It was lovely to see the tulips (“mistress”) and the blossom coincide.  I waited an age for the sun to come out, finally gave up and started to make my way on for a cuppa before a sudden break in the clouds sent me sprinting back to the top!

The Serpent Garden (above) gave me a chance to play around with water and reflections (who says water and cameras don’t mix).  Be warned the water feature top right goes off like a rocket.  I think I jumped 3 feet!

The hedging around the grand cascade has really come on since I first saw the garden when the grand cascade was newly completed.

And I am still itching to have a go on one of the little diggers.

I had a great day out on one of the rare sunny days this year.  Why not enjoy the gardens over the coming half term break?

Where do you like to take your camera for a walk?

Is there something you would like to see featured in future wedding blogs? If so, please Contact me with the details.

View wedding details and prices on the Weddings Page.

See more wedding images in the Wedding Gallery.

Links

Alnwick Garden :         http://www.alnwickgarden.com/

Buyer Beware

Yesterday I saw a heartbreaking report on BBC program Fake Britain.

Brides on a budget had bought their wedding dresses from an online auction site against the image of an absolutely stunning hand beaded designer wedding dress.
When the parcel was delivered it was suspiciously small. On opening, there was no structure to the dress and the beading was replaced by a scrap of cheap machine made lace. On further inspection, not only was it confirmed the dress was a fake, but it had been manufactured with lining material and not bridal fabric! Little wonder it didn’t hang properly.

The Brides in question had made a significant dint in their budget in buying an unusable dress and had little option but to buy a replacement so the ‘bargain’ had cost them significantly together with the stress involved.

It is not my intention to spook anyone, but it was very distressing to see how much upset the fakes were causing.

So if you are a Bride on a tight budget, what can you do?

Budget Buying Tips

1) Look out for end of rail/sample sales at your local wedding dress supplier.

2) Get a quote from a local (proven) dressmaker.

3) Look at once used wedding dresses on dedicated websites, shops or auction sites, preferably in your local area so you can view them before you buy.

4) Look out for Prom dresses in bridal colours. There may not be the same amount of detailing, but you could still get a beautiful dress for a good price.

5) If you do buy from an auction site, try and limit your search to UK suppliers, check feedback from previous buyers for the same product and proceed with caution.

6) To save money, perhaps you could have some of the accessories as your “something borrowed”.  I was honoured to lend my veil to a close friend for her wedding.

General Tips on Buying THE DRESS

1)  Try on a variety of styles/shapes. It is easy to get fixated on one style of dress (I did) and it may be that another cut altogether will suit your shape better.   I was dead set on a Pride and Prejudice style empire line until I found out it made me look like a sack of potatoes.  Listen to the shop staff, they will have experience of fitting for all shapes and sizes so will be able to steer you towards the more flattering styles for you.

If it is a choice between following the fashion and having a dress that makes YOU look stunning, you know what to do!

2)  Wear decent underwear for trying on, if possible a strapless bra, so you can get a good impression of the dresses.

3)  Take an honest friend with you.

4)  If you try on the dress and you find yourself twirling and giggling, chances are you have found THE DRESS!

Is there something you would like to see featured in future wedding blogs? If so, please Contact me with the details.

View wedding details and prices on the Weddings Page.

See more wedding images in the Wedding Gallery.

Colours

Cheryl suggests you match the cake colour to your dress, for example don’t choose a white cake if you are having an ivory dress, or vice versa.  Match the accents on the cake (flowers, ribbons, beading) to your flowers or bridesmaid dresses.

Tiers

If you would like a tiered cake, you are no longer bound to have the traditional pillars. A current trend is to stack the cakes with glass tumblers or bowls filled with crystals or flowers to tie in with your colour scheme.

However the american style ‘stacked’ cakes are remaining very popular.

Flavours

You don’t have to have a traditional fruit cake for your wedding. There are many options now including plain sponge, chocolate, chocolate orange and lemon cakes. A good option may be to have different flavours for each tier, with the bottom tier as fruit if used, because it is the heaviest.

Lemon and chocolate orange have been the most popular flavours this year.

Inspiration

Browse wedding magazines, and also flickr and google images to see photos of wedding cakes and get ideas.  These can be a valuable starting point in terms of finding out what you do and don’t like, before discussing further with your cake supplier.  If you are drawn to a cake at a wedding fayre and it isn’t in the correct colours, remember that can be changed to suit you!

Many thanks to Cheryl at Celebration Cakes Marske for sharing these tips.

Facebook: Follow Celebration Cakes Marske on facebook

Website: Celebration Cakes Marske

Images © Celebration Cakes Marske/ Debbie Stogden Photography

Is there something you would like to see featured in future wedding blogs? If so, please Contact me with the details.

View wedding details and prices on the Weddings Page.

See more wedding images in the Wedding Gallery.

I promise we didn’t prevent any children from using the zipwire (well not for long anyway).

I’m looking forward to photographing Lee and Sams’ wedding next month.  Not long now…

Pre-wedding shoots are built in to all of my standard packages.  See the Weddings Page for details.

