Mark and Lindsay at the West Tower, Aughton

My first wedding of 2011 was Mark and Lindsay’s fantastic day at the West Tower in Aughton, near Ormskirk, my first time covering this venue. I had a kind of nervous energy to me whilst driving down to the venue. I think this was because I’d been out of the game (wedding wise at least) for a few months and also because I’d drunk one of the massive cans of some disgusting energy drink on the way. I arrived at the venue early to meet the bride and bridesmaids making their preparations for the big day ahead. The bridal suite was a picture of calmness and serenity, at least compared with what I am used to arriving to! The girls hadn’t even thought of any alcohol consumption (at least, not until I had arrived anyway) and were just relaxing whilst getting ready. I nipped downstairs to photograph the room details before the guests arrived and bumped into Mark and the groomsmen at the bar ordering soft drinks. Again, very calm and relaxed, Mark showed no signs of nerves whatsoever.

The civil service held within the venue was very nice with just one reading from some friends of the bride. Lindsay looked stunning in her dress as did the bridesmaids and the cute flower girls. The BBC 5-day forecast (or as I call it, complete guesswork!) had been threatening me with rain in Ormskirk all week, yet luckily we didn’t get a single drop all afternoon or evening, giving us plenty of opportunity to get some nice shots around the grounds of this fantastic venue. I loved the 80's album cover theme for the table names. Highlights below...



































Congratulations to Lindsay and Mark and thanks for letting me capture, and be a part of your special day. I hope this wee glimpse of your photos brings back some great memories!

So it begins....

OK, it's finally come around! This coming friday I'll be dusting off my equipment, unzipping the suit bag and polishing up my shoes in preparation for my first wedding of the year. It's been two whole months since I have covered an event so i'm really excited to be getting back to work on capturing those special moments. I went down to visit the venue yesterday, which is one I haven't covered as yet, and met the wedding co-ordinator who showed me around. The venue was gearing up for a wedding fayre that was being held the following day which got me stirred up for pushing me on this year and to start showing off my work this way.

I'm also looking forward to the Focus On Imaging event at the Birmingham NEC at the beginning of March. I'm hoping to attend a couple of seminars by some of the other professionals I respect, to get some inspiration, plus some hints and tips for moving forward both in my photography and my business. Exciting stuff.

So keep your eyes on the blog over the next few weeks to check out the preview pics from my latest wedding plus details of my new website and upcoming offers!

Ant

PS, this is a photo taken of me at a christening recently by Hipstamatic Fanatic Inga! I'm quite impressed at how handsome and charismatic I look haha (joke). Goes to show that the camera sometimes does lie!