Norton Grange Hotel Wedding Feedback from Karen & Gary

As I mentioned in an earlier post I was the photographer for my sister Karen's wedding in October last year at the Norton Grange Hotel in Rochdale. Although Karen and her husband Gary have thanked me personally, Karen also sent me the lovely comment below last week. Congratulations again Karen and Gary - you are perfect for each other!!

We always knew the photographs from our wedding would be important to us, but I did not expect them to become so very precious. They are so much more than just photographs as they capture all the emotion of the day so you can relive each moment when you look at them. We have sat together looking over them again and again and never get bored!

As Neil is my brother, I felt incredibly selfish having him take our photographs, but I knew nothing else would compare. I looked at other wedding photographers on the internet and at wedding fairs to try and not ruin the day for Neil, but I just couldn't find anything that seemed as perfect.

Neil's professionalism is phenomenal (controlling a crowd of 150 guests champagne fuelled guests must be no easy feat!), but he made sure every photo we asked for was taken. It is of no surprise to myself or Gary that Neil was recently won his SWPP wedding photography award, every photo captures a moment rather than a image.

Feedback and Wedding Photographs from Liverpool Town Hall's Bride of the Year 2008

In August this year I photographed the wedding of Elizabeth & Austin at Liverpool Town Hall.  

Shortly before the wedding Elizabeth had been named the Liverpool Town Hall Bride of the Year 2008 and whilst we were taking the formal group photographs the Mayor of Liverpool made time to say hello to Elizabeth and Austin in person and, much to everybody's surprise, present them each with a personalised bride and groom "superlambanana".  The Superlambanana has become the unofficial symbol of Liverpool during the Capital of Culture Year and Elizabeth loved them so she was obviously delighted with the gift!

I recently received this lovely note from Elizabeth and Austin thanking me for their photographs:

To Neil,

Thank you so much for the amazing job you did at our wedding.  We love the photos so much that our only problem was choosing our favourites!  Everyone has commented on how lovely you were and how fantastic the photos are.  We can't wait to see the album.

With thanks and best wishes, Elizabeth & Austin

It was a pleasure to work with Elizabeth and Austin, they really are a lovely couple and I wish them all the very best for their future together.  I have posted below some photographs from their wedding - including the Mayor of Liverpool presenting them with their Superlambananas!

New wedding photographs

I have today updated my main website www.neilredfern.com with my favourite photographs from a wedding I covered in Staffordshire in April.

The bride & groom, Louise & Jonathan, were a lovely couple to work with and I had a great time capturing their day. Although the weather wasn't too cold it was extremely windy but we made sure that didn't stop us from going outside and getting some lovely photographs. In fact, my favourite photograph from the day, of Louise & Jonathan outside together (below) was made all the better for the wind blowing through Louise's hair!

Congratulations again Louise & Jonathan, I wish you both the very best for your future together.

Below are some of my favourite photographs from the day:

First Destination Wedding

Firstly, I apologise for not posting for a while. I have only just returned from a holiday in Cyprus and also covered a wedding the day before we flew out so things have been very hectic recently!

It was during this holiday however that I covered my first full day wedding outside the UK, which was a great experience.

The wedding itself was at a hotel called Adams Beach in Ayia Napa, a busy but laid back resort in the south of the island. Adams Beach is located on Nessi Beach, renowned for being one of the best beaches in Cyprus.

It was a lovely day and everything ran very smoothly, although from a wedding photographer's point of view there were a few differences to the day when compared to covering a wedding in the UK, some of which I have listed below:

1. The most obvious difference was the weather! Even though we are still a few weeks away from the height of the summer in Cyprus the weather was very hot, around 30 degrees during the day. Luckily for me the ceremony itself did not take place until 5pm, by which time the weather had cooled slightly, otherwise the heat would have made running around taking photographs quite uncomfortable. As it was I spent the majority of the day taking photographs of the bride and groom getting ready (separately) in lovely air-conditioned rooms!

It was very nice however to wake up not having to worry about the weather (not always the case in the sunny North West!). Having said that when I met the wedding coordinator earlier in the week she told me that during the previous week 3 weddings at the same hotel had to take place indoors due to rain so unfortunately even if you book a wedding abroad there are no guarantees of good weather.

