I’ve photographed dozens and dozens of alternative weddings in Newcastle, Northumberland, Durham and all over the North East of England so I have a lot of experience to draw upon when talking about wedding speeches.

Whitworth Hall Hotel and Deerpark is situated in Bracepeth countryside 6 miles outside of Durham. It is nestled in its own picturesque deer park resplendent with fairy-tale gardens and an ornamental lake. The hotel also boasts a fishing lake, two restaurants, Afternoon Tea Lounge and a laid-back bar.

I was introduced to Whitworth Hall by Zoe & Liam when they invited me to photograph their wedding there in 2018.

A pre-wedding session is a great time to show of a bit of your personality and your passions. Don't think that you have to pick an iconic location for your couples session. I can capture exciting photographs anywhere and an unusual location can result in unique photographs.

It may be that you decide that you want to lose weight before your wedding, just as I did after I was ill. Great! Go for it! Just make sure you are doing it for yourself.

Equally, you do not HAVE to lose weight for your wedding. Your partner is marrying you the way you are. Your family love you the way you are. Your self worth is not measured by the number on your bathroom scale.

Horton Grange is an elegant and intimate Grade II listed Country House set in 4 acres of beautiful grounds in Northumberland. The gardens are beautiful, with water features, lawns, flower beds and lots of hidden areas to explore. At night lamps and fairy lights light up the gravel paths.

“When it came to choosing a wedding photographer I knew what I didn't want-cheesy pictures, lots of portrait style and rigid poses..I knew I wanted true, honest moments.” - Izzy & Rob

Put your hand up if you love having your photograph taken. Anybody? Anyone?

Didn’t think so.

It’s going to happen on your wedding day, though. But don’t worry.

Here’s my personal take on using the X-Pro2 as a wedding camera.

The pros, the cons and how I configure the camera.

“We wanted the wedding at The Parlour at Blagdon to feel comfortable, welcoming and real. No pretention or falseness. Just us and our closest family and friends. Oh, and a shit load of fairy lights!” - Angela & Dave

I photographed Noor and Callum’s wedding at The Alnwick Garden in Northumberland last year but I photographed their engagement session after the wedding.

Both Noor and Callum have hectic schedules and live outside of Newcastle, so trying to find a time to shoot when they were both free, and in the North East, while I was available was tricky. After pencilling in a few dates that we subsequently had to cancel we simply ran out of time to squeeze in the session before their wedding.

Undeterred we booked in a post-wedding session this January.