Cheshire wedding photographer | Manchester wedding photography

Emma and Mark’s pre-wedding shoot

admin — Thu, 10 May 2012 14:56:57 +0000

This coming Saturday I’ll be photographing Emma and Mark’s wedding, first the ceremony at St Peter’s Church in Prestbury, then at Capesthorne Hall for the reception and wedding breakfast.

We’ve been in contact quite a bit in the past few weeks, discussing plans and details for the big day (including some unique touches, which I can’t wait to photograph!). A few weeks ago we also met at my studio for a pre-wedding shoot. Here are a few shots from that day.

Please feel free to leave a comment.

Anna and Matt’s pre-wedding shoot

admin — Wed, 02 May 2012 12:16:45 +0000

I met Anna and Matt last year, when they asked me to photograph their forthcoming wedding at Holy Angels Church in Hale Barns and the Stanneylands Hotel in Wilmslow.

We’ve been in touch quite a bit in the past few weeks, planning the wedding photography for their big day this coming Saturday. Part of our preparations included meeting up a couple of weeks ago for their pre-wedding shoot. They visited me at my Arley Hall studio, and we were lucky enough to have a warm day to wander around the grounds, making portraits and talking about the wedding.

Here are a few shots from the engagement session.

Roll on the big day!

Lace Bridal and Vale Royal Abbey: a bridal shoot (Part 2)

admin — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 09:00:21 +0000

This post should really be titled ‘Reasons to be Cheerful: Part 3′ (Ian Dury fans will forgive me for using his words) even though this is Part 2 (not 3) of the post.

As I said in Part 1, when I was asked to photograph this new gown at a bridal shoot with Katie and Leslie of Lace Bridal in Hale, styled by Catherine Bobby and modelled by Sarah Jayne Dunn, I was happy to pack the kit and get to Vale Royal Abbey for the shoot.

I knew that the photographs would be great but what really struck me was how much fun it was to work with a team of women who had high standards and clear ideas about what they wanted to achieve and how they were going to go about it. My part-time assistant (who happens to be my full-time wife) wasn’t able to be there to join the creative process, about which she was gutted, but it was fantastic to work with such talented, hard working, funny, and (dare I say it, Katie?) strong-willed, women, to create photographs capturing an elegant, timeless British bridal style.

Here are some of my favourite images from the day.

So, what do you think – did we achieve what we set out to do?

Lace Bridal and Vale Royal Abbey: a bridal shoot (Part 1)

admin — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 07:31:12 +0000

Wedding photography shouldn’t be just about “the frock and the rock” but as a wedding photographer I do get to photograph all sorts of wedding dresses. And over the years I’ve photographed several lovely brides wearing wedding gowns supplied by Katie and Leslie at Lace Bridal in Hale. If you haven’t met them yet and you’re looking for your wedding dress, go and talk to them – they stock the most beautiful gowns and pride themselves on providing the best ever service to their brides.

So, when Katie and Leslie asked me to take some photographs of one of their new season’s gowns, ’Neverland’ by Beverly Lister, at the Vale Royal Abbey, near Northwich in Cheshire, I was happy to help.

Our model for the day was the actress Sarah Jayne Dunn, well known from her time on ‘Hollyoaks’ as well as her other film, TV and theatre work.

The final member of the team was make up artist Catherine Bobby. While Catherine was busy at the start of the morning doing Sarah’s hair and make up, I took a few photographs of the Abbey. Here are some of the photographs of the preparations for the shoot.

See the next post for some photographs from the shoot!

Lucy and Oliver’s wedding at Davenport Green Hall – a preview

admin — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 11:08:03 +0000

I’ve already blogged about Lucy and Oliver, talking about how they braved the ice and snow to visit my studio for their pre-wedding shoot back in early February. The images we got that day were pretty special, so I was really looking forward to seeing what we would come up with on the actual wedding day at Davenport Green Hall.

Here’s a taster of what went on.

A full blog post will follow soon.

Peckforton Castle wedding of Jennifer and Mike

admin — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 10:30:33 +0000

More than a year ago, Jennifer and Mike booked me to photograph their wedding at Peckforton Castle which took place on 3rd March, and for more than a year I knew it was going to be a great day!

Jennifer and Mike knew that we might get all seasons in one day (to quote Crowded House, for those old enough to get the musical reference…), and we did, but nothing was going to dampen their spirits or get in the way of everyone having a wonderful day. When we met in early January for their pre-wedding shoot we talked about the marriage ceremony, the blessing in the chapel, the reception and the sort of wedding photography they wanted, which was a mixture of informal and documentary wedding photography and some more formal wedding portraits making the most of the castle setting.

