Hi there!
I hope 2018 has been a good one for you. It’s certainly been entertaining as my twelfth year in wedding photography!
It’s also been eventful for me personally – as I got engaged to my lovely girlfriend Lynsey in April and will be getting married at the end of December 2018!
Professionally, I’ve journeyed the length and breadth of England joining fun couples looking for relaxed wedding photography to document their big days! I’ve shot at a host of exciting wedding venues in Yorkshire – a whole host that are new to me this year – including a fun tweedy wedding such as Falcon Manor near Settle; a wedding at Standedge Tunnel Visitor Centre featuring canal boats; a cool football loving couple’s wedding at Woodsome Hall golf club; a lovely chilled rural wedding at Barmbyfields Farm Barns near Goole and finally I got to shoot at the amazing Yorkshire Wedding Barns up near Richmond, which was a riot of colour and Mexican Mariachi bands!
Further afield I’ve been lucky enough to visit other venues that are new to me – having shot an Anglo-Indian wedding at Sandon Hall in Stafford; gorgeous autumn weddings at Thornbridge Hall in Derbyshire and the York Barn at Villa Farm in York! I also joined a charming wedding of a close friend of my fiancee down in their hometown of St Albans – which was a delight to be involved in.
On top of the above magnificent new venues it’s been great to revisit old favourite venues such as the stunning Saltmarshe Hall in East Yorkshire; the always gorgeous Priory Cottages near Wetherby; classy weddings with a twist at Bowcliffe Hall; relaxed weddings at Denton Hall in Ilkley; a beautiful gay wedding at East Riddlesden Hall; an alternative wedding at Fountains Abbey (featuring a bride in a black dress with a cat litter cake!) and fun exclusive weddings at Wood Hall near Wetherby. I was also honoured to photograph the wedding of the owner of the Pheasant Hotel in Harome (she certainly knows how to throw a gorgeous day!).
My couples have bared their hearts and souls and it’s been an absolute pleasure wrapping up each wedding story with my signature blend of laid-back portraits, stunning details and timeless moments.
So before I jet off for a 9 week honeymoon (gotta love the seasonal nature of this job!), it’s been great fun to dig through the years weddings and post a retrospective of my favourite images. As always, there’s been laughter, tears, high 5s, smooches and a tonne of confetti! And as with last year’s highlight’s post (which you can view here) I’ve structured this post (as I do the wedding blogs I write) in the order that the day unfolds.
This isn’t an ego post to show off my most ‘artistic’ work to my peers, it’s an insight into the actual (and hopefully ‘timeless’) story I try to create at every wedding. It also therefore serves as a great way for me to show my photographic approach and what I look for and strive to capture at weddings. So, if you like what you see here and are looking for a photographer for your own wedding, don’t hesitate to make contact here to discuss your big day!
It was a real challenge to trim down the highlights from this years stack into a manageable post, so without further ado – let me present 150 images, of my Barnaby Aldrick Wedding Photography 2018 highlights…
If you’d rather sit back and enjoy a slideshow, grab a mug of warmed mulled wine, hit play below and and enjoy my 2018 highlights slideshow below!
If you’d like to hear a bit more behind the scenes chat and soak in the images a bit more, below I’ll show you through the flow of how I approached my weddings this year…
I’m so lucky to travel around to such wonderful places in my work, and it’s an important part of my photography to ‘set the scene’ with dramatic establishing shots like these. I really feel it adds a sense of context to flow of the story.
I love this shot of the bridesmaids at Kim & James’ wedding at Saltmarshe Hall (tip: click these links from here on to see the posts from the weddings these images are from), walking from their cottages, through this gorgeous light to the Saltmarshe Bridal Suite to finish their preparations.
For me, wedding photography is all about telling a story that is both artistic and relaxed, capturing the essence of the day, including the context, the characters and the special wedding elements.
This cute set of details from Stacey & Bob’s wedding at Standedge Tunnel Visitors Centre amused me – I loved the message on her phone, but also the fact that she’d watched the Princess Bride on DVD the night before!
Everything about how Sarah looked at her wedding at Saltmarshe Hall was stunning – her striking lipstick, her ace grey/pink hair, her amazing pink dress & cornflower blue converse dancing shoes!
Sometimes this job is like shooting fish in a barrel…
This romantic wedding at Rowton Castle in Shropshire was great fun to shoot. I like this one shot through a prysm door handle for this spectral effect!
Morning preparations are so often my favourite part of any wedding – usually because you get to see into the lives of close friends, and document the banter and laughs.
