Northamptonshire Wedding Photography

My blog has moved

2011-01-11T11:39:00.001Z

My blog has moved to www.weddingphotojournalist.co.uk/blog

Please visit my new blog to keep up to date with my recent weddings and work. I hope to see you there.

If you would like to contact me please email simon@pressphotography.co.uk or give me a call on 01933 316717. My main website is www.weddingphotojournalist.co.uk

Kilworth House hotel wedding photos. Michaela & Robert

2010-12-14T18:28:00.005Z

Michaela & Robert had a 4pm candlelit wedding ceremony at Kilworth House hotel on the 9th December 2010. There is something very special about winter weddings, especially on the run up to Christmas.

After the ceremony I took a couple of relaxed portraits of Michaela & Robert around the hotel. This is the only time of the day I control anything, everything else is taken as it happens in my signature documentary style.

These are a few of the 400 photographs from the day. I hope you enjoy them.

If you would like to contact me my email address is simon@pressphotography.co.uk or you can call me on 01933 316717.

2010 weddings

2010-11-19T16:13:00.003Z

What a great wedding season it has been this year, I have been to all corners of the UK and across to Jersey. I had a wedding every single Saturday from May through to November as well as some earlier in the year and a couple later.

I thought it would be fun to pick just one photograph from every wedding, it's a lot more difficult than it sounds as I have so many I like.

Here is the first installment, more 2010 weddings to come later.

Johanna & Neil kicked off the year for me with a candlelit ceremony at Woodhall Spa.

Kelly & Richard married at the stunningly beautiful Alwnick Castle with snow on the ground.

Joanne & Greg's wedding was at Cowley Manor, the first of three weddings I photographed this year at Cowley Manor.

Lee & Tim's wedding was in Southampton, with the wedding reception at Cowes Corinthian Yacht club on the Isle of Wight.

Verity & Neil had a Hindu ceremony outdoors at Ettington Park Hotel.

Sarah & Henry's wedding was at Grantchester, Cambridge.

Hannah & James married at Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons, Oxford.

Alex & Gemma's wedding was in Kettering and Rushton Hall.

Lizzie & Ben's wedding was at Ashchurch, Tewkesbury

Emma & Justin married in the USA and had a blessing in Kent.

Emma & Paul's wedding was at Stoke Place Hotel.

2010 weddings continued

2010-11-19T15:19:00.001Z

Annabel & Logie married at Inverness Cathedral and held a reception on their stunning family estate in Scotland.

Claire & Ben's wedding was at York, The wedding reception was at the Merchant Adventurers Hall.

Brigid & Rob married in beautiful Cornwall, and then walked from the church to St Mawes Castle.

More to follow soon.

Prestwold Hall wedding, Steph & Eddie 6th November 2010

2010-11-13T11:18:00.001Z

Prestwold Hall is one of the wedding venues I work at often, Home of the Packe family for over 350 years, Prestwold Hall has the atmosphere of a family home.

Steph & Ediie married in St Andrew's Church, in the grounds of Prestwold Hall, then walked in the beautiful Autumn light to the hall for the wedding reception. There are lots of nice autumn colours at this time of the year.

November 6th was the perfect excuse for a firework display, complete with toffee apples and bonfire toffee (hand made by Steph).

I hope you enjoy the photographs from Eddie & Steph's wedding at Prestwold Hall.

Hedsor House wedding photos - Kerrie & Jamie

2010-10-14T15:07:00.002Z

Kerrie & Jamie married at stunning Hedsor House in Buckinghamshire.

The ceremony room at Hedsor House had been decorated with a lot of flowers and candles and looked sublime.

These are a selection of photographs from Kerrie & Jamie's wedding, I hope you enjoy them.

Dodmoor House - Ruth & Tom

2010-10-13T18:03:00.001Z

Dodmoor House is a very popular wedding venue in Weedon, Northamptonshire. Ruth & Tom's wedding was on Monday 4th October 2010, after the ceremony guests enjoyed the rare October sunshine before the wedding breakfast.

Chewton Glen, Belinda & Tobias

2010-10-11T11:36:00.000Z

Belinda and Tobias had a small intimate wedding at beautiful Chewton Glen. Chewton Glen is a stunning hotel located in the New Forest.

These are a selection of my favourite photographs.

Denbies Vineyard, Kate & Andy

2010-10-11T11:25:00.000Z

Kate and Andy married at Denbies Vineyard in Surrey. Following the ceremony the couple and guests went on a wine tasting tour in the cellars.

The weather was very wet all day, but luckily Denbies Vineyard have a large indoor area.

St Mary's Church, Old Hunstanton - Emily & Nick

2010-10-08T20:03:00.000Z

Emily & Nick married at St Mary's church in Old Hunstanton. Emily arrived in a beautiful white Jaguar SS1.

The reception was at Briarfields hotel, near the sea in Titchwell, Norfolk.

Black & White Photography

2010-10-07T09:54:00.000Z

I'm often asked how I select which photographs to make in black & white and what will be colour. The answer I usually give is that I have a feel for what will look good in black & white, but the answer isn't as simple as that.

I learnt to see in black & white back in the 1980's while working in the darkrooms of a newspaper. My job was to develop the films and make the prints, back then newspapers worked totally in black & white.

Later I became a photographer at the newspaper and for several years worked exclusively in black & white. I now use the skills I learnt in my wedding photography.

Once you strip away the colour you are left with the essence of the scene, the composition and tone. Colour can be very distracting in a photograph and by removing it you can focus on the real meaning of the image, the reason the photographer made the photograph at that moment in time. Black & white photographs concentrate your eye on what is really going on.

While any image can work in black & white, the best black & white photographs usually rely on strong elements in the composition, lines, shapes, light and contrast.

