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East Lancashire wedding photography specialists

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)

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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.

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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 .

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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.

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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.