Colour Wedding Photography

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As much as I"ve always loved and sung the praises of Black and White wedding photography, there is a clearly important place for good colour wedding photography, capturing the history and beauty of the day alongside the more ethereal black and white images.
Looking back through my full set of wedding stories from 2013, these are definitely some of the images that stick in my mind.

Snow falling wedding portraits

Starting the year at The Moat House in Acton Trussell in January last year documenting Bec + Tom"s wedding was a great start to the year. A beautiful winters day with gorgeous sunshine, and to complete the day, a wonderful dusting of snow. This was the second time I"d worked with an image in this way, but this has stood the test of time and still a photograph I love!

 

Yellow Field

Aimi + Ian held their wedding in late spring at Alrewas Hayes in Burton, a fantastic venue that I hadn"t had a prior chance to work at - but what a stunning venue it is!
I"d first met Aimi + Ian when photographing their friends wedding in April the previous year (which you can see here) and had a brilliant time with their great group of friends on a stunning summery afternoon.
Alrewas Hayes has so many great locations for photography, but with the rape field in full bloom, and a clear Blue Sky, this photograph had to be created.

Intimate Sunset Portraits

I had to wait until June for my first wedding at Sandon Hall when I had the great pleasure of capturing Suzanne + Andrew"s amazing summer wedding.
From the morning preparations at The Dog and Doublet and at home in Burston, through to the conclusion of an amazing evening with some of the craziest partying I"ve had the fun photographing was a pleasure to be part of. One of my favourites sessions during Suzanne + Andrew"s wedding was again the evening portrait session - taking time away from the guests and the rest of the wedding, and taking the Bride and Groom for some quiet time in gorgeous light, it really is one of my favourite things to do!

Morning preparations

Another photo from Suzanne + Andrew"s wedding that sticks in my mind, is this simple photograph of Suzanne talking to her daughter.
Being framed by the window in a semi-sillhouette, there"s something I love about this image.

Bridal makeup photography

The last weekend in July, as I discussed in last weeks Wedding Photographs of the Year post, was such an amazing weekend, starting with Lucy + Sean"s Somerford Hall wedding. There are so many photos I love from their day - which is why they"re one of my featured weddings - but the lines on this photograph during Lucy"s makeup session is one I love.

Wedding transport

Another of my favourites from Lucy + Sean"s wedding is this photograph as Lucy entered her wedding car. Such a simple idea, and a photograph I have thought about on many occasions, but with the clearing of any reflection over Lucy"s face, this photograph stands out as one of my chosen photographs of the year.

Rain makes beautiful portraits

Along with documenting Lucy + Sean"s wedding, my weekend in July was completed by capturing Hayley + Karl"s stunning wedding at the sublime Weston Park.
The wedding day was an absolutely gorgeous summers day, and we were blessed with sunshine right until the evening when unfortunately the weather took a turn for the worse - however, as you can see, rain can definitely be used to ones advantage to create stunning portraits - and this one of Hayley + Karl has actually become the favourite photo of the wedding, not just for me, but also for the couple and their friends and families too!

Documentary photography of morning preparations

On the morning of Hayley + Karl"s wedding after starting the day at Crowning Glory in Merry Hill I spent the rest of the morning with everyone at Hayley"s parents house in Brewood. It was fantastic having so much time with everyone, allowing a full documentary story to evolve. There are so many photos I love of Hayley + Karl"s day with a great deal being from the morning, including this photograph of Hayley"s dad preparing his speech...

Natural bridal portraits

To start August I was invited to document Amy + Tammy"s wedding at The Boathouse Restaurant at Bracebridge Pool, Sutton Park. On such a stunning day blessed with gorgeous weather, and accompanied by my brother Stephen as a second photographer, the story we created really captured the love abounding around their relaxed intimate wedding.
One of my favourite photographs from the morning at Amy"s mom"s house is this little capture of Amy looking at her mother - so simple, but a beautiful portrait of a beautiful bride on the morning of her wedding.

Woodland portraits

When I sat down and had a meeting with Amy + Tammy ahead of their wedding after their pre-wedding portrait shoot at Sutton Park, Tammy was especially coy about what she was going to be wearing for the big day, and when I saw her in her stunning outfit, I just knew how big Amy"s smile would be when she saw her Bride!
Working with the shape of the two outfits during their portrait session here in the woods by Bracebridge Pool, I love how the two Bride"s stand so perfectly together.

Foreground elements

A lot of the time when I"m documenting weddings I"m looking for something a little different - whether that be a different angle, a reflection or indeed an element to add depth to the photograph, and that was the case when capturing Kirsty"s exit from her mom and dad"s house on her way to Alrewas Church to marry Paul.
The colours and tones of the hanging flowers added something extra special to such a traditional photograph of Father and Bride on the house doorway.

