Wow! New albums!

Bob and me have been so busy running round the whole of Lancashire and Greater Manchester in the last few weeks exhibiting at loads of wedding fairs that I completely forgot to tell you all about our lovely new album range.

They're called Bellissimo and they just knock spots of anything else we've seen.

They made their debut a couple of weeks ago at the Manchester wedding fairs and the feedback has been phenomenal!

As normal, we've kept the design in house so your album will be totally unique and not just created from a template that  five hundred other photographers also use.   It's no secret that I love designing albums, it gives me a chance to get all creative ( and stops her from redecorating the house every five minutes - Bob).

The wedding that I chose to showcase for this new range is the lovely Oliver and Helen's wedding.

What do you think?

Triangle Wedding Fair

BRILLIANT weekend at The Triangle Centre wedding fair in Manchester this weekend. Many thanks to everyone who came for a chat. I'll be posting the full story very soon.

My feet hurt. I've been stood on 'em all weekend. Any chance of a foot rub? Anyone?

Proud Mum

We're bang in the middle of the wedding fair season again, hence the reason for me being unusually quiet on here recently.

I'm specially enjoying these wedding fairs for two reasons. Firstly, because I actually really enjoy wedding fairs and we've just got some fabulous new products which we're really proud of and can't wait to show everyone but secondly because our daughter is now modelling for the fabulous Halo and Ellis.

They have wedding gowns, mother of the bride outfits, bridesmaids dresses, prom dresses - every one of which I look at and think Wow!  I love that!!  of course I may be a bit biased but I think that the dresses look so much better for having my daughter in them.

With a figure to die for ( I don't know where she got that from, certainly not me!) long red hair ( Ok, that might have been my doing) and a natural elegance - definitely not inherited from me,  she and Halo and Ellis gowns were a match made in heaven.

Tonight we're all at Garstang Golf Club. The fair starts at 6.30 and the fashion show is on at 8.00 pm.  See you there! I'll be the one watching the fashion show all misty eyed and telling everyone, "That's my daughter."

Matthew and Lynsey's Wet Wedding

People often ask us how we cope when it's raining and we have a wedding to shoot.

My answer is always the same. As a wedding photographer in the north of England we have more than our fair share of wet weddings. Rather than wring our hands and complain bitterly about our bad luck we are more inclined to say. "Wow! We're going to get some lovely shots today. Bring out the brollies!"

We have a little stash of brollies that we always take with us when it wet so we are more than prepared to have some fun in the rain without ruining anyone's outfit (except ours).

Puddles, reflections, umbrellas and a good dose of creativity all help to give us photographs that are  not only lovely but just a bit different to everyone else's.

Rain? Bring it on!

Matthew and Lynsey's day started off very wet. It was that really fine, summer rain, you know the one, the one that soaks you through.

Rainy as it was, it was still a warm day so Bob and me were stood out in it catching the guests as they arrived at the church, St Mary Magdelene's in Burnley. Not a lot to look at outside but stunning inside. The priest was lovely, warm friendly, welcoming and very photographer friendly as most Catholic priests are.

"Five second photo call!"  Most of the guests were happy to stop for a five second photo call on their way into the church. I think they felt sorry for us with the rain dripping off the end of our noses.

I loved the blue umbrella with the pink dresses.

The groomsmen were on hand to help anyone who was brolly-less.

Eventually, all the guests were safely in the church and Lynsey arrived. I don't think the rain did much to spoil her day. She was radiant. She never stopped smiling.

Her dad was working really hard to keep that gorgeous dress off the ground though.  While all this was going on, the bridesmaids watched from a safe distance.

While a groomsman peeped through the curtain to see if it had stopped raining.

The service started. I got in position at the front of the church, as normal keeping as low a profile as possible.  To my horror, I realised part way through the service that I was actually steaming! Oh my gawd! That's attractive!  Must have got wetter than I thought. Luckily, all eyes were on Lynsey and Mathew.

Aaawww, look at Lynsey's face. She's almost beside herself with joy. How lovely.

The picture below is my favourite one from the whole wedding. How I wish I'd taken it. Bob took it from the back of the church with his super duper long lens. I love this photo.

After the ceremony we set off to Mitton Hall for the reception and formal shots. You'll never guess what happened next.




The rain stopped!

Put the brollies away!

We managed to get all the formal shots done in the gardens. Wow! That was unexpected. I'd been mentally arranging all the wedding guests inside in the hall that was the main  part of the old house. I was almost disappointed (almost).

We got some cracking shots outside.

I think Lynsey liked that car, she wasn't letting go of it!

Yay! It's not raining!

During a lull in proceedings, Bob came across Lynsey's dad having a quite moment of reflection. "You look deep in thought.  We could have some fun with that." Between them they cooked up an idea for a photo.

Bad Bob, naughty Bob, cooking up schemes is wrong!

Hehe. Funny Bob.

While Bob and Lynsey's Dad were plotting and scheming in the garden. Matthew, Lynsey and me were in the hall on the gallery.

