Sarah and Paul's Wedding

Paul and Sarah got married at the Doubletree by Hilton Hotel at Leeds Canal Basin on 30th of March, although by my reckoning, this was the 3rd name his hotel's had since we've been planning this wedding! It's been City Inn and Mint in recent years, but what it's always had is an astonishing 13th Floor bar, the Skylounge, which looks out across practically the whole of Leeds. The hotel sits at the corner where the Leeds and Liverpool canal meets the River Aire as it comes out from under the city centre. There's been a lot of building here over the last 10years, creating lots of city flats, shopping areas and offices. I tell you all of this in explanation - the tallest building in Yorkshire sits on the other side of the water, and it's created a lethal (no exaggeration) wind tunnel which whips around that corner in it's own little circle. When we went for our walk-through to scout out the location together at the end of February, we watched a man falling through the ice on the canal, and struggling to get out of the frozen water - no doubt blown in. 

Thankfully by their big day the snow had gone and we were blessed with a bright sunny day, but it was inevitable that the wind would be a feature of the wedding photos, and we had lots of fun trying to cope with it. We shot all the group photos down at ground level, and then went up to the bar, above everything in the city including the wind, for the wedding breakfast. I left them to enjoy their meal and drinks with their guests for the afternoon, and then rejoined them at the Royal Armouries for a proper evening knees-up in the Wellington Suite. 

This was my first wedding of the year, and it was beautiful. And, judging by the message I got back from Sarah, it would seem that they enjoyed their day too: 

"Thank you for the pictures they are absolutely brilliant brings back such beautiful memories, would love to do it all again, you made us feel so relaxed about the whole day and I think that shows in the pictures you have taken. I will defo recommend you to anyone. Thanks again for making our day so special. Sarah and Paul." 

I love being a photographer!

 

  

Don and James's Wedding

As promised in my last instalment, this was the wedding that led to the reception that led to the delicate state in which I found myself photographing 13 noisy children in Halifax the next day.

Don was my manager when I took a temp job on my return to Leeds after my bachelors degree, and whilst I settled into a full time contract with the company around my part time post-grad courses (I've always been a busy person).

My memories of Friday night drinks with the rest of the staff over the 3 years I was there are far from clear, but out of that fuzzy, dry-ice in a night-club type of haze, there are some very sharply illuminated scenes in which there are visible Don dancing like a madman, encouraging me to dance like a mad woman, and lots and lots and lots of beer. And laughter.

We both moved on from that company a few years ago, so it was a particular pleasure and an honour when I received a message on Facebook asking me to be the photographer for Don and James when they finally did the decent thing and married each other after 18years together.

Jo and I teamed up again and returned with delight to Oulton Hall, which we knew well as our old studio had been in Oulton village. It was a perfect late September day, some cloud cover but still warm, and despite both the grooms nerves, it developed into a wonderful relaxed celebration, with loving friends and family visibly proud to be there.

Here are a few of my shots of the big day.

Part of me wishes I'd had my camera at the evening do, but then I wouldn't have managed 2 hours of dancing.....

The Thursday Club in Manor Heath Park

For the last 4 years, I've had the pleasure of getting to know the Jones girls. I first met Louise when she was heavily pregnant with Ava, and Masie and Katie were typically boisterous 3 and 5 year olds. They followed Jo and I to our new studio when we set up, and were among the first people to take up our idea of  going outside to have some fun to shoot more natural photos.

So when Louise asked if I'd be able to shoot 13 kids outside in a park in Halifax, I jumped at the chance, and we set a date.

When the day came, it turned out to be the morning after the massive reception to a rather lovely wedding (of which more later...), and I was feeling just a little bit delicate, but somehow managed to shake it off and have some very noisy fun with this rabble!

I hope everyone had as much fun as I did. Here's a few of the shots.

Amanda and Ian's Wedding

Just a few from Ian and Amanda's wedding at the end of August. St Anthony's in Beeston is one of the most beautiful and simple churches I've ever been to, with an open and light-filled space, even though it springs straight from the pavement and is nestled amongst the buildings of one of the close terrace streets near Cross Flatts Park.

From the moment I met this couple back in May, we were making each other laugh, and the rehearsal and ceremony were no different, which made my job easy!

On the day, the weather decided to throw some challenging conditions at us - going from full bright blue-sky sunshine, through storm light and then to thick black clouds again before the most beautiful golden evening light when we got to the South Leeds Golf Club, another hidden gem on the Beeston/Middleton border.

The priest, who had known Amanda for years, allowed me full, unrestricted movement around the church during the ceremony, and so I was able to provide a variety of views of the proceedings.

All in all, it was a pleasure to be present at such a lovely event, and I hope the photos show a little of the fun this little family share.

I wish them all the happiness in the world!