Skipton Castle and the Chinese Restaurant

That sounds like the title of an Agatha Christie novel, doesn't it?

We  get asked to shoot some stuff  but when Jim and Carolyn walked through the door we knew that their wedding  was going to be a wedding with a difference.

Laid back, funny and full of character, we got on with them like a house on fire.

"We don't want photos of cake cutting. There won't be any speeches and we aren't having a first dance."

"Ok, that's fine. Where's the wedding?" asked I.

Skipton Castle.

Skipton castle?!

 I felt my pulse quicken. That's been on my 'to photograph' bucket list for some time now.

"And the reception?" (trying to keep calm and professional and not shout out Skipton Castle!!  Whoop, whoop!!).

"The Jade Palace."

"The what?"

"The Jade Palace Chinese restaurant. It's a special place for us."

Well, there can't be a better reason for picking a reception venue than the fact that it has an emotional connection with the couple, can there?

 A medieval castle and a chinese dragon at the same wedding. Wow!

I told you it was a wedding with a difference - and you know what?

It was perfect! Have a look......



 Nervous bride and groom? I don't think so!

Hey Mum! If I stand here people will think it's my car!

Er... lads? Lads? The castle is the other way.

A moment to reflect

Carolyn and her son, who gave her away, arriving at the castle

These bridesmaids were off the cuteness scale. Aren't they gorgeous?

There may have been a teensy dress malfunction just before the ceremony. Would you have coped with it as well as Carolyn did?

No words needed

I don't know what was in that glass but it looked like she was enjoying it.

This courtyard was fabulous. I half expected Shakespeare to appear

 time to leave for the reception

And so we arrived at the Jade Palace.


A couple of images that will live with me forever - a chinese dragon standing at a bus stop. You couldn't make it up!

Congratulations, Carolyn and Jim.

What a fantastic, vibrant and exciting wedding you had - and it suited you perfectly.

Tim & Vicky at Eaves Hall

"Oh, Tim and Vicky. How lucky you are. What a fantastic day for a wedding."
 I thought as I walked the dog at 7.30 a.m. on the morning of their wedding. The sky was a beautiful azure blue and there wasn't a cloud to be seen. It was a  warm (ish), bright and beautiful morning.

Two hours later I set off to Eaves Hall with the rain and the hail hammering down on my car windscreen and the wipers going  full pelt. "Blimey, didn't expect this" I thought as I prayed it wasn't in for the whole day.



As I arrived at Eaves Hall, the rain slowed down to a persistent downpour. "This I can work with." Getting wet is one thing, getting smacked in the face by hailstones the size of marbles I'm not over keen on. As gorgeous as Eaves Hall is on the inside, it would have been tragic if we hadn't been able to make the most of the fabulous  gardens. It's a good job I keep a stash of umbrellas in the car.








The gatehouse, where the girls were all getting ready, was a hive of high spirited activity as hair was curled, make up applied and champagne sipped.

I of course made myself busy by admiring the shoes, jewels......ahem. I mean.... being very professional and photographing all the important details of the day.

I always think that photographers are inherently nosy people and that's how we get the photographs we do - exactly because we take an interest in everything around is - and what could possible be more interesting than a wedding?

The theme of this wedding was black and white. I'd been looking forward to seeing how it would turn out. As it turned out it was glamourous, sophisticated and elegant.

This photo below is one of my favourites, I can't resist an old window and the  melancholic feel it evokes.  I'm sure a psychologist would have a lot to say about that!

While I was with the girls, Bob had gone along to see how the chaps were getting on. While he was there he got a lovely shot of the rings.

Pretty, aint it?

The boys, it appeared were getting on ok. Rather enjoying themselves from what I could see. No sign of nerves here. Mind you. Getting a posse of lively  blokes to look grufty was harder than it sounds.

Just before this photo was taken, by yours truly, Tim had slipped on the wet stones and very nearly ended up on his backside. His best man saw the incident through the window and came running out to  do his best manly duty and make sure nothing else happened before the ceremony.

Best to go inside for a nice calming game of snooker.

The guests began to arrive, the rain stopped, the bride and her entourage
 ( I want an entourage!!) moved over to the main hall to get changed into their dresses ready for the big moment. Suddenly it was all moving very fast.