These girls at Lauren + Kristian’s wedding at Denton Hall were lots of fun to be around in the morning! I’d hate to repeat what was being said at this moment!
These matching bridesmaids at Charlotte + Josh’s wedding at Priory Cottages were great how they got their little flower girl involved in their toasts!
I don’t always include a second photographer in all my packages, but they’re a great way to tell the story of the chaps morning preparations.
This is a scene you can only find at a wedding hey?!
I do enjoy seeing the angles and ideas other shooters bring to the table, so I’d like to thank my go to wingman Hamish Irvine for all his help this year, and to Tim Atkinson, Becki McPhillips, Kristian Leven, Martyn Hand, Danny Rich, Anete Lusina, Jamie Sia and Andy Mattherson for all tag teaming with me this year!
This is a great example of how we set try and tell a story – setting the scene of the church and showing the groomsmen arriving at Lucie + Harry’s wedding at Denton Hall.
I’ve never tried this image before, but a bride asked if I’d photograph their rings so they make heart shapes in the bible they had a reading from!
I like a cheeky photo like this, or Jana brushing her teeth in her wedding dress before heading to their gay wedding at East Riddlesden Hall
My favourite moments at any wedding are usually when emotions run high and people forget I’m there – and the moment when bridesmaids and the father of the bride see the bride in her dress are usually such a magical moment
The expressions here are priceless, as the bride and dad travelled in their wedding campervan to Stacey + Bob’s wedding at Standedge Tunnel Visitors centre.
They even got to ride in a canal boat to the venue!
There’ve also been other fun modes of transport and unusual outfits, like at Holly + Russ’ wedding at Fountains Abbey, which as you’ll see later, also had a cat litter cake!
There’s no accounting for folk, as they say, and I do love a weird and wonderful wedding!
Keeley was another stunner hey? We caught this lovely portrait just before heading to their Wedding ceremony at Priory Cottages near Wetherby
Another favourite moment for me is the arrival of the bride at the wedding ceremony. The moment is drawn away feeling weird that a photographer is in the room, to being a whole bundle of excitable nerves!
I’m always on the lookout for touching and sensitive little moments like this Denton Hall wedding, where Harry’s sister laid a supportive hand on his shoulder just before it all got real!
Little story moments, especially Dad kissing his daughters Ilona’s hand before they head down the aisle at their wedding at Rowton Castle are always very special.
The wedding ceremony is still a moment to capture the details of the day, in amongst all the little looks, glances and touches.
Then, as at Amie + Ben’s wedding upstairs at Priory Cottages, is all about sealing things with a kiss, and the fun of the day can begin!
Another reason to have a second shooter, is to have someone at the back during the ceremony, able to capture little moments like a nipper spending their time doing knee slides!
At Rebecca + Josh’s wedding at Yorkshire Wedding Barns in Gilling Old Mill Barn, they were played down the ailse by a real Mexican Mariachi Band!
There’s a first time for everything!
It’s almost become one of my signature shots to nail an awesome confetti shot, and sometimes they’re done in this runway style, as at Nat + Stu’s wedding at Thornbridge Hall
Or are done in a sea of faces in what I like to call the confetti bomb, like this one at Denton Hall!
There are even other variations too, such as the overhead wedding confetti at Priory Cottages on the left, or the confetti staircase shower at Denton Hall!
After the confetti has been thrown it becomes all about ‘the mingles’ – as I know how important these photos are to a couple.
Capturing little moments, punchlines, hipflask shots… seeing special friends and family greeting the newlyweds for the first time is always quite lovely and become moments to treasure forever.
At this stage it’s usually time to get to the wedding reception, so for me it becomes about a quick context check again – like these shots from a wedding at Bowcliffe Hall and wedding at East Riddlesden Hall to tell the story of this change of scene before getting down to the official portraits and team shots.
This little eskimo nose rubbing moment between mum and dad and their bridesmaid daughter from Sam + Simon’s wedding at Wood Hall was quite lovely!
A couple’s dog is usually more important to them than a good proportion of the guests at a wedding, so I love to make sure they’re an important part of the story!
As a dog owner/lover, I’m definitely a happy shooter at wedding where hounds are involved!
This little scene amused me as a six had his the cricket ball into the Harome village pond at Jackie + Peter’s wedding at The Pheasant.
This wonderfully Yorkshire game of who can throw the flatcap furthest at Sophie + Stew’s wedding at Bowcliffe Hall was a bit of a highlight!
