Yesterday I joined Wing & Andy for their fabulous Anglo-Chinese wedding around Leeds!
I hope you enjoy our the story of this special day!
I joined Wing at her pal Shanshan & Chris’ house (whose wedding I photographed back in May 2011 – blog here!), just a stones throw from my own house!
Here’s Wing – our excited bride – hanging out with Molly, one of the lovely little flower girls!
Loving this dress!
Not sure who it was made by, but it looks like an Ian Stewart to me! Â (How sad is it that I can possibly tell?!)
Two pairs of shoes for a half time costume change!
Meanwhile, as my usual 2nd shooter Clare couldn’t join us for this wedding, my good pal (& all round excellent snapper) Joel Skingle stepped into the fray to photograph the chaps at St. George’s Church in the centre of Leeds…
Love this relaxed portrait of Andy. Top bombing Joel!
Meanwhile I was loving the beautiful soft light in the room where Wing was gowning-up
All hands on deck Molly!
I always like to document a bride switching engagement rings from left to right hands. Â There’s something a bit special about it.
Downstairs the remaining bridesmaids and flower girls had assembled for fun and games.
A few relaxed teamshots and we’re church-bound…
Here comes the bride!
Love this one. Â Again, it’s a lovely moment to capture, seeing a bride catch eyes with her groom for the first time on their big day!
With this ring I thee wed…
Sealed with a kiss!  (…and a legally binding document) 😉
Liking Joel’s birds-eye view from the balcony at the back of the church!
The first wedding I ever photographed (back in 2006) was also in this church, and I did a full teamshot on the stage at that one too! Â Brought back a few memories!
As they don’t really like clearing up the confetti at the church, we improvised with bubble-fetti…
Then, as guests headed off to Maxi’s for the traditional Chinese wedding meal, Joel & I had a few minutes with Wing and Andy to catch some relaxed couple portraits
Andy & Wing then hit to the road to the reception in Wing’s convertible!
Instead of hiring a wedding car, Mr & Mrs boyes decided to invest the dosh they’d have spent in two private plates for their cars!
The traditional Chinese wedding meal wouldn’t be the same without…
Traditional wedding outfits!
A traditional part of all Chinese wedding ceremonies is serving tea to guests and the giving & receiving of gifts, including some fancy gold jewellery!
We then did a whole bunch of family shots (Man, do Chinese weddings love the groupshots?!)
After the meal, we all headed over to the Leeds-Bradford Holiday Inn in Tong for the wonderfully sunny evening reception celebrations.
As we’d only had chance to do a few quick portraits at the church, Joel & I took Andy and Wing out for another quick round!
They’re really natural together. Â Though this was helped by doing a pre-wedding practice shoot around Leeds Centre a month or so back (blog post here)!
It’s so nice when the weather’s fine and the ground’s dry! It’s finally starting to feel like summer!
Afterwards, we rounded up the wedding party for a few fun groups
Then it was Pimms on arrival for their masquerade-ball themed evening reception!
The kids in masks were hilarious!
It was great to catch up with Shanshan & Chris (still naturals after papping their wedding!), who’ve become pals of ours (& fellow rescue dog owners!)
Also nice to have a big old hog roast sandwich later on! Â Nom nom nom
Unusually, speeches were done before the cutting of the cake, so evening guests could enjoy them
Then in the evening Joel & I ran my fun Photobooth for guests to mess about on!
It’s all the easier to get guests to play when they’ve already got their own masks!
Arguably shot of the day!
🙂
😀
Then it was time for a brilliantly choreographed first dance…
…before guests hit the dancefloor for a good party!
Though by the time we left, some may have hit it too hard… 😉
What an ace wedding eh?! Â Fun times all round, and super lucky with the beautiful weather.
Here’s hoping Wing & Andy have a brilliant life together and a lovely minimoon in Amsterdam ahead of their honeymoon in the Maldives and Sri Lanka next year!
Thanks to Wing & Andy for asking us to join their brilliant day and high5 to Joel for his duties as my 2nd shooter wingman!
B