Here are some images from the day.

Big thanks go to Jennifer and Mike for asking me to be their wedding photographer: we had a ball! Congratulations to both of you, with best wishes for a long and happy marriage.

Well deserved mentions and thanks also go to Tranquility Spa, who did all the bridal party’s hair and make-up and to Black Cat Floral Design for the beautiful flowers and venue dressing.

Please fee free to leave a comment on the photos.

Bridal shoot at Vale Royal Abbey – preview

admin — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 07:46:04 +0000

Here’s one image from a recent bridal shoot I did at Vale Royal Abbey. The shoot was a collaboration with my good friends Katie and Lesley who own Lace Bridal in Hale, the make up artist Catherine Bobby, and the actress Sarah Jayne Dunn who was kind enough to model for us.

A full post of more images will follow soon.

Jennifer and Mike’s wedding at Peckforton Castle – one image

admin — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 10:20:30 +0000

At the beginning of March I was back at Peckforton Castle to photograph Jennifer and Mike’s wedding. Here’s just one image, one of the last I took on the day, of their first dance in the Great Hall.

A full post from the wedding will follow shortly.

Marie and Steve’s wedding at Arley Hall – the influence of the weather on wedding photography

admin — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 15:41:35 +0000

You probably thought this was going to be a post about rain. It isn’t.

In the past few weeks I’ve been booked to shoot several weddings in the final months of 2012. One of the topics of conversation that crops up a lot with people who come to me to discuss their wedding photography is the subject of the weather. People who are marrying in early spring or late autumn sometimes get worried about the weather spoiling their big day. Well, I’ve a message for you – don’t worry. Instead, think of the opportunities that the weather can bring – adding a little drama to your wedding photographs.

Professional wedding photographers know that changes in the weather mean changes in the light, which is daunting for amateur photographers but adds interest and variation to the images a professional can create.

Marie and Steve were married at Arley Hall, where my studio is, last autumn. The weather that day decided to do a little bit of everything: early in the morning there was some rain, which quickly cleared, so that by lunchtime there were blue skies, white clouds and a lot of sunshine.

As a wedding photographer I have to work quickly: Marie and Steve wanted photos inside the hall and photos outside in the gardens, weather and time permitting. Here are some of the wedding photographs, under clouds, in the sunshine and after dark.

Big thanks to Marie and Steve for asking me to photograph their wedding for them. Also to the staff at Arley Hall and RW Bespoke catering.

Nunsmere Hall wedding of Kerry and Paul

admin — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 08:30:34 +0000

I recently photographed Kerry and Paul’s wedding at Nunsmere Hall.

Kerry’s dad, Brian, wrote to me shortly after this wedding. Here’s what he had to say:

“Martin,

We wanted to write to thank you so much for contributing to our special family day at Nunsmere. The biggest compliment we could pay you – other than complimenting you on the stunning photographs of Kerry and Paul’s wedding – was that we hardly knew you were there! No herding people around and shouted instructions for different people to be photographed. You had completely bought into our request for an informal occasion with the minumum of fuss.

You were booked on the basis of one phone call from Roz, which shows she has excellent instinct and you come over great on the phone!

We would unreservedly recommend your services to any of our family and friends and any of your future customers who are in any doubt should just take a look at our photographs on your website.

With best wishes,

Brian and Roz“

Kerry and Paul’s wedding was very intimate: they had 22 of their closest friends and family to celebrate their day with them. As Brian said, I’d been asked to blend into the background, and record the informality of the day, rather than turn it into a staged photoshoot. Wedding photography at such a personal celebration requires tact, the ability to work discreetly and good people skills, so that you blend in to the day’s event, becoming an accepted part of what’s going on. You also need to know what you are doing with your equipment; firstly, so that you don’t miss a moment, and secondly so that you can work quickly and unobtrusively without drawing attention to what you’re doing.

Of course, Kerry and Paul wanted a few groups shots and a few (semi) formal portraits, but aside from that the day was spent observing and recording the events as they happened. In other words, a day of documentary wedding photography.

Here are some of the results.

A big thank you to the staff at Nunsmere Hall, who were their usual brilliant selves, making the day run so smoothly – and for serving some pretty delicious afternoon tea! Also to Orchard Designs for providing the flowers and dressing the event so well.

Special thanks to Kerry and Paul, of course, for asking me to be part of such a lovely wedding day.