabulous sunset. We thoroughly enjoyed photographing the wedding.

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It has been a while since I last blogged. Got so many weddings to share with you. The first one is the international wedding we photographed in Mombasa, Kenya in July. We had a fabulous experience. Our wedding bride and groom were Lauren and Peter who live out there. They were lovely and their families were wonderful hosts. The location of their wedding was absolutely stunning and we had the privilege to cover their wedding story throughout the day. Glorious sunshine, beautiful scenery, what more can a wedding photographer ask for. We would love to do it all over again …. anywhere in the world.

As a Nottingham Wedding photographer I had the privilege of photographing a wedding in Kenya last month. We arrived in the city of Mombasa the day before the wedding and went straight to the venue in Bamburi  to photograph the ‘get to know you’ pre wedding shoot on Bamburi beach. The tide was out exposing the beautiful, golden sand. The fluorescent turquoise and green/blue sea with the surf on the horizon was a fantastic backdrop for the pre wedding photographs. Lauren and Peter brought along their two rescue labrador dogs. Under the Kenyan sun, the balmy sea breeze and the sound of the surf in the background we had fun on the beach.

The next morning the final preparations for the wedding took place. The weather was beautiful, everything was just perfect. Have a look at this amazing backdrop for the reception. More wedding photographs to come soon.

I met Anna and Matt  at Norwood Park in early April for their ‘get to know you’ pre wedding shoot and to go over their final preparations. It was lovely to see them again. They booked us after we photographed their friends wedding last year. Anna was a bridesmaid to Sarah and Matt an usher to Mark. Similarly Sarah and Mark were to swap roles. As you know the weather was absolutely fabulous in April … what was it to be like in June?

The weather on June 4th was beautiful. We couldn’t have asked for a better day.  I started with the bridal preparations at Anna’s parents’ house in Calverton whilst Brian went over to the Saracens Head in Southwell to photograph Matt and his groomsmen. Across the way was Southwell Minster which was an excellent background for the shots. Anna and Matt got married at St Wilfred’s Church in Calverton and then went on to Norwood Park in Southwell for the reception.

Competition: Firstly comment on the following set of images and then vote for your ONE favourite photograph. Anna and Matt will be entitled to a 12×8 inch print of the image with the most votes. Competition will end on the 10th July 2011.

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Yet another exciting Indian wedding in Leicester full of colour, fun, tears, seriousness, lovely people and fantastic curries. There are so many images that I could put on the blog. However I have chosen a selection that I hope you will enjoy.

The day after Kate and Will’s wedding we were at Thrumpton Hall photographing Rachel and Martyn’s wedding. It was a glorious day albeit a tad windy. Rachel’s surprise was a hired VW campervan to take her to All Saints Church in Thrumpton from the Hall. It was a hoot as when I asked her to wind down the window so I could take a shot of her in it, the handle fell out in her hand. We both had a fit of the giggles. Brian and I had a fabulous day and would like wish you both a beautiful and fulfilling marriage ahead.

One sunny day last month Elaina from Baroque Couture rang up to see if I wanted to do a photo shoot at Elvaston Castle. Of course I said ‘yes’ and off we went. Elaina wanted to showcase her new wedding dress that she designed herself. It was stunning and looked absolutely superb on beautiful Emma who modeled it for us.