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

We recently spent a fantastic day at Tory and James’s wedding in the beautiful countryside around Ripon. The ceremony was at the village church in Bishop Monkton and the Marquee reception was on the banks of the river Ure on James’s farm. 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 at the farm where James was whizzing about on his tractor 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 ad photos by the river. We were joined by two extra special guests, Tory & James’s dogs Fergus & Millie who managed to sneak into a few photos themselves.

As a surprise to Tory, James had arranged for a fantastic fireworks display to be set off from the opposite bank of the river. It was an amazing end to a great day and we’d like to thank Tory & James for inviting us to be a part of it.

Lou & Phil xxx

What all Groom’s should do on their wedding morning – Drive Tractors! Love it.

We have also just created our own video channel on Vimeo – Were we will be putting up highlight slideshows from the day and also pre-wedding shoots. So keep checking it out for more weddings in the future. In the meantime take a look at Tory & James highlight slideshow of their wedding day below.

Tory & James from Barber Photography on Vimeo.

Charlotte & Paul tied the knot on 14th May at the beautiful Oulton Hall Hotel. I was joined for the day by my fellow 3b chum Rob Booker who was helping out in Lou’s absence.

It was another really relaxed day with everything taking place at Oulton Hall. The dress code was Black Tie so all the men looked superb (afterwards Lou was v. perturbed she wasn’t able to be there as she loves a man in a dicky…). The black and white theme ran throughout the day with really stylish decor in the ceremony room and afterwards for the wedding breakfast.

Charlotte, of course, looked amazing and was fantastic to photograph – we love brides who can’t keep the smile from their faces!

Thanks Charlotte & Paul for sharing your day with us – we’ll see you very soon for your viewing!

Phil & Lou xx

Last week saw us back at one of our favourite venues, Allerton Castle, for Bridget & David’s wedding. We love working there and really feel part of the Allerton family. It’s lovely bumping into friends we’ve made within the wedding business -  Bridget & David had chosen our friend Fiona at Firenza to produce their beautiful (and gorgeous smelling) floral displays, and Chris & the guys from the Event Music Company provided the music for the day. Lauren Sally was Bridget’s fab make up artist (got a sneaky pic of here below!). We’ve worked with Lauren before last year at Laura & Jamie’s wedding so it was lovely to see her again.

We met up with Bridget & David at Allerton for their preparations and as usual I joined the girls while they sipped champagne and had their make up done. Lou hung out with the guys in the billiard room until the ceremony started. We managed to get outside for some photos and Bridget & David really entered into things despite the windy conditions so we ended up with some ace shots.

Bridget & David are probably sunning themselves on a tropical beach at the moment, but we wish them both loads of happy times.

Phil & Lou xxx

A couple of weeks ago I had my first pre-wedding shoot of 2010. Michelle and Richard are a great couple and came out and braved the cold for a shoot around the Holbeck Urban Village area of Leeds. It is a location that has been slowly regenerated and is now starting to be a thriving part of Leeds with its bars, cafes and trendy offices. The businesses around here are focused on creative & digital media and is the location we hold our 3B Media training courses (being cool and trendy ourselves!!). It’s a great location for shoots as it offers the best of both worlds – a little bit country, a little bit rock & roll!

At the start of the shoot I think Richard was a bit unsure of what was going to happen but threw himself into the morning and by the end of the shoot was really enjoying it. The pre-wedding shoot is a good way for me to get to know our clients and find more about their wedding days but also to take the fear out of having their picture taken. Anyway Michelle & Richard’s plans for their wedding seem to moving along apace and we are really looking forward to meeting up with them in August for their wedding at Waterton Park – it sould be a fabulous day.

Check out more of the images in the slideshow at the bottom of the post.

Our most recent wedding was also our snowiest. In fact it was proper welly-boot deep and crisp and even. Fortunately for us it was just around the corner from our home at Woodlands Hotel so even if we hadn’t managed to get the car out we could have easily walked it. Luckily we didn’t have to.

It was Rebecca & Ian’s big day – I’d spoken to Rebecca earlier in the week and she was a bit nervous to say the least! That hadn’t really changed when we arrived at the hotel (!), but as the day went on they both chilled out and had a great time.