Lynsey's dress was stunning, as Lynsey is. I shot a few detail shots just as they were ready to go in for their wedding breakfast.  This type of  shot is one that only I can get away with, being a woman. Bob would get a slap (from me) if he did it.

 The detail on her dress was amazing. I could have spent half an hour just photographing that. I didn't though, that would have been really boring for them - and it was time to go in for the wedding breakfast.

The room sparked, It was light, elegant, pretty  and had an lovely ethereal feel to it. As normal, the staff at Mitton Hall had worked really hard to make sure everything was absolutely perfect.

Congratulations, Lynsey and Matthew.

Wow! Photography at Mitton Hall, Whalley

Remember the 31st July? It was the day of the Iron Man UK competition.

More importantly, it was the day of Andrew & Sarah's wedding.

What was the connection between the two things?

They were going on in the  same town at the same time.

"Be prepared for traffic delays and closed roads."    *Gulp* "OK."

Traffic delays and closed roads?  Nightmare scenario.  We set off about 2 hours earlier than we needed to just to make sure we wouldn't be late.

The sat nav was having to work overtime to  get us to where we were mean to to be roads were closed left, right and centre. However, after a loooooooooong wait in a traffic jam caused by a policeman on traffic duty giving priority to the bikes in the Iron man event going through a major junction,  we were eventually waved through with shouts of "Go! Go! Go! There's another bike coming!"

Apart from hopping down a road that had been closed off and skipping round a corner we weren't supposed to go round, the rest of the journey passed by fairly uneventfully.  Hahaaa geddit uneventfully?  Heh, I crack myself up sometimes!  Anyway, we got there with bags of time to spare.


Luckily, the groom's house, bride's house and church were all in very close proximity to each other so once we were in the area it wasn't too difficult to get from A and B to C.


Bob popped off to see the lads who were having fun with a few little scene stealers. Bless 'em. they were lovely - the scene stealers, not the lads though they were alright as well.

While all that was going on Carla and I were with the girls:

The colour scheme was blue, ivory and silver, very elegant, very pretty.  Sarah had freesias in her bouquet, my Mum's favourite flower. Every time I smell them it reminds me of my Mum and that can only be a good thing.

It was peaceful, almost serene at the bride's house. That is until about half an hour before the cars were due to arrive then all the serenity evaporated into a mad flurry of  activity.  I thought it had all been a bit too laid back. Sarah however, took it all in her stride and was calm right up till the moment when she and her Dad clapped eyes in each other all in their wedding finery. Then it got emotional, even I was at it ( must have been the freesias!).

All to soon, it was time to set off to the church - with an escort

Well, we've never done a wedding where we've had to be escorted to the church. Thanks, Iron Man for that.

We arrived at the church in plenty of time, Sarah was back to being her serene and calm self. here she is having a quiet minute before walking up to the church with her Dad.

I'm told it looks  like a really, really long church when you are standing at the door waiting to walk up the aisle.

The service was lovely. I'd been given instructions by the vicar that I could sneak through the side door and take a few photos from the doorway. "No more than one or two. Ok, maybe five."   Better make them good ones then.

The vicar turned round part way through one of the hymns to catch me, out of sight of everyone, I hasten to add,  singing and swaying along to 'O Jesus I have promised' He looked a bit shocked for a second and then smiled and carried on with the service.

While the register was being signed in the vestry, it all got a bit giddy. The atmosphere in the room was lovely. I do love it when everyone is enjoying every moment of the day.

Then came the confetti. So much confetti. I thought it would never stop!  the little kids were scooping handsful of it up off the floor to throw again and again. 

Then it was into the cars and off to one of my favourite venues, Mitton Hall. Why is it one of my favourite venues? because in our experience they  pull out all the stops to make your wedding everything you want it to be. Not only that but they are very photographer friendly and that always helps. David, the toast master is Brilliant with a capital B. 

 Pimms, anyone?  Although the weather was threatening to rain, it didn't. Warm enough to be out in the grounds, everyone had a lovely time.

  Pimms, anyone? 

We went down to the lower garden for the group shots, lots of space and very, very pretty.

After the formal photographs I asked the bridal party to walk across the lawn for me. Easy enough?  It was hysterical.  

Once the formal shots were all done we went for a stroll round the grounds. The shot above is one of Bob's signature shots, in a bush with a long lens on. He'll be arrested one day for that, I'm sure.

The reception room, as ever looked stunning. It almost glows with those lovely candelabras. 

Time for the speeches. Very emotional and very touching. There may have been a few more tears from the Mums.

Followed by, "you're not too old for a smacked backside, you know!"

Time for a  breather after  the wedding breakfast while the guests checked in to the hotel or relaxed on the the patio and then it was straight into the evening reception.



First; cake cutting.  I was very relieved to see the cake cut and out of the way. It had been in the middle of the dance floor and looking a bit precarious as  the little kids were dancing round it. We breathed a sigh of relief when it was moved away. Mind you, if it had gone over we were ready to get some  good shots of it.

Aw. The first dance. So romantic. The lights are low, the atmosphere is electric and the stage is set for a nice smoochy number. What's not to love about your  first dance as husband and wife?