A D Photography blog

Trash the Dress Photography Yorkshire | Katie and Dan's Photo Shoot

2012-01-25T12:58:00.000-08:00

We spent a fun packed day late last summer with Katie and Dan doing a Trash the Dress photo shoot on Filey beach. This was a couple of weeks after the couple's wedding and we had such a laugh because Katie really didn't care how dirty or how wet her wedding dress got. We all had a soaking but it was well worth it for the fun we had and the images we got. We were aware that we had an audience watching us from along the promenade and we're sure they wondered why on earth we had a bride and groom running through the waves, followed by a couple of nut cases, one with a camera!

Katie and Dan chose six images which we framed together in one of our popular multi image frames. These consist of one large favourite image and five smaller ones. They look fantastic and are ideal when it's impossible to narrow the choice down to just one photograph for a frame.

You don't have to go as far as Katie did and take the Trash the Dress photography session literally. It can just be an opportunity to enjoy wearing your wedding dress again, be a model for a day and get some great images to treasure without the pressures and time constraints of the wedding day.

Prices for this service vary depending on the location you choose for the session but we're happy to travel anywhere within reason. For more information, please call us on 01977 730159.

Bump to Baby Photography West Yorkshire | Baby Photographer Castleford

2012-01-25T07:54:00.000-08:00

Every single one of our clients is special to us but those whose weddings we've captured and who come back to us to have their babies photographed have a really special place in our hearts.

Kate and Lee chose us to photograph their wedding in Huddersfield a few years ago and they came back to us for a maternity photo session when Kate was expecting Daisy. A few weeks later and the couple returned to proudly show off their baby daughter and for her newborn portrait session.

Fast forward a few months and here we are, Daisy is sitting and smiling for the camera and what a beautiful little girl she is!

Kate and Lee now have the task of choosing their favourite images from all three sessions which we will then design into a bump to baby book as a treasured keepsake for them. When Daisy is grown up, it will be passed to her - a celebration of her first year.

The complete package including three portrait sessions and a twenty page magazine style album designed around your favourite images costs £600. Existing clients receive a £100 discount, effectively getting them all three sessions free of charge, as a thank you for their loyalty and their custom.

If you'd like us to start documenting your precious baby's story, please call us on 01977 730159.

Baby Photographer West Yorkshire | Alissia's Portrait Session

2012-01-17T09:51:00.000-08:00

As professional family photographers in West Yorkshire, we are so lucky because many of our clients are very loyal and we often start the relationship by being their wedding photographers. This was the case when Emma and Dez married and we were their Hazlewood Castle wedding photographers.

This lovely couple came back to us when Emma was expecting Alissia's older sister, Porsha, and we took a selection of maternity photographs. A few weeks later and it was time for Porsha's new baby photography session. Fast forward a few months and before we knew it, Porsha was sitting and it was time for the third baby portrait session. Emma and Dez then had the task of choosing their favourite images from all three portrait sessions which were then designed into a bump to baby book as a treasured memento of Porsha's first year.

We were so happy to hear that Emma was expecting baby number two but events conspired against us and she didn't make it in for pregnancy photographs this time. We did, however, get to photograph Alissia as a new baby and then her dad brought her into the studio when she was sitting.

This time Emma and Dez decided not to choose any favourite images and to leave the choice of photographs and the book design completely to Alex. This is just one double page spread from Alissia's baby book and we look forward very much to previewing the whole design to her mum and dad soon.

A package including three photo sessions in the studio and a magazine style album with twenty pages of your favourite images, including personalisation with your baby's name, a choice of album covers and a face to face preview session so that you can view the design first costs £600. If we photographed your wedding or if you have used our bump to baby photography service for an older sibling, the package price is £500, effectively giving you all three sessions for free.

To book your maternity photo session, baby portrait session or for more information, please call Janet on 01977 730159

The Wedding Village at Rogerthorpe Manor | Recommended Wedding Photographer

2012-01-09T07:53:00.000-08:00

It's our absolute pleasure to finally announce that we will be taking a shop within The Wedding Village at Rogerthorpe Manor Hotel.

We know that there were numerous expressions of interest from wedding suppliers and we are privileged and proud that we were chosen as recommended wedding photographers for Rogerthorpe Manor.

There will be a lot of hard work and preparation over the coming months before the grand opening of The Wedding Village on Friday, 1 June.

We will be working closely with the other suppliers in this one stop wedding shopping street of beautiful shops housed in tastefully renovated barn conversions and we aim to provide the best possible service to anyone visiting us.

We are very, very excited and we look forward to a long and happy relationship with our friends at Rogerthorpe Manor and with our fellow suppliers. We also look forward to welcoming couples getting married at this gorgeous wedding venue and we will have some very special offers available just for you.

Wedding Photography Rogerthorpe Manor | A thank you note

2012-01-05T08:29:00.000-08:00

Delighted to receive this lovely email from Sarah, whose wedding to Richard we photographed last September. They married at Holyrood church in Barnsley and celebrated afterwards at Rogerthorpe Manor.

"Can I just say once again, on behalf of myself and Richard, how amazing we think these pictures are, and how they have totally captured the essence and the feeling of our wedding day. It really brings it all back every time we look at them, and we thank you most sincerely for that. Every time I look at them I have seen something new, and you have really captured special moments and people's expressions that tell a story in themselves - as well as the whole picture looking so amazing. THANK YOU doesn't really do it justice what we would like to say to you really, but I hope you know what I am trying to convey. I think that's why it was so difficult for us to choose our pictures - there were so many brilliant ones to choose from."

Family Portrait Photography West Yorkshire | Madison's First Birthday Photos

2011-12-27T07:56:00.000-08:00

Madison's dad, Liam, called us and booked a baby portrait session a long time in advance because he had a specific and very special date in mind - his daughter's first birthday.

Madison arrived with her mum and dad and her nana and granddad. We were taken with how warm and friendly this lovely family are and we were greeted with a hug and a kiss from nana, Kathy, which set us up very nicely for the portrait session and for Christmas!

Mum, Samantha, had dressed Madison in a gorgeous silver dress and pink tights and she'd even co-ordinated the wrapping paper and silver bow on her daughter's birthday present with her outfit. This attention to detail made all the difference and the colour scheme looked great on our white background.

A sequence of action images followed as Madison battled with the wrapping paper and then played with her present and the best ones would look amazing presented in a multi image photo frame. We'll see what her mum and dad think when they come in for the viewing.

As family portrait photographers in West Yorkshire, we do not time limit our sessions because we want our clients to receive the best possible value for money and enjoy a relaxed and happy experience. We followed Madison's photographs on her own with several family combinations so her parents and grandparents have some images to treasure from this special portrait sitting.

To book us for your family portrait or baby photo session, please call us on 01977 730159. We look forward to hearing from you.

Baby Photographer West Yorkshire | Charlie's Portrait Session

2011-12-24T08:28:00.000-08:00

Charlie's mum and dad, Catherine and Gary, brought him along for a baby photo session a few weeks ago. We've held off blogging this portrait session because the photographs are to be Christmas presents for their family and we didn't want to risk spoiling the surprise for anyone!

Catherine had brought a lovely outfit for Charlie to wear for his photographs but she did mention that it would be nice to get some of him without clothes. As experienced West Yorkshire baby photographers, we know that usually babies of this age don't go to sleep whilst they are in the studio so the cute, nude, sleeping baby images don't happen. However, there are always exceptions and Charlie proved us wrong. We're not sure if he was genuinely tired or if we bored him to sleep but who cares! This image is our favourite from the session and includes Leeds United Teddy to keep dad happy.

Wedding Photographer Monk Fryston Hall | Gemma and Andy's Wedding

2011-11-22T12:34:00.000-08:00

For a mid-November wedding, you'd at least expect freezing temperatures and quite possibly rain or fog but Gemma and Andy really dropped lucky with a beautiful, bright day which wasn't even particularly cold, for their civil ceremony and wedding reception at Monk Fryston Hall.

First we went to Gemma and Andy's house where Katherine was well underway applying Gemma's make-up. Then we disappeared upstairs to take some photographs of all those things which are really important to the bride (apart from the groom of course!) - Gemma's stunning dress, shoes, perfume and jewellery.

Gemma was juggling getting herself ready with looking after daughters Lola and Megan and doing a pretty impressive job of multi-tasking! She'd decided not to get dressed until later so after capturing a few images of the bridesmaids who were ready before we left, we headed off to Monk Fryston Hall to meet Andy and his best man and we wondered around the grounds taking some relaxed photographs of them before they were called inside to see the registrars.

Gemma arrived with her dad in a more unusual mode of transport - a VW camper van - and as they were early, we had a few minutes to take photographs as the remaining guests were seated for the civil ceremony.

The weather stayed dry, the guests all came outside, we got a big group shot of everyone on the lawn and rattled through the remaining groups leaving plenty of time for Gemma and Andy's photographs together. As Monk Fryston Hall wedding photographers, we know that there are some great locations for photographs and as Gemma and Andy had allowed a generous amount of time before the wedding breakfast, this meant that we could use some of these locations for relaxed photographs without being rushed.

The wedding breakfast room looked fabulous with its brown and orange colour scheme which was very appropriate for an autumn wedding. The guests enjoyed dinner and speeches and afterwards Gemma and Andy joined us outside for some evening photographs. It was chilly by now but we had no complaints as it was great working outside with the new Mr and Mrs Mather getting some beautiful shots with video light and the ambient light from the building.

Congratulations to Gemma and Andy. It was a pleasure to photograph your lovely autumn wedding.

New Baby Photography Yorkshire | Jasmine's Newborn Photographs

2011-11-18T04:19:00.000-08:00

Jasmine's mum, Gemma, came in a few weeks ago for a baby bump photography session and her favourite images from the session were designed into a beautiful maternity book which she presented to her husband, Paul, for his birthday in October.

Following this session, we eagerly awaited the news that baby "Peanut", as she has been affectionately nicknamed, had arrived. Very tiny but absolutely perfect, this baby girl is incredibly special and the road to her birth has been so tough that it's been an absolute privilege to share this family's story. To be chosen to be the new baby photographers in Yorkshire to capture Jasmine's first year is something we will always be proud of.

Gemma booked us for a three session package in addition to her pregnancy photo shoot. Usually the bump is the first session in the package but Gemma preferred this to be a stand alone shoot as a special gift for Paul and for the new baby photography session to be the first of the three.

Gemma was determined that the opportunity for newborn photographs wouldn't be allowed to pass and she let us know straight away that Jasmine had arrived, although at that stage a name hadn't been finalised and the baby was still "Peanut". We had a brilliant time in the studio taking lots of different new baby images, some of which featured Peanut dressed as a peanut! She was very sleepy throughout the entire session, didn't cry once and didn't demand to be fed. Very unusual and we suspect that things have changed a lot since then!

What was really nice was the Gemma and Paul had some photographs taken with Jasmine and these images will be treasured as they capture this new family together when Jasmine was at her tiniest.

Looking forward to seeing them all again for session number two and to telling the story of Jasmine's first year in a personally designed Italian storybook album.

Wedding Photography Thorpe Park Hotel, Leeds | Katie and Craig's Wedding

2011-11-08T06:22:00.000-08:00

Katie and her mum came to see us at a wedding fair in the spring, only a few months ahead of her wedding, and we were delighted when she booked us on the day. Usually, we have a long time to get to know our couples before their wedding but it seemed that no sooner had Katie secured our services, it had come round to the big day!

Katie was out getting her hair done when we arrived at her house. Her mum was holding the fort and trying to keep Katie and Craig's children, Alex and Poppy, entertained. Alex kept popping his head around the bedroom door as we were photographing his mum's accessories as he had a very important accessory of his own which had wanted photographs of - Penguin! We had to oblige and get this gorgeous little boy the photographs he wanted so we sat him on mum and dad's bed and took a few shots of him and Penguin together. Lucky Penguin was even invited to the wedding!

