Over the last couple of days  I have been  back up in the Lakes with the lovely Aspire Photography Training. This time it was to spend time with one of their bespoke groups to talk about how we approach and photograph our weddings. Group 35 were amazing bunch of guys, really enthusiastic and keen to learn. On the first day I just joined the group and the end of the day to listen and observe whilst Catherine & Jane talked about the marketing side of the business. It’s always interesting listening to the questions that the Bespoke members put to both Catherine & Jane. I’m listening very closely because there is always something new you can learn from these guys.

On the second day I took the group through the whole process of photographing a wedding, from planning to execution.  We were joined on the shoot by a lovely couple, Sarah & James who were lucky to get married on the fab island of Sicily. They acted as our models as I took the group through how to set up and shoot an engagement shot. Then in the afternoon we headed out into the village of Burton in Kendal for some wedding pictures, first to the lovely church and then off to a beautiful location to do the couple shots.

As ever the day was set up and organised by the fab Rachel. She is an ace stylist and always puts in a superb effort. Here are a few of my pictures from the day.

We recently spent a fantastic day at Amy & James’s wedding in the beautiful countryside just south of the North York Moors national park. The ceremony was at the methodist church in Helmsley  and the Marquee reception was on the grounds of the Star Inn at Harome It was a really stunning spot and gave us loads of fantastic photo opportunities.

As usual I spent the morning with the girls while Lou hung out with the guys putting the finishing touches to the marquee site. After a lovely ceremony (and a few drops of rain) everyone made their way back to the reception for drinks, some canapes and some amazing food (naturally!!)

It was an amazing and great day and we’d like to thank Amy & James for inviting us to be a part of it.

Lou & Phil xxx

We spent a fantastic day with Katie, Craig & their guests at their wedding recently. The ceremony was at the lovely church in Sutton upon Derwent near York and the reception was held at Castle Howard. This was a first for us as we’d never photographed a wedding there and it was a real treat – about as photogenic a location as we could ask for.

It was a fantastic day with a little bit of rain dodging when we were doing the group shots, but it stayed fine when it really mattered and we were able to wander around the stunning gardens for Katie & Craig’s couple shots.

Congratulations guys – it was a real treat to spend your day with you.

Phil & Lou xxx

Earlier this week I spent another great day with the team at Aspire Photography Training. This time it was ‘I Do I Do I Do’ workshop which gives the chance for photographers to come up and spend some time building their portfolio for their wedding business. The first part of the day is spend with me going over how we approach a wedding and discuss the things that work really well for us. Then it was outside into the rain! Yes rain! It was supposed to be a nice warm day 25 degrees and blue sky. But we must have had a little micro climate of our own because it pretty much rained all day. But as with weddings you can’t say can we come back another day – so on we went. First it was shooting a pre-wed with the ace couple Rebecca & Scott then some wedding shots with Faye & Chris.

The afternoon session was built around the delegates having around 40 minutes with each of the couples. We were joined by a third couple Petra & James. So everyone spent 2 hours shooting 3 different couples. Then back for some coffee and to dry our feet ( my converses will never be the  same again ). We finished off with a bit of Q&A before heading back home.

It was a fab day with a great bunch of people. If you want to get involved with the same course – Aspire are running it again on the 1st of November 2011

We spent a fantastic day recently with Rhonda and Chris for their wedding in Sheffield. Their day was filled with lots of personal touches – Rhonda  wanted an English country fete feel to the day so there was loads of bunting everywhere which had all been made be her friends and family. The church was decked out in white bunting which made for some really great photos outside.

Continuing the feel of the day, the reception was held at Bradfield village hall right next to the village cricket pitch. There was a game going on which really added to the atmosphere. Inside the hall the theme continued with the tables beautifully decorated and more bunting festooned around.

Rhonda, Chris and their guests were great to be around – a really fun bunch which meant we got some ace shots after the meal when everyone was relaxed and letting their hair down a bit!

The night was rounded off by and ace Beatles tribute band who had everyone up and dancing to a bit of ‘Twist & Shout’

Chris and Rhonda, thank you for allowing us to be a part of your day. It was beautiful in so many ways and we loved being there with you and your guests

Love and best wishes to you both

Phil & Lou xxx

These were Rhonda’s first shoes and her wedding shoes. A gorgeous idea I thought. Made me choke up a bit!!

Here’s a quick peek at a few images from Kat & David’s fab wedding on Saturday, first at St Josephs church in Harrogate then onto Ripley castle. Everything about the day was relaxed and fun – we had a gorgeous couple, a Vera Wang dress, very entertaining best man, routemaster bus and triplets for bridesmaids which got very confusing! Anyway the full post will come in a couple of weeks after Kat & David come back from honeymoon but for now here is a sneaky peek of the day.

Kat’s wedding present to David – tickets to the British Grand Prix – got a great reaction from the guys!

I did a great pre-wedding shoot last week at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park. This is a lovely location. We take the kids there a lot to have a good run about and get inspired by the great works of modern art on display.  I met up with Katie & Peter who are getting married at Aston Hall in July. The weather was fab as has been all April and May so far. Long may it continue into September. Anyway, it was great to get to know Katie & Peter a bit better – they were fantastic models and really good company. I’m really looking forward to their wedding which is in July.

Here are a few pictures from the other day.

Well April is turning out to be the new July. We were at Emma & Steve’s wedding yesterday and we had another glorious day.  The venue was Wentbridge House (where Lou & I had our wedding reception 15 years ago!)  Below are few shots from the day as a taster. A full post will come later this week.

We gave you a bit of a sneak preview of Laura & Andrew’s wedding a few days ago so here as promised are some more pictures of their day.

It was a great day and the weather as amazing. The location was Wynyard Hall which was a new venue for us, but an amazing place and one we’d love to work at again. The hall itself is beautiful with stunning high ceilings and grand rooms, and the grounds were just lovely, full of daffodils. The staff at Wynyard were fantastic and the day ran really smoothly.

Laura and Andrew were married in the chapel in the Hall and afterwards all their guests were able to enjoy drinks on the terrace by the lake in the sunshine while we took the new Mr & Mrs R off for a walk around the grounds for their couple shots.

We stayed on as usual until the evening reception when the party really got going. All in all it was a fantastic day and a really good start to our busy wedding season.

Many congratulations to Laura and Andrew – here are a few more pictures from their day.

Phil & Lou xx

Back on a cold Saturday in January we did Emma & Steve’s pre-wedding shoot. Well this coming weekend is their big day so I thought I would share some of the images with you. We spent the morning at Pontefract race course and I felt like a naughty kid again by having to jump over fences to get into the race course. Needless to say it wasn’t a pretty sight me clambering over fences.

I was great walking round a deserted race course and we managed to avoid the cameras to get some fun shots. Emma & Steve’s reception is at the Wentbridge House Hotel which is a fab place – Lou & I should know as it is where we had our wedding reception 15 years ago! Look out for some images from the wedding next week (Emma and Steve’s , not ours!)