I like to be friends with all types of image makers and film makers. I think the learning process never really ends and bits and pieces pop up all over to advance your knowledge and understanding. To this end I have recently worked alongside Simon Love from Courting Whale pictures. His work is awesome and really shows off what is possible within the confines of a wedding day.
At Morland the main video was done by CPD films who very kindly said that we could produce something extra for Helen and Steve… A summary, a short trailer, a chunk of amazing and something for Helen and Steve to keep alongside all of the other photographs and video pieces from their day. I took a hit and asked Simon if he would like to be commissioned to do it and he very kindly took the time out for me from his mental schedule. Its for the best as we are both covering another wedding together in August at the Roundthorn, which we now know with such a similar work ethic to one another, will be great.
A full photo blog will follow on from this in a few weeks,
By day one sets out on a trip, but by night one sets out on a journey.
With this wedding being only five days after new year, setting out from home in the dark was much less of an option than I would have liked. Dalston is about 15 miles from home though, which came in handy when I had forgotten one of my bags at the back of the hall and had to trudge back in the car at 11pm.
As weddings go and also as venues go, there is nothing nicer than a wedding at an unusual venue. Its great to have to deal with the challenges that presents, which usually ends up in embracing what is around to create images that show the people at their very best, funniest and most emotional. This was a winter wedding not to be missed, on one hand because winter weddings present their own set of challenges with light but also because the bride and groom were so in love, so gracious and so kind that I knew creating some amazing imagery would come Naturally.
The ceremony was held at St Michaels in Dalston on an unusually warm 5th of Jan with a reception at Victory Hall, also in the village and all was decked out in a Finland, UK, tea party with the moomins theme. Care had been taken over the venue styling and it looked great. I also shot quite a large quantity of film on the day. Main films used were Kodak 3200 and Sensia 1600 (for geeks) which produced some really nice results on the Nikon F4 and F100. All of the digital images were styled up to mimic the film emulsions to make the whole portfolio of images flow nicely. The venue styling and the effort that had been put into the wedding day really shone through. Any of the wedding photographers in the Lake District would have killed to photograph this one!
Morning everyone!Cute Bridesmaids.
On the way to the Church.A great first kiss. There were stacks from inside the church, but if I had to pick one it would be this one.Love this. Shot on Kodak Tmax 3200.Love this of Rebekkah and shot at one of the more unlikely spots for bridal portraits in Cumbria.
I love unprompted images. This was taken as we were setting up another shot.This is the other shot. I just had them chatting away to each other.
Great Venue styling. It really had a lot of care and attention paid to it.In the evening the ceilidh band were great. I think it may have been Striding Edge, but not sure.
First Dance…
I used my bag mishap to catch just one last image. There is a lot of street lighting round Dalston, so if any photographers want the low down on how it was done, feel free to ask and I will do my best to remember.
Thanks to you both for a great days photography and the “OMG the photographs are a-ma-zing” that I got in a text from Rebekkah really made my day. I hope to see you both again soon. P.S. Rose destroyed the gingerbread!
Such a great wedding day. Really, such a great day. Laura and Stewart had planned their wedding at the Heather Glen with a rather meticulous eye. I can appreciate that as we all know that with weddings (and wedding photography) the devil is in the detail. So, once again I shot too many images, then had the job of trawling through them for a day and a half, just to get the selection done. I did also get to work with one of my firm favorites again in Silver Lady Wedding Cars , which was great and the cars just looked awesome. They always do… One of those suppliers that you don’t mind saying to a bride who needs transport for her big day, “Call them, their cars are the best kept”. It’s my new mantra, It isn’t about being best buds with a supplier but just recommend the best ones.
So I started in a house filled to the rafters with girls, champagne and goodies from Hotel Chocolat. Not a stress in sight… Mainly due to the hairdressers and makeup starting early. I started early too and got there with a good head of steam to shoot one of my first weddings with the Fuji X cameras. I also managed to nip down to the pub to catch Stewart and the boys prepping with buttons, Stella and Stout. Not cute names for groomsmen but more what was on supply behind the bar.
Everything went without a hitch, erm, except for getting hitched which also went without a hitch… Okay…. We had a bit of time to adventure in the garden, did a pile of group images bathed in gorgeous evening light and also a little creative stuff with a kindly borrowed straw edged hat and some beautiful Cumbrian shadows, which I will leave to you fine people to spot for yourselves. Some of the children from Laura’s’ school were surprise too when they popped up just after the signing of the register to sing for everyone. Not many dry eyes in the house after that i can assure you. They all sang amazingly well and had been practicing secretly for weeks at school!
Right then, oh the Lobster. Can’t miss out the lobster. It is probably familiar to some but not others. Maybe He’s her Lobster will explain. Enjoy the images, a great great couple who will have an amazing life together. Before that they had awesome dancing, awesome cake at an awesome venue. Bon Voyage…
Some brides are nervous on their wedding day and it teaches you to be a little more distant on the morning of the wedding. Some brides are excited and bouncy which makes for great images too. Kerry was the third type and so laid back that she was practically horizontal. This lets me get great shots of her and her lovely family as there is no big focus on this one person. There aren’t many brides like this and they usually fall into the other two categories listed above….. It is quite safe to say that when a bride smiles all day like Kerry did, the blog post as a result is going to be a little heavy on images. If you were going to put the kettle on before reading this post, in fact I would recomend a Daiquiri instead… Maybe a gin.