Katie's dress was just fabulous and she was our very first bride in a short dress. She'd told us that she'd decided from the outset that this was what she wanted but had found it difficult to find short dresses. Understandably, Katie preferred to wait until the last minute to put her dress on but as she wanted some photographs of her mum fastening it, she decided to go ahead and get into it before we left. The lace detail on it was absolutely lovely.

As this was our second wedding this weekend, we didn't dare to hope that we'd be lucky a second time round with the weather but happily, we were. In fact, the strong wind we'd had issues with the previous day had completely dropped and Katie and Craig had the most perfect weather you could wish for in October.

On arrival at Thorpe Park, we decided to use a plain stone wall for some portraits of Craig and his best man, Phillip, and it was a good job that we started these straight away as Craig was summoned by the registrar and kept upstairs in the ceremony room just in case Katie arrived early. The registrars were great though, allowing us to photograph from the front as Katie and Craig made their vows to each other.

Drinks were served to all the guests and a magician captivated the children and kept them entertained whilst we started on the group shots outside in the courtyard. Katie and Craig had been generous with timings which meant everyone could relax and enjoy the drinks reception and we didn't have to rush to complete the photographs before everyone sat for dinner. There was a Take That theme going on with the tables named after the band's records, the main table being called Greatest Day. Not sure if it's Katie who's a fan or Craig and we couldn't seem to find Gary, Robbie, Mark, Howard or Jason anywhere!

Although Katie's taste was for more relaxed and informal images, Craig really wanted a few artistic photographs around the interior of the venue and as Thorpe Park Hotel wedding photographers, we had a couple of locations in mind for these - the staircase and the lift - both fantastic locations but we didn't anticipate the patience that would be needed to get them! The lift was the biggest challenge. Every time we tried to set up a shot, someone wanted to use the lift and each time we were almost there and ready to press to the shutter, a recording told us to remove the obstruction stopping the doors from closing, the "obstruction" being beautiful bride Katie and her handsome new hubby Craig! Anyway, we think it was worth the time, patience and the funny looks we got from passers by!

Our last jobs of the day were presenting an evening slideshow of some of our favourite images before capturing the newlyweds' first dance together, joined by Alex and Poppy. A real family first dance!

Thank you Mr and Mrs Hall for the pleasure of sharing your wedding day.

Hazlewood Castle Wedding Photography | Sarah and John's Wedding

2011-11-05T07:26:00.000-07:00

After summer's mixed bag of weather, for our first of two weddings this October weekend we were greeted with a beautiful blue sky and wall to wall sunshine which lasted all day. Yes, it was quite windy but this is always preferable to the wet stuff!

Sarah got ready at her mum and dad's home which is just a few minutes away from the church in Boston Spa. We were made very welcome and we had a great time photographing Sarah having her make-up applied and capturing images of all the little things which would otherwise be forgotten. Sarah had chosen a vintage theme which was evident in her stunning lace dress and her cathedral length veil. Before we left for church, we managed to document Sarah's mum fastening all those tiny buttons down the back of her daughter's dress.

When we arrived at the church, John was already there to meet us. The low sun which you get at this time of year created a few issues with big shadows at the church door, so we chose a location along the path down the side of the church which had a nice backdrop of trees in their autumn colour scheme and where the light was a bit less harsh.

Sarah arrived in a classic Bentley with her proud dad and we love the image of her in the car in which, if you look closely, you can see her dad's reflection.

After the ceremony and a few photographs with both sets of parents at the church door, Sarah and John walked to the gate, were showered with confetti and then left for their wedding reception at Hazlewood Castle.

Timings were tight on the day so as soon as the couple arrived, we started on photographs of the two of them with their car. When we knew that everyone had arrived at Hazlewood Castle, we worked through the groups and bridal party photographs which left only a short time for Sarah and John to have some photographs taken around the grounds of this beautiful venue. However, we knew that we would have an opportunity later on for some photographs in the bridal suite and outside in the courtyard.

Prior to the wedding, we had chatted about evening photographs and the fact that there is a window of only around ten to fifteen minutes when you get that gorgeous dark blue sky. Miss this and the sky is black. With daylight hours getting much shorter now, we knew that the ideal time was likely to fall when everyone was inside for the wedding breakfast. The choice was to wait until after the speeches and then it would be pitch dark or for Sarah and John to come outside between courses. They decided to come out after dessert and before the speeches for some romantic photographs captured with video light and off camera flash and the timing was as close to perfect as we could have hoped for. Not only this, but the strong wind we'd had all day had disappeared meaning that Sarah's dress stayed put!

After the speeches, we worked with the couple in the Elderflower Suite as this is a gorgeous room with rich colours, before we captured Mr and Mrs Cummin's first dance together. Our thanks to this fabulous couple for asking us to photograph their lovely autumn wedding and we can't wait to see their images come together in a personally designed Italian storybook album.

Children's Portrait Photography West Yorkshire | Creative Portraits for Bo and Ava

2011-10-31T09:19:00.000-07:00

As professional children's portrait photographers in West Yorkshire we sometimes get the chance to work with clients who, like us, are very creative and who are looking for portraits which are a bit different. We get really excited about opportunities like this and when we chatted to our friend and very talented professional make-up artist, Katherine, about working together to create some artistic children's portraits of her beautiful daughters, Bo and Ava, we knew that together, we would get some outstanding images.

Katherine had told us that Bo was very amenable and patient and that she had a great look for the kind of images we had in mind. She was less sure about getting co-operation from Ava who she warned us would not do something she didn't want to do, including pose for the camera. So we had high hopes for Bo but an open mind about Ava!

Well the results speak for themselves. Katherine's expert styling, a few ideas which developed as the session progressed, some images with a bit of a Les Miserables feel to them and some old fashioned, dressing up type images using some fabulous hats, plus two stunning, photogenic and expressive little girls who co-operated like a dream meant that everything came together perfectly for a fantastic photo session. So happy with these images!

Wedding Photographer Waterton Park | Kelly and Jamie's Wedding Photography at Walton Hall

2011-10-19T09:49:00.000-07:00

Kelly and Jamie married in a late afternoon civil ceremony. As Waterton Park wedding photographers, we were really pleased to be working at this stunning venue on such a beautiful autumn day. Apparently, Cliff Richard had stayed at Waterton Park the day before and Jamie suggested that as Cliff is quite religious, maybe he'd prayed for good weather for himself and it had spilled over into Kelly and Jamie's wedding day! That was the theory anyway but nobody minded how it happened, they were just delighted that it had.

We started at Kelly's mum and dad's house where we took photographs of her beautiful dress which she'd previously described as quite plain. Well plain isn't the word that came to mind for her Pronovias gown - more like elegant - and it suited her perfectly. Kelly had already told us that she wasn't keen on having photographs taken whilst she was putting on make-up and getting ready but she did agree to some images being captured whilst her sister, Kirsty, fastened the back of her dress. Kelly was ready for photographs in good time before we had to leave for Waterton Park.

We met Jamie, his best man Anees and brother, Dave for their photographs before Kelly's arrival in an impressive classic Jaguar, accompanied by her proud dad, Stuart. The registrars at Waterton Park are always great to work with, allowing photography during the ceremony without a problem. We were soon outside again capturing the confetti throwing on the grass beside the lake before everyone crossed the bridge for the big group shot on the lawn facing Walton Hall.

We knew that the time available was pretty tight but because of great weather and everyone's co-operation during the group photo session, things went really smoothly and we managed to get all the groups which Kelly and Jamie wanted, plus a short bride and groom photo session for the newly married Mr and Mrs Francis before we went inside.

Anees's speech was very funny and it was great to capture images of the reactions of the bridal party as he delivered it. We'd arranged for some evening wedding photographs outside Walton Hall after the first dance but because the wedding breakfast and speeches ran late, Kelly and Jamie decided to have these taken before they hit the dance floor.

A fantastic couple, lovely guests and beautiful autumn weather. Congratulations guys and thank you for giving us the opportunity to share your big day.

Wedding Photography Wentbridge House | Rebecca and Craig's Wedding Blessing in Conisbrough

2011-10-11T11:03:00.000-07:00

Having booked us to be their Wentbridge House wedding photographers, Becky and Craig planned to marry at Wentbridge church and then celebrate afterwards at Wentbridge House Hotel, just down the road. However, unforeseen circumstances disrupted their plans somewhat and their first problem was that as Craig is in the military, the couple were told that in order for them to have a home together in Cornwall where Craig is posted, they had to be married first.

We received a call from Becky explaining that she and Craig had already got married, that they were having a blessing on their original wedding date and that this would no longer be taking place at Wentbridge church. She really wanted the church ceremony to be her "wedding" and it was extremely important to Becky that she could walk down the aisle on her dad's arm. The vicar's policy was that with a blessing, because the couple are already married, they had to walk into the ceremony together. This didn't fit in with Becky's wishes at all and so she and Craig decided to have their blessing at Conisbrough church, near to where her parents live and just a stone's throw from the beautiful backdrop of Conisbrough castle. What a bonus this was! Becky was concerned that the change from wedding to blessing and a different location might be a problem for us but was very relieved to hear that it was no problem whatsoever. We just wanted her to have a perfect day, wherever that happened to be.

Starting at Becky's mum and dad's house whilst Becky was still out getting her hair and make-up done, we photographed her beautiful dress, a pair of wicked shoes and all the other girly things and we were just finishing off as Becky arrived back, ready for a few portraits and some shots with her ladies.

After checking with our bride about when she would be getting into her dress and being told that this wouldn't be until quite a bit later, mainly because Becky had baby daughter, Isabell to look after and baby food and milk aren't ideal things to have near you when you've just got into your wedding dress, we left to meet Craig at the church. He was perfectly on time and looked really smart in his uniform. With the boys' photographs taken care of with time to spare, we left Craig to greet his guests and went to check with the vicar to see what his thoughts were regarding photography. From the back only, but still, better these than none at all.

Becky arrived with her proud dad Adrian and got her wish, walking down the aisle with him and arriving at Craig's side. The only difference between this and any other church wedding was that there was no register to sign. The couple came out after the ceremony to congratulations from their guests and a shower of confetti at the gate. Fortunately, although it looked a bit iffy, this was the only shower all day and we left for the park so that Mr and Mrs Maskery could enjoy champagne and have some wedding photographs taken with Conisbrough castle as a backdrop before leaving for their reception at Wentbridge House.

They arrived a few minutes after us and the photographs of the two of them with the lovely car was our first job so that the chauffeur wasn't waiting around for too long. Next was their group photo session followed by some fun with the girls who looked fantastic and who were up for having a great time which is what weddings are all about. A short bride and groom photo session followed before we went inside to photograph the Crystal Suite.

When the wedding breakfast and the speeches were over, Craig went off to get changed into cocktail uniform and having discussed this with the couple a few weeks before their wedding, we knew that Becky wanted to use the time whilst Craig wasn't around for some portraits in the bridal suite. Very happy to oblige - she looked amazing!

We've noticed that the nights are drawing in now and we no longer have the luxury of it being light until late, so taking action shots isn't possible. However, it's now time for evening and after dark images and we love doing these.

We ended our coverage for Becky and Craig by photographing their first dance together. Thank you for booking us to share your celebrations and we are delighted that you chose us to capture your special day.

Pet Portraits Yorkshire | Dog Photographs for Bear Baines

2011-10-10T12:04:00.000-07:00

We recently photographed Alex and John's wedding and as well as finding out the happy news, on the wedding day no less, that the couple are expecting a baby in February, we also got to know that Alex and John have two dogs, Diesel and Bear, and although they've had photographs taken of Diesel, Bear the chow hadn't had his turn in front of a professional West Yorkshire pet photographer.

We asked Alex and John the usual question we ask when we're approached to take photographs of dogs. Does he sit to command? Yes, he will sit, was the answer. Great - that's always a good start. We were quite excited about welcoming Bear into the studio as we'd never photographed a chow before and we suspected that he'd make a great subject, looking as he does, like a big teddy bear.