Evening Sunset Portraits

As was the case with Suzanne + Andrew"s wedding in June, my favourite session of Kirsty + Paul"s wedding was their evening portrait session when we were showered with a stunning  sunset, adding a beautiful  warmth and flare to their photographs.
After photographing Aimi + Ian"s wedding at Alrewas Hayes earlier in the year, it was brilliant to be back at the stunning venue again, this time with my father Barry James acting as wingman, and I love their Alrewas Hayes Wedding Photographs.

Moat House Evening Portraits

Returning to The Moat House in Acton Trussell so many times during 2013 was an absolute pleasure, and Amelie + Matt"s wedding was no exception to the rule of a stunning summer wedding at Staffordshire"s Premier Civil Wedding Venue.
I had such a fabulous time with Ames and Matt and their wonderful friends and family from morning preparations through to these creative flash lit nighttime portraits on the canal bank, and looking back at the photographs from the morning full of laughter through to the fantastic first dance and choreographed mob dance to the Bride"s surprise, the wedding was full of love, laughs and a lot of fun from start to end. Check out their full Moat House wedding story to see more.

Stunning simple portraits

A week after Ames + Matt"s wedding I was back at The Moat House in Acton Trussell to photograph Sabrina + Chris" wedding at St James Church Acton Trussell and then the Moat House. With such a relaxed couple I knew the day was going to be a blast to be part of, and I love this photograph of Sabrina cuddling Chris with their massive smiles, giggling away at each other!

Bride and Groom portraits

In September I was back at a venue that has had a wonderful transformation in the past few months - Weston Hall in Stafford.
Jo + David invited me to document their wedding and from starting in Stafford on the morning at Koo Hair through to into the evening it was a true documentary wedding story, and when looking back at their photos there are so many that jump out to me. When enjoying their wedding portraits around the grounds of Weston Hall I took the opportunity to shelter from the fierce summer sun, and working through the trees took the opportunity to create relaxed portraits of the Bride and Groom - and this is one that stands out for me.

Creative evening portraits

To finish Jo + David"s wedding album I knew I wanted to create a stunning evening portrait utilising the stunning features in the gardens of Weston Hall, and the idea to revisit a location we had used during the day worked beautifully, and when presented in their finished album, really wrapped up their Weston Hall wedding story perfectly.

Lichfield Cathedral Wedding Portraits

I have long loved photographing weddings in Lichfield City Centre, and after the wedding ceremony at Lichfield Registry Office, Sue + Paul took the opportunity to head around Lichfield Cathedral and the surrounding streets for their wedding portraits, and leaving the guests enjoying champagne in Beacon Park before embarking on the Route Master back to The Lion Hotel in Brewood, it was a stunning use of the wedding afternoon.

Bouquet Toss

Sometimes timing just works perfectly, and the framing of Sue"s bouquet in this photograph on the bouquet toss is certainly one of those moments!

Bridal portrait

Sally + Jared chose the stunning Packington Moor to hold their midweek wedding, and being recommended as close friends brought an extra element to their wedding. Despite being a rather chilly afternoon, the lighting was absolutely gorgeous and this photograph of Sally under the arbor in the garden at Packington in her stunning gown is one of my all time favourite Bridal portraits.

Night portraits

During a break in the evening Sally + Jared took the opportunity to head outside with me to create some relaxed evening portraits, adding another element to their coverage. The courtyard at Packington Moor has so much character to work with, both during the daytime but especially of an evening, and there is something I love about the relaxed nature of this photograph.

Storytelling wedding photography

Starting my run in of Winter weddings, December started for me documenting Becky + Paul"s wedding at St Marys Catholic Church Brewood and Chillington Hall. Again the luck was with us with the weather and from documenting morning preparations in Cannock throughout the whole day, it was a pleasure to be a part of Becky + Paul"s wedding. There are so many photographs that stand out for me from their wedding, but this wide photograph as Becky + Paul made their way to their waiting car is one of my favourites - the wide nature of the photograph telling the complete story of the wedding.

Flash lit evening portraits

So it was again a perfect opportunity to create a fantastic evening portrait outside the stunning Chillington Hall to conclude Becky + Paul"s wedding. No rain but a winters mist lying on the ground added something amazing to their photograph.

Bridal dressing

The room that Sam dressed in at Muncaster Castle was one of the darkest rooms I have ever worked in, however when looking at their full story, the dramatic lighting certainly added to the photographs. This photograph of Sam will all hands coming in to help her finish getting dressed is one of my favourite colour wedding photographs from the year.

Sandon Hall Conservatory

To conclude my year I was again at Sandon Hall to document Lizzi + Darren"s gorgeous winter wedding. Finally my luck with weather ran out for their wedding with pouring rain almost all day long, however, when photographing a wedding in such a stunning venue as Sandon Hall it really isn"t an issue.
The conservatory at Sandon Hall is such a stunning location for portraits, and working slightly differently on the evening added an extra dimension to this photograph of Lizzi + Darren, being slightly different than the summer portraits in the same location of Gemma + Ade from the summer before.