After there’s been time to mingle and canapés and fizz have been consumed, I generally get cracking with the group shots and wedding party team photos.
On the way to our wedding party photos, I loved this fun little moment where the bride checked if the groom had gone fully Scottish with his outfit!
Unlike a lot of photographers, who hate group photos, I’ve made it a part of my style to make these photos imaginative, fun and most of all quick!
It’s all about finding some nice light, and throwing in a bit of banter at the right moment!
Gathering the gang around some chairs always break things up a bit and suddenly makes it look more like something out of Vogue or a regal Royal family photo!
Then it’s usually time for the portraits, which again I usually try to keep quick and light
I know most people find these a bit squirmy, so it helps to have done a pre-wedding practice shoot with me beforehand to get used to the process, like with Jordan + Mike, before their wedding at York Barn at Villa Farm…
Some of the pre-wedding practice shoots were a bit more random than usual this year, such as when Holly turned up as an inflatable T-Rex!
Aww, gotta love a family shot with the pooch, as at Colette + Adam’s wedding at Priory Cottages!
It was a great pleasure to join an old pal of mine Gaby for her wedding to Pedro this year – they had their ceremony and wedding photos at Leeds Town Hall then took a boat trip on the Yellow Leeds Dock boats down to their wedding venue!
Again, as a little story teller, this henna hand and white hand, with the dates on the ring tell a lovely story of Daps + Alex’s wedding at Sandon Hall near Stafford
It was great to stop into Kirkstall Abbey (a local spot where I walk my dog Kyra) with Adele and Carl at their Peaky Blinders style wedding at Leeds Town Hall at The Dakota Deluxe Hotel in Leeds
There’s nothing like catching a nervous groomsman practicing his speech before the big moment…
Speeches are a great opportunity to again capture lovely moments and reactions when the attention is on the speakers!
Especially when you catch grandpa snoozing out during one of the speeches! It’s great having second shooters watching the crowds for this sort of thing while I watch for the top table reactions…
This was a great moment at one of my last and most festive weddings of the year! The room were split into parts to sing the Twelve Days Days of Christmas. Top table 1 were the partridge in a pear tree, of course!
Getting outside after the meal for a bit of golden hour light portraits are always nice, like at Laura + Matt’s wedding at Barmbyfields Farm Barn at Barmby Moor.
Then it’s usually time to kick the evening off with the official cutting of the cake, which in Nat + Stu’s case was done to some surprise confetti canons!
Not all wedding cakes are created equal, and my award for most interesting cake goes to the Holly + Russ’ litter tray cake for their flat faced cat, Little P! Amazing work by one of their talented and equally mad friends!
Another first for me this year was Jacqui + Peter doing their first dance outside their The Pheasant Hotel on the back lawn! A really nice touch, as everyone had a right ol’boogie on the grass as the sun went down!
Dancing is always a big thing at an indian wedding, and Dapinder and Alex set the standard before the guests jumped on and got their Bollywood moves on!
I love stealing these little scenes even in the mentalism of a full dance floor, where a couple share a congratulatory cuddle that they’ve made it, as the roof goes off around them!
Or when the daughters pile in for a little dance before the guests get chance…
Sometimes couples do a second song for Dad to have a dance with his daughter, and at this wedding, the groom sang the song too!
Then if everyone’s still game, whatever the weather, it’s always fun to wrap up the story with a killer flash shot of the newlyweds before we hit the road.
How very lovely hey?
One of this year’s brides, Holly, insisted on taking this pic of me with her lovely bridesmaids, so it seemed only right to include it as one of my highlights!
I’m obviously so very lucky to do what I do and what I have done for over a decade. So many of my lovely couples have made lovely comments on my services this year, by writing reviews on Facebook and reviews on Google (and if you’ve not yet, I’d love it if you do!).
All in all, it’s so lovely to be involved in all these wonderful days and with all these lovely people! Thank you to all the couples who booked me to shoot their 2018 weddings, and to those booked for 2018, bring it on!
And now, as I put my wedding work to bed I get to turn my full attention to my own wedding in Leeds on December 29th! Wish my wedding photographer luck…
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If you’re interested in getting in touch to discuss me shooting your big day, check my availability by contacting me here. (I’ve a few weekends still available next year if you’re still looking for a shooter by the way!)
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Also – if you like what I’ve done here, have a dig in the blog archives here or stay tuned by favouriting this page, or liking my facebook page here as I add new blogs for every wedding I shoot through the year!
I hope you have a fantastic 2019 guys, and well done for getting all the way to the end of this post!!
x
Barnaby