The above photograph was taken on a wedding earlier this year in Scotland. I had a lot of nice photographs of the couple, their family and guests, and wanted something that set the scene and told the story of the wedding location. The guests walked to a marquee set next to a river with mountains in the distance. I made this photograph to convey the location to the viewer. It works well in black & white due to the strong lines that run through the photograph. The fence and people walking away from the camera take your eye into the centre of the image, where the bridesmaids are walking and beyond into the background. Strong directional light from the setting sun resulted in long shadows which add to the photograph. Light is really the key point in any black & white photograph.

Light and shape are the key elements in the photograph above. I went to take some photographs of the bride getting ready and found her in this lovely room with directional light coming through the window. Rather than make the photograph just about the bride I wanted to show the scene as a whole, to tell the story of the bride getting ready with the bridesmaids watching. The walls are blue and there is a fair amount of distracting elements in colour, by making the photograph black & white it concentrates your eye on what is going on and the fantastic light coming into the room.

The photograph above works because of the strong graphic elements in the composition and because of the light. When I first arrived at the church I noticed this wonderful porch on the church and had intended to photograph this scene with the bride and her dad entering the church. They came in through a different door, so I had to wait for the couple to leave the church to take the shot.

Black & white really does lend itself well to wedding photography, although of course a lot of the day is very colourful and I take a lot of colour photographs as well.

Kind words from my clients

2010-09-24T12:38:00.000Z

One of the lovely things about my job as a wedding photographer is the lovely comments I get from my clients when they see their photographs. These are some of the emails I have received recently.

Dear Simon,

The album arrived yesterday and looks great. Thank you for providing us with such a wonderful memory of the day.

Best wishes,
James

Hi Simon,

The photos are so lovely! We absolutely love them.
Thank you for taking such great photographs.

Kind regards
Joyce

HI Simon,

Well, I spent a whole evening looking through the photos. They're wonderful, thank you. They tell the story of the day perfectly and it brought back lots of lovely memories.

Thanks again,
Mel

Dear Simon

Just a note to say thank you for the stunning photos - we were so pleased with them. They are such a lovely reminder of our day and we will treasure them.

Best Wishes Hannah & James.

Jesus College wedding photography, Joyce & Conrad

2010-09-21T14:01:00.003Z

Joyce and Conrad's wedding was in the chapel at Jesus College, Cambridge, on Sunday 19th September.

Jesus College is a really beautiful place to photograph, I have photographed a number of weddings there in the past.
When I arrived one of the guests told me I'd better be good as former Magnum (The World famous photo agency) picture editor John Morris was one of the guests.

These are my favourite photographs from Joyce & Conrad's wedding at Jesus College, I hope you enjoy them.

Belton House and RAF Waddington, Chris & Kate's wedding.

2010-09-21T08:48:00.000Z

I had the pleasure of photographing Chris & Kate's wedding recently at Belton House in Lincolnshire.

Belton House is owned by the National Trust and is a real treasure, they only have a small number of weddings a year and certainly know how to make them special.

Chris is a navigator in the RAF, the reception took place at RAF Waddington near Lincoln.

Fawsley Hall wedding. Hannah & Ben

2010-09-07T12:08:00.000Z

Fawsley Hall has always been a special place for me, ever since the first wedding I photographed there some eight years ago. Set in the beautiful Northamptonshire countryside, Fawsley is approached by a narrow winding road, often full of sheep. There used to be a village here, all that is left now is the church and Fawsley Hall.

Fawsley Hall has an interesting history and dates back some 800 years, Queen Elizabeth I stayed here in 1575, the house was owned by the Knightley family from the early 1400's, it fell into disrepair in the 1970's before being turned into a hotel.

Hannah & Ben married at nearby Badby Church on the 3rd September and held their reception at Knightley Court, Fawsley Hall. It was a beautiful sunny day.

These are a few of the photographs showing the love between Hannah & Ben, I hope you enjoy them.

Jersey Wedding at La Mare Wine estate and vineyard.

2010-09-07T11:34:00.001Z

On the bank holiday weekend I had the pleasure of photographing Marcus & Carly's wedding at La Mare Wine Estate on the beautiful island of Jersey.

Jersey is a short flight from Gatwick, 35 minutes later I was on the tarmac at Jersey airport enjoying the sunshine.

The wedding ceremony took place in a marquee at La Mare and was followed by drinks on the lawn before a candlelit wedding breakfast in the Winery.

These are a few of the photographs telling the wedding story of Carly & Marcus.

Wadham College Oxford wedding, Melanie & Mark

2010-08-24T16:21:00.000Z

My second wedding for the weekend was in gorgeous Oxford.

Melanie got ready at Malmaison, which used to be a prison before being turned into a luxury hotel. It was certainly unusual, thankfully they let me out again.

The ceremony and wedding breakfast was at Wadham College, Oxford. What a stunning location

Cowley Manor wedding, Nicky & Ryan

2010-08-24T16:10:00.000Z

This was my third visit to Cowley Manor this summer, it's a really fantastic venue for weddings and I always enjoy going there.

Nicky & Ryan married in the church next door to Cowley Manor.

The weather was very wet for much of the day, luckily Cowley Manor is as nice inside as out.

Temple Island, Georgina & Mark

2010-08-17T13:51:00.001Z

Temple Island makes a fantastic wedding venue, it's located in the middle of the River Thames close to Henley On Thames. I have done a few weddings in the past on Temple Island and was looking forward to photographing Georgina & Mark's wedding.

Georgina got ready at Hotel Du Vin in Henley On Thames, the wedding ceremony was at St John The Baptist, Kidmore End, Reading. Georgina's family made the trip from Norway for the wedding.

The weather was rather wet with a rumble of thunder, although the sun did make an appearance a couple of times. By the evening the rain had stopped and mist started to rise from the meadows, which was a very beautiful sight. The river Thames adds an extra dimension to weddings at Temple Island, with it's every changing reflections.

I hope you enjoy the photographs.

Dorset wedding, Piddlehinton

2010-08-11T17:12:00.001Z

Emma & Tom's wedding was on the 7th August at St Mary's church in Piddlehinton, Dorset. The church has a special meaning to Emma as it's where her parents married. The reception was in an amazing marquee nearby.

