I can only say I hope I get more clients like Laura and Liam – what a great couple. Shooting their engagement photos and wedding were so much fun and although I was pretty tired after a 13 hour shoot, it was worth it.  After visiting them both at home for the getting ready photography, their wedding took place in Worsley, Manchester – first at St Mark’s Church and then onto the popular Marriott Worsley Park Hotel.

A truly stunning church – the Grade I listed St Mark’s Church in Worsley was the location for Laura and Liam’s wedding ceremony and every pew was full. Unfortunately I was restricted to shooting from the back – Vicar’s rules! But in this case, it didn’t matter because the altar looked so good from the back – and long lenses help too…  Notice below that I somewhat flukily managed to capture the vicar performing the wedding blessing in the exact same pose as the image of Jesus behind him.

Laura and Liam’s wedding was one of those where I had to keep reminding myself I was the photographer because I was having such a great time! Especially during the speeches, it took a lot of concentration to keep taking photos and not listen to the great (and hilarious!) wedding speeches.

Liam’s shoes were sabotaged by Sean his brother and best man – I’m just glad the Vicar didn’t notice in the church as he was rather strict and made it known at the wedding rehearsal that any attempt at comedy would not be welcomed!

Due to time constraints between the wedding ceremony and wedding breakfast, and the fact this was a chilly February day in Manchester and I didn’t want Laura to freeze, we decided to do the couple shoot inside the hotel later in the evening. I was a little worried about this, but needn’t have been because the chemistry between Laura and Liam by that point was great, and we got some great photography for them.

They chose the picture above for their wedding thank you cards… We actually took this in the reception area at the Worsley Marriott.

After having their first dance to Bryan Adams – Please Forgive Me, Laura surprised Liam (whose family are Irish) with some amazing Irish dancers – luckily she’d warned me about this, which is why I was still there at 10pm running purely on adrenaline! It also turned out that two of Liam’s family who’d travelled over from Ireland were championship Irish dancers too! It was an awe inspiring display.

Congratulations Laura and Liam – you had an amazing Manchester Wedding day and thanks for letting ARJ Photography capture it for you.

I was impressed by the grandeur of the place (not untypical of a Cheshire wedding venue!), and the real mixture of old and new.  They hold ceremonies in the older hall and then you go over for your wedding reception in the more modern wing.  Or at least that’s how Sophie and Alex’s wedding is going to work.  And they tell me it’s good value too.

From a wedding photography perspective (which is where I come in!) it’s a great venue – loads of areas for group shots and couple shots, and lots of nice countryside backdrops for the natural reportage photography, as well as really nicely lit rooms for the ceremony and wedding reception.

All in all – I approve!  Click HERE if you’d like to visit the Rookery Hall Website.

Laura and Liam are getting married this Saturday at the Marriott Worsley Park Hotel in Manchester.

They were a late booking but they really wanted the engagement shoot and the framed ‘guest signature’ picture so we had to get their engagement pictures done pretty quickly. We were really lucky with just about the only good weather day in January. They’ve chosen the picture above for their frame, and here are some of their other engagegment photos…

Laura and Liam were so easy to work with and their natural affection for each other was so easy to capture in their engagement photos.

It was quite a cold day but we had a great time around the beautiful grounds of the Worsley Marriott and even the sun made a surprise appearance which was a real bonus, and we got some great pictures!

Fingers crossed we get similar luck for their wedding day this weekend!

To fit in with their wedding colour scheme plan, Laura and Liam wanted the majority of their engagement shoot pictures in Black & White, and they chose a black and white one for their guest-book-frame which looks great.

Black and White photography is really rising in popularity again (poor thing, it has been neglected) and it was good fun editing Laura and Liam’s pictures into Black and White – they had dressed purposefully in tones of gray which made the editing process a lot easier!

Engagement shoots are always a great way to get to know each other and we had good fun, and I got a good idea of Laura and Liam’s personalities and the way they interact with each other, which will help loads for their wedding day.

I can’t wait to capture their wedding day story this weekend!

Engagement Shoots are included in our Shine and Sparkle wedding photography packages or can be purchased as add-ons to any package or even on their own.

The glow wedding photography package offers clients on a budget in Manchester and Cheshire full day wedding photography with all high-resolution images presented on CD, plus your five favourite wedding photos professionally printed for £550. More information about glow.

The shimmer wedding photography package still gives you full day wedding photography and all your high-resolution wedding photos on a disc, your favourite fifteen photos professionally printed plus a proof book containing all your photographs and a 20 page professional coffee table story book album – all for £795. More information about shimmer.

The shine wedding photography package gives you everything you get in the shimmer package, but upgrades to a 40 page album and includes a canvas and an engagement shoot. You also get the high-resolution photos from your engagement shoot too, plus your favourite engagement photo printed and mounted to use as a guest book. Then we’ll frame it and present it to you with your album and 25 prints for £995. More information about shine.

Our sparkle wedding photography package still gives you the high-res disc, proof book and engagement shoot, but upgrades the 40 page album to a top-of-the-range Asukabook coffee table story book album. You also get two copies of your album to give to parents, and a larger 30″x20″ canvas print of your favourite wedding photo, and 30 photos professionally printed for £1495. More information about sparkle.

These packages include the most popular choices, but if there’s something you want that’s not in a package then we can create a bespoke wedding photography package just for you, so please send us a message.

Anybody who got married in Manchester or Cheshire during the snow fall might have been a bit chilly and maybe had to change a few plans but I know they’ll have got some amazing wedding photography – I’m certainly a bit miffed that I didn’t have any bookings during the blizzards.  Although it did give me a chance to build a snowman with my 18 month old son.

Winter wedding photography is a weird one – it’s unpopular, but why?  I can certainly see that the weather is supposedly more predictable in the summer months, but on a clear crisp cold winters day, the atmosphere is special and from a wedding photographer’s perspective the lighting is near perfect.

We’re about to enter the period where according to the statisticians, most people do the bulk of their wedding planning and I’m sure I’ll have a nice full inbox of enquiries to answer every day.  ARJ Photography does still have some availability for 2010 and lots for 2011 so please get in touch if you’d like to talk about using ARJ for your wedding photography.

Apart from that, enjoy the rest of the festive season and have a great New Year!

Hilltop Country House is a relatively new addition to Cheshire’s prestigious list of wedding venues and it won’t be long before it’s a favourite I’m sure. It’s a privately owned family home and it really has a welcoming homely feel to it. And the owners Clare and Martin are as friendly as they come.

The wedding ceremony will be held in an inside room (the bay on the left above) and the wedding reception in a marquee which will be set up in the grounds (around to the left of the house in the picture above).

One of the main things I’m thinking about when viewing a wedding venue for the first time is where can I take the couple for their private shots during the reception, somewhere away from the guests where we can get some really nice photos. Well at Hilltop we’re absolutely spoilt for choice.

There are lots of different individual areas at Hilltop where the wedding party will spread out to – several lawns, indoor rooms, the marquee and patio areas.

Hilltop only host one wedding per day so the place is yours and yours alone for your wedding, and it has a really private feel to it.

I’ll be revisiting Hilltop at some point probably in the spring to get a feel for it in the evening when the grounds will be lit and it’ll show a whole other side to its enchanting personality.

Just in case you’re wondering why some of these photographs say ‘Photomatix’ on them – I’m trialling some new software!

I’m quite pleased with the new site, and I’ll be adding regular blog posts and content to the site now to keep you fully updated with the world of ARJ Photography.