Alex and John arrived with Bear and a bribe - a tub of cheese! This was to be used to keep Bear looking in the appropriate direction and sitting in the right spot. At least that was the plan. Bear did sit to command - occasionally - but only for a nano second. We'd get him in just the right position with great lighting on him, Alex would wave a lump of cheese at him to get him looking somewhere in the region of the right direction and each time, with the camera focussed on him, Alex the photographer would call Bear's name get him to look towards to the camera and Bear would move completely. What is it they say about never working with children and animals? Well we do both and with patience and fast reactions, you sometimes get pictures like this one.

Family Photographer West Yorkshire | Naylor Family Portrait

2011-10-10T11:47:00.000-07:00

We're very excited about being Louise and Phil's wedding photographers in June next year. They are good friends of Faye and Ken whose wedding we photographed in February 2010 and we were over the moon that they recommended us to Louise and Phil.

It was so nice to hear from the couple when they asked about a family portrait for a special birthday. This was to be a gift for Louise's parents and the timing of the session was crucial as her brother, Andrew, lives in Singapore and we had to organise the portrait session for when he was visiting his family.

So we welcomed the lovely Naylors to the studio and had a really good time with them, working through several different groupings and even taking a few corporate head shots for Andrew to use for work. It was also nice to get to meet Louise's immediate family ahead of the wedding but the main reason for this portrait session was the image below - Louise's parents' favourite.

Family Photography West Yorkshire | Portrait Session for the Saul Family

2011-10-10T11:28:00.000-07:00

We've been very lucky to have been the Castleford family photographers for the wonderful Saul family for several years. For mum and dad, Paula and Duncan, regular family photographs are really important so that they have a record of themselves together with their children as they grow up and for us as professional portrait photographers in West Yorkshire, hearing this is music to our ears, not just because it earns us some money, but because family photographs are something which many people don't value enough and we hear sometimes from mums that they wish they'd had a family portrait taken whilst their children were young. Also, clients often ask us to photograph their children but usually they don't want to be in the photographs themselves. This is a shame because when your children are grown up, they will treasure photographs of themselves with their proud parents.

Back to the Saul family and as I mentioned, we've photographed them every summer for several years, starting when Bailey was small and Eli was a baby. Except for last year and we did wonder why we hadn't heard from Paula. Turns out she was expecting the newest addition to the family, gorgeous Madeleine, a sister for those handsome big brothers.

We are starting our run up to the festive season now, with Christmas portrait bookings coming in. Our portrait session fee including editing your images and inviting your for a private viewing session so that you can choose your favourite photographs costs just £35. Please call Janet on 01977 730159 and book early as we limit our sessions to just two per day to give you plenty of time and the best possible service.

Family Photography Castleford | Portraits for the Crowther Family

2011-10-07T05:08:00.000-07:00

Several months ago a close friend of Nikki contacted us as she wanted to buy her a portrait voucher as a gift for a special birthday. We were happy to hear from Matthew, Nikki's husband, when he called to say that he, Nikki and their children, Zach and Poppy were ready to come to the studio for their family portrait session.

Zach wasn't in the best of moods when the family arrived, clinging to his dad for dear life and "crying". Aren't kids brilliant at making parents squirm at the worst possible time? Matthew was worried and he said that Zach was never like that but mum Nikki's advice worked a treat - ignore him and he'll come round!

A bit of fun, banter and a high five or two later and we managed to get Zach on side and the reward was several great photographs of the family together before we let mum and dad have a bit of a rest on the sofa and allowed Zach and Poppy to play, dance and do their own thing as this seemed to work better than trying to get these two, who were full of beans, to sit still together.

Sometimes cracking photographs just happen and the shot of Poppy on her toes, kissing her big brother, is our favourite.

If you'd like to book a studio session for your family, kids or even the dog, a session costs just £35. Alternatively, a portrait gift certificate can be personalised to your exact requirements for any amount you wish from £35 upwards. Call Janet on 01977 730159 now.

Family Photography West Yorkshire | Portraits for the Smith Family

2011-10-06T06:39:00.000-07:00

As family portrait photographers in West Yorkshire, we recently welcomed the Smith family to our studio. They were such a laugh to work with as Jay has a very funny sense of humour, all of them were really happy and it was obvious that they enjoyed their time with us. We worked though several ideas for family photographs before giving mum and dad the job of standing behind the camera and helping to make Brooke laugh. However, she's such a gorgeous smiley baby anyway that it wasn't difficult. We took some baby photographs of Brooke on her own before bringing in the brightly coloured tub stack which she loves. It was hilarious because Cara and I had to stack the tubs whilst Jay held firmly onto Brooke, as she just wanted to crawl to the tub stack and demolish it before we could get it fully assembled. A great session!

If you would like to book a family portrait session, please call Janet on 01977 730159

Wedding Photography Oakwood Hall | Claire and Andrew

2011-10-05T10:05:00.000-07:00

We arrived at Claire's mum's house which has stunning views over the moors. She said that it was wonderful watching the seasons change and what a spectacular view!

Once we'd photographed Claire's preparations, we left to meet Andy and the guys at a cafe bar in Baildon, just down the road from the methodist church where he and Claire were getting married. We walked the short distance to the church where we met up with Terry and Lauren from Picture House Wedding Films who were the videographers for the day and who we like working with a lot as they are a lovely father and daughter team and extremely good at what they do.

We managed to get all the boys' photographs before the rain started just before the bridesmaids arrived, resulting in brollies at the ready and photographs in the church porch and it was still drizzling when Claire arrived with her brother, James, who gave her away.

Claire and Andy had decided against having photographs taken from the front during the ceremony so we stayed at the back, along with Lauren, whilst Terry captured the proceedings at the front. The flower petals in the aisle made a beautiful feature in the photographs.

A peek outside at the end of the ceremony confirmed that it was still raining and so we took the close family group photographs inside the church and, unusually, the confetti shots too! It's not often you get a vicar agreeing to allow this as they usually insist on it being thrown once everyone is off the church premises! We don't envy the person who had to vacuum all the confetti up afterwards!

The decision was taken to risk going to Oakwood Hall for the rest of the photographs which included some large family groups and a big group shot of everyone. These pictures were very important to Claire and Andy. Apparently, Claire's uncle Steve has an iPhone app which is very accurate when it comes to the forecasting the weather and his call was that we should risk it as rain was forecast for only half the time during the afternoon. Wonder why the weather forecasters can't manage to be anywhere near as accurate because he was spot on and we managed to get the rest of the groups done without another rain drop plus a few pictures of newly married Mr and Mrs Pitts before everyone sat down for the wedding breakfast.

There was a bit of a Disney theme going on which was evident during Andy's speech and there were some lovely details like big jars of sweets on the tables and the couple's table plan which was beautiful and very original - a string of pastel coloured cards hanging across the fireplace.

Claire and Andy joined us for a few photographs on the staircase after dinner before their first dance together. Our thanks to them for asking us to share their wedding day.

Maternity Photography West Yorkshire | Pregnancy Portraits for Gemma

2011-10-04T12:26:00.000-07:00

As professional photographers, we enjoy meeting and working with lots of lovely people and we always work very hard to give them the best possible service and to exceed their expectations. Sometimes a project is offered to us which makes us realise just how special our job is (if you can call it a job!) and we are given the privilege of capturing not just pictures, but an incredibly special event in someone's life and something that can never be repeated.

It's hard to put into words my thoughts about Gemma and her circumstances and how humbled we both felt at being given the chance to document a life changing milestone in Gemma and her husband, Paul's lives that may never have happened, was against all the odds and is something which many people take for granted - parenthood.

Gemma first approached me by email to enquire about a maternity photography shoot so that she could present Paul with an album of images of her proudly showing off her bump. Nothing too unusual about a pregnancy photo shoot you might think, except that her journey had been anything but smooth and her courage at getting to this point was inspirational.

Time was of the essence, of course, because baby bumps need to be big enough for the photographs but babies sometimes arrive early. The other important factor was that Gemma really wanted the album to present to Paul on his birthday in October. The project was to be kept a big secret and so the only contact we had was via email because Paul works from home and ringing Gemma may well have given the game away. Our communication ran to many emails back and forth which resulted in me inviting Gemma into the studio for a chat in the hope that it would reassure her. We chatted about ideas and established that the sweet style of maternity photography with ribbons tied around pregnant tummies definitely wasn't Gemma's style. With a date in the diary for the session, Gemma left, hopefully feeling a bit more relaxed.

A short while later, I received an email from Gemma asking if the session could be brought forward by a couple of weeks as it was suspected that the baby, nicknamed Peanut, might arrive early and we couldn't afford to take the risk of missing the maternity photo shoot. Gemma came into the studio for the session and I'm sure she won't mind me say so, was very nervous, so she was accompanied by her close friend, Lyndsey, who offered a bit of moral support.

The session went absolutely brilliantly. We worked through several ideas, some of Gemma's own and some of ours, used different backdrops, drapes and a wind machine to get Gemma a variety of images for choose from. She said that she'd really enjoyed herself and was delighted with her images even just looking at some of them on the back of the camera.

Soon afterwards, Gemma came in to view her photographs and her reaction to them blew us away - she said she couldn't believe it was her in the pictures. She chose a selection of images which Alex designed into a beautiful digital album for her. Just a couple of hours after she collected it and a lovely email arrived.

"Hi Alex and Janet, well I couldn't keep the secret any longer and presented Paul with his present this afternoon. You've managed to reduce a grown man to tears!!!! I told him I'd organised some more shoots for Peanut and both of us once she's here and he's totally up for it, can't wait. I really can't thank you guys enough."

We are used to keeping secrets for our clients and we always exercise the utmost discretion as generally, our boudoir and maternity photographs are not published, but Gemma has very kindly allowed us to share a couple of her beautiful images.

So, we're anxiously awaiting the news that baby "Peanut" has arrived and we will meet her soon afterwards when the family come in for their first of three portrait sessions which will ultimately result in another digital album documenting the story of this very special baby's first year and we can't wait as we know that we've been very privileged to be a part of something incredibly special.

West Yorkshire Wedding Photographers | Rogerthorpe Manor Wedding Photography for Michelle and Ashley

2011-09-27T10:37:00.000-07:00

Michelle and Ashley married on a Thursday at Darrington church before celebrating at Rogerthorpe Manor. We've noticed that we are getting quite a lot of bookings for Yorkshire wedding photography on weekdays and we know that our friends at Rogerthorpe Manor offer some fantastic deals on all inclusive wedding photography packages. If you're looking for a lovely wedding venue, the best in customer service, friendly and approachable staff and delicious food, this venue is well worth a look.

We started the day at Michelle's parents' beautiful house which has a fabulous garden overlooked by a terrace. A perfect place for some bridal portraits, we thought, and so did Michelle's dad. Michelle was in her stunning dress a few minutes before we had to depart for church which meant that we could take some portraits of her. This was great and something we like to do but it doesn't often happen as things usually run late. It's a big bonus when everything comes together like this and Michelle looked amazing!

We arrived at Darrington church, had a chat with the vicar, Adrian, and then walked back to the gate to photograph Ashley with his attendants. Adrian is the vicar at several churches in the area and we know from experience that he has strict rules regarding photography during the marriage ceremony - from the back only! Although there are two of us and we always love to be able to capture beautiful moments from the front of the church and scene setting shots from the back, we always comply with the vicar's wishes and photographs from the back are better than none at all so this is where we stayed during Michelle and Ashley's ceremony.

The weather has kept us on our toes a lot during this "summer" and it did the same for part of the day, threatening rain which, thankfully, failed to materialise, allowing for a few family group photographs at the church door, followed by confetti at the gate and all the remaining important photographs outside at Rogerthorpe Manor before we went inside to document the details, the cake and the Cawthorne Suite in its Cadbury purple colour scheme all set up for the wedding breakfast.

