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

       

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

       
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

   

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

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

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

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.