Wedding Day for Helena & Nick

The second wedding of last weekend was for Helena & Nick. The day started at Nick's parent's where we found him nervously waiting with his best man, and his son. We watched as they played snooker and then got them posing to get in some practice for the day ahead !

We headed off to go to Helena's house where she was getting ready with her mother and her bridesmaid, Michelle. Her father soon arrived and was delighted to see Helena, well, she did look beautiful !

The ceremony was held at Croxden Church, a very old, quaint church set in beautiful countryside ... and the vicar was the coolest I have ever worked with (thanks!). The ceremony was fun- and music-filled and everyone had a lovely time :)

Following the ceremony, I took the bride and groom across the road to the ruins of Croxden Abbey where we were able to get some private, romantic shots. We then stopped off at Helena's horses so she could say hi (they were very well behaved) and so we got some shots with them too.

Finally, the reception was held at Sandon Hall, one of my favourite venues !

I would like to wish Helena and Nick all the very best for a happy marriage and a long life ahead, together.

A few favourites from the day ...

Another from my second shooter, Mike !

Wedding Day for Gill & Phil

My first wedding of the weekend was at the beautiful Rookery Hall. Gill and Phil started planning their wedding a year ago, and now it was time !

The guys had a dreadful week leading up to the wedding, with Gill rushed into hospital for an emergency operation, in fact, it had been touch and go as to whether or not to go ahead ... but they did !

The day itself was not kind to them, it poured down all day, but all things considered the mood was good and spirits were high, with everyone having a great time !

Gill and Phil had been to dance lessons to learn the dirty dancing routine for their first dance and it was a shame they could not do this ... but the first dance was romantic and slow, making for a beautiful ending to the day.

I would like to wish you a speedy recovery, Gill, and I hope that both of you have a long and happy marriage !

Here are a few of my favourites from the day :)

And a favourite of mine taken by my second shooter for the weekend, Mike !

Jerry Ghionis in London !

Wow ! What a week !

I was helping out at a Jerry Ghionis workshop, being held at the super cool Hoxton Urban Lodge hotel in the east end of London.

Monday was critique day, so I took myself off for a meal with fellow DWF moderator Yvonne Blume and of course a few drinks :) It was great to catch up, we don't really get to see each other that often.

Tuesday and Wednesday saw me don my wedding dress and prance around London being photograph'd, first by all the students for 15 minutes each, then by Jerry outside Buckingham Palace (we saw Charles and Camilla coming back from Ascott too ... she was wearing a blue hat!)

Photos of my modelling to follow :)

I was still in my dress for drinks last night but actually had my camera with me and managed a few shots for our Pay It Forward project ... for your viewing pleasure, here are a few of my faves from Wednesday night ...

Councillor Winnington

4 years ago I had my first ever portrait assignment, to shoot a friend who was running for a position on Stafforshire County Council - Mark Winnington. I created a website for him, included those photos, had a lot of fun doing it and of course, Mark got voted in!

Well, it's election time again and Mark is running for the same position ... however, time changes us all and Mark needed some new photos taken to reflect how he looks 4 years on ... we decided to try and get some Stafford landmarks in the images, so we headed off into the town centre just before the shops opened on Sunday morning. It was a beautiful sunny day, so we decided to have some fun, as well as taking some "sensible" shots ... for those of you who grew up in the 80's, just think New Statesman ...

Here are my faves from the shoot ...enjoy !

Wedding Day for Laurie & Jock

This weekend I had the privilege of covering Laurie and Jock's wedding in sunny Newcastle ! The day started with some preparations at home, complete with Holly, Laurie's cousin, who was chief bridesmaid, and their 2 children, Ella and Jessie, who were also bridesmaids for the day. Everyone looked gorgeous, especially Laurie in her beautiful couture gown :)

The ceremony was held at Newcastle Registry Office, set in a leafy area of Newcastle, one of my favourite civil venues ... Jock's brother (and best man) Mark gave a reading - Wedding Day by Robert Palmer (1945-1997) ... here is an excerpt from that passage ...

The day of your wedding is a time to reflect
On the things you can hope for and the things to expect

You could hope for great riches, huge bundles of cash
But then lose it all in a stock market crash

Expect time of anger the occasional huff
Because no-one annoys you like the one that you love (ain't that the truth
LOL)

But don't look for problems that the future may bring
Just to love and be loved is a wonderful thing

Life's not all plan sailing, not always a ball
But I know you'll be happy because LOVE CONQUERS ALL !

The guys had booked an evening slideshow with me, so I spent an hour processing a few images and pulling that together, so that evening guests who had not been to the wedding could see what had been happening through the day ... of course, it also meant Laurie and Jock could take a peep and be reminded of the day so far :)

Laurie and Jock (and Ella and Jessie) .. thank you so much for letting me capture your day, it was wonderful to be around you guys and I want to wish you all every happiness in your lives together ...

Here are some of my favourites, cherry-picked from the slideshow selection.