Katrina and Karl's Wedding Day

March 29, 2020

Carlisle Wedding

We traveled up to Carlisle the day before the wedding,the thought of getting held up on the M6 on the morning of the wedding was too much to dread.The bridal and groom preps where at either ends of Carlisle ,so I stayed and did bridal prep and Leanne took our car to do the groom prep.

Katrina and her bridesmaids during bridal prep,by Avanti

After bridal and groom prep,Leanne picked me up and we went to the Carlisle Registry Office,and I have to say is the best for appearance sake that we’ve been to,in fact its better than some wedding venues we’ve frequented.The ceremony went well,the room was well lit with natural .We went outside for more shots to make most of the fantastic building.We got both wedding cars together to set up a few shots with different guests and of course bride and groom.The weather was perfect ,you can never rely on British weather so we are always grateful for a dry day at work.

We moved on to the wedding venue, The Hallmark Hotel, right in centre of Carlisle.A grand old style hotel that will host weddings every weekend.The main hall was huge with its wooden dance floor.The entrance to the hall had been decorated with an impressive balloon arch.

We took the bride and groom for shots outside,the council building opposite was designed on a castle theme,so we thought that would look good in the pictures.

We photographed the first dance and took more pictures of the guests dancing,then we headed of home.

Comment

Dave & Rachael's Wedding Day

March 29, 2020

The wedding of Dave and Rachael was taking place in Salford just after a really cold spell that had snow,I was hoping for a bit more just for my selfish photo reasons.It didn't happen but got a blue sky day instead,not bad.

It was an early start,the ceremony at Buile Hill park was before noon so had to make it through rush hour traffic to get the bridal preps took.

We did an engagement shoot at the venue the week before so had some posed shots already in my head,I always try to do this ,you cant be over prepared,ha. The venue was a well lit room with sunshine blasting in from the windows,all went to plan,used my 16-35 mm wide angel lens to get all the guests in shot watching.After I did lots of shots around the bridal car and then lots more in the garden of the group shots.Then me and the bride,groom and their little girl did some posed shots around the back of the old manor house,these went well.Next was the speeches and then the meal,more shots done of the speeches and then a wait till the evening do where the first dance was performed.

It was an early start,the ceremony at Buile Hill park was before noon so had to make it through rush hour traffic to get the bridal preps took.

Bride and guests (Copy)

Bridal Preparation in Manchester (Copy)

Comment

Rochdale Town Hall Wedding

March 29, 2020

The wedding of John and Sharon was on a Saturday in late November at the magnificent Rochdale Town Hall,were we’ve never covered a wedding here before though,as always,we do a reconnaissance prior to it and was amazed at what a stunning building it is.It has the classic Victorian architecture on the outside as does a lot of public buildings of the time do, but inside you have The Great Hall,The Grand Staircase leading to the Exchange,the town hall reception that doubles as the ceremony room on wedding days.We were covering the ceremony on to the first dance,so we turned up well early and got the guests arriving accompanied by two bagpipers,luckily the weather was dry. The bridesmaids came down The Great Staircase first and then the Bride and her son.The ceremony started and a first for us,owls would be used as ring bearers,exciting!

It all went smoothly and was a superb spectacle,the owl did good.After the registry signing everyone went outside to have pictures taken of the owls,and whilst outside I manages to do a group shot of everyone with me being on a first floor balcony,and it still stayed dry.The wedding breakfast followed with the speeches first,later we got the bride and groom outside to do our trademark umbrella shot and confetti shot.Then we got some set up shots on the Grand staircase and further group shots at the top of the staircase. On the reconnaissance we found a spiral staircase running down to the registry office,we thought this would make a fantastic shoot.The evening guests started turning up and the cake cutting started and the First dance proceeded before everyone filled d the dance floor.

Ring bearer Owl flying back to the handler.

