Not really what some might call a pre-wedding photo-shoot and not a proper/full Location shoot either, but rather what we managed to cobble together based on weather, aborted previous attempts and timescale.
I think we did OK in the end out of the murky/wet grey June day and Sophie’s Dad’s tiny alpine themed shed!
So below, some highlights from Sophie & Ollie’s Location Photo Shoot
“Thank you soooooo much for being such a fantastic photographer for our wedding day – we really appreciate all your time and effort throughout the day (even up until the jazz in the cellar bar!!) and you were a great person to have around which made a big difference to the feel of the day and making us both feel comfortable so – BIG THANK YOU!
We whisked straight off from UK on honeymoon and having a fab time so far – we have just had a look at your website and the photos you have put up look really fantastic! We love all the highlights you have selected to put on and think there is a great combination of pics to tell the whole story of our day. I like the little touches like the gold leaf in my shoe and the bride & groom theme which I’m really pleased about as it makes it individual to us”. Amy & Adam
So the forecast said to expect a wet day, especially early on, but once again, it didn’t happen that way at all with only one brief (albeit heavy) shower during the meal.
Amy & Adam are both British, but live in Sydney Australia, so organising a wedding half way round the world was never going to be the easiest thing, but pull it off indeed they did.
Amy wore Maria Chioda, a dress designer from Australia and had her hair done by LA Hair, Yarm and make up by Kate Pymm.
Wedding transport was a pair of cars, a Rolls and an Austin Princess courtesy of GW Holmes, plus a vintage bus for the guests.
Floristry was by Diana Kaye of Yarm and the ceremony was conducted by The Rev. John Chambers at St. Mary The Virgin, Richmond.
(That’s Richmond North Yorkshire, not Richmond Surrey. Or Virginia).
During the drinks reception at Middleton Lodge, Emma White played piano.
Amy & Adam’s cake was supplied by The Cake Room Ltd and two bands provided entertainment late into the night, – Beat Street International in the marquee until midnight and then Frankly Jazz in the Cellar Bar until the early hours of the morning.
A great wedding, superb venue and super couple!
I loved Ali & George’s wedding more than anything because it’s another in a very special sequence of connected family and friends weddings.
I can’t remember where it (this chain of great weddings) exactly started, but if memory serves, it was with an ex Harrogate Ladies College wedding which lead to another and then another and then Caroline, sister of Ali (the bride) a few years ago.
That lead on to Caroline & Ali’s cousin Lizzie’s wedding.
Also, Laura & Alex at Ripley Castle, Ellie & George’s marquee wedding and then next month, Clemmie & Alex at Ripon Cathedral & Swinton Park.
So the day started out a little cold and very flat light wise, but at least dry. It was April after all.
It did pick up later, with some beautiful Spring sunshine, but not until later in the drinks reception, though in time for the B&G session within the ruins of the abbey.
The church, St Mary & Arkelda in Middleham is the third ‘Tennant Girls’ wedding I have covered there and it’s a lovely church to photograph at.
The reception itself took place in two marquees set by the ruined remains at Jervaulx Abbey which itself was spectacularly lit as day turned into evening.
A few other bits and bobs and name checks are:
Ali wore Pronovias sourced from the Bridal Rogue Gallery in York.
The wedding car was a yellow & black vintage Rolls, but I’m not sure by who.
Ali’s mum Lesley once more was responsible for the majority of the flowers as she was for Caroline’s wedding.
Marquee was by CJ Marquees and catering by Yorkshire Party with lighting and evening sounds by AV Matrix.
Full gallery with print ordering option available to view now that Ali & George are back from honeymoon in Africa.
Wedding Flowers, an interview with Kirstie North at ‘Where Angels Play‘ by Simon Mark Whitten.
The above gallery is a small selection of images from a recent Swinton Park wedding that both Kirstie and I covered.
I first met Kirstie many years ago. I can’t remember how many, but it must have been 10+?
It was at a wedding of course, – she is a florist after all (and one of the finest in Yorkshire) and we are photographers of course!
Since that time, our paths have crossed (at weddings naturally!) many times and Kirstie remains one of our favourite and recommended florists for weddings in the region.
So welcome Kirstie to the first of this series of interviews that I will be presenting throughout the year (including; wedding planners, venues, car companies, bands, musicians, cake makers…).
I should have got a picture of Kirstie at the last wedding we were at but of course as always, I’m photographing the work rather than the creator. Note to self for next time…
Anyway, on with the interview!