I spent some time up in the penthouse with Rebecca and her little entourage while she had her hair and make up done. She had her dress designed and made specially for her and her dressmakers were on had to put the finishing touches to her outfit. I have to say she looked absolutely stunning in her silver gown – very much the fifties starlet and her final look was very Audrey Hepburn. Meanwhile Lou was capturing details downstairs and awaiting the boys’ arrival.

After the beautiful ceremony Rebecca and Ian were very brave and were happy to venture outside for a while for a few shots. It would have been a shame not to have captured the snow in some pictures, but we stopped short of wading through the deep stuff – I don’t think Rebecca’s stilettos were really up to it!

The wedding breakfast took place in the marquee which was looking stunning with gorgeous flowers supplied by our friends at Ivy in Pudsey. Also taking pride of place was a fantastic cupcake tower in some amazing colours. Three yummy courses, many bottles of wine and several speeches later it was set up time for the evening reception. I stayed on to capture some first dances as usual and it was lovely just to have a short drive home again – one reason we love working at Woodlands!!

Rebecca & Ian, we had such a great time with you at your wedding. You can both relax now!!

Phil & Lou xxx

Hannah and Adam’s wedding came at the start of a weekend dominated by snow. The forecast was for plenty of the white stuff, and as Hannah & Adam’s wedding was in rural Staffordshire we were watching the forecasts with keen interest. On the day however, it was perfect. Cold, yes, but a gorgeous day.

Hannah & Adam had chosen Packington Moor Farm for their wedding. We haven’t worked here before but it was a beautiful venue – a gorgeous old cosy barn for the ceremony and a bigger sunny barn for the wedding breakfast.

As always, Lou met up with the boys for their prep. She had her hands full with Adam and his (four!!) best men who kept her entertained with their comedy lunging (you had to be there really…). Meanwhile I was with Hannah and the girls as they got ready in one of the cottages on the farm. Hannah broke with tradition and wore a stunning purple dress which looked amazing and really seemed to fit the Christmassy mood.

It was just a short walk across the courtyard for Hannah to get to the barn for the ceremony. We weren’t able to stand at the front as we usually do during the ceremony, but the barn had a gallery which meant we were able to get some lovely shots of the whole barn from from up high.

The ceremony was at 3.30pm, so afterwards we whisked Hannah and Adam straight outside to make the most of the fast fading winter light for some couple shots around the courtyard. Then it was time for a few group shots. Once again Hannah & Adam’s friends proved they were game for a laugh and provided us with some interesting photo opportunities (see below…)

The wedding breakfast was a magnificent hog roast, bred on the farm. We were invited up to help ourselves too and can vouch for the deliciousness of the local produce! After speeches by five bridesmaids as well as four best men it was straight into the evening reception, DJ’d by another of Hannah and Adam’s guests. The snow had started to come down by this time so we left everyone having a fantastic time.

Hannah and Adam continued the winter theme with a honeymoon skiing in Whistler. We’ll see you soon, guys, for your viewing. Thank you for inviting us along to your beautiful winter wedding. We had an amazing time!

Phil & Lou xxx

Well in all the years we’ve been photographing weddings we’ve ever really had much wintry weather to contend with. Then suddenly down comes the snow and we all go a bit wobbly and we have 4 weddings on the trot with a covering of the white stuff (I realise if you’re reading this in, e.g. Canada, we all sound like the biggest wusses over here).

Anyway, one of those weddings, the last one of 2009, was Louise & Matthews, and what a fantastic day it was. It was our final wedding before Christmas so we were in a jolly mood anyway, and Louise & Matthew were a fantastic couple to work with. Louise told us that way back when she started planning the wedding she’d envisaged a winter wonderland theme, but I don’t think she thought for a moment that the weather would cooperate!

Everything took place at Oulton Hall which looked stunning in its snowy attire, complete with frozen fountain. I spent the morning there with Louise and her party while Lou captured the boys having a pre-nuptial snowball fight in the middle of a blizzard at one of Matthew’s usher’s house. Boys will be boys.

After the ceremony we managed to persuade Louise & Matthew to go outside for some photos. Actually they didn’t take much persuading at all and really entered into it – Louise in particular must have been freezing in her (gorgeous but not really designed for sub-zero temperatures) dress.