Whilst the wedding party were enjoying dinner, we had ours in the Jacobean pub - the steak pie is delicious and one of the big bonuses of being wedding photographers at Rogerthorpe Manor.

When Michelle and Ashley re-appeared, we borrowed them for a few minutes more to get some lovely images of the two of them outside the hotel. This can be difficult earlier in the day because, of course, guests are mingling and there is a lot to cover in the time we have. We really enjoy this relaxed time spent with the couple - in fact, it's our favourite time on a wedding day and allows us to get creative.

We left Mr and Mrs Maeer with their guests and captured some informal pictures before Michelle and Ashley were called to the floor for their first dance and a balloon drop. We know that Michelle's sister, Louise, recommended us as she had been a bridesmaid for Laura, whose wedding to Steve we photographed a few years ago. She told Michelle that Laura and Steve's wedding photographs were the best she'd ever seen and we were very flattered. We're delighted that Louise did this for us and our sincere thanks go to her for the recommendation and to Michelle and Ashley for asking us to capture their big day.

Wedding Photography Rogerthorpe Manor - thank you from Sarah and Richard

2011-09-25T12:06:00.000-07:00

It was a real pleasure to photograph Sarah and Richard's wedding in Barnsley and their reception at Rogerthorpe Manor and so nice to receive the following from Sarah when the couple returned from their honeymoon.

"Hi Alex and Janet, thank you a MILLION times for your hard work on our wedding day, you both made it so easy for me and Rich, and I was absolutely blown away by the slide show you played in the evening - I just couldn't believe it. I know it's all down to your hard work. The blog is absolutely great as well! Really enjoyed reading it, and the preview pictures were once again stunning. Thank you again and speak soon, Sarah x"

Wedding Photographers at The Craiglands Hotel | Wedding Photography Ilkley for Sabrina and Vimal

2011-09-21T10:14:00.000-07:00

We met Sabrina and Vimal for the first time at a wedding fair when they had yet to finalise a date and a venue. What we didn't know at the time was that Sabrina had vowed that when she and Vim did marry, we would be their wedding photographers.

The couple's plans didn't go very smoothly as they found it difficult to find a wedding venue who would cater for both their English and Asian guests but they finally settled on the Craiglands Hotel in Ilkley and set the date for Sunday, 4 September. So glad that we were free on their date!

As wedding photographers at the Craiglands Hotel, we arrived nice and early and were greeted by Paul, Sabrina's dad, who was carrying out an unusual fatherly duty - typing bright pink bows to the lamp posts along the hotel driveway. Soon afterwards, the ladies arrived and we all went upstairs to where Sabrina was getting ready, to photograph her gorgeous dress, fabulous shoes, perfume, jewellery, flowers and putting on make-up. Sabrina even managed to look good applying mascara with her hair full of curlers!

We left her for a while to take some photographs of Vimal getting ready before meeting the boys outside for a few pictures and keeping Vimal busy doing a bit of relaxed posing for the camera. Vim's such a nice, kind hearted guy with a very funny sense of humour and we can see why Sabrina loves him so much!

Following the civil ceremony during which the registrar gave us free reign to take whatever photographs we wanted, everyone came outside onto the steps for a big group photograph and the confetti throwing which featured the biggest and most impressive confetti canon we have ever seen. The family groups were completed really quickly, leaving plenty of time for Sabrina and Vim's pictures together.

The wedding breakfast room looked lovely and we really enjoyed the speeches which were both funny and touching. The couple had chosen a buffet style meal with a mixture of English and Asian food rather than a traditional wedding breakfast and whilst they were eating it rained. This was disappointing because we'd planned to take Sabrina and Vim to the Cow & Calf for some time out and some photographs together. Sabrina even brought her trainers to wear on the way up there but because of the rain, we thought that our plans might be scuppered. Good old British summer time strikes again! However, luck was on our side, the rain stopped when it mattered and as soon as the couple were ready, we all jumped into our car and drove up to the Cow & Calf.

Sabrina and Vim were brilliant to work with and up for anything we suggested. As creative wedding photographers in Yorkshire, when you have a couple who are so enthusiastic, you pull out all the stops for them and this is what we did. Vim was happy to take a short break and admire the stunning backdrop of the Cow & Calf whilst we photographed his beautiful wife posing on a rock. We then captured some images of them both together, ending with a walk back down the path and back to the car for the short drive to the Craiglands and the evening party.

This lovely couple took to the floor for their first dance for which they said they didn't have a routine but Sabrina made up one of her own which was pretty impressive and involved almost throwing Vim around the dance floor. This energetic routine was followed by a more serene father and daughter dance and then something we haven't seen before, Sabrina's mum and dad and her grandma and granddad dancing together which was quite emotional to watch.

Our last job was to capture an Asian tradition, organised by Vimal's mum, in which gifts are presented to the newly married couple. Congratulations to Mr and Mrs Patel and thank you so much for asking us to share your amazing day.

If you were a guest at Sabrina and Vimal's wedding, please feel free to leave a comment - thank you.

Wedding Photographer Barnsley | Rogerthorpe Manor Wedding Photography for Sarah and Richard

2011-09-16T10:39:00.000-07:00

Sarah and Richard booked us to photograph their wedding shortly after we first met Sarah and her mum, Chrissy, at a wedding fair. We hit it off straight away and we were over the moon when we got the call from Sarah to ask if we were still free on her wedding date - the first Saturday in September and one of the most popular dates of the year for weddings.

This wedding, like all weddings, was very special, but there was something which made it incredibly special for both families, as Sarah and Richard's parents have been close friends for many years and had always hoped that their children would eventually marry, with mums Chrissy and June conspiring to try and make this happen! We felt very privileged indeed to be given the opportunity to capture Sarah and Rich's wedding at Holyrood Catholic church in Barnsley and as regular wedding photographers at Rogerthorpe Manor, we always love working there.

Our first stop was at Sarah's mum and dad's beautiful home and when we arrived, the girls were still at the hairdresser and we must apologise to Sarah's brother, Michael, for arriving a bit earlier than anticipated as we suspect that he had to get out of the shower to answer the door to us! Thankfully, he was really clued up about where Sarah's dress was hanging and about where to find all her accessories, except for her gorgeous shoes which eluded us until Michael made a quick call to Sarah.

The girls came back and got on with make-up and getting ready before helping Sarah into her dress in the lovely upstairs lounge which was great to work in because it had lots of natural light. The colour scheme she'd chosen was, well, WOW! The bridesmaids' dresses came from Precious Bridal in Garforth who we highly recommend.

We left for Barnsley to meet Richard and the boys and kept them busy for a while as the large number of guests arrived for the ceremony and took their places inside the beautiful church, the bridesmaids arriving a few minutes ahead of Sarah and her dad. Our lovely bride was all smiles and very excited. She looked stunning, her smile never faded and her excitement and enthusiasm was infectious and lasted all day long.

After Sarah and Rich were married, everyone made their way to the reception at Rogerthorpe Manor and we managed to get through the group shots pretty quickly, including a big group photo of all 180 guests on the lawn, leaving time for couple photographs and some fun pictures with their fab bridal party and then some laughs with the girls who had their own ideas which made for some amazing images which showed off the colour scheme, the dresses and the happy atmosphere which ran through the whole day.

The Lawrence and Cawthorne suites were opened up into one huge room for the wedding breakfast and it looked spectacular, expertly dressed by Stacey from Chantilly Weddings in Barnsley. Apparently, she had started work at 4 am and had also done all the flowers for the wedding. She really did Sarah and Rich proud, returning later to rearrange the tall flower displays on the tables into lower arrangements for the evening.

During our chat with the couple a few weeks before the wedding, Sarah had said that she would really love some arty bridal portraits and was perfectly happy to put some time in after dinner and speeches were over to work with us to get them. As professional West Yorkshire wedding photographers, we love every aspect of our job but our favourite time is when we get the opportunity to spend some time alone with the bride and groom creating the images which really stand out.

Later, we captured the new Mr and Mrs Farrar's first dance together followed by a father and daughter dance and we stayed on to photograph the band they'd hired to provide the evening entertainment - the first class, highly talented Solicitors.

To Sarah and Rich and your lovely families - our sincere thanks and appreciation for choosing us to share what was a fabulous day. We loved it and we hope you like this, a small preview of some of our favourite images.

If you were a guest at Sarah and Richard's wedding, please leave a comment - thank you.

Wedding Photography Rogerthorpe Manor

2011-09-15T06:47:00.000-07:00

Sarah and Rich's wedding will be the next to appear on our blog but we were over the moon to receive this lovely email from Sarah's mum, Chrissy, just a few days after we photographed this lovely wedding at Holyrood church in Barnsley and reception at Rogerthorpe Manor for this fabulous couple who were a joy to spend time with. Thank you very much for this Chrissy.

"WOW! What a wonderful day we had last Saturday - everyone said how much they had enjoyed it and everything went so well. I'm back at work now, and coming back down to earth, but just wanted to say a massive THANK YOU again for all your hard work on the day, and for all you did. I know Sarah and Rich will be highly delighted and they thought the presentation was fantastic, as did everyone. We just can't wait for the album and re-live our wonderful day, thanks to you."

Wedding Photographer the Marriott Hotel, York | Wedding Photography York for Joanne and Dene

2011-09-13T08:28:00.000-07:00

Joanne and Dene's wedding day can be described in just one word - FUN! This fantastic couple live life to the full and they had already told us that they were up for anything and love a laugh. Perfect - our kind of couple!

We arrived at Joanne and Dene's house in York and were introduced to Star and Ziggy, their Staffordshire bull terriers and it was really important to Joanne that we got some pictures of these two. She loves them to bits and had even bought them special collars with some bling seeing as it was a wedding day!

After capturing Joanne's make-up being applied and making sure that we'd photographed all the important details, we left to meet Dene. As wedding photographers for the Marriott Hotel, York we'd already thought about the locations we were going to use for Dene and the boys' photographs including a sequence of silly jump shots which Dene had said he really wanted and which we had a lot of fun doing. Dene then put on his more sensible head for some groom portraits before Joanne arrived with her dad, Roy.

This was our third of three weddings in three days and we did pretty well with the weather. It stayed dry throughout the day so we got everything we needed outside and then it tipped it down during the wedding breakfast and continued into the early evening. However, this didn't matter as we planned to photograph the couple inside the hotel and had finished our outside shots - or so we thought!

After the speeches which were really funny, especially Roy's as he described how he lives at the bottom of Joanne and Dene's garden and how he hadn't even realised for long enough that Dene had moved in with Joanne, we caught up with the boys who were doing a bit of male bonding outside and with a few suggestions from them for fun pictures including all of them picking Dene up, one thing led to another, resulting in a hilarious conga on the lawn in the pouring rain. One soggy photographer later, there were some really amusing pictures in the can.

Leaving the lads to dry off, we took Joanne around the hotel for a while to take some beautiful bridal portraits of her before the couple's first dance to a slow, romantic song which then changed to a faster track and some impressive free style dancing from the new Mr and Mrs Theaker which kicked off the evening party to perfection.

An incredibly enjoyable, fun packed day with lots of laughter and we are delighted that Joanne and Dene chose us for their wedding photography at the Marriott, York.

Wedding Photographer Yorkshire | Hazlewood Castle Wedding Photography for Laura and James

2011-09-12T02:37:00.000-07:00

Laura and James's special day was our second of three weddings in three days and Laura and James drew the short straw when it came to the weather. It was one of those days when you just knew that there would probably be no let up from the rain but when we arrived at Laura's parents' house in Skidby, Hull, we received such a warm welcome that we knew it would be a fantastic day regardless of the weather.

Laura's sister, Holly, was rehearsing her solo, Ave Maria, which she was going to sing during the wedding ceremony. We could hear Holly's beautiful voice as we photographed Laura's dress and accessories in a bedroom upstairs. Laura had asked for flowers which looked as if they'd been picked from a country garden and they were really lovely. As music is very important to this family, we decided to photograph Laura's bouquet on the piano stool. This turned out to be even more special and significant because Laura's grandma had embroidered the seat cushion.

