Irene and Graham

Irene & Graham were married at The Malmaison hotel in Leith, Edinburgh. It's a historic building with a bright, contemporary interior and all in an industrial setting.

Irene was keen to have some photos around the landscapes of the port area and this was both an opportunity and a challenge for me, not least because Irene's a keen photographer herself.

Irene and Elaine were all ready and looking amazing when I went to see them with half an hour to go. Irene's 1920's themed look was beautifully put together and made for a unique outfit.

Graham and Gordon were pretty cool before the event too. I think everyone was simply looking forward to the prospect of having their friends and families around them for the day.

Chilean merlot was the wine of choice so I thought it would make an appropriate backdrop for the rings.

The "wine room" at The Malmaison was a perfect size for an intimate wedding ceremony attended by the close families and best friends.

...and so out to the docks for a few "formal" photographs with the newly weds. I try and keep the session short and informal and Irene and Graham seemed to enjoy the chance of a few minutes alone before the party started.

Irene had asked me to print out two of the photos and mount them so that the evening guests could see them and sign the mounts. This was a great idea to leave Irene and Graham with a memento of the day. So I brought my laptop and a printer and I had a couple of mounts made by my framer. Here are the prints ready for the reception. By the end of the night they were covered in signatures so a success all round. It's the first time I've done this but I'm going to offer it to future couples too.

Ciaran (Graham's nephew) never stopped all day and was still going strong when I left at 9pm.

The waterfront looked lovely once the sun went down so I dragged Irene and Graham back out for a quick photo.

Graham and Gordon saved their speeches for the reception and they were very entertaining and well presented.

The first dance - Throughout the day, Irene and Graham did away with tradition in favour of having the sort of wedding they wanted. That continued into the choice of first dance music being a song from Charlie and The Chocolate Factory.

So now Irene and Graham are off round the world for a few months. I wish you both the very best wishes for this fantastic trip and for your married life together in the future.

Andy

PS - keep track of Irene and Graham's trip at weehappybuddha.blogspot.com

fun on the beach

Tracey, David and Daniel came to the beach today and we got some fun photos.

Daniel battles with Trooper for control of the ball (Trooper won!)...

The family on the beach...

Jewellery for the Bakehouse Gallery

I went along to The Bakehouse Gallery in Alnwick yesterday to take some stock shots of Fiona's jewellery range for the gallery website.

Most shots were in the style of this one...

But then we got more creative with the lighting and backgrounds.

These 2 pieces have been designed for the artist whose picture we used as the background. It took a while to get the shots set up but once I spotted the box of lego, we were able to construct a scaffold and we were away! It was a really fun 3 hours in the gallery and a nice break from the norm.

Exhibition Project

I've been invited to submit 4 photographs for an exhibition running this summer at Paxton House in the Scottish Borders.

The theme is The River Tweed from source to mouth and I'm really excited about it as this is a river I know well from when I used to live around Galashiels.

Yesterday I went to see Paxton House and I took a few shots of the Chain bridge and the river around that area.

I've got plenty of time to explore the river and to capture images as we come into spring but there was plenty to photograph just around Paxton House so I'm looking forward to it.

Mary & Mark 10th Feb 2009

Mary and Mark chose Alnwick registry office for their wedding and kept the guests to their kids Ellie and Lily and a few close friends. It was a lovely, informal, relaxed and friendly atmosphere.

Congratulations Mary and Mark and thanks for having me at your Wedding Day.

Andy xx

Ellie warns me not to wake up Lily

Lily sleeps on

We went to near the Lion Bridge for some photos with Alnwick castle in the background but the weather was not on our side!

We adjourned to Beadnell Bay and the weather couldn't have been more different!

Favourites of 2008

I've had a chance to have a browse through last year's photographs and it was quite an emotional journey for me. I met so many lovely people whether the bride and groom or their guests and I had fun at every single wedding.

That's why I enjoy this work so much, and it's why I'm looking forward to my first wedding of 2009 next week.

I hope you enjoy looking through my personal favourite shots.