The wedding breakfast was held in the Oulton Suite which looked amazing, all decked out with snowflakes to match the ones outside. After we’d captured some of the first dances we left Louise & Matthew and their guests to carry on partying and made our way home where we put the fire on and cracked open the sherry to celebrate another year’s successful weddings completed.

Louise & Matthew were lucky enough to spend Christmas honeymooning on a beach in the Maldives. They’re back home now, so we’d like to thank them for inviting us to be part of their day. It was such a pleasure.

Phil & Lou xxx

]]> http://www.philbarberblog.com/index.php/2010/01/14/louise-matthew-wedding-20th-december-2009/feed/ 1 http://www.philbarberblog.com/index.php/2010/01/08/laila-simon-wedding-2nd-january-2010/ http://www.philbarberblog.com/index.php/2010/01/08/laila-simon-wedding-2nd-january-2010/#comments Fri, 08 Jan 2010 12:34:42 +0000 Phil http://www.philbarberblog.com/?p=2172

After a lovely snowy family Christmas at home it didn’t take us long to get back into the swing of things.I still have to blog our last two 2009 weddings which I’ll be doing in a couple of days, but for now I’ll post up our first 2010 wedding which was Laila & Simon’s at the Hotel du Vin in York. Snow was still lying on the ground and it was bitterly cold, but the hotel was a perfect location for a cosy winter wedding. Everything was happening at the hotel, so – apart from a brief excusion for Lou with the boys to the pub up the road – we were able to keep nice and toasty inside.

I spent the morning with the girls in the Moet suite which had the biggest bed I’ve ever seen. The girls were nice and relaxed and just chilled out with their champagne. Meanwhile Lou was with the boys in the bar and aforementioned pub – bit of an alcohol theme very appropriate for the Hotel du Vin!!

The wedding was an intimate affair with 40 of Laila & Simon’s closest family and friends joining them for the ceremony and the wedding breakfast in two beautiful private dining rooms. There were 4 big tables and Laila & Simon ate a course at each which was a lovely way of getting to chat to everyone. The speeches were great and done from the staircase in the hallway which was a great opportunity for some fantastic shots. Simon’s best man kindly brought along some less than flattering blown up photos to share with everyone.

More friends arrived later for the evening reception, the stars of which were the band led by Laila’s dad! They really knew how to work the crowd and put on a great show. It had started snowing again by this time so we left everyone dacing and trundled steadily back to Leeds.

Laila & Simon, we had a ball at your wedding – what a fantastic way to start 2010.

Phil & Lou xxx

Our last November wedding took us to Allerton Castle again for Tamsin & Will’s special day. As always the staff at the castle ran the day to perfection, and a big shout out to Claudie who coordinated everything beautifully, and an even bigger shout out to Allerton’s other events coordinator Sophie. She wasn’t there on the day because she was busy having a baby! Congratulations Sophie!!!

We were also joined on the day by a (newish) friend of ours, videographer Mark Lenik who was great to work with. He’s a great chap and very much on our wavelength, so if anyone’s looking for an ace video guy he’s yer man.

Anyway, back to Tamsin & Will. The day started out for both Lou and me at the castle for Tam’s preparations. As usual it it was a bit manic with the girls! Over the years I’ve discovered that one bride and four bridesmaids need a lot of stuff, so I seem to spend lots of time clearing things away to create (relatively) clean backgrounds. Amongst all this, though, Tamsin was a haven of calm. Meanwhile Will and the boys had arrived, all looking James Bond-esque in their DJ’s. The doing up of the cummerbunds caused much merriment.

The ceremony was beautiful, made all the more spine tingling by the presence of the Harrogate male voice choir, who sang some beautiful stirring songs. The Christmas tree was twinkling in the background in front of a roaring fire, and it all felt really special.

Although the weather was a bit chilly, Tam was more than willing to go outside for some photos after the ceremony which was great (and very brave) of her. She even managed to venture outside later on in the evening after the wedding breakfast for some night time shots (although I think by that time she’s had enough champagne to take the chill off!)

Tam and Will, your wedding was such a fabulous day – thanks for sharing it with us!

Phil & Lou xx