Cowley Manor wedding, Kirsty & Andy 31st July 2010

2010-08-05T13:10:00.000Z

Kirsty & Andy's wedding took place at Cowley Manor on the 31st July. This was my second visit to Cowley Manor this year, I'm also back there in a couple of weeks time for another wedding.

The ceremony took place in the dining room and afterwards everyone enjoyed the gardens.

These are a small selection of photographs from Kirsty & Andy's wedding.

Wedding Albums by Queensberry

2010-07-29T11:21:00.004Z

I have been using Queensberry albums for several years now, they offer superb quality and a great range of finishes. Each album is designed by myself from photographs my clients have selected. The order is then sent to New Zealand for production. Queensberry hand make each album, many hours of work go into producing these.

I recently had a delivery of albums and decided to take a few photographs of them to share in my blog.

Silver Buckram cover on a 12"x12" album, with blind embossing.

Pages from the above album.

A 12"x12" album in classic black leather.

12"x12" album with black pages.

A 14"x10" album in Carbon Buckram with a small photograph on the front.

Queensberry albums come in a range of different sizes, the largest is 18"x12". These are photographs of a leather 18"x12" with a photo cover, that I have on display in my office. This is a very large album and allows the photographs plenty of space on the pages.

St Mawes Castle wedding, beautiful Cornwall.

2010-07-26T11:06:00.000Z

St Mawes Castle is nestled above the rocks overlooking the entrance to the Fal Estuary, with views out to sea and across to St Mawes. It is certainly worth the 700 miles round trip from my base in Northamptonshire.

Brigid and Rob married in St Mawes and walked with their guests up the steep road to the Castle for their reception, which took place in a marquee overlooking the sea.

York wedding, St Peter's School &The Merchant Adventurer's Hall

2010-07-15T18:38:00.000Z

On July 10th I headed up to York for Claire & Ben's wedding.

The ceremony was in the chapel at St Peter's school and the reception was at The Merchant Adventurer's Hall in the heart of York.

Claire & Ben amazed their guests with a fantastic first dance, I think they must have been practicing that for a while.

These are a few photographs from their wedding day.

Scotland - Annabel & Logie at Inverness cathedral and Tomatin House.

2010-07-06T17:36:00.003Z

I travelled up to beautiful Scotland for Annabel & Logie's wedding on the 3rd July.

The ceremony took place in Inverness Cathedral and was followed by a reception in a marquee next to the River Findhorn on the family estate at Tomatin.

These are a few of my favourite photographs.

Stoke Place - Emma & Paul.

2010-06-30T09:45:00.000Z

Stoke Place was the location for Emma & Paul's wedding on the 26th June. It was one of the hottest days of the year so far and the guests made full use of the grounds.

These are a few of the 350 photographs from Emma & Paul's wedding.

Kind comments from clients

2010-06-23T15:23:00.000Z

One of the nice things about my job is I create something that my clients cherish. There are very few jobs in which you actually create something from scratch. When clients visit me prior to their wedding they have to take my word that I will give them 100 percent and create a set of photographs they will love.

It always makes my day when I get nice comments after the wedding.

Hi Simon,

Hope you're well. I wanted you to know we've been swamped with rave reviews of your beautiful photography. I am so so happy we found you - you're the best & very lovely too!

Thanks very much,
Lizzie

A few of Lizzie & Ben's wedding photographs are further down my blog.

Hernhill Kent - Emma & Justin's blessing

2010-06-21T14:47:00.000Z

Emma & Justin married at Veritas Vineyard, USA, on the 30th May. They returned to Hernhill in Kent for a blessing. Emma's family have lived in the village for 450 years.

The wedding blessing took place at St. Michael's Church, Hernhill, and was followed by a buffet at the Red Lion Inn and a party back at the family farm later in the evening.

The weather was typical of English summers, rain followed by short periods of sunshine and then more rain.

These are just a small selection of photographs from the day.

"My photographer friend let me down"...

2010-06-21T12:29:00.000Z

On Saturday I had yet another call from a couple who had chosen to use a friend with a 'good' camera to take their wedding photographs. Unfortunately they had been let down at the last minute and are now looking for a photographer to cover their wedding in a couple of weeks time. 2010 has been a bit of an odd year, I have been getting these sort of enquiries on an almost weekly basis.

There is a saying going around about there being more wedding photographers now than weddings. Unfortunately many of these have no insurance, training or experience.

When choosing a wedding photographer ask them to show you at least 3 complete weddings, preferably the last three they have done rather than the best weddings from the past year. The photography should be consistent across the day, not just one or two good photographs. Documentary wedding photography is the hardest of the different styles to master, while anyone can take a photograph, only a talented photographer can take consistent high quality photographs all day across a variety of lighting conditions. This is a skill that takes many years to learn and perfect.

A wedding photographer should have a minimum of two professional camera bodies, plus Professional Indemnity and Public Liability insurance. They should give you a wedding contract with the terms and conditions of the booking, this is to protect you in case something goes wrong and also makes it less likely they will telephone you a couple of weeks before your wedding to cancel.

St Nicholas Church, Ashchurch - Lizzie & Ben

2010-06-15T12:34:00.000Z

Lizzie & Ben married at St Nicholas Church, Ashchurch, Tewkesbury, on the 12th June. It was a lovely summers day, perfect for their reception in a marquee.

Kettering and Rushton Hall wedding

2010-06-07T16:18:00.000Z

Alex and Gemma married on the 5th June at St Edward's catholic church in Kettering, Northamptonshire. The reception took place at nearby Rushton Hall. Gemma's parents had married in the same church.

These are a small selection of photographs from Alex & Gemma's wedding.

Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons

2010-06-07T15:42:00.001Z

On the 29th May I photographed Hannah and James wedding at the beautiful Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons, Raymond Blanc's hotel and restaurant near Oxford.

The wedding ceremony took place in La Belle Epoque, afterwards Hannah & James managed to dodge the rain showers for a quick tour of the gardens before the ten course meal.

