I met up with Hannah and Faraz at Chopwell Woods in Gateshead for our forest hike engagement shoot. They proved to be very easy to direct and were totally unfazed by public displays of affection, so the shoot became very intimate very quickly.

Yoko and Stuart had a humanist outdoor wedding ceremony in County Durham. That tells you a lot about them and their values. What's important to them. I was really nervous.

I've lived in the North East of England my entire life and it's been raining constantly here since 1973.

I photographed Gail and Steve in the Ouseburn area of Newcastle, where I thought that the graffiti would match their urban cool. While drinking in the Cluny there last autumn I mentally filed the area away as one to suggest for my pre-wedding couple shoots. I had photographed a lot of couples in remote rural locations on the Northumberland Coast and Kielder Forest for example, and I wanted to experiment in a more gritty, urban style.

Amy and Tom introduced me to a new location for my sunset couples shoots - Broken Scar in County Durham. What an evocative name, eh?

I'll use Amy and Tom's sunset couples session to talk through some of the experimental techniques and gear I used for their photographs.

We had glorious weather for Lynsey and Alex's pre-wedding sunset session at Collywell Bay. The sun was shining, the air was warm and the sea was remarkably calm.

Add in Lynsey & Alex's own quirky style and the amazing light and I couldn't help but capture some beautiful photographs.

Beth & Lee's DIY, glitter infused, disco inspired, do-it-your-own-way-without-being-beholden-to-tradition wedding was one of the best I've ever photographed.

It was also my first time at As You Like It and I hope it won't be my last.

Sam & Matt chose a sunset forest hike for their pre-wedding couples photography session. When they asked if they could bring along a friend I was a bit confused. When they said it was their dog Dexter I of course said yes at once.

Rebecca and Ben's wedding was based in West Yorkshire and was one of the longest wedding days I have worked, combining multiple locations, a wicked party, and the highest number of photographs I have delivered so far (987 - my usual number is between 500 and 700 for a full day).

I know that these photographs will put off many couples who are looking to hire me for their wedding or couples session. And that's okay with me. They are marmite images. Some people love them and some people hate them.

They definitely won't appeal to 'Barbie' brides.

Judges at Kirklevington Hall is a traditional country house hotel with rich fabrics and elegant rooms, set in mature, English gardens. The highlights of the wedding venue for me are the sweeping terrace, the gazebo (where Rachel and Chris ceremony took place) and the 31 acres of idyllic, landscaped gardens and woodlands, graceful lawns that sweep down from the Hall’s sunny terraces to the tiny river, which meanders across the estate via waterfalls and under ornate bridges.