Vicky really did look stunning.

After a quiet moment of reflection it was time to go and meet her groom.

Vicky's Dad looked so proud as he walked her down the aisle, I thought he was going to burst. It was lovely.

Once the ceremony was over we managed to get out in the gardens for a few photos.

 The sun even managed to join us for a few minutes.

The speeches were hilarious. They have to be good to make me laugh and believe me I had a hard time holding it all together and not guffawing out loud. It's a good job I had my camera to hide behind. I hope no one noticed it shaking a time or two!

No  one ever believes me that their wedding day will fly past and be gone in a flash but in no time at all it was time for the first dance. How did it get to that time so quickly? I

 What a brilliant wedding, thank you, Tim and Vicky  for letting Bob and me be  a part of it.

Tim & Vicky got married!

When people book their wedding photography with us it can be as much as eighteen months before the wedding. We al think it's going to take forever for the time to go round but in actual fact it seems like about two minutes.

That's how it was with Tim & Vicky.

The wedding day flew round and now it's been  - and gone -  in a flash!

The wedding was last Saturday at Eaves Hall. I think it may have knocked  Haigh Hall off the top spot of my favourite venues. It's fab-u-lous!

The day dawned bright and clear. As I walked my dog, Bentley across the moors at 7.30a.m. I was telling him that it was going to be a beautiful day for a wedding. Blue skies, bright sunshine, perfect.

By the time we left (that's me and Bob, not me and Bentley. Just so you know haha), the skies had turned to a glowering grey and it was actually sleeting!

That wasn't part of my plan!

Not that it mattered. The atmosphere at Eaves Hall where Vicky was getting ready in the lovely Lodge House was as warm as a Caribbean summer.

There was plenty of laughter, banter and excitement from everyone involved.  It was a joy to be a part of it all.

The colour scheme for the day was black and white. I remember Vicky telling me that at our pre wedding meeting and thinking it might be a bit stark.

It was anything but stark. It was elegant, sophisticated and Vicky had added a healthy dose of glamour to it all to make all it feminine and pretty. I loved it.

I'm going to give you a sneaky look at some of the details but SSSHHH..... don't tell Tim and Vicky.  I'll show you some more photos from their fabulous wedding once they've got back from their honeymoon and seen them.

Prescriptive or descriptive?

Welcome! Welcome! Come in, sit down and make yourselves comfy! An extra special welcome to new readers and those we've met recently at the wedding fairs.

Carrying on with our introduction from a couple of posts ago, I'd like to share with you our vision of wedding photography. 

When Bob and I got married 26 years ago, wedding photography was largely prescriptive. You got what you got and everyone followed the same formula.

You stood and posed in lines, slap bang in the middle of the frame with various family members for 30 or so photographs. Then, just as the fun was about to start the photographer packed up his tripod (yes, it was always a bloke and he always had a tripod) and off he went. That, as they say, was that.

In due course you got your thirty pictures in an album, one picture to a page, with tissue paper between the pages. Your album looked the same as your Mum's and hers looked like her Mum's.

Then along came digital photography. 

Once digital photography reached a standard as good if not better than film photography all sorts of doors opened. 

Photography no longer needed to be prescriptive.

Now it could be descriptive. 

Suddenly the rule was: 

There are no rules, be creative and go with the flow.

(Imagine me singing for joy at this point).

Photographers now had the freedom to shoot as much as they wanted,  allowing them to pick up on the mood, the feel and the sheer joy of a wedding. 

Reportage was born.

For the first time we could photograph all of the details, the tiny but important items that make your wedding uniquely yours. 

The garter that belonged to your grandma, the ring sewn into the lining of your dress or the antique lace that came from your Mum's wedding veil. We understand how important these things are to you.

They are your cherished memories, memories that you'll want to keep forever. By putting these photographs  alongside and complimenting your main photographs we can tell the whole story of your wedding in your beautiful and unique storybook album.

Bob and I don't claim to be truly reportage photographers as experience has taught us that most people still like to have a few formal photographs and we're always happy to do those for you if you want them.

However, what we prefer to do is shoot very natural, unposed  images, the ones that show you enjoying every single second of your wedding.

What do you think?