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 Lindsey and Andrew’s first proof for their Seldex Album, following their gorgeous wedding at Goldsborough Hall last month!

Just because I am so kind and generous (!) I have decided to offer all this years wedding clients 30 thank you cards completely free of charge. Additional cards cost £2 each, a bargain if I do say so myself!

All you have to do is pick a photo and a design and the rest will be done for you. If the colours don’t compliment your photograph perfectly, they will be adjusted.

Design one:

Design two:

Design three:

P.S. by clicking on the little icons on the left you can share posts on facebook, twitter etc.

I often get asked for wedding photography tips, and so thought I would share these with you. The best possible tip I can give is to relax and enjoy every moment of your day as much as you possibly can, this will shine through on your photographs and you can be sure that you will look great!

1. Have a trial run with your photographer
Do an engagement session if possible, so that you all can practice working together. This will help to produce the best photos possible for your most wedding day.
2. Be silly!
Pictures always look better when you are having fun! Don’t be afraid to be playful with each other -tickle, hug, kiss, talk… do whatever you would do without a photographer holding a camera in front of you. Being natural always looks better in the photographs.
3. Take your time
No pictures are as important as the couple shots on your wedding day, so allow enough time. Half an hour is the minimum you should allow for the couple session. Make sure this is your time alone with the photographer, as it’s not helpful if you have to entertain your bridesmaids or family while being photographed.
4. Spice it up
Throw out the traditions you don’t like and have a celebration that is all about YOU!!!! This will ensure that both your wedding day and your photographs are unique.
5. Enjoy every second
Most weddings don’t go exactly as planned, and there will always be something that is not as you imagined it. Don’t let anything get in the way of genuinely enjoying your day. You only have one wedding! So don’t worry out if the cake is vanilla instead of chocolate, or if the flower girl starts to cry instead of throwing the flowers.
6. Try to stop worrying about your dress!
They ALL are going to get dirty no matter what you do. Rest assured that nobody will notice if the hem has a little dirt on it because you walked over a little grass for a picture that you love.
7. Group Shots
If you have formal group pictures taken at your wedding, assign your best man or a bridesmaid who knows everybody to help gather guests for desired shots. This way you are making sure that your photographer can spend time on what she is doing best – taking great pictures.
8. Make it up
Don’t wear too much makeup or do something with your hair that is not you. Don’t let anyone tell you that you need tons of make up for photographs! You should still be able to recognize yourself on your wedding pictures. On the same note, don’t go without any make up at all, even if you’re a supermodel. A little make up doesn’t hurt anyone.

And, because this is a photoblog, there should always be a photo! Here is a sneaky peak at Rebecca and Matt’s wedding from the weekend:

I love interior design and pretty things, but sometimes it’s easy to get stuck in a rut. Enter…..The Inspire Guide! This guide has 25 creative ideas for displaying photographs in your home (or office, or shop, or shed). With reportage photography, it makes much more sense to display a series of portraits or wedding photographs that tell a story rather than just one image.

All of my wedding and portrait clients will receive one of these guides from now on, and there is also an Online Version! To view it go to the client area of the website. Please email me for the password.

All of the displays can be made up of framed prints or canvasses. I will soon be incorporating the displays into some of the wedding packages so that you not only end up with a fabulous album, but a fantastic collection of framed prints or canvasses as well.

Tomorrow I shall be jetting off (oh OK, I admit it, driving) to the Isle of Harris for a spot of relaxation and landscape photography. Don’t know where Harris is? Get the map out, you should be ashamed of yourself! (Clue: West of Scotland).

Happy Bank Holiday!

I was introduced to Ox Pasture Hall by Cath and Paul who asked me to photograph their wedding there last August. I always love it when I have a new venue to photograph a wedding at, and Ox Pasture Hall is certainly a good one. It is hidden away in the gently rolling countryside just outside Scarborough, and Cath and Paul couldn’t have picked a better day to get married. The sun was out, the garden looked gorgeous, and it was one of those days that make you realise why you love living in the UK – you just can’t beat a warm British summers day.

Ox Pasture hall is licensed for civil ceremonies, but Cath and Paul chose to get married in the beautiful St. Lawrence’s Church in the nearby village of Scalby.

Paul’s best man played a mean trick on him (don’t get any ideas boys!):

There is a gorgeous gate at the entrance to the church which is just perfect for throwing confetti, and especially the real flower petals Cath had chosen:

The garden at Ox Pasture Hall was at it’s best and was the perfect place for their wedding photographs:

Cath’s bouquet (by Louise Florist was so lovely, I especially liked the blue which is quite unusual but works perfectly:

To view a slideshow of Cath and Paul’s wedding photography click here.

It’s a great feeling when you package a wedding album up, put it carefully in it’s box, and take it off to the Post Office. It must be very exciting when the package arrives, bursting full of memories with photographs from your wonderful wedding day.

I thought long and hard before choosing suppliers for my wedding albums, as it is so important to offer the very best quality, beautiful designs, without anything gimmicky that will look awful in a few years time. They may be expensive, but they are worth it. Every one is handmade to order, so that each couple know that their wedding album is completely unique, and has been made just for them.

My page designs are always simple and classic, and hopefully timeless. I want the couple to be able to proudly show their albums off to their children and grandchildren, and join in as they laugh at the hairstyles and funny frocks worn all those years ago (which may well be back in fashion anytime soon!), but the album itself will hopefully still showcase the photographs beautifully, the quality leather cover having stood the test of time, the photographs looking as fresh as the day they left the lab, and the page layouts daring anyone to laugh at them.

Today I had great pleasure in posting off two Seldex Albums to two very happily married couples. Seldex Albums are one of two types of album we supply (the other being a Wedding Book), and they offer couples a beautiful twist on a traditional design, showcasing their photographs perfectly. The contrasting core (white on a black page and vise versa) of the pages makes the photographs jump out and command your attention and respect, as if they are shouting ‘look at me’!

When my friend sent me a message saying she was struggling to find a great venue for her wedding, it gave me an idea. It can be SO hard to find the perfect place to get married, so I’m going to try to help.

What better place to start than Goldsborough Hall? I have a love affair with the place, and have to admit that I am more than a little biased…it is the venue Colin and I chose for our reception in July 2007. It just ticked all the boxes, you have the whole place to yourself on the wedding day which makes you feel like the King (and Queen) of the castle, there are three wonderful rooms and a huge, manicured garden for guests to roam about in, the bedrooms have to been seen to be believed, and the owners, Mark and Clare, couldn’t be nicer. What more could you need?

These are a couple of my all time favourites from Lindsey and Gary’s wedding in October 2008. Goldsborough Hall is just perfect for a wedding photographer, there are so many great places to photograph in:

And another favourite photograph from Caroline and Andrews wedding, also in October 2008. I just couldn’t get enough of the place in October!

Just to finish off, and because there isn’t yet a photo of me anywhere on the blog (which I hear is a faux pas, but I don’t believe it) here is one of Colin and I on our wedding day, thanks to my good friend Steve

Want to see more? There is a slideshow of Katy and Ian’s wedding photography at Goldsborough Hall from September last year here.

Happy Friday 13th!