Justine & Graham | Wedding | Alrewas Hayes

Last weekend I had the pleasure of joining Justine, Graham and their family and friends for their wedding. The weather looked like being rubbish but we were blessed with a dry day that wasn't too cold ! Alrewas Hayes Events is a new venue, family run, and is absolutely gorgeous. Set in beautiful grounds with converted barns as bedrooms for guests, it really is the perfect wedding setting. I was joined by Manchester Wedding Photographer, Matt Wagster for the day ... we always have a lot of fun shooting together and we're able to provide different angles and our own takes on the day.

And so, a few from the day ...

Those shoes ...

Justine really loves her little cuddly toy she got from Graham for her birthday LOL

The dress had beautiful detailing ...

The shapes we girls get into to look beautiful !

The girls all looked stunning ...

The boys scrubbed up well too ...

Justine and Dad ...

Time to get married !

The detail on the cake people is just amazing !!!

Some quiet time being announced in as Mr & Mrs ...

The speeches were a mix of laughter and some tears (Justine's mother is sadly no longer with us) ...

Cake cutting time ... seemed a shame cutting into that frosting :)

Final view of the venue as we were leaving ... beautiful !

Venue: Alrewas Hayes Events
Shoes: Jimmy Choo
Dress: Benjamin Roberts

Holiday Deadlines

It's that time of year again ... where on earth did 2009 go !

Album Deadlines

All albums that have been signed off have been ordered. I have been told by the album companies that these "should" be out in time for Christmas, but I am in their hands on this. I will be keeping all clients informed as soon as I have this information.

Hi Res Disks

Anyone who has purchased the hi res files will have these in time for Christmas, allowing you to get those all important Christmas gifts printed and framed for your family !

Reprints

For reprint orders up to 18x12" in size, the deadline is Wednesday 16th December. Anything above this size, Monday 14th.

Framed prints

As all my frames are bespoke, the deadline is next Tuesday 1st December. However, I do have a small number of small frames in stock (for framing a 7x5" print), so get your orders in quickly to avoid disappointment :)

The Importance of Backing Up

I get asked, on occasion, what measures I take to ensure my client's treasured images are kept safe. I'm about to share what I do. I'll keep it simple for those not too "geeky" LOL, but I think it is an important subject and one that my clients should be made to feel comfortable with.

Once I come home after a shoot, the RAW files are loaded to my main production machine. Never the laptop. Why? The laptop is my admin machine and has 1 hard drive. Too risky. Also, it is not hooked up to a colour calibrated monitor and therefore completely useless for processing files. The production machine has 2 "mirrored" drives, making it safe for a hard drive failure, as everything is mirrored onto the other drive.

But that's not good enough for me. Usually, I am pretty tired after a large event and I like to have my client's files in 2 locations. So, they stay on the memory card until I can get to the next bit.

I have 4 external drives, 2 500gb lacie porsche drives (1 with current weddings and 1 with portraits and other work), and 2 1 TB mirrored drives. See that mirroring thing again? Talk about paranoid !

Every single file from the event is backed up to the appropriate drive. They are now in 2 places, good to clear the cards, ready for the next job (it is worth noting at this stage that I have enough cards to shoot 5 weddings and a couple of portrait sessions without clearing them off).

Every single time I process a shoot, the processed files, changed files, album layouts, blog files, get backed up to the appropriate drive.

So, what happens once the job is finished? All files are backed up to Archival quality DVD (s) and placed in the client file. It is also useful when clients purchase the "digital negatives" so that we have an off-site copy of the files ... something to consider if you haven't already :)

And that's it.

And now for a little humour to back this up ... enjoy ! :)

Holly & Phil | Wedding | Alsager Country Club

Yesterday found me in Alsager with Holly, Phil, their little baby girl Millie and of course their family and friends. We were all amazed and delighted to find that we were to be blessed with a sunny day (let's face it, this summer has been a bit rubbish) and we all looked forward to spending some time in the glorious weather.

Holly was bridesmaid at her cousin Laurie's wedding, which I shot last year. Of course, there were very many familiar faces there and it was great to meet with everyone again.

Holly's hair features a lot in this post ... you will see why ... classic and beautiful :)

A few faves ...

It is quite unlike me to post such a vivid colour, but who could resist that wall !!!

A beautiful father daughter moment ... he was so proud

Stunning !

A little moment with Phil, then in for the ceremony

We all headed to the Brampton for some family photos ... I managed to catch this one of Millie, before someone jumped in and caught her !

Then some private time with Holly & Phil

Finally, it was time to head to the reception venue

I tell you, that ham sandwich was going down well !

Final two images ... that beautiful hair !!!

Thanks for having me ! Have a great honeymoon, guys :)