Following on from today’s studio session, I went out to meet Debbie & Phil for a pre-wedding meeting ahead of their Oulton Hall wedding next week. My current work schedule over the past few months has meant that all my pre-wedding shoots have been cutting it fine to say the least! The weather was superb with some low evening sunshine and definitely an autimn nip in the air too - if we get an evening like this next Friday on their big day I will be a happy chappy indeed! These two claim to have been together for 13 years and hardly a photo to show for it so we made a start this evening by shooting around the museum gardens at Kirkstall and I can’t wait to shoot them in the grandeur of Oulton Hall :¬)

To book me for your Oulton Hall wedding or any other venue, call 01924 229800 or visit the wedding pages for more details.

Chris and Amy vacated south Wales, where they currently live, to head north to Yorkshire to visit Amy’s parents for the weekend. As we’ve all got some busy weekends ahead of us before their big day at Nostell Priory in August, we decided to meet up for a pre-wedding photo-fest while we had time. The rendezvous was a car park at a local woodland from where we headed along the pathway to an open glade that I really like. The tree canopy gave us some lovely open shade away from the bright sunshine and its really hard to beat open shade for photos, especially if you can soften the shadows with a bit of subtle fill. These two guys were not phased by the camera and we got some cracking relaxed portraits of them and I have high hopes of repeating it on August 21st at Nostell Priory. I just hope today’s weather can repeat itself too :¬)

If you’d like to book me your wedding call 01924 229800 or visit the website for more details.

Only a week after the pre-wedding shoot I was back with David and Emma for their big day at Oakwood Hall, Bingley - a new venue for me. The couple were married on a glorious summer day at St Mary’s church, Gomersall before heading off in a vintage Buick to Oakwood Hall via Baildon Moor and some spectacular scenery. Oakwood was a great place to shoot and its dark, oak panelled interior really appealed to me as I love doing the atmospheric low key flash shots after the wedding breakfast but the grounds are really good too. All in all, plenty of photo opportunities for the creative photographer and I hope I can get another gig there soon. David and Emma were both up for the shoot and really got into the interior shots in the evening. A few shots here for now but maybe more to come, though its another busy weekend with two weddings under the belt already and two pre-wedding shoots still to come!

If you want to book me for your Oakwood Hall wedding or indeed any wedding, just call on 01924 229800 or go to the wedding pages.

The Bridge Inn proved to be a real sun trap today. Despite the original forecast earlier in the week for heavy rain, it was a real scorcher for Rachel & Stephen’s wedding and the guests enjoyed a great day in the summer sunshine from arrival to the BBQ in the evening. Having done a pre-wedding shoot with Westy & Rachel earlier in the week, I knew we would come up with some great images although at times it was a panic as timings were very tight particularly for the bridal preparations. Another photographer once said to me the Bridge Inn was a difficult venue as there’s not much scope for photography. For the less experienced shooter this may be the case, though I think we managed admirably and here are a few images to prove it

To book me for your wedding, just call on 01924 229800 to book an appointment to see some work or just visit the wedding pages for more details.

It was great to see former work colleagues Rachel and Westy again as its been a while since we spoke - Westy was one of my team members back in the dark, dismal days of a regular IT job - and today we did a last minute meet up ahead of Friday’s big day at The Bridge Inn, Wetherby. After chatting about life at the old office and then going through the schedule of the wedding, we had a bit of a shoot-out in the formal gardens I used for a pre-wedding only last week;  told you I’d be back there soon! Turns out they are only a few mins drive from where Westy & Rachel live in any case. The harsh sun was a bit of a problem but according to the forecast, its one problem I won’t have on the day :¬\

Lots of shots to go at but as always a few teasers below. Watch out for the images from their big day on the blog at the weekend!

Yet another cutting it fine pre-wedding shoot! David and Emma are getting married this coming Saturday at St Mary’s Church, Gomersall and then on to Oakwood Hall, Bingley. Oakwood is a new venue for me so I’m looking forward to shooting there and I’m keeping my fingers crossed about the weather - the long range forecast doesn’t look brilliant :¬\ Although Oakwood will be a new venue for me, David and Emma are familiar faces as we had a baby bump shoot together almost 6 months ago now! Scary where the time has gone really and their wedding day has just flown round. I’m really looking forward to their wedding because I go on holiday two days after and I soooo need a break right now!

Kelly & Matt get married in late August at St Paul’s church, Hanging Heaton before heading on to Gomersall Park Hotel for their reception but tonight we were in Rectory Park, Thornhill for a pre-wedding planning meet and also a bit of a pre-wedding shoot. We should have met last night but an almighty thunder storm put paid to that and, for a brief moment, I thought we were going to get it again tonight! However, the clouds parted briefly giving us some lovely storm light and so I dusted off the old nifty fifty to shoot directly into the sun for some added flare and softening of the images. My old Nikkor 50mm 1.8 gets flare at the best of time, so pointing it anywhere near the sun just sent it into oblivion as far as flare goes but I’ve put a few here as I do like the softness that was created.

Met up with Lisa and Steven at Kirkstall Abbey today for a pre-wedding meeting and a bit of a shoot. It’s less than a week to their wedding at the Holiday Inn at Tong near Guildersome so I was cutting it fine! We used the museum gardens for the shoot as Kirkstall Abbey looked to be crawling with folks due to the summer weather. The gardens, however, were really good and I suspect I’ll be doing a few more shoots there and it was devoid of people so no-one to bother us. Although it was a hot one today, its looking a little more unsettled for Lisa & Steve’s big day on Friday but I still think we’re going to end up with some great images!

I met up with Kristian & Rachel at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park today to go through their wedding plans in readiness for their big day at Cragrats Brasserie early next month. I chose YSP as it was about mid-way for both of us, but I hadn’t reckoned on the over zealous jobworths who objected to our using the sculptures as props in the photoshoot! After a little reasoning with them they allowed us to move to a quieter part of the park and left us to get on with it. Sheesh! After the shoot we went up to Cragrats to scout the venue and I have to say it was just as I remembered it and I reckon it will be a real cool place to shoot - very different from the usual venues and very much a boutique wedding. Oh, and the fillet steak I had for lunch was pretty good too :¬)

To learn more about my wedding photography and join me in getting thrown out of the Yorkshire Sculpture Park during pre-wedding shoots, go to the wedding pages on the main website.

What is it with me and pre-wedding shoots?! After a glorious spell of summer evenings, the clouds gathered, temperatures dropped and the wind got up for the pre-wedding shoot of Jonathan and Julie at Bretton Country Park. However, undeterred we went ahead with the shoot and both of them seemed at ease with the camera, meaning we got some great images of them. I’ve already done the edits and quickly processed up a few of my favourites for the blog and I’m looking forward to shooting their wedding at Waterton Park next month.

Don’t forget, all my wedding packages include a complimentary pre-wedding shoot. If you’d like to know more, just go to the wedding pages over on the main website or ring 01924 229800 for a chat.