Please Enjoy!

A couple of months back, I met up with around 30 photographers from around the UK.
All these photographers were members of an online photography forum created by Rosie Parsons, a fantastic business woman and photographer.

Rosie had arranged 4 models, hair and make up artists, vintage tea sets, dresses, food and a massive boat for us to use to our leisure.
With me being a skilled sailor, I made sure that everyone was taken care of.

I shot with 3 models and they, in order were; Clara, Siobhan and Nathalieh.

These are just a few of the pictures I took.

I've known Mike for a little while but met Gabi for the first time at Rowan and Faye's wedding a couple of months back.

The engagement shoot
We met up at Blaise Castle which you may of seen a couple of times on the blog here, here and here!
When couples ask to shoot there, it's music to my ears! It's on my backdoor step, and it's beautiful there!

We started the shoot in the typical way by having a chat and helping them to see that although I may look like a total hunk in my picture, I'm actually very approachable, as is my camera!

The actual pictures!
Enjoy them, leave a comment and more importantly look out for their wedding on here soon!

So I've been waiting for the right time to blog this wedding and I'll be straight with you here; this is a long post.
Colin, my web-guy will probably kill me for this. Sorry Colin.
We're talking like, 120ish images here. So, I'm sorry but at the same time I'm also not sorry at all because I know you'll love this wedding.
Alex and Sian, as I mentioned in my previous post featuring their engagement pictures, are both doctors.
A fair percentage of doctors were present at the wedding, I'm sure they would of had an absolute field-day poking my odd little body and wondering what the devil is up with it!

Alex and Sian had their wedding ceremony in Cowbridge in the Vale of Glamorgan, just a few miles outside Cardiff.
They then were joined by their friends and family at Sian's parents amazing house in a little village called Bonvilston.

It was an utter pleasure to shoot. I was looked after so well by everybody, especially Sian's parents who kindly hosted their daughter's and new son-in-laws wedding.
They had an amazing marquee on their land but as you might know, a marquee requires flat land and it meant that earth literally had to be moved to make everything even!
I joined Sian and her bridesmaids, as well as Alex and his boys as they got ready for the most amazing, musical wedding that Bonvilston has ever seen. Probably.

Enjoy.

Sian and her girls got ready in a room that was big enough to host her 21st Birthday party with a bouncy castle!

An asian/south american/english fusion breakfast! Of course!

These bouquets and the button hole a few pictures up were by Vida Flora in Porthcawl. Really amazing!

Sian surprised her girls with pearl necklaces. I loved their reaction!

I think all of Sian's girls all looked amazing, they were great fun too.

I then met up with Alex and his ushers in this funny little B&B.

We popped over the road to a petting zoo for some quick formals.

Simples!

The amazing Welsh male voice Choir filled the church with their incredible voices!

Does mother approve Alex?

Don't they all look great! Sian's sister is the one in the middle.

That's a proud Dad!

Married!

My favorite picture from the day I think!

It was so hot. Alex and Sian had kindly made sure that the ushers handed out bottles of water to the guests outside the church. Little acts of kindness like this cost so little, but say so much!

We visited the castle ruins that we did part of their photoshoot in. I was expecting the castle to of been finished by then, but no.

Samuel Davies, an incredible jazz pianist set the mood whilst the guest enjoyed champagne and canapes.

Enjoy these detail shots from the marquee!

Both Alex and Sian's parents are still happily married so they chose to display wedding pictures from previous generations.
Call me slow, but it was right here that I realised the importance of my "job".
In 30 or so years, pictures that I've taken will hang next to these pictures at their child's wedding! Such an honour.

The table names were all named after pubs on a famous Leeds pub crawl.

A review I found online of the Polybop charmingly said:
"Every darn saturday we always get ourselves completly drunk and end up going to this complete dive. But the thing is, every time we go here we have a right good time. I dont know what it is, mebbies because everyone who is there hates the place as much as you do then everyone is out to just have fun and pull anyone they can..."
Great choice for the top table then!

Look at that view!

Time for food! Catering by New House Hotel, they did an incredible job.

Just as they started the first dance, they had a power cut! Thank goodness it didn't last long because it looked like they'd been practising!

Without a shadow of a doubt, this was the best wedding band I've seen. They're called SoundAwake. I can't wait to work with them again!

Look lady, we all know how to play a vuvuzela!

Yes, there were a lot of pictures, but I could of easily blogged them all!
I had such an amazing day, thank you so much for letting me capture all of this Alex and Sian!
It was a pleasure, all day!

Hope you enjoyed!

Back in the winter I met up with Alex and Sian to talk about wedding photography.
They wanted to book me after Sian had found me on the WPJA. I find that a good sign as all my couples who find me through the WPJA know what standard and style of pictures to expect.

