Following on from last weeks duties, today saw my little Sea Cadet took part in the South Elmsall Armistice Day Parade.
The day started with a grey gloomy sky, which soon turned into a good ol' British drizzle.  All the representing cadets were outstanding regardless of the weather.  The mix of uniforms was a sight to behold as they marched down the main street. 
Sea Cadets, Army Cadets, Air Cadets, Yorkshire Rose First Aid Society, Town Council members, Royal British Legion and local schools all paraded proudly and brilliantly accompanied by the Carlton Main Frickley Colliery Band and escorted by a solo RBL Rider.  (Apologies if I missed anyone).

And here, in all their glory, are our outstanding Sea Cadets.  Proud parent time for all of us watching.

David Lee Evans
Father
Son
Husband
Brother
Marine

26/3/1972 - 11/4/2018

A few weeks ago I had the awesome privilege of shooting the wedding of Luci and Mark over in Leeds.

There was no bridal prep, so it was straight to Leeds Town Hall to get down to business.
Mark and a few guests soon arrived, so we had a nosey round the place to check out the room and take a few snaps.  Time soon ticked on, so everyone was ushered into the room before the Bridal Party arrived.
Pretty soon the door opened and the happy couple's two little girls made their way down the aisle before the bride.  I don't think Mark stopped smiling all the way through!
The registrars got down to business, readings were read, vows were spoken and rings were exchanged. 
And of course - kisses were kissed.

The happy couple walked out man and wife.

The day had been raining on and off all morning, so we all huddled under the canopy for a few snaps before making our way down to the reception venue.

The rest of the day was held at The Tetley.  A massive 30's art deco building that originally headquartered Tetley's Brewery.
The drinks were soon flowing, the smiles were still beaming and the kids were soon off on an Easter Treasure Hunt.
After dinner and speeches, the evening guests soon arrived, cakes were cut and the happy couple led the way onto the dancefloor.

Oh, and I kept dragging them outside for a few photos along the way.

A perfect day.  Congratulations Mark and Luci - you guys were awesome!

Here are a few snaps from their day. 

We've not taken the kids anywhere for a while, due to illnesses and other pesky things, so on Monday we jumped in the Adventure Mobile™ and headed over to the coast.
We spent the day between Flamborough Head, North Landing and Thornwick Bay.
It was a ridiculously foggy day - at some points on the way there, visibility was about 20 feet in front of the car!  We made it in one piece though, and proceeded to spend the day the way we always do at the seaside - walking on the beach, throwing stones in the sea, eating too much food and moaning about car park prices.  Well, that last bit might have been just me...
The fog did roll out at one point towards the end of the day and we got a good 20 minutes of blue skies before it came rolling back in again.  Along with the start of the rain!

I also never knew there was a Castle at Flamborough.  I must have driven past it a hundred times.  It is a pretty small stack of stones in a field though - with no signs or info to show for it.  Regardless, I went with all intentions of taking a few snaps - only to find it covered in scaffolding. 
Typical!

Anyway, we had a top day out and, as usual, I took far too many photos.

Here's the snaps. 

Gear used - Fujifilm X70

My final wedding of last year was another lovely local one that had me nipping down the road to the town we lovingly call Ponte-Carlo (well, it's a better nickname than it's neighbouring Cas-Vegas!)  I was heading once again to the lovely King's Croft Hotel for the wedding of Sharon and Barry.

The day started with the usual terrorized-women-trapped-in-a-room-with-me bridal prep.  They were less camera shy once the beers started coming in though!  ;-)
It was all a good laugh and the time soon flew by, so I quickly popped downstairs to see the groom while the dresses were going on and before you knew it, it was time for action!

I'd never met Barry before, but Sharon had given me a detailed description - "he looks just like he does on the wedding cake!"  I'm not gonna say whether he did or not, but I found him easy enough...  Well, he was stood at the end of the aisle wasn't he?!