Why is there only one picture above and no wedding pictures from a single Portmeirion wedding?
Well, to be honest, it’s because we haven’t covered one at the venue…yet…and this post details a special offer in this regard…so bear with me for a minute, – it’s a good one!!
First of all, a brief bit of background…
I have been a full-time specialist wedding photographer for over 13 years and during that time have captured over 500 wedding days throughout the UK and beyond including;
country houses in England, marquees in Wales, castles in Scotland, plus weddings in Ireland, France, Italy, Greece, USA, Mexico, China, Australia and New Zealand.
So it’s not like I’m trying to build a portfolio or gain experience, – even a quick glance around this site will confirm that.
No, instead, I’m looking for a bit of inspiration…
Every year, we cover a maximum of 30 weddings throughout the UK and abroad, – mostly 3-5 weddings in France (we have another site for that here), many marquee weddings (we cover a lot of these, – see here) and many many weddings at a number of great venues that we have built up a good reputation with, leading to more of the same.
So in this day and age of Google, how easy is it to get a booking for a new venue?
Hard, – very hard and that first nut is the hardest to crack, hence why this post that you have found exists, titled ‘Portmeirion Wedding Photography’, almost certainly what you typed into a search engine to find us.
So why Portmeirion specifically and what’s the offer?
I have visited the place on a couple of occasions and being something of a sad man, have the boxed set of the original Patrick McGoohan TV series ‘The Prisoner‘. “I am not a number, I am a free man!!” (Sorry, getting a bit carried away there…)
In short I love the place and how often do enquiries for the place come up?
They never do and there’s nothing odd about that, – the venue undoubtedly has a list of ‘recommended photographers’ and others have picked up a wedding or two so have some solid material to blog and be found.
I don’t, hence this.
We have no intention of ‘muscling’ in on any recommended list, simply Portmeirion is a box I’d personally like to tick in my career for no other reason than I’d love to shoot a wedding there.
The offer is a simple one, – a straight £500 off any of our package prices and no excess travel fees.
Any catches?
None, but if you’d like a ‘caveat’ it would be we’re looking for a client who loves our work first and foremost and the discount is just a bonus.
The wedding should be ideally May-Sep for the weather, but otherwise nothing really other than our normal T&C’s.
That’s it, – if you’d like to have a zero-obligation chat, either complete the contact form, or give us a call.
Without question, my number one place in the world to shoot a wedding would be Rajasthan.
Would be being the operative words, – I have not yet had that pleasure despite having covered in excess of over 500 weddings throughout the world and over 4 continents including;
hotel weddings in Ireland, French chateau weddings on a regular basis (average 2-3 every year and many examples can be viewed on our Weddings in France website), hilltop weddings in both Italy and Greece, beach weddings in Mexico and Australia, a converted mill in New Zealand and the Waldorf Astoria in New York. But not yet Rajasthan…!!
I first fell in love with India and Rajasthan especially in the mid 1990’s when I spent a number of months backpacking around Northern India and Nepal and without questions, I was most inspired by the tranquil desert beauty of Rajasthan. At the time, I was not a wedding photographer, – not even a photographer other than an amateur so have few pictures to remember the trip with.
So I’m looking to return to the country and region for a couple of weeks travel and photography and during that time would like to provide Rajasthan Wedding Photography to a couple getting married there on the following basis:
I shoot 30 weddings a year every year and whilst mot wealthy by any means, can afford to ‘invest’ a little in projects that personally interest me, ie, any financial consideration is not of primary importance.
So I can’t do it for free, but what I can offer is 3 full days of my time, experience and passion in regard to your Rajasthan Wedding Photography at our normal rates, but ZERO travel fees.
My plan is a simple one, – to book 2 weeks in the region based around 3 full days to cover your wedding somewhere in the middle. That’s it, simple.
Interested? Then why not make contact to find out a bit more about me and for me to find out a bit more about you.
The first thing you might notice is this pretty picture with the stunning Burgh Island Hotel, but not exactly a whole lot of wedding photography.
Well actually no Burgh Island Wedding Photography at all. Yet…
The thing is, we haven’t worked there yet, but please read on as the purpose of this post is to detail a very special offer!
I have been a full-time wedding photographer for over 13 years and in that time have covered closing on 600 wedding days.
