With the threat of the usual British Bank Holiday weather being damp and horrible, we were lucky enough to find the weather predictions of rain were to be wrong. Lisa and Andrew's wedding day was upon us and for myself and my co-photographer Simon, the first stop was at Lisa's parents house, Jennifer and David in Darwen for some images of the Bridal Preparations. On arrival we were met with an air of calm and tranquillity. But we were soon to find that was because the Bridesmaids were all still at the hairdressers. Once Bridesmaids, Rachel, Cara, Gemma and Helen were back, the excitement escalated and it wasn't long before it was time for Lisa to get into her beautiful dress supplied by Wedding Belles of Blackburn. I then left them in the capable hands of Simon for their final pictures before leaving and I made my way to St Francis Church, Feniscliffe to meet the boys.
On arrival, Andrew admitted to his nerves by stating he was not his usual cock-sure self, but he was looking forward to the day ahead. A few laughs and shots of Andrew and the Groomsmen and it was time for them to take their place in the church ready for the arrival of Lisa in the white Ford Beauford. It was hard to work out who was most nervous, was it Andrew or was it Best Man, David. Lisa's arrival was met with a look of love and pride from Andrew and they then went through the marriage ceremony without a hitch. Whilst the formalities of the register signing was taking place, the congregation were treated to the wonderful operatic voice of Helen Jarmany which certainly brought out much emotion.
So with all the formalities of the Church finished, we all headed off the the lovely venue of Astley Bank Hotel in Darwen. A lovely compact little venue, with excellent, helpful staff who are always willing to help and look after you. This was our location for the rest of the day, from the fun group shots, a walk around the venue with Andrew and Lisa to give them chance to spend some time together, to the Wedding Breakfast and the speeches. This is where it was obvious that Andrew was again full of his usual confidence. The evening, we set up a studio upstairs in the conference centre and we had a stream of people coming along and getting pictures of themselves having fun.
As always, myself and Simon had a great day with great people and the time just flew by. We wish Andrew and Lisa all the very best for the future and here are just a few of the images from the day in the video below.
March, April and May saw me awarded Gold Awards for images with the Society of Wedding and Portrait Photographers. March was in the pictorial category, April was in the Fine Art category and May was in the Monochrome Category.
Here are the links to see all the winners for each month.
I have recently been involved with a project to produce a video for Blackburn eye glass manufacturers, Crown Eyeglass. In conjunction with web developer IT-Brains, I produced the footage of the spectacles being manufactured, provided IT-Brains with the edited video which was then clipped to fit the audio script given by Crown.
The final result can be seen here. HOW YOUR GLASSES ARE MADE. As a glass wearer myself it was a very interesting interesting project to be involved in and thanks to the staff at Crown Eyeglass and Duncan at IT-Brains for the help and support.
Right from the first time I met Jordan and Janine, I knew their day was to be fantastic and I wasn't disappointed. Their Wedding on 21st May. Even at the wedding rehearsal the signs were good, lots of laughs and lots of trial runs. On the day, the weather was not the forecast rain but a mixture of sunshine and cloud which of course had put everyone in the perfect mood for the Day. Myself and Simon arrived at Janine's Mum's house at 8.30am to start getting a few shots of everyone getting ready and a few of the details of the day such as shoes, jewellery and the beautiful flowers from Kathleens Florist in Burnley. Emma and Vicky were already busy with Make up and hair.
It wasn't long before Janine was ready to get into her dress, a creation from Lulu Browns and she looked stunning. I then left Simon at the house with the Bridal party and went to St Matthews Church in Burnley to meet up with Jordan and the boys. Straight away it was clear, they were all excited about the day too, so a few shots, a few laughs and it was time for the Brides arrival. A few deep breaths and a walk down the aisle. Jordan took the opportunity for a quick look back and you could see his eyes light up with pride instantly. It wasn't long before they became the new Mr and Mrs Savage and they walked back down the aisle dancing to Lovely Day by Bill Withers. A little bit of time for everyone to congratulate the happy couple and make a confetti tunnel to the beautiful vintage Rolls Royce from Classic Wedding Carriages.
Next stop was the lovely wedding venue of Dunkenhalgh Hotel, just off the M65 at Clayton-le-Moors, near Accrington. Time for them to have a few drinks before we had the formal, but fun group shots. My young, trainee photography assistants performed perfectly, although the look on Mum's face when she thought her son was whispering rude words to me was a picture. Finally we took Jordan and Janine off for a few shots on their own. This is the perfect time for any Bride and Groom to relax, have time with each other and prepare for the wedding breakfast. We got some fantastic photos and had some great laughs especially with Jordan's attempt to hide under the dress on the stairs. We were then ready in perfect time for the wedding breakfast. The room was set beautifully, enhanced by the lovely wedding cake from Specialized Cakes of Burnley. The speeches were before the meal, this has the huge benefit of allowing those who are speaking to enjoy the meal without worrying about speaking in public. Janine's Dad David gave a wonderful speech that came from the heart as well as telling a few tales of Janine's childhood. He was clearly a very proud Dad. A great speech from Jordan was followed by a little traditional public humiliation from Best Men, Callum and Stephen. Well done guys, I know how nervous you were about speaking.
Finally, the madness of the evening reception. A few images were shown from the day, a studio was set up in the bar and everyone came in a got some great fun shots, dressed in various hats, glasses etc. See the slideshow to see what I mean. Music from Adam Chandler Jazz was fantastic and everyone had a brilliant night. We finally finished at 11pm and although it had been a long shift of photography, we had a ball. So from myself and Simon, we thank Janine, Jordan and family and friends for being great company on the day and we wish Jordan and Janine the perfect life together.
Well here is a little bit about me. I was born in 1969 in Suffolk and was brought up in Suffolk until I left School in 1986. From there I joined the Royal Air Force as an Airframe Engineer. I was based in Norfolk for 16 years where I travelled to many countries with my job. From January 2004 until December 2009, I was posted to Moray in the North of Scotland. This where my love of photography escalated. Starting with landscape and general photography, I was to discover I had a real love of taking pictures of people especially weddings. The interaction with people of all ages was a breath of fresh air to me. This helped me to make the decision to leave the RAF after 22 years, relocate to be with my partner in Blackburn and spend more time on my passion of photography. Now with the support of Janet and many people in the industry I am striving to continually improve and put a smile on all the faces I ever work with. This blog will hopefully become a little insight into my new life and I hope it will be of interest to many people in the future.
Happy Reading.
Paul