The bridal party soon made their way in, followed by (a pretty emotional by this point) Sharon.  I love seeing this much emotion at a wedding - it gave me a bit of a lump in the throat too!
The Registrar soon got down to business and before you knew it, the vows had been said, rings had been shared, kisses had been kissed and cheers were all round.

After lots of handshakes, kisses, tears and hugs later, we nipped outside to brave the cold for a few snaps before heading back in for the Wedding Breakfast - after some pretty emotional and awesomely funny speeches!

The rest of the evening was good-ol Yorkshire knees up - everyone was having a good time, the drinks were flowing, the kids were running and chins were wagging a plenty.  After a few more photos and the cake-cutting, the happy couple were soon dancing round the floor like no one was watching.  They were soon joined by more, the band were in full swing and the love carried on into the night.

Oh - it was Barry's birthday too!  Happy birthday mate - it was definitely one to remember!

Thanks for having me guys - you were both awesome!

Here are a few photos from their day.

My second to last wedding of last year had me nipping down the road to Doncaster for the wedding of Danielle and David. 

The day started at the couple's home for the Bridal prep - another room full of women for me to terrorise by pointing a camera at them!  It was all good fun, and the time soon flew by.  Wasn't even any nerves showing ...  So far. 
Midway through the prep I walked a hundred yards down the street to the Groom's parents' house and grabbed a few shots of the fellas getting ready too.  In typical men fashion - this took about 3 minutes flat!
Back to the Bridal party and dresses were all on and pretty soon the car arrived.  A pretty awesome stretched New York Checker cab.

Convoy to the venue time.

The rest of the day was all held at Castle Park - the home of the Doncaster Knights Rugby Club.

After a quick snap of the Bridal Party, I scampered inside to find David patiently waiting at the end of the aisle.  Looking rather nervous I must say!
He needn't have worried - his beautiful Bride-to-be soon followed the bridesmaids down the aisle to take her rightful place by his side.  Time to get down to business!
The vows were soon spoken, rings were exchanged, kisses were kissed and smiles-for-miles were the order of the day!  Maybe one or two tears too!

After kicking us out while the room got flipped, we braved the cold and went outside for a few snaps.  The low winter sun was pretty brutal, and the grounds aren't the greenest place for portraits, but we managed to sneak a few in.

It was soon back inside for an afternoon of food, drink, dancing and love.

And a few more drinks.  A proper good old Yorkshire knees-up!

Thanks for having me guys - you were both awesome!


Here are a few snaps from their day - 'The One Where They Got Married'.

With the weather turning for the worse, we jumped up at the first sign of a non-rainy day, threw our big coats on and jumped in the car to have a little trip to look at the local Wentworth follies.  I talked about the follies on THIS blog post a while back, but hadn't really had a chance to check them out until now.
I love autumn.  The colours, the leaves - everything is a photographer's dream. 

The first stop was Hoober Stand.

Hoober Stand is a pyramidal tower that stands just shy of a hundred feet on a little hill at roughly 157 metres above sea level.  Construction was completed in 1748 and was to commemorate the quashing of the 1745 Jacobite Rebellion.
And it looks awesome. 
I love pyramids and angled buildings.  Shooting this from the side reminds me of one of my favourite buildings in New York - the Flatiron Building.  The setting where it sits is also quite nice.  My kids love the woods and there was a nice little bit of woodland here for them to go crazy in.

Next stop - Needle's Eye.

The Needle is just down the road from Hoober.  A quick 150 yard walk up the footpath from the roadside brings you right to it.  It looks pretty bizarre, a sandstone pyramid just sitting at the top of a little rise on it's own. 
I do love a pyramid though!
The story behind this one is a little vague.  It was apparently built in the mid-18th Century for the Marquis of Rockingham to win a bet that he could drive a horse and carriage through the eye of a needle.  Measurements confirm that it would have been possible - so that brings a little bit of merit to the story.  Rich folk have far too much time and money on their hands if you ask me!
There's also a little part that made my missus get a good case of the goosebumps - along one side of the pyramid are a grouping of musketball holes at head and torso height, suggesting that this may once have been a site of an execution by firing squad.