Lovely bride and groom, sun all day, amazing sunset, bouncy castles, children laughing, good food, wine and some gee gee’s to finish off the day. I always remember weddings that have a lot going on and this one feels like it was just a moment ago…
There was something going on in every room.Love this shot. Its a personal one and you dont see many from me.Lots of details and the I Do on the shoes was a nice touch.
Just a little time left before moving on to the church and as I was leaving Kerry wandered into the kitchen. Just a couple more shots before I left for the church as I wanted to get there early to catch people arriving.
Hold it, hold it, oh never mind....I adore the shot of the little girl walking into church in the bottom right corner.
During the ceremony the rings were delivered by owl to the best man. The owl was quite stubborn at first and refused to move but as the vicar pointed out in a prayer, it didn’t pooh on the carpet, so it wasn’t all bad. I love it when alternative things happen during a ceremony and this was a nice touch.
It's always this moment where you could cut the air with a knife and I wish I could have photographed everyone in the church at this point.The owl makes an entrance.What a great first kiss .Just before we went outside for confetti I spotted this shot on the move.
Outside we did the confetti shot at the gates of the church and a few groups in the church doorway. Lots of people hung around to see them leave in a traditional horse and cart, so I was constantly moving locations as the crowd followed. I managed to get Steven and Kerry alone for a couple of moments at the back of the church after we had finished the groups. Westnewton Church is beautiful inside and out.
Back at Hundith I stole Kerry and Stephen away for 5 and the light was superb.
Hundith has some nice little spaces for photographs. Fight your way through the trees and you are welcomed with this lovely little garden.
I love photographing at Hundith, maybe because I used to go there as a kid. I am sure that there is more to Hundith like the secret room that we found the other day. The only way to get images like these is to stay all day and every service that I have is geared towards covering a day in its entirity. Most brides and grooms are retiring for the evening when I am still on the journey home.
Sometimes images can be so simple but so effective. Here we have a bride, the sun and a tree as the elements but its simplicity makes the image jump out, even when it is displayed in black and white.The speeches tickled everyone. I love the oh God moment from Kerry.
That Horse took a spacial shine to Stephen.Stay until the end and be rewarded with evening time images like this one.
Some days you just get lucky with certain shots that you take and no matter how much preparation you put into setting up a perfect sunset shot on the front of a beautiful steamer, something random comes along to make that shot even better. As you can see in the shot below taken on Ullswater on an evening cruise, the surprise came in the form of two Eurofighter Typhoons screaming over our heads and directly into shot. You had to be there…. No really, you had to be there, so in many ways I have the RAF to thank just as much as Donna who remained composed throughout.
The lucky shot.
Donna and Scotts wedding was an absolute dream to shoot from start to finish. Jonathan and the staff at the Inn on the lake were impeccable as always and made things flow as smoothly as possible. Sailing with Ullswater steamers was a great way to finish the day that since Scott and Donna come from Scotland, had a distinctly scottish feel to it including piping and an addressing of the haggis by the excellent and Talented Roddy the Piper.
Lyndsey the excellent makeup artist perfecting.
The makeup was applied by the amazing Lyndsey Findlay from the Girls’ home town of Glasgow who was also a guest at the wedding. I was mighty impressed with her makeup style. The girls looked very natural and the smokey look to Donnas eyes was perfect.
The Dresses laid out in the girls room.You can keep your Jimmy Choos and give me Auntie Viv anytime.Inn on the lakes new gazebo. very idyllic.
Donna and Scott chose to get married outside which was a great idea considering that there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. It rained all the way down and most of the morning, but the heavens ceased pouring and only started pouring again once we were all inside. Its like me and mother nature had a deal that day as the cruise was nice and sunny too.
We nipped down to the lake and in the grounds for a few more pics.Donna on the way down to the lake.Scott and Donna walking back off the Jetty see their gallery for more.A confetti shot with a difference.I love my job 🙂These beautiful trees were the perfect frame.These shoes are very, very cool.Had to get one with the Aston.Donna and the unintentional shot of the royal ensign.. ahem.Donna and Scott at the front of the boat looking towards Pooley Bridge.
All in all the day could not have been topped off in any other way. Scott and Donna chose the Lake District to get married in, they chose a beautiful location, had beautiful weather, did everything with a little style and panache and I was lucky enough to have been their photographer.
To see more images from their wedding, please view the your pictures section where, if you so wish, you can see the entire day at inn on the lake in full.
