Closer to home!

As well as wedding photography in Lancaster I also do what I call lifestyle shoots traditionally known as portrait shoots, so when my wife asked me this evening to quickly put together a photo of our kids for granny...how could I refuse?.

I hurriedly shot this in my front room, all of my lifestyle shoots are in locations in and around Lancaster. It may be your favourite park like Williamson park which houses the magnificent Ashton Memorial or a local beauty spot that holds a special place in your heart.

Just before the shoot started I captured this shot whilst my daughter was waiting for her brother to get off the playstation!

My photography is all about capturing moments in time, there are many fantastic studio photographers out there, and they shoot amazing portraits, however i prefer to work in real life locations.

For mor information on lifestyle photography click here, or click here for more information on Lancaster wedding photography

Planning your wedding ......Part two

Okay, so here is part two (sorry for the delay, I have been out of town)

Now remember we are looking at the big picture here, this is based on the sort of discussion that you may have with your fiancé, shortly after he has proposed.

Choosing a wedding guest list

We have discussed the wedding budget, the theme, and the location, now comes the really tricky bit...The wedding guest list. Boy can this be difficult, not only do you have the budget to consider, (remember that every one you invite has an associated cost). But you will also find that family politics will come into play. Firstly there is the problem of what I call invitation by association; this is when you have to invite “bob” because you have invited “Bill”. My advice is to work backwards, remember your budget? make sure that this is considered at all times. Decide on a set number of people (before you start thinking of whom they are) and then do your best to stick to it.

Once you have a figure in mind, start from the top down, write down all the people that you really care about, these will be close family and friends, and then think about the important people in your life that you really respect or have been an inspiration to you. They may not be the people that you chat to on a regular basis but they do have a special place in your heart. When it comes to work colleagues, be careful that you don’t fall into the trap of inviting people because you feel you have to, think of it this way, if you left your job who would you keep in regular contact with?

Whatever you do don’t forget about the people that may have contributed to your wedding day. All hell will break loose if they don’t get an invite.

Choosing a wedding dress and other attire

Again this is very much dictated by budget, your dress is the most important item and i would suggest that an appropriate amount of the budget is allocated towards it. Then there are the suits and dresses for the bridesmaids and ushers, and let’s not forget the Grooms attire, believe me these can quickly add up, so make sure you shop around. Decide on a colour (remember your theme) my feeling is that the groom, ushers and bridesmaids should all follow the central colour of the bridal dress and integrate seamlessly with the overall wedding theme.

Choosing a Honeymoon destination

Now the fun bit, obviously this will have to conform to your budget, but you need to both agree on where you are going, just like regular holidays there are high and low seasons, so book early to avoid any disappointment, consider what activities you may want to do, are you both very active, or would you prefer to snuggle up in front of a fire for two weeks. One of the most important things to consider is the room; it should be comfortable and meet all your needs, after all that where you will both be spending a lot of time ;-)

Choosing wedding entertainment

There are a number of professionals that now have to be considered, firstly music, are you having a disco or a band. Remember that not all venues allow live music and don’t forget that the band normally starts charging from the time they arrive including setting up so make sure that they are not hanging around because the venue hasn’t cleared the room yet. When considering your choice of music think about your guests, will they be wanting to dance the night away to current music of the day or would quiet background music be more appropriate?
You may also consider a magician or caricaturists

Planning your wedding..........Part One

Great, so you have got the date set, now let’s start painting the picture with very broad brush strokes.

Planning a wedding doesn’t have to be stressful, but lets be honest it is probably going to be, so you really need to take your time and plan, plan, plan. Hopefully you will only get married once so seize the day, enjoy yourself and prepare for one of the most exciting days in your life.

At this stage of your wedding planning don’t get too caught up in detail, that can come later, much later, for now just concentrate on the basics. Agree with your fiancée (sounds good to say that doesn’t it) some of the bigger decisions…Lets run through some of them.

Hopefully your wedding day is about 12 months away. Good that leaves you with plenty of time, but that doesn’t mean you can be complacent.

Budget

Oohh this can be a tricky subject, who is going to pay? If Aunty Joan pays will she want a lot of say in the decisions? Should you take out a loan? Will our parents pay, there are a lot of options here and quite likely it could be all of the above. In my opinion gone are the days when tradition kicked in and the bride’s parents paid. Whoever pays one thing is for sure…you will need a water tight budget. (More on this to come)

Where will the wedding ceremony take place?

Church wedding or civil ceremony. I am a church man myself, as a wedding photographer I feel that the church conveys a lot more emotion than a civil ceremony, the lighting is often softer which lends itself to stunning wedding photographs, however there is a place for civil ceremonies, some people like the fact that they can get married a lot quicker with a registrar, plus don’t forget your can write your own wedding vows (now that’s romantic). Remember if you do choose to get married in a church you will probably need to visit it several times in the run up to the wedding, so make sure it’s not too far away.

The wedding theme

Now this should be the fun part for you girls, the guys usually want to start mowing the lawn at this stage of the conversation, but don’t worry girls, he will be writing his fair share of invitations and tying pretty pink bows don’t you worry. When it comes to a theme, think of your own personality you will “just know” what’s right and what’s not. The theme can often be dictated by the time of year or the wedding venue, it could be a soft romantic theme or a theme to match an historic castle. Go with what feels right. But a word of advice don’t be tempted into purchasing goodies for your theme yet, mark my words you will change your mind at least once.

Check back soon for part two!

Choosing a wedding date

So he’s proposed….and you said yes. Congratulations, there must be a million thoughts running through your head!

What will my parents say?

I love my ring!

What will my friends say?

I love my ring!

Where will the reception be?

I love my ring!

I have to find a wedding photographer?

Shall we just elope?

We need to set a wedding date?

First things first, get the date set, but that may be tougher than you think.

The wedding date is very important; it will stay with you for eternity and symbolise that special moment in your life when you said your vows. You may want to choose a date that is already special and has some meaning to you both for instance; you could choose one of your parents or Grandparents wedding date, or the day you first laid eyes on your Fiancée?

Let’s just remember a few things…. first think about the time of the year, do you want a beautiful winter wedding or a sunnier summer wedding, (I personally love autumn weddings, there is something about the light that makes for beautiful wedding photographs), next consider the wedding venue, if you have your heart set on a particular wedding venue then there is no use setting a firm date until you know that they are not booked.

Make sure that you consider other important dates in the family, relative’s birthdays etc. Make sure that the important people off your guest list are going to be around, check with them that they haven’t planned to spend that weekend on holiday on the other side of the world

Have fun planning your wedding!

Advent Calender

Christmas is nearly upon us, and today my kids started eating the chocolates out of their advent calenders. That got me thinking........you see just like kids looking forward to that big day well brides are just the same. Once their weddiing day is set, most things in the world revolve around the ever nearing date.

From what brides have told me, at first days and weeks drag by and you seem to think that there is loads of time, but then there comes a point at which you think..Crickey! where has the time gone, there is still so much to do!

So i thought what i would do is create my own wedding style advent calender, a daily morsel, designed to satiate the appetite of all you brides out there.Whether you are getting married in Lancaster or some far flung wedding destination, the great leveller is time, it moves at the same pace, no matter how rich or poor you are, if you are getting married in a church, or having a civil wedding. Brides everywhere are counting down to that big day!

Be sure to come back each day......if you have the time ;-)