Jeremy & Lusy’s wedding
Lusy prepares for her wedding day
Lusy & Jeremy during the ceremony
Rings are exchanged during the ceremony
Lusy & Jeremy enjoy their first kiss
Lusy & Jeremy signing the marriage registry
Mercedes badge with wedding bow
Jeremy & Lusy
Wedding day entertainment provided by guests
Lusy & Jeremy during their first dance
Guests take part in a wheelbarrow race
A young family member plays in a straw bale castle
Conrad & Kate’s wedding
Kate prepares for her wedding
Kate arrives on Canal Street, Manchester in her convertible Volkswagen beetle
A homeless man jokes around with Kate's bridesmaid
Conrad & Kate share their first kiss
Conrad & Kate sign the wedding registry, at the Taurus Bar, Manchester
Conrad & Kate take a walk in Sackville Gardens, Manchester
Conrad, Kate and their daughter pose with the Alan Turing statue
The wedding party pose for a group photo
Kate's bridesmaid's show off their colourful footwear
Kelly & Andrew’s wedding – St Peter’s, Swinton and Heaton Park Hall
Kelly & Andrew outside Heaton Hall
Kelly & Andrew followed in a long line of bookings that spans back to one of my first weddings, three years ago. It is amazing just what word of mouth can achieve. Having first met them last year, and again a few weeks before the wedding, it felt crazy at just how quick this wedding had come around. Time is flying on by.. blink, and I’ll be photographing their childrens’ weddings!
The day itself was looking promising. The weather was forecast to be unusually summery for the British month of July. Nine bridesmaids would be providing photo opportunities galore, and I had two great new venues to discover!
I began at the couples home in Swinton where I was admittedly half expecting mayhem, but upon being invited in I found a sea of calm! All nine bridesmaids, and even the bride Kelly, were getting ready as if it was just another day. Nerves were in short supply, but thankfully the natural smiles that come on such exciting days were aplenty.
Onwards to the church. St Peter’s in Swinton has always been in my mind. Having lived only a few minutes walk away for a year, I had passed it regularly. It’s beautiful stained glass windows had always stood out to me and I’d hoped for a long time to see them at their best from the inside. I wasn’t disappointed. The service itself without a hitch, as was becoming customary and before long, we were thrown back outside into the warming sunshine.
Our final destination for the day was to be The Orangery at Manchester’s Heaton Park Hall. Surprisingly, despite being on my doorstep for all 25 years of my life and one of Europe’s largest municipal parks, I’d only visited twice before. Once for a concert, and once to photograph a charity run. Neither of which had really given me the chance to appreciate the surrounds.
Heaton Hall and the Orangery, added in 1823, provided a stunning backdrop to the photographs. As did the views out over the park and city beyond. The harsh daylight gave a depth to the photographs creating shadows across the architecture’s golden stone walls, which also contrasted beautifully with the evening sky later in the day.
During the ceremony at St Peters, Swinton
Kelly & Andrew outside Heaton Hall
Kelly & her bridesmaids outside Heaton Hall
Kelly in the gardens at the Orangery, Heaton Hall
Table decorations and cupcakes from 'Oh my, Cupcakes'
Zoe & Paul’s wedding – Warrington Registry Office
Bride arrives at Warrington Registry Office
Bride and groom during the ceremony
Bride and groom during the ceremony
Confetti
Bride and groom
Bride and groom
Cake
Young girl sings along to songs
Naomi & Dave’s wedding – Shrigley Hall Hotel, Cheshire
Naomi & Dave tied the knot on a gorgeous late March day, at Shrigley Hall, near Macclesfield.
The day began nice and early with the usual, final few preparations.. and oddly, a decent breakfast! A call from my assistant for the day, Gary Eddleston meant it was finally time to leave for Naomi’s home around 10am. Upon arriving, the nerves for the day ahead were setting in – amongst the bridal party, I might add! Thankfully I’d arrived before preparations had began, so was able to quickly run through the day and plan a few extra shots that would be required.
Arriving at the Cheshire village of Pott Shrigley, familiarity took over as my memory mapped out the country roads ahead of me. I found Gary awaiting me in the car park and we set off for the hotel reception to find our groom for the day, Dave. Having checked the bar; we eventually found him putting the finishing touches to the ceremony room. Half a pint later, and we were ready for some photos!
..and finally, something a little bit arty?
Lorna & Dan’s wedding – Porthcawl, Wales
Lorna and Dan married in the Welsh seaside town of Porthcawl on a gorgeous Summer day back in 2009.