Celebrating the tenth anniversary of my wedding business

2010-06-06T21:35:00.002Z

In a few weeks time a major milestone in my business will take place, it will be ten years since I left newspaper photography and set up my wedding business, and 22 years since I first became involved in professional photography. During that time I have photographed hundreds of weddings all across the UK and a number of international weddings.

In 1988 I got my first job in photography, working in the darkrooms at the Peterborough Evening Telegraph newspaper, A lot has changed in photography since then. My first job saw me developing and printing black & white photographs, I spent most of my working life under the dim red glow of the safe light. My fingers turned yellow from the chemicals, no doubt in today's health and safety concious world there would be rules about dipping your hands in developer and fixer. Luckily for me, the picture editor on the newspaper saw some ability in my photographic skills and persuaded the newspaper to send me on the official training course for newspaper photographers, the NCTJ. I packed my bags and spent a year of training in Sheffield, before returning as a qualified press photographer. I went on to work for various regional and national newspapers and magazines over the next 12 years.

While I was on the NCTJ course in 1989, an early prototype of the digital camera was demonstrated. At that point most press photographers still shot on black & white film (HP5 was our standard stock). Digital photography seemed like it would never catch on, the camera was clunky and the only one of its kind in the country. Even when I left newspaper photography in 1999, digital photography was only just making an entrance, many photographers shot on film and used a negative scanner to produce digital images.

I remember when a major news story broke while I was working for a local newspaper in the early 1990's, some of the photographers from national newspapers came to our office to develop their films and wire them to the offices in London. One of them brought a suitcase sized machine that would scan the film and transmit it over a phone line. I had never seen anything like it before and was in awe of the new technology.

I photographed a number of high profile news stories during my time in press work, although a lot of the work was actually mundane. I enjoyed photographing bands and managed to blag my way into photographing Meatloaf, Belinda Carlisle, Chris Rea, Saxon and a number of others. More memorable press assignments include spending a week with the British Army flying helicopters and driving tanks in Germany, spending time with Tony Blair on his battle bus before he won the General Election, photographing most of the Royal Family on a Rota pass – we had strict instructions not to talk to the Royal Family, one one occasion the Queen Mother struck up a conversation with me and I wasn't sure if it would be rude to ignore her or break the rules, as it happened I broke the rules and had a quick chat with her.

After 12 years as a press photographer I started to look for something different, newspaper photography was great, but it is very long hours and nobody is ever grateful of your work, yesterday's photograph is today's fish and chip wrapping. At that time (1999) wedding photography was considered as the lowest of the low for photographers, the average wedding photographer turned up with a blad on sticks (Hassleblad on a tripod) and shot a couple of rolls of 120 film with the same old set up photographs every wedding. My press colleagues thought I was mad for even considering weddings, although a number of them have since contacted me asking for advice on photographing weddings. Luckily I discovered an emerging style of wedding photography, wedding photojournalism. At that time there was maybe just a couple of photographers in the UK working in this style. It was a style that would fit perfectly with my newspaper background. My only problem was I didn't have a portfolio. I did have some wedding photographs from my press portfolio, A few months previously I had been sent to a semi celebrity wedding, as it happened I wasn't very welcome and was chased away by the ushers, but not before I had taken some photographs in a documentary style. The bride actually phoned up the newspaper and ordered some prints, despite not welcoming my presence at her wedding.
Armed with a small portfolio of work I gained my first wedding at Swinfen Hall. Once I put these photographs on my website I was inundated with enquiries for more weddings and before I knew it I was a full time wedding photographer shooting 50 weddings a year.

The first couple of years saw me working on film, a mixture of colour and black & white. I set up a darkroom at home, complete with a dry to dry colour processor. In 2003 I brought a digital camera and started experimenting with taking a few photographs at each wedding with it, a couple of years later I was working totally with digital cameras and found a lot of my time was spent in front of a computer.

Digital has brought mixed blessings for professional photographers, it has opened up new avenues of creativity, but meant spending a lot of time in front of a computer screen. Digital photography has also made it very easy for anyone to set up as a wedding photographer. The market is now saturated with many wedding photographers who lack any training and often any real experience. It is possible to pay for a portfolio building day at a mock wedding or even buy a complete wedding album taken by another photographer, as a result many couples are no doubt left with sub standard photography from photographers who have no previous experience. Luckily there are plenty of couples who appreciate good photography and the standard of the top wedding photographers in the UK is very high.

As I reach the tenth anniversary of my business, I can say that I still enjoy my job as much now as I did back in the summer of 2000, weddings are happy events and it is an honour to be involved in them. Photography is far more than a job to me, it is my life. I look forward to the next ten years and all the changes it may bring.

Grantchester, Cambridge wedding.

2010-05-25T13:40:00.001Z

Sarah and Henry married at St Andrews Church, Stapleford, Cambridge, on Saturday 22nd May 2010.

The reception was in a traditional style marquee on a meadow next to the River Cam at Grantchester. It was the perfect weather for a marquee, a beautiful sunny day.

At the end of the evening, Sarah & Henry punted back to Cambridge along the River Cam.

Ettington Park, Hindu wedding ceremony

2010-05-19T10:26:00.000Z

I had the pleasure of photographing Verity & Neil's wedding on the 15th May at Ettington Park Hotel, Stratford upon Avon.

The day consisted of two wedding ceremonies, firstly a civil ceremony in the early afternoon, then a Hindu ceremony outdoors as the sun set in the evening. Neil arrived for the Hindu ceremony on a white horse, surrounded by his family.

Isle of Wight, Cowes Corinthian yacht club wedding

2010-05-11T09:31:00.000Z

On the 8th May I travelled down to Southampton for Lee & Tim's wedding. Tim is a yachtsman and when Lee first contacted me he was sailing around Australia, the couple are cutting their honeymoon short so Tim can attempt to cross the Atlantic in record time while he has the weather window.

