Lisa & Jonathan got Married! – Oulton Hall 21/04/18

This was the first time I’d ever shot a wedding at Oulton Hall.  From the moment I arrived there I fell in love with it.  I knew straight from the off that I wanted to shoot here as often as possible.  A beautiful mid-18th century mansion set in glorious grounds.

I arrived early for Lisa and Jonathan’s pre-wedding shoot to get a feel for the place before we went through the plans for their wedding day.

On meeting them I just couldn’t get over how totally laid back they both were.

Nothing seemed to phase them at all and I knew we’d all get along just fine on the day.

The Pre-Wedding shoot was a lot of fun and gave me a good insight into the grounds and how to possibly use them on their big day.  I love the connection between couples on these shoots and it gets over any nerves for the main wedding shoot.

So the wedding day came along and I was lucky to have my good friend Kim shooting with me from Kim Shaw Photography I’ve known Kim about a year or so now from my workshops with Chris Chambers I don’t think you could ever meet a nicer lady, a valued friend and a very experienced wedding photographer too!

(she has been known to kick my arse a few times but it’s all constructive criticism!!)

anyway back to the pictures!

First things first BREAKFAST!! (thanks Kimbo) then we set about with the Bridal Preps

There is always one ‘cheeky’ bridesmaid 😉

And of course the main man himself looking very dapper indeed!

With the Threads by Top Mark

 Oulton Hall looked amazing with an impeccably dressed room.  Beautiful !!!

The Ceremony room looked truly stunning.  I absolutely loved the trees!! Fulford Flowers  you did a fantastic job of dressing the venue!

Lisa looked simply stunning too but I would expect that given the fact she is an awesome MUA herself (Lisa Cooper Make Up)

However the make up magic was done by the fantastic Drew-Ashlyn MUA check out her work here on Instagram!!

and how about this…I love this staircase too! (great shot Kimbo!)

Jonathan certainally kept his cool waiting for Lisa but the look on his face when she came in was awesome.  A great moment.

I had my own little ‘moment’ too… but that was because I dropped a lens lol.. I don’t think the people at the back or next door heard the crash anyway….

oops.. moving on swiftly!!!

Next up we were back outside the Hall for the group shots.

I have to say I’ve never seen a rugby ball tossed rather than the bouquet!!

Knowing Jonathan’s links to the Huddersfield Giants it does all make sense now though!!

(but check out the beautiful flowers by Flowerworks of Pontefract.)

Now I’m not one to moan about the sunshine… honestly I’m not… I don’t think lol!!

My last two weddings were either rain all day, or -10 with the beast from the east (brrrr) so.. some sunshine was welcomed.. However bright sunshine isn’t always welcome at a wedding due to the harsh shadows!

(and the fact that I tend to sweat.. a lot!!)

One of the beautiful things about Oulton Hall is you can shoot around three sides of the mansion so the Group shots were possible without everyone squinting and hating me!

So the Bridal Portraits were next and we were treated to some amazing blossom on the driveway leading up to the mansion.

A big thank you to Lisa & Jonathan and Jodie (the wedding coordinator) for a lovely meal whilst the bridal party ate. 

I also used the time to get some shots of the wedding rings too..

Btw I DIDN’T drop one of the rings, and it DIDN’T nearly disappear behind a radiator… that never happened….. disaster was avoided and Lisa was none the wiser.. until now! 😉

Sorry Lisa!!

The Speeches were fab and I do believe Jonathan may have had a tear in his eye at one point.  Both best men did a cracking job too!

Beautiful stuff indeed.

So then another first.  I have NEVER seen a wedding pork pie cake before!!!

I’m not sure I will again either!! But now I have!

Check out Percy Turner for your Pork Pie heaven!!

Very cool and by the looks of it pretty hard to cut too!!

A big shout out to the Band Southwest who stepped in at the last minute!

They are awesome!!!!So all that was left to do was to grab some twilight pics.  Lisa and Jonathan were great sports and were willing to pop out dodging the showers (which had held off all day)

So this was my first experience of Oulton Hall. What a great day!   Lisa and Jonathan were the best.. I loved being a part of their day.  Being a wedding photographer is a privilege, its hard work but incredibly rewarding when you meet such special people and get to capture a little bit of their story!

Thanks guys and I wish you all the very best!

Ben x

Throughout this blog I’ve been adding pics from a sample album I now have on display at Oulton Hall.

I’m delighted to say I am now one of their recommended suppliers and I will be exhibiting there on the 17th June.  Come along! I will have chocolates!!

Just to add the icing to the cake I was also awarded a Bronze bar by the Guild of Photographers for the last shot of the night.

All in all a very successful day!

If you made it to here and you’re not a google SEO spider I salute you.

I suck at blogs but I like them so there!

 

When Ema & Michael got married… 31/03/18

Ok so I’ve been really slack with my blogging, in fact to the point of non existent! Sooo I’ve challenged myself to get this running regularly again…

So… Michael & Ema! I took this job as a friend and colleague was called in for surgery so it was all a bit last minute to be fair..

