The Christmas period is a great time to have a wedding. People are in good spirits, are generally on holiday and have the new year to look forward to.
Plus you sometimes get snow!
I had had a busy Christmas period, shooting 3 weddings – The first of which was with Sharyn & Maruice at the lovely Woodlands Hotel in Leeds.
And I was caught by surprise when going through Clare’s pics of the gents preps, saw Maurice having his melon shaved by his best man!
Up in the penthouse the ladies were getting ready, and the flowers had just arrived.
I love what Fiona from Firenza does with flowers. She’s magic.
It’s not a fancy wedding without a nice pair of choos…
…and a pair of silver wellies.
Sharyn ended up a bit pushed for time and when it came to it, no-one knew how to lace up the dress.
So I ended up doing it!
I love this shot of the bridesmaids helping Sharyn on with her shoes! They were a hoot.
Sharyn, on the bed having regained composure!
They had a lovely civil ceremony down in the Brooklands suite
After the ceremony, they ducked out while guests remained in the room. I caught a couple of quick indoor portraits of our happy couple.
I like this one by the piano with all the pictures on the walls. I’d like to cover a wall in pictures like this at home.
Then, once the registrars had left the building and their pal Father Bob had arrived, they had a quick blessing. It was nice to do both.
A quick groupshot out in the snow
Afterwards, Sharyn & Maurice had a quick shoot in the snow. I really love the moment caught here.
And as if on cue, the evening sun broke through the clouds, and flared into the shot beautifully!
My blogs get a bit epic, so have broken this blog in half to reduce the internet strain. Click the [more] below for the 2nd half!
Maurice is a jeweller and made their rings himself (with lots of rocks!), so felt the pressure to give him some TASTY ring shots! Here are three:
I found a box with a lid that had these two hearts on it, and liked the concept.
They also had a black and white theme, so I thought I’d get the lounge piano involved in the party…
This one was taken on the top of the piano with my macro lens and off camera flash. I’m not sure which I like best!
The marquee was dressed up beautifully, with fiona’s lovely lit floral centre-pieces.
…and individual bottles of Sharyn & Maurice branded bubbly!
A classic cake, again seemingly studded with diamonds!
And a sweet table! I love these kind of details.
The Nintendo DS, the new dummy for kids!
A few tears squeezed during dad’s speech
And a joker of a best man, dredging stag night memories Maurice’d no doubt left forgotten!
Evening guests turned up in their best.
I love this moment of Sharyn having a laugh with her pals.
And after enough sauce, had a cheeky dance till the early hours.
It was such a fun day and great to join Sharyn & Maurice in celebrating their big day at Woodlands Hotel.
May I wish them a long and happy life together!
nb: Sharyn & Maurice have a private client area containing their wedding & pre-wedding highlights at www.barnabyaldrick.com. If you were at the wedding and would like to see their photos, call or email them for the password.