I had never met Sam until I arrived at the church but I had previously met Karen to discuss the day and packages. I already knew Karen however as I photographed her Sister’s wedding back in 2014 so I guess she knew what I was like and knew my style of photography. The wedding day started at Twelve Apostles R C Church in Leigh where I was to begin capturing guests arriving, meet and greet Sam and get some shots of the building inside and out. Sam arrived with his Groomsmen as they started to invite everyone inside to take their seats. The Bridal Party arrived around 15 minutes before the ceremony was to begin which gave them plenty of time to finalise any adjustments. Karen’s Sister Lindsay was a Bridesmaid and I quickly said hello before Karen soon arrived with her Brother. Emotions were running a little high as I briefly took some shots of them two together inside the car before I documented them exiting and heading for the entrance of the church.
I headed inside to get into place and prepare for the arrival of the Bride. The Bridesmaids headed down first before Karen followed at the rear smiling away with her very proud Brother by her side. Sam and Karen were reunited and the ceremony began with a hymn. This gave me the opportunity to move around and get some shots from using different angles and backdrops. It was a lovely ceremony which included readings, lighting of candles, exchange of rings and finally the signing of the register. After around 35-45 minutes Sam and Karen were soon heading down the aisle as Husband and Wife and before heading outside I allowed their guests to pass them so I could set up a tunnel of people ready for the confetti shot. It was magical and once everything calmed down we completed the requested smaller groups before heading off to our next location for the more intimate shots of the newly weds together.
Now even after discussing with Karen previously the location for these photographs I still manged to end up in the wrong area although at least I was only half a mile away form them. So we were to head for Pennington Hall Park but Google decided that I was to head for Pennington Country Park… oops, we lost a couple of minutes by I made this time up once arrived 🙂 We spent around 20-25 minutes in the park before the happy couple headed off in their gorgeous classic car to their final destination – Leigh Miners Welfare Institute Club.
I struggled to park at first as there was a rugby game playing but after squeezing into space I headed upstairs to begin the afternoon’s celebrations. The entire afternoon was spent just walking around documenting the occasion which included speeches after the hot buffet. Karen’s Brother started with some great stories of their childhood especially being ‘big bro’ and remembering it all well. Next up was Sam’s Best man who threw away his speech half way through and spoke from the heart and then finally a few words spoken by Sam thanking everyone before he dished out gifts to those who helped make the day what it was!
A casino table was booked for around 6.30pm which offered me some cracking shots of people having a little fun. The DJ was set up for the evening and a sparkly lit dance floor was assembled ready for those folks ready to bust-some-moves 🙂 I had so much fun during the day surrounded by wonderful and very welcoming family and friends. I had a good laugh with most and I loved documenting it all.
I finished off a fantastic occasion photographing Sam and Karen during their first dance. They enjoyed a little slow moving song and invited their wedding guests to join them for the final part of it. I ended up staying for a little longer afterwards as the DJ knew exactly what to play to get the party swinging and it’s safe to say I filled my memory card!
I wish the new Mr & Mrs all the best in their married lives together and I hope they had such a wonderful and memorable day! I can’t wait to begin the editing of their wedding photographs but until then please enjoy these sneak peeks shots.
Thanks…