Next stop - Keppel's Column. 
On the way we happened across a field of Highland cows, so obviously had to stop for a few snaps.  A snorting big shaggy cow is a pretty awesome sight when it's a foot away from you.  I'm glad there was a gate in the way!


The Column is a 115 foot tower built to commemorate the the acquittal of the court-martialled Admiral Augustus Keppel after the Battle of Ushant.
The tower sits on another hill, not quite as high as Hoober, but still a pretty good viewpoint.
The tower is in a bit of a sorry state.  Not open to the public anymore, but it still stands tall and impressive on the rise. 
This one is basically 'park at the side and take a photo'.  The kids didn't even get out of the car.


And that's the follies!  Here are a couple of snaps.

Gear used:  Fujifilm X70 with the WCLX70 fitted.

A few weeks ago I had the awesome privilege of shooting the wedding of Rebecca and Jamie at the beautiful Wentbridge House Hotel.  This was a super cool wedding for me, as I've known Bex for about 30 years (my God that makes us sound old!) We lived in the same village and went to school together when we were kids.  There were also a fair few old school friends at the wedding too - which always makes for a fun day. 

The entire day was held at the hotel.  We started off with the usual Bridal prep, and, as usual - there were far too many people squeezed into the room!  It was all good fun though - with plenty of kids to keep us all on our toes.  Rebecca didn't really have chance to show any nerves - as a hairdresser, she was pretty busy getting everyone else ready.  And there were a fair few hairs to do!

I also managed to get some Groom prep too, as the fellas were just down the hall.  The lads' prep was easy though - we basically had a bottle of beer while they put their shirts and ties on.  Although Jamie did spend a good 15 minutes blow drying his hair!  ;-) 

Pretty soon is was time for business, so we got downstairs for the vows.

Jamie was looking a bit nervous at the front, but the nerves soon turned to smiles as Rebecca came down the aisle with her Dad.  And I have to say - she was looking radiant.
We got down to business, and pretty soon the vows had been said, rings were on fingers and kisses were kissed.  There was a fair bit of smiling and laughing going on too!
There was also a beautiful ring presentation for little Betsie. 

The deed was done - time to get out into the sunshine for some photos! 
The blue skies were a breath of fresh air - it had been throwing it down all day up until that point!

It was soon time to head in for food and speeches.  Rebecca's Dad's speech pulled at the heart strings, Jamie's raised a few chuckles and the Best Man's brought some proper laugh out loud moments!

The rest of the evening was good old family fun, laughter and love.  We jumped back inside for cake cutting and first dance, followed by all the girls on the dancefloor.  Then it was back outside for more laughs and a bit of a sparkler walk. 

And then more laughs.

A pretty awesome day.  Thanks for having me guys - you were amazing!


Here are a few pics from their day.

A few weeks ago I had the awesome privilege of shooting the wedding of Steph and James over in Leeds.

The day also happened to be my birthday, so it was an early start to get through all the prezzies and a birthday brekkie before jumping in the car and heading over to the couple's home.
We didn't do any bridal prep on this one, just a few snaps in the house before church.
The ceremony was held at The Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Moortown. 
The day had started off with blue skies above us, but, as Steph arrived in the Roller, the heavens proper opened up on us.  This pretty much repeated itself for the rest of the day - sun, rain, sun.  We did a pretty good job of dodging it though! 
James was waiting patiently at the front.  He didn't look nervous though - he looked as excited as a kid at Christmas!
The Bridal party soon made their way down the aisle and we got down to business.
Pretty soon the hymns had been sung, vows had been said and kisses had been kissed.
The happy couple walked out into the sunshine as man and wife. 
And got bombarded by confetti! 
We had a few shots in the grounds and just made it back to the cars before we got wet again.  See what I mean about the rain?!

Next stop - the reception.

