4th December 2010. The snow was thick and I had to make it out along Ringinglow road to the house of the mother of the bride. Thankfully the roads were OK although not long before the journey would not have been possible and I would have had to wade thigh deep in snow with my camera held in safety above my head. This day began with shots of the bride and her bridesmaids getting ready at the house. There were many family members milling about looking nervous but also an excited atmosphere and plenty of smiles. I like to have the opportunity to spend some time with the bride prior to the ceremony as it allows quality time to get some really beautiful photos.

The Roller arrived and the party headed out into the snow to move off to the church on Ringinglow road. I managed to overtake them as they were in a classic car without the acceleration of mine. I stopped ahead of them and got a great landscape shot of the car, the road, a line of trees and the snow covered fields. I then overtook them  (I wasn’t speeding) and got to the church before they arrived. Parking was a nightmare and I nearly got stuck on a snow covered road, just a little stressful. Luckily the wedding car must have gone at snails pace as I managed to get parked, grab all my kit and get set up to take a shot of father and daughter walking towards the church with snow all around.

Inside the church was a bit of a lighting challenge as always as they are huge dark places. I alternated between direct flash lighting and incredibly high ISO to cover all available exposures. The interior of the church was a great backdrop with high arches and an area behind the mass to get up above everyone and look down. I experienced a very gospel ceremony which is nice to see as the congregation were really passionate.

After the ceremony I took the bride and groom out into the snow (their idea) to get some beautiful posed shots in the diminishing light. We then hung around in the lobby for a while and I got some reportage work done before driving to Whirlowbrook hall for the reception. On arrival there was parking carnage because of the snow but eventually I got parked and inside.

Now it was time for the formal group shots. We gained access to one of the rooms upstairs which was very classically decorated and also really easy to light (a miracle). This made for some classy group shots which we got through in plenty of time before the guests went to dine. Time for a breather where I was able to back up all the shots taken, have a quick look at them, re charge camera batteries, format cards and have something to eat.

Following dinner were the speeches which were a bit awkward to photograph as I couldn’t get very close to the subjects. The guests then mingled and I was able to get posed shots of the cake cutting and some extra family shots requested. I had eyed up some brilliant backgrounds around the hotel and took the bride and groom off again to photograph them in front of these.

That was that 10pm and time to go. What a day no wonder I’m grey!