They booked me for an engagement shoot.
If you've met me, you know that I wax lyrical about how great these shoots are.
I really do my best to help you relax in front of the camera and if that means acting like a clown then so be it.
When your wedding day comes around, you feel comfortable with me as a person, but you'll also have a nice collection of non-wedding pictures!

We drove to the area where the wedding would be, had a look at the church and Sian's parent's house where the reception would be held.
On our way to The Vale of Glamorgan, the sky looked dreadful but I had remembered that Alex, like me is obsessed by clouds so we enjoyed cloud spotting and thoroughly enjoyed it, no matter how boring and nerdy that may of sounded.

Enjoy this little handful of pictures.
Also, keep a look out for Alex and Sian's wedding on here very soon.
It may of been my favorite wedding of the year so far! It was amazing!

Aren't they a fantastic looking couple?
Both of them are doctors from the very hospital I was born at. True story!

I really enjoyed Alex and Sian's company, we had loads of fun!

I thought I'd try something a little different and shoot in a field of barley. You know, 'cause I've never done it before. Ever

Thank you Alex and Sian.
We had loads of fun didn't we?

I can't wait to blog their wedding pictures. I've been desperate to from the beginning!

Take care and have a good week.

A few weekends back I shot the wedding of a friend.

Rowan is the brother of one of my friends and Faye is the twin sister of one of my previous Brides.
It's always a pleasure when friends are willing to trust the recording of one of the most important days of their life to me.
No pressure or anything!

Rowan and Faye are an incredible couple. Rowan honestly has to be one of the coolest guys around. You instantly feel relaxed in his company!

They had their ceremony at the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses in Bishopsworth, Bristol and then went on to Flax Bourton village hall, just ten minutes from Bristol Airport.
They had great weather, in fact it was another boiling hot day! Cocktails on arrival to the reception were just what the guests needed!

It was great to be shooting a wedding with some many friends as guests from all over the country.
Enjoy these pictures and leave a comment at the bottom.

Good ol' Mary and Pete! Breaking their usual tradition of leaving 7 kisses on a card!

"Joe, don't you dare show Faye me doing this in this kitchen, she'll kill me!"

"What'd you say Rowan?"

I always like a little bit of guerilla tayloring!

Hey! I took that!

I didn't know that tie-tieing was such a serious past time worthy of judging!

Not the most steady drive to the ceremony I have to say...!

Such a great smile!

I love Mark's smile too. Legend

And here comes the Bride.

With no hiccups and everybody arriving on time all the important people walk into the hall. No hiccups at all. Especially not with front doors.

Faye's Dad, naturally was so proud.

Kevin, the speaker gave a great illustration about marriage being like a brand new car that needs maintenance to stay healthy. Me? I just like toy cars.

One of my favorite pictures from the day:

Faye looked perfect didn't she!

I don't have a clue what's going on here either.

The imagination of the boys got a little out of control in this field. Again, I don't really know what's going on. I just turned up and shot.

Time for dancing!

Ashlee is a good friend of mine and is Rowans little sister!

This was the response when "The Bunsen Honey Dew Band" played a bit of JLS.
Or...she was doing an impression of me reacting to the band playing JLS.
Who knows!?

Another familiar face!

Imitation is the greatest form of flattery!

Awwh! Cute!

...oh my! What sharp teeth you have!

There we go then!

I really enjoyed this wedding which probably won't come as much of a surprise as you know I  love shooting them!
When a couple are as relaxed and happy as these two and have guests who are 1)a ton of fun and 2) previous josephyarrow.com clients, it's a recipe for a killer wedding.

Congratulations Rowan and Faye and Thank you.

Remember last year I posted up a few pictures from Paul and Rebecca's engagement shoot in Blackpool?
We had a load of fun that evening but it was insanely hard work.
Check out the Blackpool shoot here.

Most of the shoot was taken up by sitting in cafes just getting to know each other, so by the end of the night Jess and myself were really eager to see how their wedding day turned out!

Paul and Rebecca both got ready at the Manchester Airport Marriott and then moved on to their ceremony and reception at Davenport Green Hall.
Regular readers of the blog will remember that I've shot at Davenport Green Hall before for Ian and Grace's wedding reception.

It's a great venue to shoot at with it's beautiful grounds. The staff are all so accommodating too, so I was more than comfortable being there all day.

Their wedding was on another hot day. Perfect weather for a wedding! Guests flew from all over the place so it was an extra special day for them!
I'm not too sure what was going on that day, but we had three people walk straight into glass doors and windows! The MC actually cut his nose, poor guy!
I also was one of the unlucky people that mashed my face up on a window! Stupid!!

The family and friends from both sides were brimming with personality so they made my day very easy as there were plenty of characters!

So, enjoy these pictures and please leave a comment at the bottom of the page!

You'll see plenty of pictures of Paul and Rebecca's little girl; Connie later. Meanwhile, check her tiny shoes out!