After the bridesmaids helped Laura into her dress, we left for St Michael's church which is literally a stone's throw away from the house. Like Laura, James was in great spirits and even though the photographs of him and his attendants had to be taken inside the church, this didn't matter at all to him.

The plan had been that weather permitting, Laura and her dad would walk the short distance to the church but this wasn't to be so they arrived by car with Laura looking stunning and beaming through the window. The vicar, Angela, who has long been a friend of the Wilson family, was wonderful, allowing photography from the front and from the back of this tiny church. She was so accommodating and helpful and we appreciated this a lot especially as the ceremony is the most important part of the wedding and is also something the weather can't disrupt!

When the ceremony ended, everyone left for Hazlewood Castle and on arrival, it was still raining. However, Laura and James really wanted some photographs with their car and if they didn't mind getting a bit wet, neither did we!

As regular wedding photographers at Hazlewood Castle, we knew that we could take the group photographs in the State Drawing Room before everyone took their seats in the Great Hall for the wedding breakfast. By the time the speeches were over, it was dark but a very brief respite from the rain meant that we could take Laura and James out for some night shots and light them with our video light.

The new Mr and Mrs Leeks had a cha, cha, cha routine planned for their first dance and this got some fantastic reactions from their watching guests. Thank you Laura and James for inviting us to photograph your wedding, for not letting the rain spoil your day and for keeping smiling throughout!

Rogerthorpe Manor Wedding Photographers | Alexandra and John's Wedding Photography

2011-09-02T09:44:00.000-07:00

As Rogerthorpe Manor wedding photographers, this was our first of three weddings in three days, and Alexandra and John's big day. We woke in the early hours of the morning to the sound of torrential rain. However, we must have been in luck on that Thursday because by the time we arrived at the venue for Alex's preparations, it had just about stopped.

Alex had chosen a spectacular dress with lots of lovely sparkles on the bodice and some gorgeous Laboutins. A girl can't have too much bling!

We went downstairs and the rain had stopped altogether, enabling us to photograph John and his best men outside. We then left John discussing the formalities with the registrar and went back to Alex who was by now in her amazing dress and taking care of her finishing touches before she descended the stairs with her proud mum, Eileen, who gave her away.

As always, the Pontefract registrars were really obliging and allowed us free reign the photograph the ceremony without any restrictions. We wish that all registrars were the same! After the civil ceremony, Alex and John and their guests celebrated with a Bucks Fizz drinks reception on the lawn and by now, the sun was shining enabling all their photographs to be taken outside, right up until we went inside to photograph the Lawrence Suite dressed for the wedding breakfast. We always like to capture an image of the room before anyone goes in, along with all the details which take so much planning but which would otherwise be quickly forgotten.

As we waited for the guests to start being seated, we were told that Alex and John had invited us to join everyone for the wedding breakfast which was completely unexpected. We are so grateful to them for thinking about us and the meal was absolutely delicious so if anyone is reading this and thinking about having their wedding at Rogerthorpe Manor, the food is amazing!

The couple got married at 11 am which meant that there was lots of time after the wedding breakfast and speeches for them to relax, mingle with their guests and have some photographs taken before their evening celebrations started. Alex told us that she loves posing and really wanted some arty photographs and when we hear this, we are absolutely delighted! Our bride was a joy to work with so we started with some shots for her in the "blue bar" and then asked John, now relaxed and in shirt sleeves, to join her. We went outside and by now, the harsh sunlight and shadows in the area where we wanted to work had softened and the light was perfect for our archway photographs, including one featuring some very important shoes.

Our last job was to capture the new Mr and Mrs Baines on the dance floor before we left them to party. A great couple, a fabulous venue, weather that behaved itself and guests who were great fun. What more could a wedding photographer ask for? It was a privilege to share your celebrations and many congratulations to you both!

Wedding Photographer Wentbridge House | Wedding Photography Leeds for Victoria and Gavin

2011-08-29T11:50:00.000-07:00

Vicky got ready at her parents' Jan and David's house and Gavin got ready at his and Vicky's house just five doors away. This meant that we could photograph both the bride and the groom's preparations which is a nice bonus for the couple and gives them a few extra photographs of a part of the day which is not often documented. Vicky's dad made us very welcome and a short time later, Vicky returned from the hairdresser. We'd already taken over her sister, Jen's bedroom for the dress and bridal bits and pieces shots. Vicky's dress was gorgeous - a Sophia Tolli gown with lots of beautiful detail on it.

Bridesmaids Jen, Kelly, Susie and Megan were so helpful, running errands and helping us to organise some lovely shots for Vicky and nothing was too much trouble for any of them.

We left Vicky to finish her make-up and went to check on Gavin and his best man, Rob, who continued with the same helpful attitude shown by the bridesmaids, really looking after the groom and making sure he was ready in good time.

We managed to grab a few photographs as Jen laced Vicky's dress before we jumped in the car and headed off for Holy Trinity church in Rothwell. The boys were waiting for us, nice and early and ready for photographs.

With plenty of time before Vicky's arrival, we were able to photograph Jan with the bridesmaids and pageboy, Carter with the men and still have time in hand to take pictures of each bridesmaid in turn before we walked to the gate to wait for Vicky and David.

As Leeds wedding photographers, we know that the vicar at this church only allows photographs from the back but this is most definitely better than none at all and this pretty church does make for lovely wedding pictures. After Vicky and Gavin's wedding ceremony, we took at few photographs and then left to travel to Wentbridge House for the reception and again, nothing was too much trouble for the couple's attendants, with Rob, Nathan and the rest of the boys helping get people together for groups and generally making sure that everything ran smoothly.

We are regular wedding photographers at Wentbridge House and when the weather is kind, the beautifully kept lawn is perfect for group photographs and fun shots with the bridal party. However, the time left for photographs before dinner was short and so some of the shots we'd planned with the couple had to be delayed until after the wedding breakfast and speeches. We kept our fingers well and truly crossed that the weather would hold out and it almost managed to stay dry, although we did feel a few spots of rain as we got the bridal party together. It didn't deter them and the resulting sequence of images was well worth it. Thank you guys for being such good sports and for ignoring the rain drops!

We worked outside right up until the very last of the daylight before going inside to chat to Winston, the resident DJ. Winston called Vicky and Gavin onto the floor for their first dance together and as their guests quickly followed, we stayed to capture a few more images of everyone having a great time.

Our thanks to Vicky and Gavin, the new Mr and Mrs Hough, for asking us to share their lovely, fun packed wedding day!

Wedding Photographer King's Croft Hotel | Wedding Photography Castleford for Laura and Dominic

2011-08-24T09:57:00.000-07:00

As wedding photographers in Castleford, the King's Croft Hotel is a venue we work at on a fairly regular basis as it's one of the closest wedding venues to us. When we arrived, the King's suite was being dressed in a lovely plum colour scheme and we thought that there was a good chance it might be finished before we had to leave for church, enabling us to photograph the room all set up, saving a bit of time later in the day.

We remember Laura and Dom coming to see us to discuss their wedding photography. We were really happy to have been recommended to them by one of Laura's mum's friends, as we had photographed her daughter, Anna's wedding to Stuart a couple of years earlier.

Laura had arranged to get ready at the King's Croft and she wondered how we were going to manage to photograph her dress and accessories in the tiny room we were all crammed into. She needn't have worried as we've managed in spaces which were much more cramped than this! Laura had described her dress as quite plain and simple. Well plain and simple it certainly wasn't! It was just stunning and it suited Laura perfectly. Her bouquet of ivory roses and orchids was gorgeous too.

We left Laura and her bridesmaids to their final preparations, checked out the King's suite which was finished, so we photographed the room and some of the details and then set off for St Joseph's Catholic church in Castleford where we met up with Terry and Lauren from Picture House Wedding Films. We really enjoy working with this father and daughter team. We get along really well and we know what a brilliant job they do.

As most of the boys were late arriving, we photographed Dom on his own first and then grabbed all the guys for a few shots together before we had to let them go and do their ushering duties. Laura and Dom had five little pageboys and a flowergirl all between the ages of two and six. They wanted them photographed together. No pressure then!

Laura arrived with her dad Steve in a cream Beauford, looking stunning and feeling very nervous. We were looking forward to photographing the ceremony as although it's a long time since we last worked at St Joseph's in Castleford, having chatted with the priest about what his rules were regarding photography during the proceedings, he had said that there weren't any. We were really grateful for this as it meant we could get two different viewpoints during the service as the couple exchanged their vows.

Mr and Mrs Snee exited the church and had a few photographs taken on the lawn before leaving for the wedding reception at the King's Croft. They had told us that they weren't much into posing or doing anything overly arty, they just wanted a handful of group shots and some relaxed and informal photographs. As it was, things ran late and so we had only a short time before everyone sat for the wedding breakfast. We managed to get all the group shots done except for the big group of everyone but as the weather played ball, this was something we were able to capture after dinner.

After the speeches, the couple went for a walk with us so that we could photograph them away from everyone else before we returned to the guests to take candid shots as they relaxed and enjoyed the evening sunshine. This included grabbing some action shots as Dom spun one of the pageboys round by his arms! Kids just love this kind of thing and it made for some great pictures.

After we photographed the couple's first dance as husband and wife, we left everyone to party.

Congratulations Laura and Dom and thank you for asking us to capture your wedding day.

York Pavilion Hotel Wedding Photographer | Wedding Photography York for Geraldine and Martin

2011-08-16T09:01:00.000-07:00

As York wedding photographers, we were looking forward to Geraldine and Martin's civil ceremony and celebrations on one of the most popular dates of the year for weddings - the first Saturday in August. This is one of those dates which wedding photographers could book over and over again and Geraldine and Martin must have realised this as they had secured our services almost two years before their big day.

This being a very popular wedding date didn't necessarily mean that the weather would be kind to us and chatting to our close friends who are also professional wedding photographers, it seems that we all had to work around heavy rain at some point during the day.

We started at Geraldine's parents' home in York where we got on with photographing all the girly bits and pieces, including Geraldine's gorgeous dress, whilst she was still at the hairdresser. When she arrived back, it was her turn in the make-up chair, followed by a few photographs having her dress done up before we had to leave for the Pavilion Hotel in York.

Martin was lucky because the rain held off for his photographs and those with his attendants before the ceremony, starting with a joke picture which Martin asked for as a "surprise" for Geraldine, or Gez as she is affectionately known. What do you think of the York City scarves Gez? The sky gradually got blacker and the rain came down a few minutes before Gez arrived with her dad and it continued throughout the civil ceremony, drinks reception, group photographs, couple shots, bridal portraits and most of the wedding breakfast.

You can't do anything about the weather and what mattered most was that Gez and Martin tied the knot in a lovely, personal ceremony. They kept smiling despite the heavy rain, went outside with one of our white umbrellas, had a few pictures taken and then went off for a drive together in their Beauford. The rain was so heavy that all the group photographs had to be taken inside but this didn't present too much of a problem because the John Barry suite had been quickly cleared of chairs and we were able to work in this large room with its big windows and lovely drapes.

When we'd visited York Pavilion Hotel with the couple to discuss their wedding photography, we had the idea to photograph Gez in the John Barry suite after the ceremony anyway and we would have done this even if the weather had been good because Gez was really enthusiastic about our ideas for some artistic bridal portraits. She looked beautiful!

After the wedding breakfast, the rain did finally stop and we were very happy to be able to get outside without brollies for a while, photograph the couple being showered with confetti and then spend a short time with them in the lovely gardens of the hotel. Geraldine didn't even mind walking on the grass which was, it has to be said, pretty soggy!

Gez and Martin's first dance was to L.O.V.E. by Joss Stone and Martin had a surprise for his bride, spelling out the letters with his arms to a delighted Gez. Thank you for giving us the privilege of sharing your wedding day Mr and Mrs Poole.