Comment

Zoe and Dylan's Wedding Day

March 29, 2020

I Got referred this job from a fellow tog who couldn't do it,once I'd heard the details I couldn't wait to meet the couple and discuss their wedding photography needs.It was a church ceremony and then onto the Mytton Fold Golf club for the venue,kind of like churches,older the better for me,always good places for pictures. St James Church ,Haslingden , stands out and can be seen from all roads into the area , was built in the 18th century on a site occupied by a church building since at least 1284,so that's really old then. I met Dylan at his house and showed him Avanti's sample albums,he seemed very happy with the work we do so arranged for an engagement shoot so we could use one of the images for a signing frame.This was arranged to be shot at Towneley Hall grounds,hopefully on a non rainy day,luckily when the day came for the engagement shoot the weather looked promising.We all met at noon and got to work with the pictures,it only takes a hour at the most to do so it flew by,Dylan and Zoe were superb and the pics in the back of camera looked stunning,obviously I used off camera flash,as always these days,I showed the couple some of them and they were pleased.After, we went to the cafe there, and had a chat about their requirements and timings for the wedding day photography,nothing like planning things out proper I say. The day of the wedding came and I had to be at The Red House ,Bury,for the bridal prep by 11 am,the wedding was at 1 pm so plenty of time really.The bridal party was in already in full swing,it was a good atmosphere as you'd expect,Zoe the bride looked very relaxed ,which is not always the case.I did plenty of pics at the bridal suite and carried on as the bridal party moved to the front of the hotel where a white Rolls Royce Phantom was awaiting,what a fabulous,elegantly ,huge,voluptuous totally flamboyant car,an automotive piece of modern day car design that shouts out wealth. As you can guess I took plenty of car and Bridal party shots.

Next stop the church,a quick blast down the motorway,though when I got there it was awful for parking,its always a problem small car park and a million guests who all turn up in cars.I got a spot around the corner,where I parked next to my other half Leanne,who was second shooting with me.We got to the church to capture the bride arriving,got inside and got in my spot where I was told not to move from by the vicar! Leanne was up in the gods at the back taking the wedding pics from that side.The wedding went really quick,we did the signing of the registry book,the mock one,why that occurs is plain silly, everyone seems to do it,I think its one of those rules that everyone goes along with and doesn't question.After the church it was off to the venue at Mitton Fold Golf Club,a good venue with plenty of outdoor shots on the cards.We captured the newlyweds arriving in the big Roller and being greeted by their families and guests.After Zoe and Dylan had met and chatted with the guests we did some shots on a small foot bridge and in a gazebo,all with off camera flash,the images were superb.The wedding breakfast beckoned so me and Leanne grabbed a bite to eat in the hotel part of the venue and to give our legs a rest and check on the images we'd took already.Move on an hour or so and the speeches were rolled out ,these took longer than I thought mainly down to having two best men and both having quite long speeches.Some documentary shots of guests and then the first dance and cake cutting ended the night for us both

Comment

Matthew and Franziska get Married

February 6, 2019

The beautiful Browsholme Hall and The Tithe Barn was the place of today’s wedding ,set in the Trough of Bowland in Lancashire.What a fantastic backdrop for a wedding and certainly makes it easy for the photographer to take some really good pictures .Rain was forecast for the day so we had to plan the outdoor shots between showers,so being quite flexible and ready is a must. The bridal party was getting ready in Browsholme Hall itself,just a stones throw from The Tithe Barn.

As bridal prep places go this is one of the best,the room next door was very stately with coats of arms and suits of armour adorned across the room.We decided to shoot some bridal party pictures in here too.

Luckily the walk to the barn was a dry one ,though umbrellas were at the ready..The Tithe Barn was full of wedding guests,and Franziska walked down the Isle with her dad..

A beautiful ceremony for a beautiful couple,all went well .The light in the Barn wasn’t the best,but not the worse by far,the latest sensors in the recent Canon cameras compared to the ones I used ten years ago are on a total different level,so low light isn’t a worry like it used to be.

Just a short walk away there is a small body of water where we did the prewedding shoot,and we were lucky with the rain but only just.You have to make most of your short time you have with the newly weds,we always have a preset plan of the day for shoots ,where and when,we like being prepared.

After the meal and speeches we got ready for the evening party,cake cutting and first dance.the cake was a cheese based one ,a thing of beauty.There’s not enough cakes like this around in my opinion .

