Jacqueline and Stefan had a very small, intimate wedding at the gorgeous Swinton Park just before Christmas. It was snowy and beautiful, and they braved the cold to have some of their photographs outside.

Swinton Park is one of Yorkshire’s most romantic and grand wedding venues, and it is unique in that it is set in hundreds of acres of gorgeous parkland, which is just amazing for photographs. It was too cold to venture far, but the castle looked even more like it was from a fairytale topped with snow.

Santa had to make an appearance in at least one of the photographs….

……but it wasn’t long before Jacqueline cracked up. Stefan joked that as Germans they should be serious. After meeting Jacqueline I will never again believe that!

Little Louis, their extremely cute 2 year old son, had to make an appearance too. And now that the secret it out, I can tell you that he will be joined by a brother or sister in May, so double congratulations are in order!

I love the snow. It turns everything into a magical winter wonderland, and even usually boring things take on a new, glittery persona.

The dogs love it! Here are Crumbs and Biscuit:

Crumbs has thankfully fully recovered from her Christmas operation. Snow everywhere!

They say that you are connected to everyone by six degrees of separation. To cut a long (and probably boring!) story short, I ended up photographing Lucy and Alex’s wedding after being recommended by a friend, who turned out to be Lucy’s Aunt, who turned out to be my husband’s friend’s wife, who had lived two doors down from our cottage in a village no one has heard of about 30 years ago. Oh, and I went to school with Lucy.

Anyway, after thankfully connecting, I photographed Lucy and Alex’s lovely humanist ceremony at Holdenby House in Northamptonshire at the beginning of December. Lucy had paid massive attention to detail, using Holdenby House’s connection with falconry and hunting as inspiration. The result was tweed, game and peacock feathers, and an awful lot of prettiness! We had to fight the quickly setting sun, as they married at 3pm, and the whole wedding had a wonderful, warm feeling.

Huge thanks to Hayley Ruth who second shot for me and caught these first two photographs:

Hello gorgeous! Lucy indulged us by sitting on this fantastic old commode for a portrait:

P.S. You may have noticed it’s snowing on my blog. Until it stops snowing outside, it will be snowing here, too!

Just a very quick post today to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! I hope you all enjoy the snow if you have any (if you don’t, it’s snowing here on my blog and also on my website!), and wrap up warm with some mulled wine and mince pies.

I’m off to my parents home in Northamptonshire, and as the eldest of seven (yes, SEVEN) brothers and sisters the house will be packed with people and presents, and rather too many little naughty dogs!

Also, Sarah and Chris’ beautiful wedding at the York Maze was featured on Rock My Wedding yesterday, part one is up and part two is coming soon!

Stefan and Jacqui are having a small, intimate wedding at the fabulous Swinton Park in a couple of weeks time, and we met there for their engagement photographs. They had their gorgeous son Louis with them, who was so cute he ended up stealing the show.

Swinton Park is a romantic, fairytale wedding venue in Yorkshire, and is a dream for a wedding photographer!

I am very pleased to announce that my new portrait photography vouchers are ready! They look yummy, and make a great gift for Christmas, someone’s birthday, or as a present for yourself. They are also jam packed with useful information and tips on how to prepare for your portrait session.

Vouchers can be for just the portrait session itself, or if you would also like to include a contribution towards products as well, then you can choose to add any denomination you like.

Portrait photography sessions can take place anywhere in and around York, including your home, and we specialise in portraits of children, couples and families. Even the dog is welcome!

You can buy portrait photography vouchers here and here. We will then call you to book your portrait session.

When I was asked by Rock My Wedding if they could feature Naomi and Robin’s gorgeous wedding on their blog, I was thrilled. I have been a fan of Rock My Wedding for a while now, and if you are planning a wedding and love all things pretty, you must go there NOW! You will find plenty of inspiration, but, be warned, you will be hooked.

Naomi and Robin’s wedding is in two parts, here is part one and here is part two. There will soon be another of my weddings featured, so watch this space.

Enjoy!

This is not my usual area of photography, but when I was asked to photograph the charity calendar for Helperby Cricket Club, I said yes straight away. I was glad I had, the calendar girls were amazing fun, completely frank, and (after a glass of wine!) open to any suggestions I made.

The result is a calendar full of beautiful, slightly naked ladies, which will hopefully make big bucks for two charities: Helperby Cricket Club and York Breast Care Unit.

If you’d like to see more, you will have to buy a calendar! They are a steal at just £10 each. Email me for details. And yes, I was made to pose demurely for the back page ;-)

I know, I know, it’s that time of year again. How does it always manage to creep up on us? Well, there’s no avoiding it, so it’s time to get into the festive spirit! So, grab a mince pie and some mulled wine and start thinking Christmas cards….

Following the success of the thank you cards, I am also offering Christmas cards this year. At just £2 each, they are great value and a fantastic way of saying a personalised Merry Christmas to family and friends.

There are three designs to choose from, and colours can be adapted if necessary. Simply choose your design and a photograph, email me with your choice, and I will do the rest. Please note order deadline is 30th November 2009.