I have to say though it was a blessing in disguise!!  From the 1st meeting with them over coffee I knew this was going to be a whole lot of fun.  They seemed a little bit nuts, just like me!!

I’ve recently moved to Dewsbury myself so it was also a pleasure to only have to fall out of bed to head to theirs for the bridal preparations.

Gutted… Bad start.. I could have stayed in bed longer.. lol

I had got up to make a full English before the shoot (standard) and when I got there Ema had put on a load of breakfast stuff..

Anyone who knows me, knows full well I’m partial to the odd bacon, sausage, egg, mushroom and hash brown sarnie 😉 but… given the fact I’m now struggling to get into my wedding suits I had to decline…

Ok back to the wedding blog Ben!  Bridal preps were fun as always.  Ema is a beautiful young woman so the shots looked great!

So next we were on to the Venue.  Its the 1st time I’ve shot at the Town Hall in Dewsbury and it was a pleasant surprise.  A beautiful Room!!!

First up though we had a giggle with the lads striking some poses on the steps.

(One thing I haven’t mentioned yet is Michael and Ema’s second home from Home The Muscle Pit in Dewsbury run by a bit of a Legend Sam Cullingworth (who turned up sporting an awesome Kilt on the day.  He had us all in stitches … one very cool dude!)

The Ceremony was beautiful.  Lots of emotion and as ever a privilege to be a part of..

So here’s a really cool twist and definitely a first for me!  I shot straight off after the wedding ceremony to head to Woodkirk Valley Country Club .

I had to get there quickly as Michael & Ema were due to arrive by Helicopter !!!  Courtesy of Michael’s friend …..

An impressive entrance and definitely trumps any wedding car I’ve ever seen!!!

A great place to have a wedding reception and everyone had a blast!!

One or two got a little carried away though…

 There we go I got my bad joke in there.. 🙂

Standard

The weather wasn’t the kindest for us but that didn’t dampen  our spirits (sorry..)

We did get a little break in the weather to do some portraits too which was fab!!

I even hung around after the 1st dance to grab some night shots which was well worth it as there is a lovely little bandstand at Woodkirk Valley Country Club 

A real pleasure to meet Michael & Ema and to have been a part of their special day. The love between Michael & Ema was just beautiful to see.

Two amazing people

Wishing them every happiness in the future too!!

Ben x

 

Shaun & Chris .. The Beast from the East! 03/03/18

Ok so I travelled west for this one! That’s not to say I was the beast from the east however… or at least I hope not! p.s that’s also the bad joke out the way so read on 😉

Gisburn is a really special place for me for my own personal reasons.  It’s a lovely part of the world and the people there are amazing.  It’s also the first wedding I’ve had outside of Yorkshire so I’m really pleased it was here!!

I’d been over to meet Chris and Shaun in February to catch up and run through the plans for their wedding.  We met at their venue Stirk House over in Gisburn.

Chris and Shaun were obviously going to be nothing but fun.  That was clear from the moment we all met up.  One of my friends Peter Anslow of Peter Anslow  Photography is a regular here and filled me in with some really helpful tips (thanks Peter!!)

Here are a couple of pics from their pre-wedding shoot

So Beast from the East??? In the week leading up to the wedding I really started to panic with us getting some of the worst weather the country has had in years.  I started to really have my doubts if I’d even make it at all.  Not to be out done I loaded the car early and had the tyre socks in the the boot just in case.. and… no issue on the roads at all lol.  Fair to say it was a really pleasant drive over with no traffic.. typical!

Obviously I got to the wedding really early and pulled up in time to see the lads having a cheeky vape..

One thing I’ve gotta say about these two guys is they have some style… as you’ll see from some of the wedding preparation shots below.

So onto the wedding.  Lovely little touch as the guys walked in with their two Frenchies  Luna and Franc and whilst not quite, they almost stole the show.  Franc has just recently undergone spinal surgery which we’re all delighted to know has gone really well!  Especially his sister Luna!

Now traditionally we’d normally have moved onto group shots here but Shaun & Chris were aware it was -10 with the wind chill so we just did come confetti and they were then brave enough to have a little walk around for me to capture some portraits.

Big thanks to the guys for providing me with a fabulous meal which whilst never asked for is always very much welcomed due to the length of a wedding day shoot.  Their wedding breakfast was held in this amazing room!!

So every now and then at weddings there is a fight… this is the first time I’ve ever photographed one in a boxing ring though!!

I’m pleased to say it was all good fun this time and no grooms were hurt !!

All that was left to do was the first dance and then the incredibly brave lads ventured out again into the blistering cold to have a few end of night shots done.

So the guys are currently sunning themselves and celeb spotting on their honeymoon in the states.  I may have to un-follow them on Facebook for a while due to the amount of disgustingly awesome looking food pics they are currently posting.

Chris and Shaun (my first lancashire wedding!) it was a privilege to be a part of your day and to capture it for you. Stirk House thank you for making me so welcome.  I can’t wait to come back!

Ben   x