Posts

Phillipa and Dave at the Faenol Fawr

/in /by

Faenol Fawr Wedding Photographer North Wales

A bride and groom that are game for anything we suggested, a super-secret one-off location shoot, a classic North Wales country house venue and the funkiest campervan we’ve seen yet-Four great ingredients of a successful wedding!

As we often do here at Fresh Photography, we popped out the day before to try and find a location to whisk our bride and groom out to during the day to get our characteristic ‘epic album centrepiece’ shots that we’re known for. We went EVERYWHERE! Eventually I saw the place that I had imagined and tried to get access, but it’s completely closed to the public, covered in security cameras and signs and access is strictly forbidden.

Unless you’re friends with the head of security of course..! An hour of negotiating and arm twisting (and obviously, offers of beer) secured one-time only access to one of the grandest buildings in the North West, sadly abandoned but full of what we photographers term ‘character’. There’s nothing like putting an immaculately dressed bride and groom in a completely trashed area and catching the dichotomy between the two scenes in a single shot. :)

We managed to get some funky shots on the way back down the MASSIVE driveway as well-With some amazing ancient oak trees and vast blue skies offering their services as backdrops against the funky campervan (thanks to Nellyweds for taking her off-road and not being precious about these things-Amazing service!) and because I wanted a shot of the campervan in motion I put the life of the ever-willing Mighty Milton in grave danger by getting him to lean out of my car and drag the shutter as I overtook the camper on the way back to the Faenol Fawr. It worked and he survived so I’m not sure what the fuss was about… Sorry Phil. ;)

Gorgeous flowers were once again supplied by the very talented people at Dorothy’s, the extremely highly-recommended camper can be found here and of course, the Faenol Fawr provided a space for the ceremony, amazing food, shelter and hospitality, all to an absolutely impeccable standard for the day.

All the very best Phillipa and Dave-Thank you for using Fresh -We hope you have an amazing time being married! Love and luck to you both.

Fresh. x

Amy and Shane at the Seiont Manor, Caernarfon

/in /by

Seiont Manor Wedding Photography

We often hear a lot of people explaining about how ‘home made’ their wedding details are, how they have customised certain details of their big day, or how much time they have put into making their own day exactly how they want it to be, but Amy and Shane took this to a whole new level! Never before have we walked into a hotel room to find the bride putting the final stitches into the wedding dress that she made herself from scratch!

Shane and Amy had travelled up from London to have a bohemian blessing at the fabulous Seiont Manor Hotel in the heart of Snowdonia, having been married a few days previously at a registry office ceremony in their native lands! The reason? They love Snowdonia! In fact, they love Snowdonia so much that at least half of the wedding party climbed the mighty Tryfan the day before the wedding, leaving many aching and glad to sit down during the less hectic moments of the day!

The seating for the ceremony was set up beneath three of the oldest and grandest oak trees within the grounds of the hotel and the blessing was led by a close friend in the beautiful dappled light that the trees provided. A makeshift ‘choir’ (of three!) led the singing, tears of happiness were everywhere and an amazing time was had by all! :)

In the afternoon there was dancing to be done! A live Celidh band provided entertainment and some funky calling for the drinks reception which could, thanks to the beautiful weather, be held outside. We even managed to get out to the stunningly calm Llyn Padarn for some pretty pics, shooting straight into the sun for maximum dramatic effect.

Normally, we like to thank and mention the hair, makeup and venue dressers at this point, but Amy and Shane did it all with the help of their friends and family, so there’s nobody to mention at all! Amy did her own hair and makeup in the morning (whilst finishing off the aforementioned dress!) while Shane was busy getting the room ready. The simple and elegant flowers were as simple and elegant as it gets, and the pastel gerberas even played a starring roll in Amy’s hair.

All the best of luck and luck to you both-We feel privileged to have been chosen to shoot your big day for you and had an absolute ball!

Fresh. x

Carolyn and Colin at Château Rhianfa, Menai Bridge

/in /by

Wedding Photographer Chateau RhianfaWe found ourselves back once again at the glorious Château Rhianfa on Anglesey on one of the hottest days we’ve shot a wedding on this year. It’s a match made in heaven, a classic French Château in perfect weather, overlooking the picturesque Menai Straights and a black tie wedding full of familiar faces! 

When you get to a certain age you get to know exactly what it is you want in life-For Carolyn, this is her horse, her dogs and of course, Colin! This is easily one of the most elegant weddings we’ve shot, with flowers in Carolyn’s hair, matching bouquet and table decorations, a saxophonist playing jazz during the champagne reception and canapés, the aforementioned black tie dress code and some of the finest speeches we’ve ever heard!