The wedding ceremony took place at Bursledon, Southampton. Afterwards everyone headed to Hamble Marina to catch the Princess Caroline MV for the trip to the reception at the Cowes Corinthian Yacht Club, Isle of Wight.

Tim's family and friends had made the trip over from Tasmania.

The weather was a little rainy, I often get asked by potential clients what happens if it rains, the answer is you still get great photographs.

Cowley Manor

2010-05-06T10:32:00.003Z

My first of two weddings at Cowley Manor this year was on the 3rd May. Cowley Manor ( http://www.cowleymanor.com ) is in Gloucestershire, near Cheltenham. It is suitable for both small and large weddings (up to 100 guests).

Joanne and Greg married in Cowley Church, which is next door to the house. They had a small intimate wedding for 28 guests.

These are just a small sample of the 350 photographs from their wedding.

Alnwick Castle wedding photos

2010-03-22T19:06:00.013Z

Kelly and Richard married at the beautiful Alnwick Castle in Northumberland (http://www.alnwickcastle.com/) on February 20th. After a candlelit wedding ceremony the couple and guests enjoyed some winter sunshine despite the cold and snowy conditions.

These are a few of my favourite photographs from Kelly & Richard's wedding.

Candlelit wedding ceremony, Johanna and Neil.

2010-01-25T10:47:00.004Z

Johanna & Neil had a beautiful candlelit wedding ceremony on the 22nd January 2010 at The church of Our Lady and St Peter, Woodhall Spa, Lincolnshire. The church looked very warm and cosy lit with nothing but candles for the 4.30pm ceremony. The bride arrived as it was getting dark and was piped into the church.

Their reception was back at the family farm in Greetham, Horncastle, Lincolnshire.

These are a few of my favourite photographs from Johanna and Neil's wedding.

Lake district wedding

2010-01-12T13:40:00.003Z

On the 30th December I travelled up to the Lake District for Alison & Callum's wedding. As I drove up the M6 the snow started to fall and I knew the lakes would look magical.

The wedding ceremony took place at Greystokes Castle, http://www.greystoke.com/, as the snow fell at dusk.

The reception was at Rheged, http://www.rheged.com/, which is a glass fronted building with a grass roof, a complete contrast to the castle.

Caroline & Tim's wedding

2010-01-12T13:18:00.002Z

Caroline & Tim married on the 19th December in Loughborough and had their reception at the Priest House hotel in Castle Donnington,http://www.handpickedhotels.co.uk/hotels/Priest-House

The couple met at Loughborough university, we stopped of there for a quick portrait on the way to the reception.

These are a few of the photographs from their wedding day.

Grey Seals at Norfolk

2010-01-01T19:30:00.002Z

Today I drove out to Horsey Gap on the Norfolk coast, an important breeding site for Grey Seals. During January the seals come onto the beach to give birth. They don't seem to mind the constant stream of people who come to watch, the beach itself is shut and viewing is from the sand dunes.

Starting to look a lot like Christmas

2009-12-18T12:46:00.002Z

It's starting to look a lot like Christmas here in Higham Ferrers, I woke this morning to a blanket of snow that made Higham Ferrers look Christmas card pretty.

I have a couple more weddings left for this year, but for now I wish you a happy Christmas.

Client comments

2009-12-15T18:16:00.006Z

One of the nicest things about my job (other than the gorgeous venues I go to) is the comments I get from my clients. I'm passionate about wedding photography and always hope my clients can see this both on the day and when they first see the photographs I have created for them.

This was a lovely email I received today from Catherine & David Platt after they viewed their photographs from Thornton Manor.

Simply stunning photography Simon!
We can't stop looking at them.....thank you so much, they are just beautiful.
We will get back shortly r.e. the thank you cards, but thank you again.....it really is an unbelievable standard of photography. The photos give us a perfect pictorial storybook, which we will use to remember the day for the rest of our lives.
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
With Love and Best Wishes,
Catherine and David

Even clients whose weddings I haven't photographed yet send me nice emails.

Hi Simon!

It's Nicole from Canada - you are photographing our wedding in July 2011 in Greece. How are you?
I have been on your blog regularly and I get so excited every time I look - your newer posts make me want to have a cozy, candlelit wedding!! :)
I hope you are well, winter has started once again in Toronto, snow and slush and the rest of it! Thank god for waterproof boots! haha

Sincerely,
Nicole

I also get emails from other photographers telling me they like my work. But it's the emails from my clients that give me a warm feeling.

Thornton Manor wedding photography, Catherine & David

2009-12-07T15:27:00.003Z

On the 4th December I drove up to Thornton Manor in Cheshire (http://www.thorntonmanor.co.uk/) for Catherine & David's wedding.

Thornton Manor is a beautiful location for a winter wedding, it's one of my favourite locations in the UK. As I have mentioned before, I love winter weddings with lots of candles which give a lovely warm glow to the photographs.

These are a few of the photographs from the wedding.

Dominique & Al's wedding at St Etheldreda's church, London.

2009-11-30T15:27:00.002Z

On the 28th November I had the pleasure of photographing Dominique & Al's London wedding at St Etheldreda's church.

I love winter weddings with lots of candles and low light. The ceremony started at 4pm in the candlelit church, followed by a reception at the Bleeding Heart (http://www.bleedingheart.co.uk/).

Dominique wore a beautiful Jenny Packham dress.

No pressure on me!

2009-10-20T12:20:00.005Z

On Saturday I had the pleasure of photographing Peter & John's civil partnership in London. The couple had kept rather quiet about who photographed the pre partnership portrait that was on display. It was in fact taken by Lord Snowdon, a friend of Peter & John. Lord Snowdon is a very famous photographer and considered by many as one of the great photographers of the 20th century.

Lord Snowdon was also a guest at the reception. I'm not sure what he will make of my photograph of him, although I did get to talk to him briefly about photography and he didn't seem too keen on digital cameras (photograph taken on a Canon 5DmkII digital camera in a very dark room at iso6400).