Hey Green Wedding Photographer | Kirsty and John's Wedding Photography Huddersfield

2011-08-04T06:42:00.000-07:00

It's quite a long time since we were wedding photographers at Hey Green Country House Hotel in Marsden and we'd been looking forward to photographing Kirsty and John's wedding at St Bartholomew's church and to working at Hey Green again.

Kirsty and John's wedding was on one of the hottest days of the year so far. We arrived at Kirsty's parents' beautiful home in Slaithwaite for bridal prep photographs. We had the pleasure of meeting Max, Kirsty and John's lovely Rhodesian ridgeback and Dougie, Ann and Steve's dalmation, who were confined to the kitchen!

Kirsty had chosen a gorgeous colour scheme of Cadbury purple and bright orangey yellow and a big bonus was that Kirsty was in her dress before we had to leave for church, so we got some beautiful bridal portraits on the staircase and in the hallway before we set off. This doesn't happen all that often as things usually overrun but we love the opportunity to get these shots when the bride's dress is still pristine and the flowers are fresh.

We arrived at St Bartholomew's church in Marsden and a chat with the vicar established that we could photograph the ceremony from the back of this huge church. The dress code for the boys was top hat and tails and they looked very smart. For John, we decided to take some photographs wearing his hat and some without because at this stage, Kirsty wasn't there to tell him whether to wear the hat or not!

Kirsty arrived with her dad in a classic Rolls Royce and as she was a bit early, it allowed us to get some nice pictures of her in the car and at the church door with her dad and bridesmaids, before we photographed the ceremony, congratulations afterwards, the walk down the long pathway and the shower of confetti at the gate. The guests then left for Hey Green Country House Hotel whilst we took some photographs of the newly married couple on a narrow lane beside the church. This spot is very pretty and has a river running alongside the lane with a bridge over it. Apparently, it has been featured in the television comedy series Last of the Summer Wine.

Kirsty and John had requested a stop off enroute to the reception venue for some romantic photographs with their car and with the moors in the background - weather permitting. Well they certainly dropped lucky with the weather and as Huddersfield wedding photographers we know what spectacular scenery there is in this area.

On arrival at Hey Green Country House Hotel, all the guests were waiting and with the help of William, the professional toastmaster, we got the big group shot in the can before we changed location for the family groups and bridal party fun pictures including the throwing the top hats in the air shots. Everyone was great fun and William made sure that the group photo session ran like clockwork, leaving us time before the receiving line started to photograph the wedding breakfast room and all the table details.

The speeches were really funny and some hilarious expressions were captured. Kirsty's dad was, apparently, still writing his speech when we arrived at the house and this perhaps explains why he was nowhere to be seen during the morning preparations. Or had he just gotten out of the way of all the ladies???? Who knows? Anyway, his speech was brilliant and produced some priceless expressions from Kirsty.

The couple had told us that they really wanted some photographs down by the lake but with tight timings, we knew that this might not be possible until after the wedding breakfast. However, as soon as the speeches were over, we all set off down the stone steps to the lakeside. We were joined by millions of midges which weren't welcome at all but we hope that the images we captured were well worth putting up with the pests for a few minutes! The evening light was much softer now and this is our favourite time at a wedding - the time we spend with the couple - and the time when we get some of the best photographs of the day, including one stunner and a personal favourite - Kirsty showing off her beautiful, full length veil.

Mr and Mrs Stanger - you were stars! Thank you for choosing us to capture your special day.

Wedding Photography Patshull Hall | Thank you from Fiona and Euan

2011-08-03T11:31:00.000-07:00

We were so happy to receive the following from Fiona and Euan whose wedding we photographed at Patshull Hall in Wolverhampton last month. We are very lucky to be doing a job we love - photographing weddings for lovely couples - but to receive something like this is the icing on the cake and we feel it sums up perfectly what we're about and what our clients can expect from us. Thank you Mr and Mrs Scott!

"Our friends Dan and Carole spoke so highly of you as their wedding photographers that we couldn't not look into using your services, despite our wedding being in a different part of the country to the one you usually work in. From the moment we met you and saw your work we knew you were the right choice. I guess anyone can turn up and take photos, but you both did so much more than that including advice before the day, site visits, regular contact, providing creative ideas, talking about your passion for photography, your professionalism, making us feel both at ease and like film stars for the day, and even a mini pep talk from Alex before the ceremony! These are all the things that make your service so special. The photos we have seen are stunning and we can't wait to see the rest. Thank you for capturing our day so perfectly. Euan and Fi x"

Engagement Portrait Photography West Yorkshire | Alex and John

2011-08-03T07:12:00.000-07:00

As we're getting well into wedding season now, we're meeting up with our lovely couples to chat about their plans for their wedding day and welcome many of them for an engagement portrait session.

Alex and John came to see us last weekend to discuss their wedding photography ahead of their big day at Rogerthorpe Manor later this month which we are very much looking forward to sharing. The couple have chosen a Thursday to get married in a civil ceremony and Alex's mum will have the privilege of giving her daughter away.

The couple are very photogenic and were brilliant into front of the camera. We really enjoyed the time we spent with them, creating some traditional and some modern engagement photos. They will choose their favourite image to be printed and this will be framed after their wedding with a signature mount signed by their guests. Don't know which photograph Alex and John will choose but this is one of our favourites!

Engagement Photography Castleford | Sarah and Richard

2011-08-03T06:59:00.000-07:00

We first met Sarah and her lovely mum, Chrissy, at a wedding fair and we were over the moon when Sarah called us the next day to ask we were still available on her wedding date. Happily for all of us, we were and so Sarah came along and secured our services for what we're sure will be an amazing day on 3 September.

Sarah and Richard are marrying in Barnsley before celebrating with a large crowd of guests at Rogerthorpe Manor. Both families are very close and this marriage is incredibly special to everyone. It will be a privilege to capture the celebrations.

The couple came in recently to chat about their ideas for their wedding photography and to finalise their choice of album which will be an Italian storybook.

After we'd finished going through their requirements for photographs on their wedding day, we had some fun with Sarah and Richard in front of the camera for their engagement shoot. They are such a lovely couple and they look great together. We really can't wait for their wedding day!

Rogerthorpe Manor Wedding Photography | Caroline and Ben

2011-08-02T02:32:00.000-07:00

Caroline and Ben chose a Sunday to tie the knot in a late afternoon civil ceremony. As regular Rogerthorpe Manor wedding photographers, we are always happy to work there because the venue is lovely, it's family owned and managed, the staff are very attentive and friendly, they really do care about everyone having a brilliant time, and the food is fabulous. What more could you ask for except for good weather? And it was great weather for Caroline and Ben's wedding.

We started at lunch time in the bridal suite at Rogerthorpe Manor where Caroline, her mum and her bridesmaids were getting ready. Or rather Caroline was getting ready. The bridesmaids were just chilling out! With the important shots of a very important dress, gorgeous shoes with some bling, perfume, jewellery and flowers all done, along with some hair styling and make-up shots, we left the girls to get on with their preparations and went to meet a slightly nervous Ben outside. It's nice to have some fun with the guys and we try to help them relax and we think we managed to take Ben's mind off his pre-wedding nerves for a while at least.

Back to Caroline a few minutes before the ceremony and as this was being conducted by the Pontefract registrars, we were very happy because they are fantastic to work with. Following the ceremony, the guests enjoyed Pimms on the lawn. Caroline and Ben's had a list of group shots they wanted, followed by some relaxed photographs of the two of them so we got everyone together for a big group shot followed by an incredible shower of confetti, worked through the couple's list of family groups and then spent a short time on relaxed couple shots before leaving them to do their own thing. Many people say that the best photographs are those which are natural and unposed but natural isn't always the same as flattering and we feel that often, some direction is needed to ensure that the photographs are the best they can be. However, it's important to be on the look out because sometimes things just unfold in front of your eyes and this happened when Caroline and Ben were standing together and enjoying a few quiet moments. These moments were completely unposed and all that was needed was an observant wedding photographer and a camera with a long lens and they were completely unaware that they were being photographed.

With images of the Cawthorne Suite set up ready for the wedding breakfast, cake shots and details on the tables in the can, we left everyone to enjoy dinner whilst we nipped into the Jacobean Pub for a Sunday carvery. This is a welcome bonus with Sunday weddings at Rogerthorpe Manor and the food is delicious!

Back to cover the speeches and afterwards, the guests enjoyed the warm summer evening and we got to play with our beautiful bride for a few minutes to create something a bit special for her before the new Mr and Mrs Gill hit the dance floor which resulted in some great pictures. A lovely wedding, a great venue and a fab couple. We really enjoyed sharing their big day.

West Yorkshire Mother and Baby Photography | Adele and Leighton

2011-07-27T08:59:00.000-07:00

Our latest young client was Leighton, whose mum, Adele, contacted us to ask about a baby portrait session. We knew from having a chat with Adele that as Leighton was already crawling he would need to be distracted with toys to keep him in one place for more than a split second or otherwise we'd have to be lightning fast to get some photographs of him! A combination of both, along with plenty of time, lots of cuddles from mum, a bribe in the shape of a bowl of black grapes which he loves, along with a few rice crackers thrown in did the trick. He looked really cool in this outfit and when he and Adele had some mother and baby photographs taken together, you could see how devoted Adele is to her son.

Baby Photographers in Castleford | Alex

2011-07-27T08:48:00.000-07:00

We were wedding photographers for Claire and Neil when they married in February 2009 and we first met their gorgeous baby boy, Alex, at Neil's sister, Mellisa's wedding to Gareth in February this year. Claire mentioned that she'd like us to take some baby photographs of Alex and we'd planned to do this, ideally before he started to crawl. Claire got in touch to tell us that Alex was just starting to get mobile so we got him booked in before he was up and running! Babies are best photographed when they are new born and the perfect age is five or six days old. After this, the next time they are great to photograph is when they are sitting solidly but can't yet crawl. This way, you can get some fabulous expressions and interaction from them but they can't escape! Alex was so fantastic to photograph, smiling throughout several wardrobe changes and seemingly forgetting the fact that he could crawl a bit. He sat there smiling and pointing and enjoying watching his mum and dad acting silly to make him laugh. A lovely baby and a great set of baby pictures, six of which are going to be displayed together in a multi frame. We really are lucky in that we often become family photographers to our fantastic clients.

Children's Photography West Yorkshire | Darcy and Dylan

2011-07-26T07:45:00.000-07:00

We first photographed Darcy aged around seven months at his home in Wakefield. It was great to hear from his mum, Louise, after all this time to tell us that Darcy has a little brother, Dylan, who is a year old and that Darcy is now five! Can't believe how quickly the time has gone but it was so nice that Louise remembered who took her eldest son's baby photographs and that she loved them so much that she wanted her younger son photographed by us too. This time Louise and hubby, Damian brought Dylan, along with Darcy, to the studio. She'd told us that Dylan was much more shy than Darcy and wondered how he would perform in front of the camera. He clung tightly to his dad for a while and we plotted how best to get him onto the background without tears or tantrums. Getting big brother Darcy involved was the answer and him lying on his tummy in just the right spot along with some encouragement from mum proved a big enough temptation for Dylan who soon jumped on Darcy's back. It's great fun to rag your big brother, jump on him, cover his eyes up and get away with it. He thought it was hilarious and had all of us in stitches too! After some time having photographs together, the boys each had a turn in front of the camera - Darcy really loving it and even suggesting his own ideas for photographs and Dylan - well, not much sign of shyness there!

Patshull Hall Wedding Photographers | Thank you from Fiona and Euan

2011-07-21T07:12:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, we were the Patshull Hall wedding photographers for Fiona and Euan when they married at this stunning venue on the most perfect summer's day. Following a post about their wedding on our Blog and on our Facebook page, we were delighted to receive the following message from the couple and we are really grateful that they took the time to send this when they were honeymooning in Bali.