Paul looks pretty relaxed considering 1) he's getting married in a bit and 2) he just had his personalised registration plates nicked from his car!

Talking about cars, check this beauty out. This limo was provided by Horgans Limousines
I can honestly say that the service provided by the chauffeur was the best I've ever seen, and no, I'm not being paid to say this!

Look at those beautiful eyes! What a charmer he was!

To me, these two picture are what weddings are all about...

Here's our little Connie!

Rebecca looked incredible! She made a great Bride!

Best service ever.

As my first couple that I shot here had their ceremony in Wilmslow, it was nice to see how Davenport Green Hall does things during the entire day.
Instead of walking straight to into the ceremony, Rebecca took a more scenic route which made for some great pictures but also helped to settle some nerves.
A really great yet simple idea!

Come on Paul, you can do this!

The room was a little...intimate and...cosy.

I love it!

I love this picture, I think it's the trail of crumbs from a packet of crisps that does it for me!

"Right, when you've finished that one luv, you can down this one too"

Jessica captured this beauty!

Pictures like this make my "job" extra special!

Connie is absolutely gorgeous!

I wonder who thought up these table names then?

Time for speeches. Just a word of advice to wedding photographers...
When the Groom and the Best man approach you and ask you to rate their speeches out of 10, for the love of all that is good, don't say that one was better than the other.
Goodness me, I almost got myself maimed!
I'll say now that both speeches deserved a 10/10.

Rebecca's girls looked great!

And doesn't Rebecca herself look incredible? For the photographers reading, this was shot outside at 9:45pm with on camera flash!

They shared their first dance...

Joined by friends and family.

And soon, things got a little rowdy. Just how I like it!

I was more than happy when the DJ dropped a few Irish songs including some Pogues! Love it!!

Oh yeh, you didn't hear? Tina Turner was there.

Thank you Paul, Rebecca and Connie for letting me be with you all day! I had so much fun!

A special thank-you goes to Mr Jonathan Taphouse for his help with this wedding. You made my day even easier!

You've heard the age-old adage of how your flowers will die, your food will get eaten, your dress will get hung up in the wardrobe for decades, but your wedding photographs will live forever.
I'm not suggesting that without wedding photographs you'll have nothing to remember your day by but there is a lot of truth in that old saying, I'm sure you'll agree.

If your wedding photographs will live forever, how do you go about finding the perfect person to record your wedding day?

WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM A PHOTOGRAPHER?

As a couple you need to work together to decide what you both want from a photographer.

*              Come to an agreement on whether you want a lot of formal pictures of your family and friends, or if you would prefer a more candid approach.

*              Would you like lots of pictures of all the details that you lovingly arranged, or are pictures of Grandad laughing at the best mans speech more important to you?

All of those things are important, but you need to work out what is more important to you both.

As an engaged couple, the chances of you spending a large amount of money on glossy wedding magazines is pretty high. I just know!

*              Which wedding pictures caught your eye?

*              Natural or posed?

*              Did the posed ones look almost natural?

*              Have you been to a recent wedding where the photographer impressed you before you even saw the pictures?

Find out who these photographers are! The ones in magazines are there because they want you to hire them, they're looking for more work because they love what they do!

Most photographers have a blog, they're designed especially for you. Look for photographers in your rough area who have blogs and find a few that you admire.

Google this: "[your nearest city] wedding photography blog"

You'll most likely be inundated with a large amount of blogs, some better than others.
If you are looking for someone to cover your day in a photojournalistic way, look on the WPJA for example.

WHAT IS IT YOU LIKE ABOUT THEIR STYLE?

Out of the few photographers that really stand out to you, is there one that you can't keep away from?

*          Try to pinpoint the reasons why you keep on going back to see their pictures.

*          Look for originality and humour in their pictures as well use of initiative.

You don't need an understanding of cameras and lenses for these things!

Can you imagine yourself in their pictures?

If they have a blog, look through all their recent weddings and learn to understand their style.

What is their style of writing like?

You should be able to tell if they have a real passion for weddings!

BE SURE BEFORE YOU BOOK

Try to get to know them through their pictures and style before you even meet them.

*          Before you meet up, ask your photographer to bring a sample wedding album or two.

*          Do you like the album and the layout of the images?

*          Are there other options if it isn't to your taste?

When you meet up, you must both like your photographer as a person. Could you be friends with them? You don't have to become friends with them of course but you do need to be that comfortable with them.
They will be with you on the happiest and most important day of your lives sharing those special moments.
You wouldn't invite someone that you don't like to be a guest at your own wedding would you?

Your prospective photographer needs to be someone who is very interested in you. You'll know if they're being genuine.