Holdenby House - Jane & Rob's wedding

2009-10-15T11:15:00.003Z

Jane and Rob married on the 9th October 2009 at Holdenby House in Northamptonshire.

Holdenby is one of my favourite locations for weddings in Northamptonshire. It's a family home and has a lovely feel that you don't get with a hotel. Holdenby only have a handful of weddings each year.

Hampton Court House wedding - Rebecca and Rupert

2009-10-15T10:50:00.002Z

Rebecca & Rupert married at St James Church in Hampton Hill, London, on the 3rd October 2009. Their reception was at Hampton Court House.

This was my second visit to Hampton Court House, which is a school during the week and a great wedding location at the weekend.

These are a small selection of photographs from their day.

Johanne & Gareth's wedding at Thrumpton Hall

2009-09-23T11:51:00.002Z

Johanne & Gareth married at St Michael and All Angels church in Diesworth and had their reception at Thrumpton Hall.

I had photographed the wedding of Johanne's sister a few years back and the weddings of a number of their friends since. It's always lovely to work with the same family again.

A number of Johanne's friends gathered at the bottom of the stairs to greet her at the house after she got dressed. This was a lovely touching moment which made for great photographs.

Hodsock Priory wedding photography

2009-09-18T18:27:00.002Z

Charlotte & Simon married on the 4th September at Hodsock Priory, a really fantastic location for weddings.

These are a few of the photographs I took.

Siobhan & Matthew 's London wedding

2009-09-18T17:34:00.004Z

Siobhan & Matthew had their wedding in London and the reception in Docklands overlooking the 02 Arena (formally the Millennium Dome). The speeches took place outside next to the River Thames, later the couple had their first dance on the terrace.

7 weeks, 13 weddings, 2300 miles

2009-09-18T17:22:00.004Z

Regular visitors to my blog might have noticed a lack of posts recently. I have just come to the end of the busiest part of the year and it's always a real challenge to find spare time to blog recent weddings. Looking back through my diary over the past 7 weeks reveals I have driven 2300 miles, covered 13 weddings (two most weeks) at all corners of the UK and taken over 5000 photographs. The year is far from over yet, I have weddings right through to the 30th December and my diary for 2010 is filling up fast.

I'll shortly be posting some photographs from last weekend's weddings.

What do photographers do on their day off? Photograph weddings of course!

2009-08-25T11:51:00.004Z

What do wedding photographers do on a day off? Maybe have a nice restful day? Or maybe go for a day out? Actually no, they hook up with photographer friends and second shoot for them. (It's better than going shopping with my wife).

I joined up with my friends Dan & Ann Johnson who are wedding photographers based in East Sussex, on their wedding at the HAC (http://www.hac.org.uk/html/corporate-private-events) in London.

The bride, Dolly, wore a fabulous Vivienne Westwood dress. The groom, Chris, looked very fashionable in his blue suit.

These are a few of my photographs from the day.

And here I am in action.

Harewood House wedding - Melissa & Nik

2009-08-10T14:29:00.002Z

Melissa & Nik married at Harewood House in Yorkshire, a stunning venue near Leeds (http://www.harewood.org/).

Nik & Melissa met at Starbucks, the proposal was from a hot air balloon, Nik had written in paint on the lawn which Melissa spotted as they drifted across the sky in the balloon.

Northamptonshire wedding photography, Higham Ferrers and Holdenby House

2009-08-04T10:27:00.007Z

What could be better than photographing a wedding right on your doorstep? Most of the weddings I photograph involve a lot of driving and I often find myself two or three hours from home. When Catherine & Ross told me their wedding was taking place in my local parish church I thought it was local, but when I found out their parents are almost neighbours it was more local than I thought.

Ross is a wedding photographer, so no pressure for me on this one. The marriage ceremony took place at St Mary's church in Higham Ferrers on the 31st July 2009. I might be biased, but I think it's one of the nicest churches in the country. The reception was at the beautiful Holdenby House in Northamptonshire.

Holdenby House has a Falconry, this kept the guests entertained and those with cameras challenged to catch the birds in flight.

Please see my new blog for more weddings at Holdenby House, http://www.weddingphotojournalist.co.uk/blog or give me a call on 01933 316717 (or email simon@pressphotography.co.uk) to discuss your wedding photography at Holdenby House.

Kate & Keith's wedding at Kings Lynn, Norfolk. (The Red Barn)

2009-08-02T16:58:00.002Z

I haven't blogged any weddings for a while as I have been extremely busy. July is always a very busy month for weddings and I usually have a couple of weddings each weekend.

Kate & Keith married on the 1st August 2009 at Runcton Holme church, near Kings Lynn in Norfolk. The reception was at The Red barn in South Runcton.

These are a few of my favourite photographs.

Georgina & Steve at Prestwold Hall

2009-07-09T11:15:00.002Z

Georgina & Steve married on the 26th June 2009. The reception took place at one of my favourite locations, Prestwold Hall.

These are a few photographs from their day.

Jasmine & Jon at Great Fosters

2009-06-24T16:14:00.001Z

Jasmine and Jon married at Great Fosters on the 19th June 2009. Jasmine is the presenter of the Channel 4 show ' A place in sun: home or away' and Jon is a TV cameraman.

These are a few of my favourite photographs from their wedding.

Kellie & James' wedding in Northamptonshire.

2009-06-23T13:28:00.004Z

Kellie & James married on the 20th June 2009 at St Andrew's church in Harlestone. The reception was at Broomhill Hotel in Northamptonshire.

Press play to view the slideshow.

Suzy & Ben at Clandon Park

2009-06-23T13:12:00.004Z

Suzy & Ben returned home from working in India for their wedding which took place at Clandon Park.

The ceremony was in the tapestry room at the National Trust owned house. After drinks in the gardens the reception took place in a marquee on the lawn.

Press play to view the slide show.

Becky and James' wedding blessing at Les Eyzies, Dordogne, France.