Jo & Paul’s wedding – Sale Town Hall
A snowy wedding to start the month of December, and a late one too resulting in shooting in the dark. Held at Sale’s Town Hall with a delicious looking meal over the road at Mimi’s Restaurant. I shot this on behalf of Sean Peters
Maggie & Matthew’s wedding – The Place Hotel, Manchester
The wedding of Maggie and Matthew took place in the stunning Grade II listed surrounds of The Place Hotel Apartments, Manchester. In attendance, to induce salvation with his gorgeous crepes, was Andrew from Original Crepes. Assisting myself (with a lovely 15mm fisheye!) was Chris Jackson whom I must thank for his light holding abilities!
Whilst Winter brings darkness and gloominess (seemingly by the bucketful in Manchester), it also brings new avenues for creativity. Darker afternoons mean natural light is, well.. none existent. Flash provides a new angle on lighting, and used well can add another dimension to what would otherwise be dull, flat images. Coupled with beautiful surrounds.. you can’t help but capture those unique, treasured images!
Lucy & William’s wedding – Joshua Bradley, Hyde
Lucy and Williams wedding took place on a lovely autumnal Friday afternoon at the Joshua Bradley in Hyde, Cheshire. The weather stayed fine, a rare occurrence on an October day in this part of the world!
Karen & Ian’s wedding
Karen & Ian’s wedding was a late booking for myself, and luckily fell between other jobs I had booked in. Luckily for the happy couple, the weather could only be described as ‘August’, with beautiful sunshine and t-shirtly warm air. The afternoon went off without a hitch, and before I knew it I was leaving them for their meal – time flies when you’re having fun!
Siobhan & Rob’s wedding – St Barnabas Cathedral, Nottingham
Siobhan and Rob booked me for their wedding quite some time ago off the back of other weddings I did for their friends and family. This one was a little closer to home though.. only as far as Nottingham! The ceremony took place inside Nottingham’s St Barnabas Cathedral, followed by a reception at the beautiful Bestwood Lodge.
They were a great couple to work with, and our only limit was time.. there were certainly plenty of ideas being fired around – including jazz hands in the mini maze!
Helen & Richard’s wedding
Some of you may recall the pre-wedding shoot I did with Helen and Richard a few weeks ago, for those that don’t, you can see it here. Well, today was finally the day.. their wedding day.
It’s been a long few days, so I’m not up to writing much more than to say that the day turned out better than could have been expected, and it was great to see them finally tie the knot with such splendid surroundings! The ceremony shots will require a little bit of work, a nightmare to get the right white balance and exposure but right now… time for bed…
Karl & Jamie’s wedding
Jamie & Karl’s wedding, took place in Longton just outside Stoke, in a rather grand town hall.. and was followed by the reception out in the gorgeous countryside that surrounds the pretty village of Dilhorne. They were a fantastic couple to have the privilege of photographing, and seemingly fell from one pose to the next – I’m sure they’d been practising! I don’t think I’d ever seen a couple more in love.. 
Mark & Rachel’s wedding
I shot this wedding for a good friend, Sean Peters at the village hotel, Hyde.
Elizabeth & Danny’s wedding – Chadderton Town Hall, Oldham
Elizabeth & Danny on the stairs at Chadderton Town Hall
Last Friday, I had booked in Elizabeth & Danny’s wedding. It was only to be a small affair, with just a handful of guests, but this did not make it any less important. It allowed for more time to be spent with the bride and groom to get more photographs of their biggest day together. They were a lovely couple to work with and I wish them all the best in the future – especially that they don’t get stuck in Greece because of the ash cloud. Not that I’d be envious much!
Elizabeth & Danny walk in the gardens at the Swallow Bower Hotel, Chadderton
Jamie & Kelly’s wedding – Oxwich Bay, Swansea
Kelly & Jamie on the beach at Oxwich Bay, Swansea
An Easter wedding continues my collection of themed weddings, and despite it taking place on the 1st April, the only ‘joke’ was the weather – rain, rain and more rain.. but you can’t book good weather! The wedding of Jamie and Kelly took place at Oxwich Bay Hotel, near Swansea, Wales. The hotel overlooks a beautiful bay, and is situation next to a lovely beach – a spot for Summer I think!
Jamie and his groomsmen on the beach at Oxwich Bay, Swansea
Young love!
Bride Kelly at Owxich Bay, Swansea
Kelly & Jamie enjoy their first dance at Oxwich Bay, Swansea