The rest of the evening was held at the Castle Grove Masonic Hall.  A quaint Victorian Manor House tucked out of the way in Headingley. 
The drinks were soon flowing, the kids were soon running and everyone was soon letting their hair down and having a good time!
We stole away a few times to get some sneaky photos, but pretty soon it was time for meals and speeches.

And what speeches they were.

I can hand on heart say that this is the only wedding where I've laughed out loud and then had to wipe a tear away within minutes of each other.  The amount of family love that was on show was beautiful.

The rest of the evening was more drinking, more laughing, more running around and then some pretty serious dancing.  We squeezed a cake cut and a first dance in there somewhere too!

Thanks for having me guys - you were awesome!


Here are a few images from their day.

A few weeks ago I had the awesome honour of shooting the beautiful wedding of Joanne and David.

The entire day was held in Whitley Hall, a beautiful 16th Century mansion set in the countryside on the outskirts of Sheffield.  I've been looking forward to shooting here for a while - the place is an ivy-clad beauty with lovely grounds full of wandering peacocks.

The day started a bit different to most - it was my eldest boy's 16th birthday.  So after a cup of tea, we dragged his lazy teenage bum out of bed and forced him to open his presents before I left.  I'm pretty sure he went back to bed afterwards! 

Jo didn't want any bridal prep, so upon arrival I had a little nosey around the grounds as the guests were arriving.  David soon appeared so I snapped a few shots before everyone was ushered into the ceremony room.
Once the coast was clear, Jo and the girls made their way down and it was time for business.
Pretty soon the vows were said, kisses were kissed and the happy couple headed out into the glorious sunshine.
The day was an absolute belter - beautiful blue with a blazing sun.  I'm pretty sure everyone almost had to be dragged back inside for the food!  Once the meals had been had, it was time for the speeches - and the best man was looking a little green!  Despite the nerves, he pulled a belter out of the bag. 
Along with some pretty incriminating photos of the Groom! 
Everyone had a good laugh and it was back into the gardens to soak up the rest of the sun.
Well, after the surprise birthday cake that is!

After enjoying the rare Yorkshire sunshine it was soon time to head back inside for the cake cutting and the first dance. 

People laughed, people loved and people lived.  Pretty much prefect.

Thanks for having me guys - it was awesome. 


Here are a few images from their day.

A few weeks ago, I had the awesome pleasure of shooting the wedding of Victoria and Duncan in the village I grew up in - South Kirkby.  Which has a Pontefract address and a Wakefield postcode - just to confuse everyone about where it actually is!
I love going through Kirkby.  The sights always bring back memories.  Lots of the places I remember have gone, but a few still remain.  One of which was the church where I was shooting.  Right at the bottom of my old street!

The day started with Bridal prep at the couple's home.  I use the term Bridal prep loosely - I pretty much photographed everyone getting ready except the Bride.  We even had a little birthday cake surprise!
The prep was complete chaos - everyone and everything was everywhere! 
It was brilliant!
The time soon ticked on, so it was into the Roller and on to All Saints Church - where I've actually never been before!  (Maybe I once went with school as a nipper, but I can't remember it.)

Duncan was waiting patiently at the altar, and pretty soon his Bride-to-be came swishing down the aisle.  Looking absolutely radiant.

Proceedings got under way, and it wasn't long until little Mielle decided she wanted to get in on the action, so the rest of the ceremony was spent with babe-in-arms, until Victoria passed her over to the Vicar for her Baptism.  And cold water on a baby's head only ends with more tears!  Victoria soon dished out some magic mamma-milk to save the day. 

I've got to say, one of the things I find most beautiful in this world is seeing a Mother feed her baby.  Watching a Mother feeding her baby during the magic of her wedding day was absolutely sublime. 

Things were soon wrapped up at church and it was on to the beautiful Hostel at Hooton Pagnell.  Where eating, drinking, dancing, laughing and loving was the order of the day.
 
And a bouncy castle.  Obviously.

I loved every minute of this wedding.  Thanks for having me guys - you were both awesome!

Here are some images from their day.