2009-06-08T12:23:00.007Z

Becky & James invited family and friends to Les Eyzies-De-Tayac, Dordogne, France, for their wedding blessing and party.

The wedding blessing took place in Hotel De Centenaire in beautiful Les Eyzies, followed by drinks in the gardens on a warm, sunny afternoon. After the more formal parts of the day with dinner and speeches, guests joined Becky & James at Les Granges, a country house in Manaurie, for the party which went on until the early hours of the following day. A fantstic firework display was one of the highlights of the evening.

Press play to view the slideshow.

Vicky & Paul at Rushton Hall.

2009-06-08T12:06:00.009Z

Vicky and Paul had perfect weather for their wedding, the sun shone down on Vicky's sparkling Jenny Packham dress.

After the ceremony the couple and their guests mingled in the courtyard at Rushton Hall , Northamptonshire(http://www.rushtonhall.com/). As a suprise for the guests, Vicky & Paul hired a carousel for the day.

Press play to view the slideshow.

Roz & Mike at Rockingham Castle

2009-06-01T13:46:00.000Z

Roz and Mike chose Rockingham Castle as the venue for their wedding. The castle has it's own church in the grounds. The wedding took place on a beautiful early summer day.

Faye & Andrew at Kilshane House, Ireland.

2009-05-05T11:44:00.015Z

It might be a long way to Tipperary, but that didn't stop Faye's family from traveling over to Ireland from Greece for her marriage to Andrew.

Faye and Andrew married at Clonbeg church, in the Glen of Aherlow, Ireland. The wedding reception took place at Kilshane House, Tipperary, Ireland.

With a mix of Irish and Greek family and friends the party was very lively.

This is a slide show with a small selection of the 570 photographs I took over the 3 days I was in Ireland. Press play to start the slide show. (you will need to have Flash installed on your computer)

Lincolns Inn wedding, London

2009-04-27T14:10:00.011Z

On Saturday 25th April I travelled to London for Anna & James' wedding. The ceremony took place in the beautiful Queen's Chapel of the Savoy. It was the first time I have heard the National Anthem at a wedding. After a moving ceremony the couple signed the register while the choir sung PSALM 128.

The reception took place at Lincoln's Inn, London. This was my second visit to Lincoln's Inn, it's certainly a fantastic setting for a wedding reception and the food is excellent.

Anna & James have flown off to Vancouver, Canada, for their honeymoon.

These are a few photographs from their wedding story.

Silhouette Artist

2009-04-27T11:44:00.004Z

I recently discovered the work of silhouette cutter Sarah Goddard. She will attend your wedding with scissors in hand and cut paper silhouettes of your guests. Her work is amazing, this is a silhouette she cut of me. (I did ask for some extra hair!).

Sarah has a website - http://www.visagesilhouettes.co.uk , or her telephone number is 0118 9670 632

Olga & Darren's wedding at Coombe Abbey

2009-04-14T14:19:00.010Z

Olga & Darren's wedding was on Easter Sunday at Coombe Abbey near Coventry.

The ceremony took place in the Abbeygate which was lit with candles and looked very atmospheric. After the ceremony the couple and their guests were piped out by an Elizabethan minstrel playing the English Bagpipes. Some emotional speaches followed before dinner.

These are a few photographs from Olga & Darren's wedding story-

http://www.weddingphotojournalist.co.uk/

Choosing a photographer

2009-04-13T19:53:00.003Z

At a recent wedding the venue had a second wedding taking place at the opposite side of the hotel. The staff told me the other wedding didn't have a professional photographer and had instead asked a relative with a "good camera" to take the photographs, apparently not unusual at present. I have noticed certain magazines recommending you save money by getting a friend to take the photographs or by putting cameras on the tables. Obviously I have something of a vested interest in wedding photography, but it's not lost business that bothers me, it's the fact the couple will almost certainly be very disappointed with the photographs. It's not a "good camera" that makes unforgettable photographs, it's a skilled photographer. Recently I brought some Jamie Oliver cookware, unfortunately for me I'm not a World class chef now. I might have the right tools for the job, but I don't have the skills of Jamie Oliver.

I'm a photographer because it's what I love, I photograph love stories and produce albums that become treasured possessions. My job is often stressful, you have to get everything right on the day as you can't go back and do it again. It takes hundreds of weddings to get the eye for photography (I have been a wedding photographer for 9 years, previously I was a newspaper photographer for 12 years), to the point you can predict what will happen and be in place to photograph it. Anyone can take photographs, only a select few can really capture the wedding story.

The bride from a recent wedding booked me a couple of days before her wedding. She had already booked another photographer, but fell in love with my style of photography. Having paid the balance in full with the other photographer she cancelled and booked me. I'm very flattered that my work evokes such strong emotions that this bride was willing to loose a substantial amount of money to swap photographers.

Choose a photographer with your heart and you won't regret it. A wedding album becomes one of your most treasured possessions and should be full of all the love, life and happiness of your wedding day.

Simon Atkins. April 2009.
http://www.weddingphotojournalist.co.uk/

Latest wedding bookings

2009-02-16T14:50:00.003Z

Over the last couple of weeks I have been busy talking to couples about their wedding plans. The latest two bookings are for Becky & James who are getting married in Dordogne, France, on the 6th June 2009 and Caroline & Tim who are getting married on the 19th December 2009 at Loughborough and having their reception at the Priest House, Castle Donington.

If you would like to come and discuss your wedding plans I have a couple of weekends available in March. This gives you the opportunity to come and look through my albums and chat about your wedding. I'm based in Higham Ferrers, Northamptonshire, within easy reach of the M1 & A14.

Natalie & Hugh at Orchardleigh House, Somerset.

2009-02-12T13:02:00.007Z

Natalie & Hugh's wedding took place on a frosty January day at Orchardleigh House in Somerset.

Orchardleigh House is a lovely setting and is very popular with weddings. Here are a few of my favourite photographs.