Comment

Samantha and Thomas

September 9, 2016

The morning of Thomas and Samantha's wedding was blessed with beautiful light,a clear blue sky,always a good start as I made my way to the bridal preparation at Edenfield near Ramsbottom. On arrival via an awful tight farm track I was spoilt with such a beautiful location , a converted farmhouse with a external building sat at the end of a finely kept large lawn.All this was sat in the hillside overlooking Helmshore on the other side of the valley.The bridal party were getting ready in the external building,more like a large playhouse made from pine,with all mod cons. There was plenty of room in the garden and the building to get some great shots,I did some candid ones of bridesmaids getting their hair and make up done,then when everyone was ready I set up some shots in the garden with off camera flash,the bride and her bridesmaids were stunning,the location, view,weather was perfect,you have to make the most of these moments at weddings.

Bride and Bridesmaids at Bridal Preparation

Before setting off to the venue I captured the brides father's first look at Samantha in her dress,very emotional moment,and also a photo of the bride and her father in the wedding car, a fast looking Mercedes AMG.

Well ,I got to the venue,The Fishermans Retreat in quick time where Leanne had already arrived and had done the customary shots if the ceremony room,I awaited for the wedding car to get here,to capture Samantha walking down the aisle with her father. After the ceremony there was the usual champagne reception ,after this we started the group shots,of a pre written list all managed by Leanne, first one the entire party and then work down to just the smaller group pictures,we get the tricky ones done first then the smaller group ones are straight forward,we just have to make sure the symmetry is right and the standing lines are straight otherwise the extreme left and right of the picture can look distorted .After these group shots we got ready for the bride and groom shots,the Fishermans Retreat has an iconic pier on a small lodge , this is one of the shots we did on the prewedding shoot so it was quite straightforward,we set Sam and Thomas on the pier with a flash on a lightstand facing at them (this is removed post edit) we measured the light with a lightmeter ,then got the setting for the camera before I moved to the other side of the lodge so I'd get the lodge ,pier,Sam and Thomas ,and the Peel Monument silhouetted on the other side of the valley in the frame.

We finished off more bride and groom shots before continuing taking candid style shots of the wedding party bathed in the glorious evening sunshine,Before the sun fully set,we set up a sun set shot with and without a light umbrella . a prop we love using.Though we just managed this as we nearly couldn't find the bride and groom.

Well that was our day done,we said our goodbyes , a top day ,top bride and groom,top venue and top weather,on way to car we'd decided to have a look at the view from the other fishing lodge,with a tripod and camera in tow,we took a long exposure shot of the venue and the surrounding area to capture the party in full swing.

Comment

Mona & Craig s Blackpool Wedding

September 23, 2015

We'd already done a recce in Blackpool of the place.the place in question,The Great Hall at Mains,a timber framed building,built to replicate the original banqueting hall that stood on the exact site some 500 years ago ,that's some history. The Great Hall was designed by Adele and Roger Yeoman , in 2004 and was constructed as a purpose built venue to replace an older and smaller building once affectionately known as The Royal Garden Room . So we'd been to check on the venue for the group shots and the bride and groom shots, the venue and gardens were smaller looking than on their website and we were glad we had the opportunity to check the place out first hand. This was no ordinary wedding,it was a double wedding ,both sisters getting married at the same time,a first for Avanti,we were only commissioned to photo Craig and Mona getting wed,but we were looking forward to getting as much of this event on camera as we could we might never do another again!

