Another Beautiful Day ~ Debra & Lee's Wedding ~ Alnwick Gardens, Northumberland

On Friday I was very fortunate to be shooting the wedding of Debra and Lee at Alnwick Gardens in Northumberland.

Not only are these guys a cracking couple, they're also friends of my wife and I so it was a real honour to be asked to shoot their wedding.

The day started off at The Hogs Head Inn just oustide Alnwick, with both bride and groom getting ready in the same place, something that scared me a little bit I'll be honest!! What if I try to get shots of one of them in the wrong place and the other wanders in, not good! Luckily I survived that worry without any drama.

The bride and bridesmaids got ready in one room while the 7 groomsmen (including 3 best men) prepared themselves in another.

From there we headed to the Alnwick Gardens, the wedding car, delivering both bridesmaids and bride to the venue as the groom waited patiently.  With the weather being on and off all morning and not a great forecast, it was anyone's guess as to how the day would pan out.  As the bride approached, the sun broke through the clouds and the ceremony began with sunshine showering the beautiful gardens and fountains that delivered such a stunning backdrop.

The ceremony went without a hitch, although there was a bit of a struggle with untying the rings!  We moved outside into the sunshine for welcome drinks and pushed through some of the group shots with those we could steal away from the bar.  

Speeches progressed with some interesting stories about Lee as well as a video of some of his finer moments. Following the speeches, the meal was served and my second photographer Richard Davison and myself were very happy to be included in the lovely BBQ that was presented to us!

Following the meal, we had some time to take Debra and Lee away to get some shots up and around the fountains and archways before evening guests started to arrive.  The shooting was cut short as a huge black cloud followed us up the fountain and the rains began!

Evening guests arrived along with the DJ and superb band The Fallen.  So the dancing began as did the game of musical chairs!

Once the winner was decided we moved on to the cake cut and the first dance, danced to The Wannadies 'You and Me Song'.  The first dance would usually be my final shots of the night before heading home, but knowing these guys, I stayed and couldn't resist keeping my camera with me, so when the band got everyone on the dancefloor for one last song I had to shoot!  To my dismay, I was also dragged up to judge a girls vs boys sing off!!  Sorry boys, the ladies were way better!! (and I'd knew a few of them so I knew not to get on the wrong side of them!!)

As the light faded and the rains started a little, I grabbed the bride and groom for one last evening shot and I'm so glad I did.....

You can see the preview video from Debra and Lee's wedding here...