It's Friday afternoon. And that means, it's time for something a little light-hearted 😉
So, a couple of weeks ago, I had an email from Laura Lawson – the female half of Lawson Photography, whose wedding photographs I just adore featuring on Love My Dress. It went a bit like this…
"We are having a bit of an 'unusual' get together next week with some photographer pals and were wondering if it might be something that would make a nice feature?
Basically, we are all dressing up in our wedding outfits and taking pictures of each other! I was thinking a few pictures of each couple with a blurb about their wedding and advice for couples planning their big day (from a photographers perspective of course)…"
Image of Evie, Hannah & Jonny taken by The Lawsons
….cue me scratching my head about the general state of wellbeing of the wedding photographers I work with?? Promptly followed by the realisation that actually, it sounded like this lot were having a bit of a riot – some well earned fun in betwixt the weekend role call of work and weddings. I started to rather like the idea.
You see, not only do wedding photographers love to take
your photos, some of them lust to be the bride all over again! 😉 And every once in a while, we all need a break from 'the pretty', don't we?
It turn out that a whole bunch of crazy Northerners spent the day prancing around in their wedding dresses for a giggle, and I couldn't wait to see the photographs! Let's start off with this little behind-the-scenes film, crafted by film maker Aaron Jones…
Love My Dress Wedding Blog – Photography Copyright (c) 2012, Aaron Jones of Reel Weddings
Several photographers took part in this shennanagins, including of course The Lawsons, who were joined by Liam Crawley, Jonathan Yearsley, Martin Hambleton, Neil Redfern, Jonny Draper, Hannah Dornford May, Anurag Sharma, Evie McDermott-Wroe and Karen Julia.
Each of them had their photo's taken and each of them have very kindly agreed to share their wonderful words of wedded wisdom with you all today, which I think is aces! 😉
And so without any further ado…..
Laura Lawson
Website: www.lawsonphotography.co.uk
We got married five years ago in a little country house in Ormskirk
(West Tower). Since then my dress has been wrapped in its tissue lined
box in the attic, buried under appliance boxes and Christmas
decorations.
I found dress hunting a little stressful at the time, all
the pressure to find 'the one'. There were lots I liked, but the one I
kept thinking about was this lace number by Maggie Sottero.
Image by Peter Lawson
Image by Liam Crawley
Image by Jonny Draper
When the idea for this shoot came up it seemed like the perfect
excuse to dress up again! It was a lovely afternoon spent with our
northern photographer friends, taking pictures, attempting to model and
laughing lots!
Image by Liam Crawley
My advice for brides would be to simply relax and
have a wedding which is all about you and the one you love. Don't worry
about everyone having a good time, just make sure YOU do, because
everyone enjoys a wedding with a happy bride and groom 🙂
Image by Martin Hambleton, + Neil Redfern
Image by Shutterleaf
The Lawsons, Liam Crawley, Jonathan Yearsley, Martin Hambleton, Neil Redfern, Jonny Draper, Hannah Dornford May, Anurag Sharma, Evie McDermott-Wroe and Karen Julia.
Image by Martin Hambleton
Image by Karen Julia
Image by Hannah Dornford May
Image by Liam Crawley
Image by Neil Redfern
Bee Crawley
Website: http://www.cgweddings.co.uk
Liam and I got married over five years ago and in that space of
time I may have expanded a little 😉 I knew exactly the kind of dress
I'd love to wear for this shoot though, and so began the immense trawl
of the internet to see if what I had in my mind actually existed. I was
so so pleased when I can across this A/Wear number on Asos for £20, yes
£20 … What a bargain!
Images by Jonny Draper
I loved the 60s feel of the dress, and the long
lace sleeves were amazing as they hid a multitude of sins. Combined with
the incredible hair and make-up I really felt like a 60s siren. It just
goes to show that you don't have to break the bank for your wedding
dress 🙂
Image by The Lawsons
Image by Neil Redfern
Images by (clockwise from top left) The Lawsons (top 2), Neil Redfern + Liam Crawley
Images by The Lawsons + Neil Redfern
Image by Jonathan Yearsley
Andrea Jones
Website: www.reel-weddings.com
Aaron and I were married in the summer of 2006, and planned our wedding on a rather tight budget.
Image by The Lawsons
This meant we couldn't afford the photographers we would have liked, even though we saved money where we could. For me, this is the only big thing I would change about our day, as we now have photos we're not entirely proud to show off.