Comment

Christmas wedding in Wigan

April 18, 2015

We did the engagement shoot four weeks prior to the wedding at Macdonald Kilhey Court Hotel in some atrocious weather ,I was prepared for some of the same,the engagement shoots are ideal for setting up your shooting strategy like inside photos if the outside is a big no and timings of the group shots and the bride and groom shots on the big day. The venue was two buildings,a custom built one for weddings,conferences etc and the main part was the older hotel with a superb bar area that made indoor shots easy for me,a large staircase a few grand fireplaces ,perfect. I've been to some places where there's absolutely nothing at all to take a picture of inside and having to use my imagination to conjure some decent background .
On the day the weather was sunny but this isn't a guarantee,we went in two cars and took about a hour.We were early so double checked our kit,had a brew and waited for the time to do candid shots of the bridal preparation whilst Leanne checked the venue. I'm not a fan of on camera flash ,looks amateurish and not keen on high ISO for low light,so I've been trying to hold the flash(with radio trigger) up with my left hand and shooting with the camera with my other hand.I cant measure with a light meter so have to have a couple of tries before I pick the right power setting,and to be honest I was really pleased with the results as you'll see in the images I've put up. After the bridal preparation I joined Leanne who had been taking detail shots of Flowers and the set up in the ceremony venue. Leanne was placed at the back of the room and I was at the front capturing the bride and groom close up,between us we'd catch everything.After the mock registry signing we got everybody outside whilst it was still dry and did the group shots with off camera flash,again these are so much better in my eyes than using available light , I mean if you can why not ,it only takes 5 minutes to set up two light stand, two triggers, two speedlights,measure the output fix in the settings to the camera and away you go ,all the shots are easy after that.I like things simple especially when the pictures look so good.
The meal was next followed by the speeches,not my favorite part but they have to be done.By this time it was dark out and chance to do an umbrella shot with a small speedlight fitted in the top of the inside of the umbrella,we've practiced this a couple of times and were confident of it being a success,no worries it was a good shoot. It was really cold out so we did the set up and moved the newly weds in. Here we carried on with shots in front of the beautiful staircase and then onto the front fireplace with off camera flash again,these went extremely well.We had a bit of a rest after this and then onto the first dance with the cake cutting back in the rearranged ceremony room.It had been a long day but as always its a privilege to be part of someone's wedding so close throughout the day and documenting it for them and their family and friends to look back on.inside to the warmth.

Comment

Wedding Photography in Darwen

April 7, 2015

Winter weddings are always prone to dodgy weather,but think of it you can include some of our summers in that too.As a wedding photographer in Darwen you have to use any good weather opportunities that come along on the day ,also the length of daylight is a factor too and if you throw in a venue that is Sunnythurst woods that doesn't get much sunlight even in mid summer then your creativity in the lighting department is called on even more.

I started bridal prep mid morning in Blackburn and also did groom shots too because they were only a few houses away,all shots were inside as the weather was nasty out.The classic Rolls Royce's turned up for the bride and bridesmaids at 12 noon, all ferried to the cars under umbrellas as I took shots getting soaked in sideways rain

,its not all glamorous being a wedding photographer. The ceremony was at St Peters Church in the centre of Darwen,I must admit I'd no idea it was there until we did a recce the week before,but it was an impressive building anyway,I always prefer a church only because the shots are easier to do in terms of backgrounds ,they just look right with a church.

I usually use a second shooter these days,my other half Leanne,she's quite adept these days with a canon.She took up her position on a balcony overlooking the whole wedding and I waited for the bride to arrive in the car. After taking shots of her walking in I took up position to the left hand side of the vicar at the side and told I couldn't move around,usual conditions for a church.Everything went to plan we did the fake registry signing and then did some shots of bride and groom leaving the church,just using available light.It was bitterly cold out so we decided to take some group shots inside in front of the alter.

After this we packed our gear up to move onto the venue,The Olde England Kiosk | Sunnyhurst Wood | Darwen ,when we got there the weather was dry and we had a hour to do bride and groom shots with off camera flash in pre selected places,planning is everything in this game .The shots were beautiful and we'd do some more later after the wedding breakfast and speeches,though it was now dark in the woods.We'd practised a sparkler shot that the bride and groom would draw out half a heart each,we did about 5 takes on this to get a good one,they're a bit hit and miss because you're relying on the couple forming the shape right .We got a got a good one in the end and then some more group shots though to lock focus you do need some light so Leanne used a torch to spot the target up and it worked a treat.Something else we've learned from a wedding ,sparklers and focus lock in near no light.We moved inside and caught the cake cutting and first dance before we gathered our kit up and left for home and a well deserved brew.