Hair was by the award winning Julia Nicholls, the simply stunning makeup was by our favourite, recommended makeup artist, Keena Mellor and once again, we found ourselves working alongside Joe of Perfect Day Production for the videography-always a pleasure to work alongside such consummate and talented professionals!

Congratulations to you both-It was a glamorous and fun filled day to remember and we wish you all the best for the future!

Fresh. x

 

Emma and Adam at the Kinmel Manor Hotel and Spa

/in /by

Wedding Photographer Kinmel Manor North walesAnother beautiful wedding at the recently revamped Kinmel Manor Hotel and Spa and another beautiful day to go with it (who says weddings in Wales HAVE to be wet?!).

Adam (and Emma to a slightly lesser degree!) is football mad, and this was reflected in the distinctly Manchester United-themed table names, featuring a selection of famous names, and the perfect surprise was arranged by Emma in the form of a framed, signed Cristiano Ronaldo shirt, handed out during the speeches, much to Adams delight!

We managed to steal 20 minutes just after dinner and take a quick stroll up to a field of wheat, looking luscious and green in the setting sun. This is what we photographers like to call golden hour, and it was the perfect description for the photos taken-Giving a stunning, golden-glow to the light that you just can’t get at any other time of the day. It was worth the wait and the results speak for themselves!

As the night went on, the crowds increased and the insanely talented guitarist/singer Steve Rikard, (a legend around these parts) played a cracking set, covering everything from The Kooks to Pink Floyd, pretty much note for note. A very talented guy indeed!

Video was once again supplied by one of our working partners, Joe from Perfect Day Productions. We’ve shot a LOT of weddings alongside Joe now and he’s our preferred videographer, being easy going, great to work with (you’d be surprised just how many videographers aren’t!) and extremely laid back, letting everything just happen-a lot like ourselves!  Venue dressing and flowers by the ever-lovely Mandy and the team from Mantones-Probably the hardest working venue dressing company in the world-for good reason! Reliable, hard working and generally amazing at everything they do! :)

All the very best for your future together Emma and Adam, thank you for being so easy going and climbing every gate we showed you on your big day! :)

Fresh. x

Peach and Pie-The Wedding

/in /by

Neil and Roxanne, Gwydir Castle Wedding Photographer

An amazing mix of Mexican-American meets Welsh castle, meets petting farm! There was a real party atmosphere at the wedding of Neil and Roxanne, with peacocks, a barbecue, hay bales, bunting and a live ceilidh band (yes, the spelling is correct!) which kept everybody dancing well into the wee hours!

Starting at Neil and Roxanne’s house, a classic Lincoln Continental took Roxy and her father off to Gwydir Castle in the pouring rain. If there’s a more beautiful place to get married in North Wales then we’re yet to see it. Nestling next to the pretty market town of Llanrwst, the ancient walls, stunning building, candlelit rooms and sprawling grounds, complete with peacocks in full feather makes the venue more than just a bit special. Luckily,the rain stopped as soon as the ceremony was over and the sun came out, just in time for the photos! Brilliant timing!

Then it was off to Bodafon Farm in Llandudno for a party! Lots more friends turned up, a barbecue was had, people made idiots out of themselves on the photo booth (standard…) the band played and people danced ’till they dropped-All in all, a completely perfect day!

Along with being a wedding full of gorgeous people, it also featured many of of favourite suppliers and friends of Fresh, including the frankly brilliant (and award-winning) Andrea of Luna Flower fame who produced one of the most beautiful bouquet’s we’ve ever seen, as well as the slightly deranged Dawn of Phase 3 hairdressers in Colwyn Bay who not only produced some stunning hair up for all the girls in the morning (genius/madness-it’s a fine line…), but also entertained everybody by dancing. Well, it might have been fitting as opposed to dancing, but it was to music. :) Also, an honourable mention must go to Two Best Men, videographers of note who have produced a stunning piece of cinematography and were an absolute pleasure to work with.

Here’s to the awesome Mr and Mrs Rylance and your equally awesome family-We wish you all the love and luck in the world, may you have parties (and barbecues of course) for many years to come. :) #peachandpieswedding

 

Fresh. x

Nicola and James Whiteley at the Chester Grosvenor

/in /by

Wedding Photographer, Chester Grosvenor

A fantastic bride and groom, great weather, a stunning venue and a great crowd of people-All the ingredients you need to make your wedding the day to remember that it should be!