Notice that none of the advice I've given is about megapixels and special effects in Photoshop.
If you like pictures with special effects applied, then there is nothing wrong with that. Photoshop doesn't make a bad picture good, in fact it often makes a good picture bad.
I would recommend though, looking for a photographer with images that look as though they will age well; Pictures that aren't faddy.

A few questions you should ask your photographer are:

1.       Will you be the only person shooting our wedding?

2.       Are your packages flexible?

3.       What type of insurance do you have?

4.       Do you have back-up equipment?

5.       What will you do if you are sick and cannot cover our wedding?

6.       How long will it take for us to see the pictures?

Choosing a photographer doesn't have to be hard.
You must simply love your photographers work and have total confidence in them.
If you follow this advice, I'm sure you'll find your perfect photographer that can record your day just as you remember it!

I've been really keen to blog this wedding even before I shot it!
Joseph and Emma are a really lovely couple and their wedding was beautiful.
They just ooze personality and their guests and family are no exception at all.

They were married at Clifton Mansion House in Clifton, Bristol.
With the weather on their side, they had the ceremony in the pagoda, then they enjoyed a receiving line over champagne.
Joseph and Emma, along with their guests walked from the mansion house through Clifton, over the world famous Clifton suspension bridge and then went on to enjoy their reception at Burwalls.
The atmosphere on the walk between Clifton Mansion House and Burwalls was fantastic! Cars were tooting their horns, people were shouting their well wishes and so many people just wanted to stop and chat!

It was the first time that I had shot at Burwalls, but I'm so keen to do it there again.

Enjoy these pictures and remember that Jessica has created another flipbook that if you've not seen, head on over here.
Before I forget, here's a little challenge for you; Try to find just one picture of Emma where she's not smiling.
Emma had to be the happiest Bride ever! Thank you Emma, and thank you Joseph for making her so happy.
You did good!

A beautiful setting right in the middle of Clifton!

A few of Joseph and Emma's amazing guests!

Joseph's Nephews were guarding the fort...

Meanwhile, Emma prepared herself with the help of her Bridesmaids.

A few friends gave some personal readings.

Joseph's Dad was a real character! Lovely guy!

And Emma's Dad was also a real character. He was just as much of a smiler as Emma for sure.

The walk to Burwalls began! Such a nice day for it!

Emma shared her favorite view of Clifton Suspension Bridge with a friend!

Next to the Clifton Suspension bridge is this natural slide that has been worn away over the decades by thousands of people sliding down on their Bristolian bums.
I may have exaggerated  the angle of the slide but it's all good!

I've done it before and I'll be honest, it's pretty scary! You pick up a lot of speed!

...to Burwalls!

They had four wedding cakes, each cooked by different friends. I thought that was a lovely idea. Joseph created the cake stands himself.

Emma's smile is incredible isn't it?

I'll leave you just looking at this for a while.

Joseph and Emma grew these bluebells in their house especially for the wedding!

And onto the speeches.

Joseph's Best man's speech was great! He gave it in such a relaxed and dry manor. He had everyone in hysterics with his stories of Joseph's earlier days. Brilliant!

The Clifton suspension bridge peering through the trees. I love this picture as I love the bridge!

After teaching this chap all my Jenga tips;  he wooed pretty much all the ladies one at a time.

So Joseph and Emma met at ballroom dancing classes, so there was plenty pressure on them for the first dance!
When we met up a few days earlier, Joseph and Emma had explained that to practise their dance, Emma tied a duvet around her to act as her wedding dress!
That's a top tip right there!

I've never seen a conga-line start so quickly! Impressive!

Amazing live music provided by Evolution. I'm recommending them right here, right now.

And that's it!
Joseph and Emma, you're an amazing couple and you're just so happy. It's nice to see such massive smiles all day!
Thank you to the guests for being so welcoming, friendly and accommodating.

I'm joking of course, i'm not that bad, but last night before we were ready to call it a night, just like a little boy who really doesn't want to go to bed, found every excuse to stay up a little longer.
I did my usual stint of checking every website that I follow to see if any of my favorite photographers had blogged, checked my Twitter, e-mail, facebook. I'll just look at the WPJA site too, I knew I hadn't won anything because I hadn't heard anything from them.
So I was *pretty happy* when I saw that one of my images came in the top ten. EVEN happier when I saw that another of my images had been awarded 3rd place in one of the catergories! I may of screamed like a school girl! I am now very proud!

I've been a member of the WPJA since October of last year, and the amount of booking that I have received has been incredible!
So congratulations to all the other WPJA winners, especially the ones from the UK. It's always nice to see photographers who are nice and close!
Please make sure that you view the other winning photos here. They are all amazing! Honestly, in fact, mine look pig awful in comparison!

Both of my winning pictures are from Owen and Jane's wedding at Clearwell Castle. A venue that I know quite well.
I'm very pleased to be given recognition for the second shot. By far, that room, for me is the hardest room to shoot in. Ever.