2. Due to the fact the registrar didn't arrive until just before the ceremony, and I was with the bride at the time, I didn't get chance to introduce myself to her beforehand (although I had already checked with the coordinator that she wouldn't have problems with me taking photos etc.) This wasn't a problem in itself but it did mean that I wasn't aware of when the ceremony would actually end. As it turned out, once the couple signed the register the registrar didn't take any more part so the couple would have been allowed to walk back up the aisle at this point. Instead of this however I asked the bride and groom's parents, bridesmaids and best man, to join the bride and groom at the front for some traditional shots. In the UK I would normally be invited to do this by the registrar/minister but this was not the case so worth noting as otherwise these shots would have been missed!

3. More of a general point; being abroad in a different climate gave me the opportunity to try our some shots that would not be possible in England. For example after the ceremony the bride and groom and I went to a place called Cape Greco, around 15 minutes from Ayia Napa, for some amazing sunset shots. The location itself, which was on a cliff edge overlooking the sea, was recommended to us by the wedding coordinator and is used often by local wedding photographers.

The type of shot we managed to take here would not have been possible for me usually because a) I rarely cover weddings near the coast in the UK and b) it is relatively rare in the North West to get such dramatic, clear sunsets!

Having said that during the wedding I covered the day before Cyprus, I took the bride and groom to some lovely private gardens for their shots together and I was very pleased with the results. The point is wherever the wedding you are covereing is taking place it is important to research the local area and if you can find photogrenic locations, suggest to the bride and groom that you take some time to go there as it will usually be worthwhile. Even if they choose not I'm sure they will appreciate the offer.

However, just as there were differences the essence of the day was the same. As with all weddings the key to successful pictures is down to careful planning, and it was no different in Cyprus. I made sure I met the couple's wedding coordinator earlier in the week and was aware of exactly what time everything would be taking place. I also visited the hotel a couple of times throughout the week to scout out locations for photographs so I had a plan before the day for the shots I wanted and knew where I would be standing, where we'd take group shots, when the sun would set etc.

Overall it was a lovely day and very enjoyable so I would certainly be open to offers of covering destination weddings again in the future!

Assuming the bride and groom are happy for me to do so I will post some photographs from the day shortly.

Lovely feedback from clients

I received a very nice comment today from a couple whose wedding I photographed in February this year. It is always lovely to receive such complimentary feedback and very much appreciated.

Katie and Pete are a lovely couple and were great to work with. I wish them both all the very best for their future together.

"Thank you so much for our wedding photographs, we are really pleased with them! On the day you were relaxed and efficient and we hardly noticed you were there! The photographs look great and seemed to take no time at all which left us plenty of time to catch up with our guests. The internet access and extras were also really appreciated by family and friends spread across the country"

New Wedding Photographs

I have now uploaded to www.neilredfern.com a selection of new photographs from a recent wedding I covered at Egerton House Hotel in Bolton.

The bride and groom, KT and Peter, are a lovely couple and were great to work with, and luckily for me they didn't let the chilly cold weather get in the way of having some nice photographs taken outside!

I have added a few of my favourite photographs from the day below.

Congratulations again to KT and Peter, I wish them all the very best for their future together.

January - something in the air?

As in previous years I have received a much higher number of enquiries in January from couples looking for a wedding photographer than at any other time during the year. Whether this is down to New Year's resolutions or an increase in proposals over Christmas I don't know, but there certainly seems to be something in the air!

This works out well for me though as meeting so many excited couples at this time is infectious and really helps to shake off the post-Xmas blues! I'm certainly really looking to the summer and the great weddings I'll be covering.

Client comment

I received a lovely comment today from a couple whose wedding I covered in November last year. It's always great to receive such nice feedback and know that your hard work was appreciated. So many thanks Emma & John for your lovely words:

"Hi Neil. Thank you for doing such a fantastic job with our wedding photographs, our album is fantastic and exactly what we were hoping for. You did a great job on the day and helped everything to stay relaxed and run smoothly. We also very much appreciate your attention to detail in the planning stages and the time you took to meet with us to make sure you knew exactly what we wanted!"