"Hi Janet - just a quickie from Bali to say that we LOVE the pics you have posted on my Wall and on your blog. They had us grinning like Cheshire cats! Can't wait to see the rest of them. Hope you and Alex are well. See you when we get back xx"

Nostell Priory Wedding Photography | West Yorkshire Wedding Photographers | Alison and Mark

2011-07-18T03:40:00.000-07:00

The met office had predicted rain and if we were really unlucky, hailstones, for Alison and Mark's wedding on 9 July and not surprisingly, the weather had been very much on the couple's minds for the entire week before their wedding at Nostell Priory. Thankfully, someone got the weather forecast wrong for West Yorkshire wedding photographers and apart from a shower lasting around five minutes just before Alison's arrival, it was wall to wall sunshine. We knew that Alison really wanted some photographs inside Nostell Priory but we were very grateful not to be forced inside for most of them! Our first stop was at Alison's parents' house in Royston where we were made very welcome. It was a hive of activity with a hair styling production line in full swing. Alison's gorgeous dress was already laid out on the bed but we decided to photograph it hanging in front of a window in the hallway where the light was soft and where we could show it off at its best. Alison told us that she really likes the shot we take of the bride's engagement ring in one of the flowers and we knew that her beautiful diamond engagement ring would look fabulous photographed in one of the pink gerberas in her bouquet. We hope that she loves the photograph! Alison's parents were professional florists before they retired and her dad really did his daughter proud with the beautiful table decorations in the marquee at Nostell Priory. They were lovely, with tendrils of plum and gold ribbon running through them. In fact, this ribbon was a theme throughout the wedding from the bridal bouquet to the details on the tables. We met Mark at the venue for photographs with the boys before the bridesmaids arrrived not long afterwards. We'd managed to get the boys' and the girls' photographs before our one and only shower made its appearance but by the time Alison arrived with her parents, the rain had stopped. Following the civil ceremony and some pictures with the car, we went back inside to get the wedding photographs inside Nostell Priory including photographing the couple on the staircase and some window light portraits in the library. Leaving the house before members of the public started their tours, we worked through the groups before getting the bridal party all together for some fun pictures, followed by the new Mr and Mrs Turner's photographs together. As the weather played ball, we got through a lot very quickly, leaving time for a more welcome kind of shower - of confetti - before we left Alison and Mark to chat to their guests whilst we photographed the interior of the marquee. Having discussed the couple's ideas for their wedding photography in detail before the day, we knew that photographs were a very high priority for them and they were wonderful to work with, telling us that they would give anything we suggested a try and also that they particularly loved our more artistic images. Time to play then! We made the most of the soft late afternoon light, spending some time by the lake before heading back to work on the terrace of Nostell Priory with its impressive architecture. There was still lots of time left for the couple to chat to their guests before they took to the floor for their first dance, soon inviting their guests to join them. It was still light as we left everyone to enjoy the party. We love summer weddings with their long daylight hours and we loved sharing Alison and Mark's special day.

If you'd like to leave a message for Mr and Mrs Turner, please use the comments box below - thank you.

Wedding Photography Patshull Hall | Wolverhampton Wedding Photographers | Fiona and Euan

2011-07-08T06:02:00.000-07:00

As Yorkshire wedding photographers, we regularly photograph weddings at some great venues but sometimes we are lucky enough to be asked to travel outside our local area to capture the celebrations of lovely couples who are marrying elsewhere. When you are recommended to a couple and they love your work enough to ask you to travel a considerable distance to photograph their wedding, well that's a huge privilege and this is what happened with Fiona and Euan who married at Patshull Hall in Wolverhampton on 2 July. There must be plenty of Patshull Hall wedding photographers based much closer to the venue but we were over the moon when Carole and Dan, Fiona and Euan's friends, recommended us and we had been looking forward to this day for a very long time. Having travelled to Wolverhampton the day before just to be on the safe side, the morning of the wedding we set off early and took a leisurely drive to Patshull Hall estate to take some scene setting shots and some of a very relaxed Euan playing football on the lawn with the guys before we joined Fiona and the girls. The couple had paid a lot of attention to detail and there were lots of lovely little touches, such as the wooden sign pointing to Euan's and Fi's Wedding, the letters spelling out Mr & Mrs Scott on top of the piano in the ceremony room, the collection of family wedding photographs going back generations with the word Love spelt out on the table in front of them and the roses grown and their petals dried for confetti, a true labour of love - just beautiful! The day we met up with Fiona and Euan to look around the venue and discuss their photography was one of those days when it bucketed down with rain for the whole day, never letting up once and we had our fingers well and truly crossed that the weather on their wedding day couldn't possibly be as bad. A text from Fiona the previous day confirmed that the weather forecast was perfect but as wedding photographers all know, bright sunshine isn't always perfect for photographs! Joining Euan and the boys for their formal shots and the sun was blazing down and this continued throughout the ceremony and the group shot session and then it became just a bit cloudy but still very warm and without a hint of a breeze. Now that's what we call perfect wedding photography weather! Following the civil ceremony, confetti and group photos, the bridal party joined us for some action shots which were great fun to capture. Because is was such a lovely day, everyone enjoyed a champagne and cream scone reception on the lawn, soaking up the gorgeous surroundings of Patshull Hall, whilst we nipped off to photograph the newlyweds. We knew in advance that Fiona loves arty pictures and creating some of these for our beautiful bride, we were in our element! Leaving the couple with their guests, we went to photograph the wedding breakfast room which looked spectacular in its mint green and pink colour scheme. After the wedding breakfast was over and the speeches were captured, Fiona was keen to join us again for a short time for photographs in a couple of locations we'd scouted previously before Euan came along for some relaxed, informal pictures outside. The light was now soft and lovely for photographs. The last things to capture were the hog roast, the guests enjoying the evening sunshine, Fiona and Euan's first dance as husband and wife and the live band before we set off on the long drive home. An absolutely amazing day with Mr and Mrs Scott and their families and friends and thank you so much for asking us to capture it. If anyone else is looking for a Patshull Hall wedding photographer, we'd love to go back!

If you were a guest at Fiona and Euan's wedding, please leave them a message - thank you.

Family Portrait Photography West Yorkshire

2011-07-06T07:23:00.000-07:00

Beverley's partner Mark called us recently to book a portrait session for Beverley and her thirteen year old daughter Ellie. Although the ladies admitted to being a bit nervous about their family portrait shoot when they arrived, they soon relaxed and got into the swing of things and they were great to work with. Almost everyone tells us that they hate having their photograph taken and that they are nervous but we do our very best to make sure that our clients have a good time and that the session is relaxed and fun. It's so nice to hear them say that they found the experience of having their photographs taken by us a pleasure and when they come back to view the images and tell us that they love them, it's so satisfying. Beverley loved her images and has ordered a large frame which will have one large and five small photographs in it. These are really popular with clients who can't narrow their selection down to just one image to be framed. They are very eyecatching and are great value for money. We can even show you what yours will look like before we order it so absolutely nothing is left to chance. Mark had told us that Beverley loves black and white photographs and again, you can view your images as colour, black and white and sepia if you wish. The funny thing was, after seeing the images in black and white, Beverley chose all colour!

If you would like to book a professional family portrait session, please call us on 01977 730159

Wedding Photography Leeds | Wedding Photographers Hatfeild Hall | Julie and Lee

2011-06-30T04:12:00.000-07:00

We hadn't worked at the beautiful church of St John the Evangelist, Oulton for ages and then we photographed weddings there twice in less than a week! We were recommended to Julie and Lee by Julie's cousin whose wedding we photographed six years ago and there were a quite a few familiar faces amongst Julie and Lee's guests. It was so nice to catch up with Sue and Mike, Julie's auntie and uncle and her cousin, Nicola again. At lunch time, we arrived at Julie's mum and dad, Sandra and Len's house in Rothwell where we were made very welcome. It was surprisingly quiet for a wedding day, probably because there were no bridesmaids getting ready there and Julie and Lee's daughter, Georgia was being looked after by bridesmaid Karen, along with Karen's little boy, Max. Karen must have had her hands full but it was all quiet and peaceful for the bridal preparations! It was great that Julie was in her dress well before we had to leave for the church and this meant that we could take some pictures of her and dad in the garden. We'd just arrived at St John's church when a Beauford pulled up outside and we were able to get some shots of a very smart Lee with the car before it left to collect Julie. As Leeds wedding photographers, St John's is a favourite wedding venue of ours because it's light and bright and has beautiful architecture and a lovely vicar - Andrew Pearson. A happy and smiling Julie arrived nice and early with her proud dad and following the 4 pm ceremony, Julie joined us for a couple of arty bridal portraits before the guests showered the couple with confetti and everyone left for Hatfeild Hall. Having got the big group shot of around 120 people in the can at the church, we knew we could relax a bit with Julie and Lee, get some photographs of the two of them together and once everyone had arrived, photograph the groups they had asked for. Naturally, one special group shot request was the couple with their gorgeous daughter, Georgia. As is usual with children her age, she had much better things to do than stand around for this, but there are other ways of getting these important pictures! As this was a late wedding, we'd kept our fingers crossed that it wouldn't stay dry all morning only to rain during the afternoon and early evening. As it was, the weather stayed warm and dry, if a bit on the breezy side. As wedding photographers at Hatfeild Hall, we know that there is a lovely backdrop of ruins behind the carpark and this was where we asked the chauffeur to park the car for the first of Julie and Lee's photographs when they arrived at Normanton Golf Club. The couple had decided on an informal reception followed by an evening buffet with the speeches in between. The brief we'd had was that they are a fun couple and wanted some fun shots and in particular, some piggy back shots, so for all those guests who thought the photographers were nuts and had lost the plot, we were only doing what Julie and Lee had asked for! The couple "persuaded" a lot of their guests to take part but we know that some of you stayed firmly glued to your chairs! We had such a great time capturing this. We also knew that the couple had arranged for a very talented young lady called Gemma to sing during the evening party. At only fifteen years old, she has such an incredible voice. The new Mr and Mrs Blackburn were invited onto the dance floor where Gemma sang their first dance song for them. During the speeches, Lee had announced to a delighted Julie that he had a surprise honeymoon in the Lake District booked for them and we hope they are having a great time. Thank you for inviting us to capture your fabulous, fun filled day.

If you were a guest at Julie and Lee's wedding, please leave a comment below - thank you.

Wedding Photography Wentbridge House | Wedding Photographer Leeds | Emily and Gavin

2011-06-24T10:54:00.000-07:00

Emily and Gavin chose a Sunday for their wedding at the beautiful St John's church in Oulton. The weather was typical of a weekend in June - raining! Arriving at Emily's mum, Elaine's house, where the girls were getting ready, we were greeted by Emily who was more than a bit sad that the weather was a let down and she told us that it had been throwing it down since 4 am! Well, we weren't up quite that early! A bit of reassurance that she would still get great pictures regardless of the weather and she did cheer up. We all cheered up a lot more when the rain stopped shortly before we left for church and it didn't appear again for the rest of the day. Emily had apparently bought her wedding dress two and a half years ago and what a stunner it was! She had chosen a very striking hot pink colour scheme and the bridesmaids looked gorgeous in their dresses. What a bonus that they were all dressed before we had to leave so the pictures of them fastening Emily's dress were made all the more special - much nicer than pjs and dressing gowns! We met a slightly nervous Gavin for his photographs before Emily's arrival and as we've known Gavin's family for a long time, it was so nice to catch up with his brother and best man, Ryan, and their mum and dad, Ann and Paul. Emily arrived on time with her proud mum who had the privilege of giving her beautiful daughter away. We love working at St John's church, not just because it's lovely and light inside and makes for great photographs but because the vicar is really accommodating when it comes to allowing us both the photograph the ceremony and we appreciate this a lot as it allows us to do the best job we can for the couple. Following Emily and Gavin's marriage, we completed the group shots really quickly at the church before the couple headed off down the long pathway into a shower of confetti, jumped into their car and set off for Wentbridge House for the reception. As wedding photographers at Wentbridge House we know that it has a beautifully kept lawn but we were concerned that following the heavy rain, it would be soaking wet. Not ideal for ladies wearing high heeled shoes! However, the sun came out as everyone arrived and the guests were able to enjoy a Bucks Fizz drinks reception on the lawn whilst we photographed Emily and Gavin with their car. Returning to the guests, some fun shots with the bridal party were captured along with a handful of photographs of the new Mr and Mrs Ellis before the wedding breakfast and speeches, which included a lovely slideshow of pictures of Emily growing up, put together by her mum who described the day as "Perfect!" Emily and Gavin, we are so happy that the sun came out for you. You really deserve a perfect wedding day. Thank you for choosing us to capture it for you and we hope you like the pictures!