My advice for planning your day? One, make sure the day reflects who you both are: you'll be more comfortable on the day and make for better photos and video footage. And two, choose vendors you get on with and who have a similar "vision" of your day as you do: it will allow you to speak frankly with them about what you want, and you'll trust them more to provide you with a product you'll love, which will allow you to relax and enjoy your wedding day!
Image by The Lawsons
Images by Jonny Draper + Neil Redfern
Oh, and delegate a couple of people to be the "go to problem sorters" on the day, so you aren't bothered by vendors if there are any hiccups.
And enjoy your big day! :)
Image by The Lawsons
Image by Neil Redfern + The Lawsons
Image by Hannah Dornford May
Images by Evie McDermott-Wroe + Martin Hambleton
Alex Davies
Website: www.alexdphotography.co.uk
They say you know when you find the right dress and I have to say it was true for me. Looking at all these creations on a hanger was not inspiring but when I tried on a dress suddenly it had a life, a soul almost. The dress I chose was one of the very first I tried and I knew immediately it felt different. I didn't want to go for white or off white so the dress I chose was just right for me.
Images by Hannah Dornford May and Evie McDermott-Wroe
The colour, the raw silk, the lace bodice were all so perfect and really
not a style I originally had in mind. So brides to be, keep an open
mind! What you think might suit you isn't necessarily the case. My dress
isn't any label, it was handmade in Italy and bought from an Italian
run family wedding business in Bolton – Bridal Couture Italia. It was so
nice to wear my dress again on the shoot and it felt as special as when
I wore it on our wedding day. At the shoot I then got to wear a
beautiful Terry Fox creation brought along by Emma from Love Bridal. It
was so much fun wearing a dress that was a completely different style
from my own dress.
Image by Liam Crawley
Image by Jonny Draper
Our wedding itself was very classical English Country wedding. We
married at St Michaels at Whitewell and had our reception in the marquee
at the Inn at Whitewell. We loved the fact it was on the Duchy of
Lancaster Estate and that the church was just a skip across the car park
to the Inn. We also loved that because it is quite remote that all our
friends had to stay at the hotel with us, making it a really nice
atmosphere. And the surrounding landscape just made for stunning
photographs. If we had our wedding day again I wouldn't do anything
differently, it was all so perfect.
If I can give any tips to brides to be it would be this: Firstly
never skimp on having a hair and make-up artist, it can make the
difference between a nice photograph and an awesome photograph.
Secondly, trust your wedding photographer and work with them. They are
experienced at what they do and want to make you look amazing so let go
of your inhibitions and go with the flow. Lastly when it comes to the
actual day don't worry about anything, just enjoy every minute and soak
it all in.
Image by Hannah Dornford May
Image by Jonny Draper
Images by course Neil Redfern, Chapter Photography + Karen Julia
Evie McDermott-Wroe
Website: www.chapterphotography.com
I did bring my own dress, but then completely fell head over heels in love with one of Emma's that had a real 1950's feel to it. It was the kind of look I always loved but didn't have the confidence to try on my actual wedding day. I felt great in it along with the birdcage veil, it just shows that you should always trust your instincts and be brave when choosing your bridal look!
Images by Jonathan Yearsley + Neil Redfern
Image by Evie McDermott-Wroe
Image by Liam Crawley
Michelle Redfern (wife of photographer Neil Redfern)
Website: www.neilredfern.com
Myself and my husband Neil were married on 22nd August 2009 in the Lake District. I knew exactly what type of dress I was looking for when I went dress shopping but it didn’t stop me from trying lots of different styles on – it was lots of fun!
Image by Neil Redfern
I fell in love with an Augusta Jones dress but there was only one
problem, I loved the style but I wanted a floaty tulle material (the
dress was in lace) so I asked the Bridal shop (Cheadle Bride) if they
could find out if I could change it. Luckily, the designers were happy
to oblige my request and I ended up with my dream dress! Although there
were other styles that I liked when I was dress shopping, I felt that
the style of dress I chose reflected the type of wedding I wanted, a
relaxed, informal occasion (we were married outside and had a BBQ and
boat trip round Lake Windermere).
