Rain, rain, and a bit more rain

Rain, rain, and a bit more rain!

Sophie and James’ wedding was a wedding of two halves. Both equally as awesome as each other! Back in December these guys tied the knot at their local village church, and the following day we headed over to the Lake District to get some EPIC portraits.

On the morning of the wedding, I headed over towards York to photograph James getting ready for the big day. What I didn’t realise was that James and Sophie had recently bought a new puppy called Joyce, and OH MY GOODNESS! What an absolute beauty she is! How could anyone expect me to get any work done with a spaniel puppy in the room?! It’s safe to say that 99.9% of the photos were of the dog, with a few humans thrown in for good measure! Totally kidding by the way, but also, not really..

Once James was suited and booted, we headed across to meet Sophie a few streets away who was getting ready with her bridesmaids. When I say we, I am referring to me (hello!) and the very wonderful Kieran Paul, who was the videographer for the wedding. It was so great to work alongside Kieran and it’s always so lovely to meet other photographers in the wedding industry!

Sophie was having her make-up done by her lovely sister Emily when we arrived. This meant we had chance to photograph some of her wedding details! We got some shots of her beautiful dress in all its glory, some of Sophie’s wedding jewellery, and of course the BEAUTIFUL flowers courtesy of Helen at Willow and Bear. I can safely say these were some of my favourite wedding flowers EVER!

Once Sophie was in her wedding dress, it was a really emotional moment when her dad saw her for the first time. He was just beaming with pride! Before we knew it, it was time to head to the church where James was ready and waiting for his bride.

Sophie and James got married in their local village church in Bolton Percy. It’s a church I’ve photographed weddings in a few times, and it really is beautiful. It was an emotional moment watching Sophie walk down the aisle. James was so emotional that he… umm.. snotted.. then proceeded to have a laughing fit.

It.
Was.
Bloody.
Hilarious!

My favourite part of the wedding came after the ceremony. A few weeks before the wedding day, I’d received a phonecall from Sophie’s sister Emily. She told me that since Sophie & James couldn’t have their wedding reception as planned, that some of their friends were going to surprise them outside the church! Sophie and James had absolutely no idea! It was SUCH a moment when they walked out of church so see some of their closest friends smiling and waving at them!

After some confetti, group photos, photos with the puppy (of course), and some mulled wine (genius!), it was time for me to head home. It felt so strange leaving a wedding after just a few hours! I’m used to dragging my tired legs off the dancefloor after a 12 hour day! But it wasn’t over yet..

The following morning, I set off bright and early. My destination? The Lake District. One of my favourite places in the whole world.

Sophie and I had come up with this idea on the phone to each other a few weeks before. I am SO glad that we did! These guys were heading straight to Coniston after the wedding for their honeymoon. And it was just the perfect excuse to do a shoot in the Lakes. Fun fact.. I used to live in the Lake District before I moved to Harrogate!

I met Kieran in Skelwith Bridge and we drove in convoy to meet Sophie and James.

Oh, and did I mention it was raining? Yep, it was definitely raining. You come to expect rain in the Lake District, but honestly I have never seen rain like it. Never mind photographed in it!

Thankfully, we had the coolest couple in town, and it certainly didn’t faze these two. Sophie & James were staying in a beautiful cottage called the Coppermines, and once they were ready, the four of us headed out to brave the rain.

Even though the shoot was CRAZY, we did have a pretty good system! We started off getting lots and lots of close up photos to make the most of Sophie’s lovely hair and make-up before she got totally drenched! We headed up the mountain, and were totally spoilt for choice for backdrops. Even though the visibility was pretty poor, everything is still so beautiful in the Lake District. Rolling hills, insane waterfalls. Once we were suitably soaked, we all headed down to the lake for our final part of the shoot.

What a totally crazy, amazing, wild couple of days! It was awesome and I have never done a shoot like it before. And I hope it won’t be the last!