A final nighttime portrait

So not the final wedding of the year, but one of my favourite photographs came from Sam + Manf"s wedding at Muncaster Castle in Cumbria. This stunning tree is outside the Castle and provided the perfect setting for a stunning powerful portrait when the rain finally abated on the evening.


Colour Wedding Photography

Black + White Wedding Photography

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I have long been a fan of Black and White Wedding Photography, from the days when I was shooting on Fuji colour film and Kodak Black and White film, through to today, I always think there is a special mystique to Black and White wedding photography, and my wedding coverages often contain over sixty percent of the final story being in black and white.

Here are some of my favourites from the year, and some of the reasons why.

Wedding Sparklers

For the exit of the Bride and Groom from their Muncaster Castle Wedding in December, all of the guests lined up outside with a sparkler guard of honour for the beautiful couple to exit through.
Such a beautiful way to conclude their wedding coverage.


Documenting morning preparations - Bridal Makeup

I love documenting the morning preparations of a wedding, from the hair and makeup artists working their magic, through to witnessing the emotions and relationships at play, and of course hearing the wonderful stories of the wedding preparations that have come together.
I always like to work on different angles throughout a morning, working with surfaces to add depth to an image, or working from an angle you wouldn"t expect, like this image of Bec applying her Makeup at The Moat House, where placing myself close up against the mirror, allowed a totally different viewpoint.



Documenting morning preparations - The Boys Morning

Whilst my wedding morning are usually spent with the Bride and Bridesmaids, whenever logistics and timings allow, I always like to pay a visit to the Groom and Groomsmen whilst they"re getting ready on the wedding morning, and on Aimi + Ian"s wedding day before heading to Alrewas Hayes to re-join the girls, I was able to drop in to see Ian and the boys.
There is something about the simple symmetry I love of this photograph of Ian tying his cravat, and sat really well in the story of the boys preparations in the wedding album.

Emotion

There is always a considerable amount of emotion around on a wedding day, from proud parents to happy friends and of course the wonderful bond being shown between two people as they start their journey of married life together. But there is something extra special to witness when a Groom cannot contain his emotions when first seeing his beautiful bride enter the wedding ceremony, as was the case for me this year with both Ian when he saw Aimi, and Sean when he saw Lucy at Somerford Hall too.

Little Details

A great deal of my time on a wedding day is spent looking at the little details and touches that add something to wedding photography coverage, and occasionally the little details that draw a smile…and when I saw Lauren"s bridesmaid browsing through Wedding Ideas magazine, it was something that just had to be captured.



Single photos that tell a complete story

There is something about combining wide angle and detail photographs throughout the wedding day, with the two formats coming together to show the complete wedding story.
And when I was presented with this photograph as Lauren descended the stairs in her stunning Bridal gown, complete with the Bridesmaids all eagerly waiting in the doorway to see her, for me it says everything about a wedding morning...



Observing the wedding from a different viewpoint

Everyone has seen photographs of the Bride and Groom from the back of the church during the wedding ceremony, but when presented with Suzanne + Andrew"s gorgeous Sandon wedding at All Saints Church Sandon, I had to take advantage of the balcony in the church, not only for a stunning photograph at the high altar, but also looking down upon Suzanne and Andrew in this photograph below.
There"s something I love about the details you notice in this photograph, and it"s a nice contrast to the typical church wedding photographs



Wedding speech photography

When it comes to the speeches, it really is always a highlight of the wedding day - both for the guests and for me!
Capturing the reactions and stories, candid photographs of the guests and of course the bride and groom, especially when you get such great stories as came out during Suzanne and Andrew"s wedding at Sandon Hall.



Morning preparations at brides home

Before the wedding really got underway at Somerford Hall, Lucy + Sean"s wedding started for me at Lucy"s parents house for the morning preparations.
Having plenty of time in the morning with so much going on allowed for so many great photos, as you can see in their full blog post here and really set the tone for a great day. There are so many photos I love from the morning at Lucy"s parents house, but this one of Sean"s sister framed in the middle of the doorway is one of my favourites.



Bridal dress photography

Another of my favourites from Lucy + Sean"s wedding morning is this frame of Lucy putting her dress on helped by her sister and best friends.
Working wide again here brought so much into the photograph, and was again another of my favourites from a beautiful wedding.



Speech reaction candid photographs

So again it"s back to Lucy + Sean"s wedding for another of my favourites, and purely for the great reactions of everyone during the fabulous speeches during the wedding breakfast. There is just so much going on in this photos - and being black and white you see every little bit of it.