This is a wedding that I shot back in 2010, but I thought that people would like to see it as it is from a venue that is little talked about with photographers and wedding planners in Cumbria, but just happens to be one of my all time favourite places to shoot a wedding. Emma & James booked me to cover their wedding here over 18 months in advance, which is always nice. They were both happy to be led by me when it came to their photography and I was in my element with a venue with both history, pedigree and style in Windermere Boat Racing Club.
This is a really exclusive venue which can only hold six weddings a year due to it being a private members club and is neatly tucked away not far from Bowness, just around the corner from Storrs Hall, another great venue.
I can’t go on enough about this place, but if you look up hidden gem in the dictionary, there should be a picture of this beautiful house in the byline. Here are the images from a wedding at Windermere boat racing club.
Please bear with me, these are only the select few that I loved from the day but there are lots more.
The final checks before heading to the church.James waiting to leave Windermere for the church in Wasdale.Emma in front of the art deco windowwaiting at St Olafs, Wasdale Head.Emma and her sister at St Olafs.Back at the boat racing club.at the front of the club looking backwards.The table layouts.Just the two of them down at the jetty.We nicked the union jack from the club. worked a treat.Emma at the end of the pier on Windermere.A final shot at the lakeside.
I know Sarah very well at Mia Bridal, as she is the talented one who designed my wifes wedding dress from scratch. To say she is unique is an understatement as there is nowhere else that I know of that can make a dress from scratch from sketches or drawings that you make yourself. She also stocks dresses from some of the best and most sought after designers in the world. The most impressive (and most famous) of these has to be Jenny Packham, a designers name that passes over every brides lips. Here is a shoot styled by the talents of Fran at goodbye Norma Jean pop up boutique.
Distinctly vintage.Jenny Packham dress number 1.Hairpiece also available at Mia Bridal.Certainly a unique dress from Jenny Packham.Vintage Grecian style wedding dress at Mia BridalFinishing on a high.
An exclusive shoot for Chocolate Tiers cakemakers in Carlisle. This shoot was requested by the owners who wanted something a little more personal than a shot of their cakes taken by a photographer at a wedding fair. I went up to their home and country kitchen to capture the essence of their style of cakemaking which as you can see below is spectacular.
I love vintage country kitchens.Heating chocolate for the cakeThe lazy cat.MMMMMM... Chocolate wedding cakeA final dusting of glitter for this order.Where else will you get a cake like that?
There are plenty of wedding venues in the Lake District. If you throw a stone in Windermere, you are quite likely to smash a window of at least one. In Carlisle however they are far fewer, especially if you want 200 plus guests. The Shepherds Inn commissioned me to produce its new set of images for websites and brochures and here are the results. The Shepherds Inn can hold massive volumes of people for a wedding or event, so give them a call for more info on pricing.
P.s, the locally sourced Lakeland beef is outstanding.
The front entrance of the Shepherds InnThe entrance to the banqueting suite.Lakeland Beef at the auctioneerMartini at the AuctioneerCakes made in-house at the Auctioneer
More to follow later in the month. Thanks to all the staff for allowing me to invade the backrooms and corridors to get the images that I had wandering round in my head.
Another wet day that lead to glorious sunshine at Armathwaite Hall near Bassenthwaite Lake and just up from the thriving Lake District town of Keswick.
I first met Matt and Adele photographing their Husky dogs several years ago now and we have remained in touch ever since. Matt is a keen sled dog racer and owner of Quinaya pet food who some may have seen gracing the pages of the Cumberland News when we had heavy snow in December. He and Adele are like peas in a pod.
Getting ready on the morning of Matt & Adeles wedding
The girls had stayed the night before at the Castle Inn hotel, Just up from Armathwaite Hall and were in the throws of hair and makeup when I arrived, Adele had a fabulous dress from Carlisles wedding Warehouse and the boys hired suits from 1860 tailoring. Everybody looked fantastic and I even caught Matt for a few shots of him alone before proceedings started. Being in the room with the girls as they got ready was great too and I managed to get some of my favourite shots of the day just hanging around in the corner of the room!
Adele in the sunshine at Armathwaite Hall, Cumbria
We avoided showers to get some pictures of everyone outside in groups and also in a documentary style, to give Matt and Adele over 350 images to choose from. We even managed a few shots in the golden embers of the fading sunset. I can’t wait to see the finished Artemis album they have ordered, it will look fantastic.
Adele at the Lime Trees, Armathwaite Hall, CumbriaAdele looked amazing on the windy fire escape.
The evening sun was a treat and bathed everything in a beautiful light.
Can’t ask for a better subject than a beautiful bride on a windy fire escape.
Adele and the bridesmaids had hair pieces from the very bespoke and exclusive Mia Bridal in Carlisle.
I loved shooting Matt & Adeles wedding, I can’t remember the last time I laughed so much at a best mans speech too, which had to be one of the speeches of the year so far. What has to be one of the shots of the day is the shot of Matt with his head in his hands and Adam in full flow next to him, Just caught in the nick of time. Any photographer who does not photograph speeches is missing what is probably the funniest part of any wedding day.
Lake District Wedding Photography, 21 Mill Road, Glasson, Cumbria, CA7 5EE