I went to school with James, we used to go on school trips together and hung out in the sixth form common room. As a result, I already have lots of embarrassing photos of him (luckily, he has lost any he might have had of me!). He and his lovely fiance Lauren are getting married in November at the lovely Dodmoor House in Northamptonshire, and are planning a relaxed, party like wedding. I’m really looking forward to it, not only to see Lauren looking stunning in her dress, but to see lots of old faces from school!

He’s turned out OK hasn’t he – and done pretty well for himself?!

I love this one, it’s my fave from the session:

Are you interested in photographing weddings? If so you must book a place on this workshop now! It’s run by three of the finest wedding photographers in Leeds (not in North Yorkshire you understand, as that would be me ;-) ) who will share their wealth of knowledge with you and help you on your way to becoming a wedding photographer.

3B Media’s next photo workshop: One Day Weddings, is all about how to photograph and prepare for your very first wedding. The course is being held in one one West Yorkshire’s finest boutique hotels and is ideally suited to aspiring amateurs and professionals entering the world of wedding photography.

The course is on 14th September 2010 and is just £225 per delegate including lunch and refreshments. There are a few places left, but get in quick to reserve your place. Call Lou on 0113 238 1011 or email info@3bmedia.co.uk. Alternately you can book on the website here http://www.3bmedia.co.uk/index.php/workshops/weddings and you’ll find the full information on the course and a downloadable course brochure.

If you’re eager to get into the world of creative professional wedding photography then get involved in 3B Media’s inspiring workshop.

Natasha and Paul chose the gorgeous setting of Kedleston Hall in Derbyshire to get married, and they couldn’t have picked a better venue. If you have seen The Duchess starring Kiera Knightly and Ralf Fiennes you may well recognise it – it was the grand setting for the film (I haven’t seen it, but it’s now on my ‘must see’ list!).

A massive thank you to the fabulous Jennifer Clare who came along as the second photographer. Jennifer is the master of candid photographs and took some really amazing photos on the day. Thank you Jen!

A vintage bus transported most of the guests to and from the venue:

Natasha got ready at the nearby Blenheim House Hotel:

Kedleston is set in the most amazing landscape!

The dining room looked stunning:

If you’d like to see more of Natasha and Paul’s wedding, there is a slideshow of the highlights, and all of their photographs are also in an online gallery. Their password is their new surname.

Happy Friday!

Alyson and Matthew have chosen an amazing venue to get married – the michelin starred Star at Harome, near Helmsley in North Yorkshire. If you love great food and quirky, intimate venues, The Star may just be for you. And for the boys, the bridal suite even has a pool table in it. Not that you’d use it for pool ;-)

I loved that Alyson co-ordinated so well – gorgeous pillar box red lipstick, shoes and nails. Lovely!

Shaman and Carlton choose the wonderful Wood Hall for their wedding venue, and I’m sure they were glad they did! It’s set in the beautiful Yorkshire countryside near Leeds, and has everything you need for an amazing wedding – impressive building, gorgeous grounds, and luxurious service. The food is fantastic too – I know because Shaman and Carlton very kindly treated us to a 3 course dinner!

Look at Shaman’s shoes – who can resist a pair of Jimmy Choos?!

Hello gorgeous! Shaman’s friend and bridesmaid actually made her dress, from scratch! It started as a sill high school pact and turned into reality, and an amazing, completely unique dress.

After the ceremony the coolest of VW campers from Liberty Campers transported the bride and groom to Wood Hall. I am a VW fan – I used to have a 1969 beetle in the same turquoise as this one, and I have to admit I was drooling!

If you want more, there is a slideshow of highlights, or if you’d like to see all 280-odd photos from the day, there is also an online wedding gallery. The password is their new married surname.

Are you going the Great Yorkshire Show next week? It’s on from 13th – 15th July and I will be exhibiting. If you will be there come and say hi, and take advantage of special offers and free sweets and balloons…..!

I will be on stand 500.

Hope to see you there!

Just to finish, here is an aerial shot of Newby Hall I took last week whilst microlighting with my friend. It was amazing – there is nothing between you and the ground so it’s fantastic for taking photographs. You can see my studio on the right! More to follow as soon and I get to the bottom of my mountain of editing!

Now that I based at Newby Hall near Harrogate I’m photographing more and more families and children – the gardens and grounds are perfect for family portraits. I loved photographing this family, the girls looked so pretty in their beautiful dresses and we had the most wonderful weather, although it was a bit hot! Mum had done a great job of co-ordinating the outfits and the whole family looked picture perfect. The girls knew how lovely they looked and were very good at posing for the camera ;-)

Sally and Dan are getting married in just over a month in Leeds, and I had great fun with them getting these shots at their engagement session. They are off on safari for their honeymoon so we have been chatting about cameras and lenses, but really I think they need to take me with them as their official photographer ;-)

Now that I have a little studio at Newby Hall, I am photographing more and more cute babies. Francis was a little star, he’s a very happy little chap and was quite prepared to be photographed! This is the first of his ‘Watch Them Grow’ sessions – in this scheme babies are photographed when they are a month or two old, then again at about 7 months when they can sit up, and lastly when they are around a year old. It’s great for me getting to know the babies and seeing how much they change, and Mum and Dad get a lasting reminder of their babies first year.

For more information please visit my portrait website.

Caroline and Erik are getting married at the wonderful Star at Harome in North Yorkshire in October, and I met them for the first time a few weeks ago to shoot their engagement session. After hearing about their wedding, seeing Caroline’s amazing taste in shoes and jewellery, and even getting a sneak peak at her wedding dress, I’m almost wishing the summer away so that their wedding comes around more quickly! I can just tell that their wedding will be stunning, unusual, and packed with details. Basically, a perfect wedding to photograph!