Lit in Purple and with a distinctly purple theme about it, Nicola and James got married at the frankly awesome Chester Grosvenor on what looked to be the busiest shopping day of this century so far. The place was absolutely packed and it took three doormen to help out with the crowd control (thanks chaps!) just to get one shot outside the hotel! We ended up getting them to walk about 30 yards down the street towards us and the sheer amount of people that crashed the shot was unbelieveable, which just added to the scene!

Congratulations to you both-We had an absolute blast and loved every minute of your big day! :)

 

Fresh. x

Amy and Nefyn at Ness Gardens

/in /by
Amy and Nefyn at Ness Gardens

Click for larger. All images ©Fresh Photography 2015

Finally-A long-overdue dry wedding in the UK! In fact, it was lovely at the rather wonderful Ness Gardens on the Wirral. We’d never shot this venue before but we’re glad we have now-What a stunning place. It’s a bit like a photographer’s playground-Everywhere you point your camera is another amazing shot. We could have spent a day just taking the bride and groom’s portraits, but time constraints meant we got about half an hour, so we literally ran around the place, taking as much in as possible!

Then it was off to Neston Cricket club to finish the day with Amy and Nefyn’s friends and family, pausing only to catch the dramatic sunset from the balcony. All in all, an amazing day and one that we’re proud to have been a part of.

All the love and luck in the world to you both!

Fresh. x

 

Hayley and Ciaran at the Rhos Fynach

/in /by

Hayley and Ciaran, Rhos Fynach

Another new venue to us (despite spending a good portion of our youth drinking there), and once again, lots of details and homemade decorations bringing a bit of class to the wonderful wedding of Hayley and Ciaran! The rain came in the afternoon and it decided to stay, giving us some moody skies, a force ten gale and a stunning rainbow, but not too many chances to get out and get the pictures we love taking! Still, our plucky bride and groom braved it and we managed to get some fairly epic skies and floaty dress shots as a result! :)

Congratulations to you both, it was an absolute pleasure and we wish you all the best, love and luck in the years to come. :D

Natasha and Matt Cimelli at Trevor Hall, Llangollen

/in /by
Matt and Natasha

Weddings at Trevor Hall, Llangollen

Sometimes couples will say they’ve done a lot of their own decorations at their weddings. Sometimes they’ve put a few candles out, other times they will dress the venue. Natasha and Matt’s wedding was different-They did everything. And when I say everything, I mean everything!

From the candy cart (built from scratch by Matt) to the wedding cake (Natasha’s handiwork), the marquee, the flowers, the giant balloons, the wedding shoes (decorated by Natasha on the morning!), even the beer tent was their own marquee. Every vintage touch was bought from eBay, snapped up on Etsy, borrowed from friends or rummaged for at car boots and the effect was stunning! I don’t think I’ve ever shot a wedding where there’s been so much forward planning happening and so much attention to the minutest detail. Oh-And their DJ during their wedding breakfast was a gramophone DJ. Awesome stuff! :)

All this in the shadow of Trevor Hall-A venue with one of the most eclectic collections of curios I’ve ever seen and an incredibly cool place to get married (even when it rains non-stop!).

Congratulations to you both-It was a day to remember thanks entirely to your efforts and an amazing experience for Fresh!

Ceri and Gavin at the Quay Hotel, Deganwy

/in /by

 

Ceri and Gavin, Deganwy Quay Wedding PhotographerSometimes, the North Wales weather isn’t all it’s cracked up to be! You just have to make the most of what you’re given, and while the morning and afternoon of Ceri and Gavin’s big day saw it raining heavily non-stop (and two very soggy photographers), it finally dried up enough to go out for some pictures around Conwy, much to everybody’s relief-Especially ours! The rain wouldn’t stop us of course, but it’s so much easier if it’s not chucking it down. It also makes for some pretty epic clouds when the rain stops!

Now, occasionally in weddings we will bump into a bride and groom that we have shot the wedding of previously (the beauty of recommendations!), and this was no exception. The difference is, there was not just one couple, but three previous Fresh Photography couples at the Deganwy Quay Hotel for Ceri and Gavin’s wedding! We seem to have become the photographers of choice for the Eglwysbach massive… It really was fantastic to see everyone there looking as young and as glamourous as they did on their own days! :)

Here’s a sneaky preview of the wedding pictures of the new Mr and Mrs Kenrick-Wishing you both lots of love, luck and best wishes for now and your future together!