If you were a guest at Emily and Gavin's wedding, please feel free to leave a comment below - thank you.

Baby Photography West Yorkshire | Lexie

2011-06-21T03:01:00.000-07:00

Lexie's mum and dad, Emily and Nick, booked us in the spring to photograph their wedding next summer in Leeds. At the time, Emily was expecting Lexie and we made plans to welcome them for a new baby portrait session as soon as possible after she was born. For some strange reason, this particular day I'd mentioned to Alex that I thought that Emily and Nick's baby should have arrived by now and so I sent the couple a message to ask them if they were proud parents yet. Nick replied very quickly to say that their daughter had arrived the very same day, six days late, mum and baby were doing well, and could he make arrangements to bring her in for her new baby photographs. Usually, babies of a few days old are sleepy and as such, can be molded into some very cute shapes which look fabulous on photographs and for this reason, we recommend them being photographed before ten days old whilst they still have the new baby look. As it was, Lexie, at just six days old, had other ideas and only napped for a couple of minutes at a time! We are really looking forward to capturing her mum and dad's wedding day and to seeing her grow from a tiny baby into a pretty little girl.

Wedding Photography The Priory, Syningthwaite | Wedding Photographer York | Amanda and Matthew

2011-06-14T10:13:00.000-07:00

Saturday, 11 June and two new venues for us - St Mary's church, Great Ouseburn, York and The Priory, Syningthwaite, Wetherby. As York wedding photographers, it was such a pleasure to capture the celebrations as Amanda married Matthew in this pretty village church. The couple actually live in a cottage at The Priory, Syningthwaite which is in an idyllic location surrounded by open countryside and it was when they were looking for a new home that they found not only that, but the perfect venue for their wedding reception. We arrived at the couple's cottage to begin taking photographs of Amanda's dress and accessories whilst Amanda was still at the hairdresser. Having just enough time left before we had to leave for St Mary's to meet Matthew, we got some shots as Amanda's mum, Sue, laced the back of her daughter's dress. Matthew and his best man, Clive were nice and early and after taking their photographs and some of Matthew with his mum, Sandra and sister, Emma, we waited for Amanda's arrival with her dad, Andrew and she too was early, travelling to the church in Matthew's parents' car, chauffeured by his dad, Paul. Following the marriage ceremony, the new Mr and Mrs Webster were greeted by a guard of honour and at almost exactly the moment they exited the church, it started to rain. Amanda had been worried by the weather forecast during the week and admittedly, it hadn't looked good and on the day, it did give us the run around a bit! We decided to start the group photographs with parents inside the church and had just got set up when Andrew reported that the rain had stopped. Back outside on the lovely lawn between the church and the vicarage and we had hopes of getting all the group photographs done there as it is such a pretty location, but with just one group shot in the can, the rain started again. We suggested that everyone travel to Syningthwaite Priory and we hoped that in the meantime, the rain would clear. It did - about a minute later allowing us to get some fab confetti shots before we left for the reception venue and although it was windy all day, the rain didn't make another appearance and Amanda's beautiful smile never left her face. Once Amanda and Matthew arrived, we flew through the group photographs they'd asked for, leaving plenty of time to get some beautiful bridal portraits, couple shots and fun pictures with the girls before dinner. Amanda and Matthew had decided that a first dance wasn't for them, so they enjoyed a bit of relaxed time out after the wedding breakfast having some romantic photographs taken. They were a joy to work with and what fantastic families and friends they have. It was a privilege to share their special day and wedding days like this, surrounded by such great people, remind us why we love our job so much.

If you were a guest at Amanda and Matthew's wedding, please feel free to leave a comment below - thank you.

New Baby Photographer West Yorkshire | Daisy

2011-06-09T06:52:00.000-07:00

It's only a few short weeks since we welcomed Kate and Lee to the studio for Kate's maternity photo shoot and it was fantastic when we got a message from Lee to tell us that he was now the proud dad of a beautiful baby daughter named Daisy. Kate and Lee are having a magazine style bump to baby book designed by us, but this will be after the third portrait session when Daisy is around six months old and sitting. As professional baby photographers in West Yorkshire, we know the time will fly by! It was lovely to see how proud Kate and Lee are of their daughter and what amazing parents they are. For this, the new baby portrait session, it's vital that it's done as early as possible and ideally before the baby is ten days' old, after which time they are beginning to lose the new baby look and they don't tend to sleep quite as much. Kate and Lee knew the timing was important and brought their baby along when she was just six days' old. Daisy's new baby photography session was perfect and we got as close to a perfect new baby portrait as you could possibly wish for. It takes a long time, a lot of patience, frequent breaks for feeds, being changed, lots of cuddles and rocking to sleep and a very warm studio. The reward for this is an image like the one below. Simply stunning. You wouldn't get this in a high street department store!

A new baby portrait session with no time limit costs justs £35 - an absolute bargain! And if we were your wedding photographers, you get the session with our compliments or we will deduct £100 from the usual price of our bump to baby album package. Call us on 01977 730159 for more information.

Horse Photography Yorkshire | Bridal Photo Shoot West Yorkshire | Helen and Henry

2011-06-07T09:22:00.000-07:00

As professional photographers in Yorkshire, we love having the opportunity to photograph something different and we recently had a really enjoyable and interesting photo shoot with Helen, whose wedding to Paul we photographed last September. The couple married in Sherburn in Elmet before celebrating at Steeton Hall, the beautiful home of Helen's mum and step-dad. For this shoot, Paul was excluded and Helen was, instead, accompanied by a tall, dark and handsome guy called Henry. We'd had the shoot planned for some time and as is often the case when you do this, the weather decided to give us a run for our money with persistant rain forecast for most of the day, so we had no choice but to play things by ear and keep arrangements for the shoot on standby until the last minute. Helen, to her credit, decided that she really wanted the shoot to go ahead and wasn't going to let the rain spoil things, so we set off for Steeton Hall, were warmly welcomed by Alison and Chris, had a cuppa whilst Helen got into her wedding dress and then braved the rain to go and meet Henry. Now we'd heard about Henry and his temperament previously and knew that he is sharp, doesn't miss a trick and is quite easily startled, so we made friends with him and tested our off camera flash to see what his reaction would be. He also hates being cold and this particular day wasn't exactly warm! No problems and no objections, however, so we were good to go. Helen and her mum are both experienced horsewomen and Alison's assistance in handling Henry during the shoot was invaluable. When Henry had decided that enough was enough, Alison returned him to his stable and brought out Bugsy, so called because he has big ears! Bugsy belongs to a friend of Helen's and is being stabled at Steeton Hall so he also had his turn in front of the camera. We are delighted with the results in spite of the rain and here are a few images from the session including some which made Helen and her mum's final selection. A stunning horse, a beautiful bride and a lovely location.

Wedding Photographer Castleford | Zoe and Rob's Wedding Photography St Andrew's Church, Ferrybridge & The Kyte Hotel

2011-06-06T01:39:00.000-07:00

One of the most popular days of the year for weddings - the Saturday of the spring bank holiday weekend - and the weather you tend to expect on bank holidays! However, the drizzle we woke up to and drove through to Zoe's parents' house had stopped well before we left to meet the guys so we were very happy. Zoe was being pampered when we arrived so we started capturing the detail shots of flowers, dress, shoes and perfume. Her dress was an absolute stunner - red because Zoe said that white and ivory weren't her colours. We met up with Rob and his attendants at Ferrybridge WMC for some relaxed pictures featuring pints of lager before leaving for St Andrew's church. As Castleford wedding photographers,we like working at St Andrew's because the resident vicar is a pleasure to work with. He has a great sense of humour, makes sure everyone enjoys the ceremony, allows photographs to be taken without a problem and he even went as far as helping us organise a big group shot of everyone inside the church. What a lovely man he is. After Zoe and Rob tied the knot, we took a few group pictures at the church door and the confetti throwing at the gate before everyone left for the Kyte Hotel in Darrington. We were glad it had stopped raining but it was windy, so after getting some pictures of Zoe and Rob with their car, we got them tucked under a big tree in the grounds to give them a bit of shelter and to be able get Zoe's beautiful dress arranged as it should be without the wind blowing the train everywhere. Between wedding breakfast courses, we did borrow Zoe for a couple of minutes to get a photograph she wanted in front of the huge mirror in the Kyte Hotel reception. After dinner, to took the bridal party out for some fun shots on the road (we did watch out for the traffic!) and afterwards spent a few minutes with the new Mr and Mrs Jeffery in a nearby wheat field, getting some relaxed, romantic pictures. Zoe and Rob had been having dance lessons so everyone was treated to an impressive first dance routine from them before the guests let their hair down on the dance floor. We really appreciate Zoe and Rob choosing us to capture their special day.

Engagement Portrait Photography West Yorkshire | Alison and Mark

2011-05-22T09:50:00.000-07:00

Alison and Mark opted for a studio engagement portrait session ahead of their wedding at Nostell Priory in July. One thing about taking pre-wedding photographs in the studio is it doesn't matter what the weather's doing outside! We spent some time working through some different ideas starting with the more classical style portrait and ending the session with a few shots in a contemporary and relaxed style. The second image is the one Alison and Mark chose. This will be printed and after their wedding, framed with a signature mount which their guests will sign. A lovely alternative to a guest book, a wedding pre-shoot and signature mount or signing board as they are sometimes called, is becoming very popular with couples and the pre-wedding shoot helps them to relax in front of the camera and have some fun. Alison and Mark love our signature style artistic photographs and we can't wait to share their big day!

Engagement Portraits Yorkshire | Amanda and Matthew

2011-05-19T08:40:00.000-07:00

We recently met up with Amanda and Matthew to chat about their plans for their big day and their ideas for their photography. They will marry in Great Ouseburn, York and celebrate afterwards at Syningthwaite Priory near Wetherby, both new venues for us. It was lovely to meet the couple and check out both the church and their fabulous reception venue which is surrounded by open countryside - exactly what Amanda and Matthew were looking for as they both come from a farming background. It was very, very windy on the day (is it really May?) but this didn't put the couple off having some photographs taken together. As engagement photographers in Yorkshire, we know that a wedding pre-shoot is a great way to get to know each other better, explain how to pose but still look relaxed and just have some fun. We all really enjoyed ourselves and we look forward to this amazing couple's wedding day in June.

Artistic Bridal Photography Yorkshire - Lisa

2011-05-12T03:01:00.000-07:00

Another of our favourite bridal portraits of beautiful Lisa. As contemporary wedding photographers in Yorkshire our passion is capturing the story of a couple's big day with a mix of timeless classical, reportage and fun styles but also creating artistic wedding images which are bit different; something with a fashion feel to them. If there isn't time for bridal photographs like this on your wedding day but it's something you would love, you really can wear your wedding dress again. Call us on 01977 730159.

Wentbridge House Wedding Photographer - Thank You

2011-05-07T06:15:00.000-07:00

The thick snow and freezing temperatures on Chloe and Sam's wedding day on 4 December last year are hard to imagine with the beautiful, warm and sunny weather we've been enjoying during April but it was so nice to receive a note from Chloe's mum recently.

"The photos are absolutely superb and we were spoilt for choice. Thank you for making the day so very special for us all."

If you are looking for a Wentbridge House wedding photographer, please call us on 01977 730159.