My camera shutter died during a wedding.

But it wasn’t a disaster.

Being a wedding photographer means being prepared and that means having a plan for dealing with the unexpected. I always take a backup camera to every wedding and I shot the rest of the wedding on that body without the couple noticing.

At Zoe & Ed's wedding we had scheduled a sunset bride and groom portrait session but the cloud was low and the skies were the colour of television, tuned to a dead channel. We picked things up later in the night when the rain was falling freely, and I'd broken out my strobes to light the scene.

Some photographs appeal to your head and some photographs get you in the gut. This is a gut photograph.

Using a ruined and rusting outdoor swimming pool as a backdrop for an engagement shoot is an unusual idea, which is why I suggested it as a location to Jessica and Christopher. Tynemouth Outdoor Pool can be found hewed out of the cliff face above Tynemouth Longsands and is a prominent local landmark for all the wrong reasons.

Newton Hall is a modern, contemporary wedding venue in Northumberland. It's like a non-traditional, stylish take on the classic country hall. Situated in a National Trust designated area of outstanding natural beauty, it is surrounded by spectacular countryside and close to the breathtaking Northumberland coast.

When I put a call out asking for newly engaged couples to experiment with an alternative couples shoot in the Ouseburn area of Newcastle I couldn't have gotten a more perfect couple than Harry and Stacie.

I knew the shoot would go well when they rocked up to the Quayside in Doc Martins, a leather jacket, a Harrington jacket and a nose ring.

They got it.

I know it's a cliche, and after all this is a wedding, but there was a real warmth and love between Gloria and Kevin throughout the entire day. They were constantly holding hands, making eye contact and being patient with one another. Emotions can run high on wedding days as everyone tries to meet the schedule or feels stressed, but Gloria and Kevin sailed smoothly through the day.

I'm always equally excited and nervous when I am photographing photographers. Jessica and Matthew are talented photographers in their own right, working at Jessica Holloway Photography, so I pulled out all the creative stops for their forest hike engagement session. We did Brenizer shots, used manual lenses, smoke bombs, prisms and even brought along the dog!

I combined Zoe and Ed's pre-wedding session in North Yorkshire, on the border of the North Yorkshire Moors, with scouting out their wedding venue.