Wedding morning photography

The end of July really was one of my favourite weekends ever as a wedding photographer, as after Lucy + Sean"s wedding I had the pleasure of documenting Hayley + Karl"s wedding at Weston Park, one of my all time favourite wedding venues.
Hayley + Karl"s wedding day was absolutely amazing from start to end, from the morning preparations in Wolverhampton through to one of my favourite colour photographs in the rain to conclude the coverage.
There are a couple of photographs from Hayley + Karl"s wedding that I absolutely love, and this image of Hayley putting the finishing touches to her hair, with her mom looking on is one of my favourites.



Wedding morning photography

Whether it was the combination of space, combined with amazing light, along with so much going on on the morning of Hayley + Karl"s wedding day, or just a simply wonderful wedding with great people, there are so many photos I love from the wedding day in July.
This capture with depth and space again is one of my favourite images from 2013.



Wedding ceremony photography

St Andrews Church in the grounds of Weston Park is a gorgeous little church to photograph weddings in, and when presented with a Bride and Groom who simply spend all day long smiling lovingly at each other, it"s impossible to not create great photographs.
This capture of Hayley + Karl stealing a glance during the wedding ceremony is again one of my highlights from the year - and I think it"s easy to see why!



Wedding hair dressers photography

The morning of Jo + David"s wedding started at Koo Hair in Stafford where the girls were having their hair styled, and with the salon completely to themselves, it was a fabulous space to create a story within.
This image of Jo having the finishing touches put to her hair design is definitely one of my favourites of the morning.



Groom morning photography

After starting the morning with Jo and the girls at Koo Hair, I then had time to meet up with David and the boys at his parents house.
From capturing the best man discussing the football fixtures for the day, to photos of the cutest of flower girls, this photo of David taking a minute alone to reflect on the amazing change that was about to happen later that day. Absolutely one of my highlights of the year!



Wedding toast

Occasionally it"s the simplest of things that make me love a photograph, and here during David"s speech, with all the glasses coming in to toast a very happy bride, this says so much about weddings for me.



Wedding transport

After Jo + David"s wedding, I was back in Lichfield to capture the story of Sue + Paul"s wedding.
Travelling from the Lion Hotel in Brewood, on fantastic traditional transport - a London Routemaster Bus - it was a brilliant start to the day.
And this photograph of Paul entering the bus is still one of my favourites from their wedding day.



Wedding portraits

Although a documentary wedding photographer, it is always important to create stunning Bride + Groom portraits on the wedding day, and despite the cold on Sally + Jared"s wedding afternoon, we persevered and created some beautiful portraits of both Bride + Groom. This one of Jared is one of my all time favourite Groom portraits, and the photograph of Sally in the colour section is quite probably my all time number one Bridal portrait. Such an amazing Packington Moor Wedding to photograph.



Pets are part of the family

I got to know Bonnie on Becky + Paul"s engagement shoot in Liverpool ahead of their wedding at Chillington Hall in December, and knowing how much a part of the family the little one is, I absolutely loved this photograph whilst Becky was having her makeup done.



Father sees daughter as Bride for first time

One of the most privileged moments I get to capture on most weddings, is the first time the Bride"s father sees his princess dressed in her stunning gown, and whether it"s a moment for tears or a quiet moment together, it"s one of my favourite moments to capture.
When it came to waiting for Becky to come out of the bedroom to see her father on the wedding morning, the photograph I"d had in mind changed somewhat with the invasion of the flower girl...but for me it totally made the image!



Church arrivals

Another of my favourite images from Becky + Paul"s wedding came when capturing Becky"s entrance to St Marys Church.
There is so much going on in the photograph, yet being so simple with all the negative space...again sometimes the simplest ideas as the best.



Best mans speech

So again it"s back to the speeches section of the wedding, and back to Sam + Sam"s wedding from December in Ravensglass at Muncaster Caster Cumbria.
The speeches were a great highlight of the evening, and I just love Sam"s brothers reaction here during his speech, and in the album it complemented so well with the emotional reaction later on from the Groom and the Guests.



Bridal hair

The final wedding of the year saw me again at Sandon Hall, to document the wedding of Lizzi and Darren.
There are so many images from their wedding that stand out to me, but choosing just two firstly brings us to the morning preparations when the finishing touches were being applied to Lizzi"s hair by Natalie. Timing this photograph to get the separation of the hand from the hair added so much to this photograph for me, and added in with the intensity of Lizzi"s eyes, there is so much going on in such a simple moment.



Wedding portraits

Creating intimate, relaxed portraits during the couples shoot is so important to me on a wedding, rather than overly elaborate photographs, with props and complexities, for me I would rather create a photograph that captures a couple deeply in love, enjoying the most precious day of their lives together.
This frame of Lizzi + Darren in beautiful window light at Sandon Hall is one of my favourites from their afternoon session, and says so much for me as to how they are as a couple together.


Black + White Wedding Photography