Woodlands Hotel, Leeds

The last couple of weeks have taken us around North, South and West Yorkshire with weddings at The Woodlands Hotel in Leeds, Carlton Towers near Selby, Rogerthorpe Manor near Pontefract after a ceremony in Doncaster and a new venue for us, Swinton Park near Masham. Hayley and Will had a civil ceremony at the Woodlands Hotel. We have been at the Woodlands many times for video coverage but this was the first time that we had been booked for the photography there. Fortunately the sun shined on the happy couple and for the second week in a row we had the pleasure of the company of Matt Stacey on saxaphone. Here are some of Will and Hayley's photographs.

A Day Out in East Yorkshire

This week I took a day off and spent a day on a picturesque farm in East Yorkshire, which is quite a change from the likes of Waterton Park and Oulton Hall etc.! The reason for my trip was a training day with John Denton, a photographer whose work I really admire. I love these training days, as working with talented fellow photographers and a great model allows me to try new ideas and to learn new poses which I can then incorporate into my wedding and lifestyle photography and hopefully keep it fresh and edgy.

Waterton Park Wedding

You know that you are well and truly into the wedding season with four weddings in a row! One reason for this is that the schools have broken up for the summer and the teachers are making the most of this holiday to get married and go away on honeymoon! So our first wedding was two science teachers and the chemistry between them was obvious. Nic and Melissa had a civil ceremony at Waterton Park, one of our regular venues. Although we have been filming weddings there for over 16 years, I managed to find a new spot for some photographs. I love to try and find somewhere new everytime I return to a venue as a personal challenge, to avoid the possibility of doing the same shots every time. The busy schedule then took us to Bagden Hall and Nostell Priory, before finishing at Thorpe Park Hotel in Leeds. A busy time but with four great couples it flew by. These are some of the photos from Melissa and Nic's wedding at Waterton.

Oulton Hall

Back to Oulton Hall on Saturday for the wedding of Danielle and Chris. I had photographed them a few weeks ago for their signing photo and we had a great time doing that, so I knew that the wedding was going to be even better! Danielle had arranged a Corvette as a surprise for Chris, so I was under strict instructions to get that when Chris arrived at Oulton Hall. After the ceremony in the Repton Suite Danielle and Chris went for a little drive in the Beauford that they had hired from Rolls Hire. I have worked with these guys many times in the past and they are great. Richard, their driver, suggested that he pull off onto an open grassed area and we got some great shots there, particularly a reflection shot that Danielle had said that she wanted. We then got to work on the groups shots and finished with 30 minutes to spare, allowing Danielle and Chris to relax and enjoy the day whilst being entertained by Matt Stacey on Saxaphone. Matt is one of the Oulton Hall regulars and always goes down well. Danielle and Chris are a really fun couple - just look at the cigar shot. We rounded off the photography and video coverage with the releasing of some lanterns which just looked great with their vivid yellow colour against the dark blue night sky - a perfect end to a perfect day!