Image by Jonathan Yearsley
Images by Jonny Draper + Chapter Photography
Image by Jonny Draper
The advice I would offer other
couples is to focus on getting the big things right (venue, dress,
flowers, photographer), because on the day, the little things don’t
matter quite as much as you think they will!
Image by Martin Hambleton
Charlene McNabb
Website: www.lovegetssweeter.co.uk
The Dress: Way back in 2008 I started the search for 'the one'. I had some awful experiences and some pleasant ones too, but I soon realised my dream fishtail lace dress did not do anything for me! I was a little disheartened as I didn't have a clue what else I'd like and then on only the 2nd day of shopping and feeling a little down my Nana picked one out of the window for me to try on (I did turn my nose up at first, I didn't fancy layers at all and it looked far too bling-y)…turns out she has a great eye (she was a dressmaker after all) and it was perfect. It meant even more to me being able to wear my dress again on this shoot as my Nana passed away very suddenly in July and I know she would have just loved these photos of me wearing the dress she picked out once more…
Image by Jonny Draper
*It's an Ellis Bridal wedding dress bought from Eternally Yours in Newark, Notts.
Emma from Love Bridal also treated us 'Brides' to some of the boutiques new gowns. I was in heaven! She picked out a wedding dress that was so beautiful and suited me so well I just wanted to get married all over again! She's a very talented lady as I wouldn't have picked that out for myself but it just suited me so well! If anyone needs someone to model dresses again…. 😉
Images by Neil Redfern, Jonathan Yearsley, and Karen Julia
Our wedding took place at the stunning Hillbark Hotel, Wirral. We instantly fell in love with the venue as soon as it came in to view as we came down the sweeping drive. We only had 44 guests so wanted something intimate and not too grand and found the Hillbark and their staff to be exactly what we were after. We kept the wedding as simple as the guest list, white flowers, grey suits (my husband wore a gorgeous bespoke suit handmade by Distinction Tailoring, Chester) and pale blue dresses for the bridesmaids. We wanted everything to be very 'us' so as well as having a hip hop group entertain guests in the evening we also learnt a quickstep routine for our first dance, Love Gets Sweeter (which later became our wedding film company name). I also tried to make as much as possible myself, including the cake and all it's tiny flower paste flowers and the cute cake topper and got friends involved with the stationary and filming the day.
Image by Martin Hambleton
I can't recommend having a wedding video enough. We were so close to not having one as Lee hated the idea but I compromised by having a few pro cameraman friends to film it for us and I had the joy of editing it all. He loved it that much that he bought me a website named after our first dance, Love Gets Sweeter, and encouraged me to start making wedding films for other people! I don't think you can get a better recommendation than that! A great wedding film really does bring the day back to life and I just love hearing everyone enjoying themselves…and I still get teary watching us say our vows! Also, try not to succumb to family politics and dramas. We made the early decision to only have close family and friends in the day because we wanted to share the important moments with the people that meant the most to us. We'd been at friends weddings before ours and they admitted to not knowing half the guest list! But the best tip I share with all my couples is just make the most of it and enjoy every minute. Take time out to just be with each other and enjoy the moment, it honestly does help you slow the day down a little and remember more because the day really does go by so quickly.
Image by Hannah Dornford May
Massive thanks to Peter and Laura Lawson, Liam Crawley, Jonathan Yearsley, Martin Hambleton, Neil Redfern, Jonny Draper, Hannah Dornford May, Anurag Sharma, Evie McDermott-Wroe and Karen Julia.So what do you think? Let's show our Northern friends some love….
Much love all,
Annabel
P.S. Bee – I *want* your dress!
Credits
Venue: Belle Epoque, Knutsford (http://www.thebelleepoque.com)
Hair & Makeup: www.flossyandleigh.com
Hairpieces provided by: www.eleventhheaven.com
Extra bridal gowns provided by: http://www.lovebridalboutique.co.uk
Bouquets: http://www.laurelweddings.com
Annabel View all Annabel's articles
Founder of Love My Dress. Passionate Podcaster and Editor. Annabel lives in rural North Yorkshire with her husband and business partner Philip, their two daughters and menagerie of furry hounds. She loves photography, meditation, walking, being outdoors and star gazing. She is fierce when it comes to championing talent within the wedding industry and when she's not working on Love My Dress, she supports her husband Philip in the running of the family's sustainable flower farm and floral design business, Moonwind Flowers. In 2013, she became a published author.