I’ve been to some pretty special places in the UK and especially abroad including French chateaux every year (see our Weddings in France site here) plus; hotels in Cork & Killarney, Ireland, a hilltop village in Tuscany, a taverna on the island of Rhodes, The Waldorf Astoria in New York, on the beach in both Mexico and Perth, Western Australia, a 5 star golf resort in China and a converted mill in New Zealand.
So we’ve been around! In the UK, we’ve covered weddings in country houses in England, marquees in Wales and castles in Scotland and are recommended by and regularly work at several really special venues, – in some cases over 30 times each.
But what we love most of all, are new adventures and venues and as such have targeted a small number of very specific venues both in the UK and abroad that we’d like to cover a wedding at purely because it would inspire me personally to do so.
Burgh Island is one such place. I first saw it in a Peter Suchet episode of Poirot and immediately thought, “I’d like to shoot a wedding there!”.
However, unless as a photographer you are already on a recommended list or happen to get lucky by getting a booking at such a venue, the chance of being found is exceedingly remote.
So if you are reading as a photographer who is already an officially recommended photographer, don’t worry, there’s no intention on our part to oust you, – we’d simply like to cover a wedding at Burgh Island and tick that ‘career box’.
Finally, to conclude, the offer is a simple one:
£500 flat incentive off our standard rates and zero travel fees for the first couple to book us with a Burgh Island wedding that falls between May-Sep.
“Simon, I’m looking at these pictures in total amazement.
I’ve met many photographers on my travels and I can honestly say none of them have come anywhere near to what you have manged to do, – so bloody creative.
Thank you so much for this, I’m a very happy man!”
Dominic Halpin
I first met Dominic (Dominic & The Honeybees) a couple of months ago at a wedding and then a few weeks ago…and then the phone rang last week…
“Simon, it’s Dominic, – I’ve just come back from recording a new album in Nashville and want you to shoot the album cover, – can you do it?”
So I did, yesterday!
Photographed on location at ‘Classic Jukeboxes’, Sound Leisure, Leeds.
“Thank you so much for sending these through and for all your hard work – we had such a fabulous wedding day and we are so grateful to have had you as our photographer!”
Jenny & James
Who: Jenny & James
Where: Chateau de Lisse, Lot et Garonne, France
When: 15th September
Weather: Mix of sunny and grey/dull spells
I love road-trip weddings…except in this case it was more of a plane-flight job with a very early Manchester airport to Toulouse on the Friday.
This allows me to indulge one of my hobbies, – window shopping for watches I cannot afford and will never own, in airport terminals.
It’s a great way to pass 30 minutes or so.
Jenny & James’s wedding then…
Coming from Australia, I hadn’t met Jen & James prior to their wedding, at least not until the day prior when I joined them for their wedding rehearsal with local lad, Father William.
That is local to me in Yorkshire as rather than being a Frenchman, Father William is from Middlesborough.
We then spent a little time on a pre-wedding photo-shoot around the grounds of Chateau de Lisse, a venue I have visited before.
The results of that mini photo-shoot can be viewed by clicking the link, in this journal entry.
The wedding day itself looked promising weather-wise with gorgeous sunshine and blue skies one side of the road…and thick cloud on the other.
Literally, – the road was a divider for about 5 minutes, so I blasted out some shots of the venue before the cloud bank rolled in.
It did clear itself nicely for the drinks reception and never got ‘hot’ (at least not for the Aussies, but I thought it pleasantly warm).
It all went beautifully from there with a small/intimate drinks reception followed by a really tasty meal prepared by Soren the chef.
Below is the slideshow production from Jen & James’s wedding which is slightly quicker to view than the pics above and has the bonus of a soundtrack.
Click here for Jenny & James’s full gallery.
(Password may be required)
What exactly is a Photofilm?
Essentially, it’s ‘more’ than a slideshow, but ‘less’ than a wedding video, – a hybrid of the two almost, taking the visuals from photography and the audio from…well, the audio!
The examples below are all 2013 Photofilms from a variety of weddings and venues except for the last one, – the ‘daddy’ of them all made a few years previously.
The best way to really describe one is to say, watch one!
Emma & Ben’s Photofilm (civil ceremony & chapel blessing at Rudding Park)
Catherine & Adam’s Photofilm (church & marquee reception)
Dionne & Sameer’s Photofilm (church wedding & Rudding Park)
Sarah & Harry’s Photofilm (church wedding & Swinton Park)
Milly & Harry’s Photofilm (the ‘daddy’ of them all, – an oldie but a goldie!)