To view my wedding work see the Wedding Gallery.

Is there something you would like to see featured in future blogs? If so please Contact me.

That pale sand on the beach is actually being blown along, all the better to sand blast us!  25+ mph winds meant common sense was not to take our cameras on the beach, for fear of the lenses being scratched.  Because of this the course schedule was changed up a bit.  Most of the talky bits were conducted along the side of buildings trying to stay out of the wind!

Despite battling to stay upright our intrepid course members all went away with lovely images as well as exploring the extremes of shutter speed and aperture for comparison on the computer when they returned home.  Between us we figured out that double hats and double gloves may well be the future!

I felt slightly less guilty for going ahead when they all said they had enjoyed and got something out of the course.

Would you like to get to grips with your camera in time for the Summer Holidays?  The next course is scheduled for Wednesday 3rd April in Saltburn.

For more details view the Courses page.

If you would like to book onto this course, or would like to register your interest for future courses then please Contact Us.

Denzil who runs the B&B was very welcoming (don’t let Peter and Paula fool you, Denzil is the boss, although if you don’t want to be his friend he is happy to make himself scarce for the duration of your visit!)

Denzil on the lookout for new guests/friends.

The girls night out was great fun (no photos to post here!) and Peter made us a great breakfast, as ever the next morning.

However the weather was NOT kind on Saturday and I am ashamed to say I turned into a fair weather photographer.

If you haven’t got a Whitby Lucky Duck, then I am guessing that you need one!

A few grabbed shots and then I made for Sanders Yard for a HUGE piece of apple pie and a cuppa.  I was very surprised to bump into fellow photographer and Lutenist Peter Lagan doing the same!

On my travels I did manage to buy a large piece of wall art for my home, with which to wrestle the crowds all the way back to my car! Fortunately it was very well packed.

I don’t think I am in the minority now to be hoping for some genuine spring weather…and soon!  Next weekend would be nice.

Links

Riftswood B&B website | trip advisor

Whitby Lucky Ducks

Sanders Yard

Is there something you would like to see featured in future blogs? If so please Contact me.

To view my wedding work see the Wedding Gallery.

It is a great opportunity for you to get some natural photographs with “the one”.   It is likely that the photographer will encourage you to choose the venue, so this could be somewhere of significance to you as a couple.  Perhaps were you first met, or where he/she proposed.  Or failing that a reccy of your wedding venue.  (“Just think in 6 weeks we will be getting married here…”)

Use this as a chance to get to know your photographer, and ask any questions as they arise (although a sit down pre-wedding meeting might be helpful to discuss very detailed requirements).  Better than that, you can see the resulting images of the two of you and relax knowing you can trust your photographer to capture your special day.

From my point of view, the pre-wedding shoot is a chance to interact with the couple ahead of the wedding and see how they are in front of a camera (and they get a chance to see how I work too so there are no surprises on the day).  To all the Grooms who have told me they freeze in front of the camera, or take a terrible photograph – you don’t!  The opportunity to demonstrate this through the pre-wedding shoot means everyone is much more relaxed on the day.  In fact one such Groom was happily making photo suggestions on his wedding day, I was SO proud!

Pre-wedding shoots are built in to all of my standard packages.  See the Weddings Page for details.

To view my wedding work see the Wedding Gallery.

Is there something you would like to see featured in future blogs? If so please Contact me.

In the meantime, I have been dying to share these images from behind the scenes at the Kiss The Bride magazine cover shoot.  It was a very rainy day in November and we battled through flash floods to set up in the Ballroom of the Grand Hotel, Hartlepool.  Principal photography was by Keith Moss and his team and I was there to capture behind the scenes images.  It was great to work with such a talented team and catch up on the gossip with Keith and Pat!

The shoot had a dance theme and so Choreographer Claire from AJ Academy of Performing Arts was there to put the models through their paces.

Two distinct looks were explored.  Here you can see the girls from Nancy Darcy doing a very slick Latin hair style.

Look out for the latest issue of the Kiss The Bride magazine at Wedding Fayres and Bridal shops to see the final results.

There is also an accompanying video, look out for it appearing on the Kiss The Bride Website.

Credits

It was a bitterly cold day in early December and Ormesby Hall had just opened up to sell live Christmas Trees.  We were treat to the site of mammoth trees being squeezed into tiny cars, including a convertible!  It was like magic!

Faye and Adam were both relaxed and we had a great time wandering around the grounds sharing the paths with only the most hardy of dog walkers and joggers.  I made a new friend in a tiny puppy whose affection left me covered in mud up to my middle.  Fortunately Faye and Adam managed to avoid this given they were in front of the camera!

See more of Faye and Adam’s story in Kiss the Bride Magazine Here.

Do you have a great engagement story you would like to share?  Send it in to Kiss the Bride Magazine directly and you could be the next lucky winners.

Is there something you would like to see featured in future blogs? If so please Contact me.

To view my wedding work see the Wedding Gallery.

For packages and prices see the Weddings Page.