Wedding Bookings

2009-01-29T20:08:00.002Z

January is traditionally a very busy month for wedding enquiries and over the past couple of weeks I have received many emails from excited couples who are planning their wedding in 2009 or 2010. Congratulations to the latest two bookings which arrived in the post today. On May 2nd 2009 I'm off to Tipperary in Ireland for Faye & Andrew's wedding and on November 28th 2009 I'll be in London for Dominique & Alistair's wedding.

Over the next couple of weekends I'm arranging to meet up with potential clients who are interested in booking my services. You're very welcome to come along on the weekend of 31stJan/1st February or the 7th/8th February for an informal chat about your plans, this also gives you the chance to view more of my work and see my album range. Please telephone or email to confirm availability of time slots (telephone 01933 316717). I'm based in Higham Ferrers, Northamptonshire. I'm easy to find and just off the A45 (which joins the M1 or A14). From London journey time is about 1 hour 30 to 2 hours, I'm less than an hour from Cambridge and Oxford and about one hour from Birmingham.

I'm looking forward to meeting you and discussing your wedding plans.

Fawsley Hall wedding at Knightley Court

2009-01-29T10:19:00.005Z

My final wedding for 2008 was on the 29th December. Alex braved the cold for her wedding to Marek followed by a reception at Knightley Court at Fawsley Hall in Northamptonshire.

RSA wedding

2009-01-14T17:01:00.005Z

Rachel & David's wedding was in December 2008 at the RSA in London. After the ceremony everyone headed down to the vaults underneath the building for drinks. This gave the opportunity for some very colourful photographs as the whole area was lit with pink up lighters.

Christmas weddings - Anome & Emma

2009-01-02T16:05:00.001Z

Emma & Anome held their ceremony at the Bristol Marriott hotel and then took the guests by bus to Emma's parents house in Somerset. The reception was in a marquee which was actually very warm considering the time of the year.

Winter weddings - Katherine & Justin at Goodwood House

2008-12-30T15:45:00.001Z

I love winter weddings. The light might be almost nonexistent and it's certainly cold, but there is something very nice about candlelight and roaring fires. At a time of year when many wedding photographers hibernate for the winter I'm still busy with weddings.

Katherine & Justin had a church ceremony followed by a reception at Goodwood House. These are a very small selection of photographs from their wedding. You can view the entire wedding in the client area of my website (http://www.weddingphotojournalist.co.uk/).

Claire & Ian's wedding featured in Wedding magazine

2008-11-20T12:11:00.000Z

The December/January issue of Wedding features a double page spread on Ian & Claire's wedding at Cooling Castle Barn. More photographs of the wedding can be viewed in my blog at http://pressphotography.blogspot.com/2008/05/claire-ian-at-cooling-castle-barn.html

I received a very excited email from Claire -

Hi Simon, The magazine is out and looks great. I am obviously biased but your shots look amazing incomparison to the others, just so natural and stylish - hope you gets lots of calls! It's the Dec/Jan issue on sale now.

Clairex

Moving - changes to contact details

2008-10-27T20:19:00.001Z

I'm moving on Tuesday 28th October 2008. Please use my mobile number for the next few days until I have sorted out a few issues with BT regarding keeping my existing landline number. My mobile number is 07595 362270.

My new address is 3 Fitzwilliam Leys, Higham Ferrers, Northamptonshire NN10 8LY.

I won't have an internet connection at the new address until the end of the week. I'll still be able to pick up any emails sent to me. It will also take a few days to get the credit card terminal back up and running on a new phone line. I won't be able to accept credit/debit cards until this is back up.

I aim to have everything back up and running by the end of the week.

4/11/08. The move went well and my landline has been reconnected. My business number remains the same as before, 01933 316717. I'm still unpacking boxes (seems never ending), if you have recently ordered reprints I'll be sorting these out in the next couple of days and you should receive them by the middle of next week.

Client comments

2008-10-02T12:31:00.000Z

Hi Simon,

Just to say a BIG thank you for the photographs - they are truly amazing!!!!!!! Compared with the wedding photographer photos I have seen recently yours really do stand out as the best.

To think that most of the time we didn't even notice you there yet you have managed to capture the essence of the day perfectly. Cant wait to see the album

Regards, Jozefa and Michael

Celia & Mike's blessing at Rothley Court

2008-10-02T12:16:00.002Z

It's always an honour to photograph a wedding for another photographer. Celia is a talented portrait photographer who asked me to photograph her blessing to Mike. You can view Celia's photography on her website, http://www.celiamay.com/

Celia & Mike married in Las Vagas and had a blessing and party at Rothley Court near Leicester. The blessing took place in the chapel and was followed by a barbeque in the gardens of the hotel.

Sabrage - Opening the Champagne.

2008-09-24T09:12:00.001Z

At most weddings the Champagne is opened in the normal way. Marc wanted to show offf his skill with a sword at his wedding to Sue in Cambridge.

Sabrage involves breaking off the neck of the Champagne bottle with a sword. The sword is slid along the bottle hitting the neck at high speed. The force causes the neck to fracture just below the cork. It's difficult to photograph as the cork and a piece of glass fly off at high speed, you certainly don't want to stand in the way of it.

I don't recommend you try this at home!

Jozefa & Michael at Staunton Harold Hall

2008-09-22T14:41:00.002Z

Jozefa & Michael's wedding took place on the 13th September 2008 at Staunton Harold Hall, followed by a reception in a marquee at Ticknall.

Jozefa & Michael had arranged the wedding from their home in Australia. They chose the beautiful Staunton Harold Hall for the ceremony and the reception was at Jozefa's parents house in nearby Ticknall.

These are a small selection of photographs from their sunny wedding.

http://www.weddingphotojournalist.co.uk/
Documentary wedding photography by Simon Atkins.

Caroline & Toby in Devon

2008-09-04T17:15:00.001Z

On the 30th August I travelled down to Devon for Caroline & Toby's wedding at Bidwell farm in Upottery.

They had one of the most unusual marquees I have seen, a giant Tipi.