If you are getting married this year or 2013 and still looking for your perfect wedding photograper then come along to one of the following wedding fairs during May where you will be able to meet me and have a chat about your photography requirements whilst looking through a selection of albums. There will be lots of fantastic professional wedding suppliers present for you to see all of whom will be happy to help you plan your big day.

Thursday 17th May 2012:

Kilhey Court Hotel, Chorley Rd, Standish, WN1 2XN

The wedding fair is open 6pm – 9pm

Sunday 27th May 2012:

The Last Drop Hotel, Hospital Rd, Bromley Cross, Bolton, BL7 9PZ

The fair is open from 11am-3:30pm £1 admission fee for Bolton Hospice.

We will provide sweets or snacks and soft drinks during the party and everyone gets a copy of one of the group pictures free of charge. The birthday girl/host chooses her favourite picture to be framed and gets a slideshow of the images that she can enjoy at home. The images go online to a password protected website for everyone to view and select their favourites from.

Prices start from £150 for 6 people, additional guests can be added for £15 each to the Princess/Teen Model Parties.

For more information please give us a call on: 01204 413459 or check out the website: www.lindsayashton.co.uk

The ceremony was held in the gorgeous Great Hall at Bolton School and with a choir of Becki’s friends singing them in the wedding was off to a beautiful start. 8 year old Nathan proudly walked his mum down the aisle to Warren with a few hugs, kisses and tears when they got there.

After the ceremony there was time for the couple to say ‘Hello’ to their guests before heading down to the Arts Centre where drinks were served. We stole a few moments with Becki and Warren to get their photographs done using the Hall and the staircase as backdrops, with beautiful lighting coming through the windows.

The wedding breakfast was preceded with a screening of the Grand National at 4:15pm, on arrival all the guests had taken part in a sweepstakes laid on by Becki and Warren as an alternative to wedding favours. The first 4 winners of the race all netted themselves a nice little prize – not bad getting a gift when you go to someone elses wedding!

A beautiful day in a stunning venue. Becki looked amazing in her dress and Warren was a natural poser!

Becki’s dress was purchased from Brides of Leigh and the flowers were from The Flower Butler in Horwich.

After a few pics inside after the service and a shower of confetti at the gates we headed the short distance to Rivington Barn where drinks were served on the lawns as the sun shone – still a little nippy but it was February. With all their family and friends around them Leanne and Kris had a lovely afternoon before a receiving line to enter their wedding breakfast.

Sat editing the pictures a few days later with my daughter looking over my shoulder and she pipes up ‘that’s my teacher’ as a pic of Leanne came on the screen, ‘oh and thats my other teacher’ as Kris appears on screen. Hope they love the pics.

Anyway here’s a sneak peek at their day.

Sunday 29th January: The Thistle at Haydock 12pm – 4pm

Sunday 5th February: The Tickled Trout at Preston 12pm – 4pm

Come see a selection of our work and have a chat about your wedding photography. We will be having a free prize draw for an engagement portrait session and framed picture and should you decide to book us for your wedding whilst at either fair we will offer you a fantastic 10% discount and set of complimentary Thank You cards.

Rather than just buying the usual flowers and chocolates why not consider a fantastic portrait session for the 2 of you and show them how much you love them. For only £50 you can book in for our Valentines portrait session which will include a complimentary 10″x8″ print of your favourite picture from the photo shoot. Sessions can take place in the studio or out on location if preferred.

Whether you are young lovers, old romantics, newly engaged or happily married everyone loves a portrait and remember the pictures and memories we create today will last a lifetime.

Give us a call to book your session now.

Option A: £995 (saving £200)

This includes 2 photographers attending your wedding starting 30-45 mins before the ceremony starts to capture the arrival of the groom and guests. We will continue to cover the service and your drinks reception up until the start of your wedding breakfast. A mixture of posed portraits, groups and natural pictures of you and your guests will be taken for you. A preview book of the edited images will be ready to collect 2-3 weeks after the wedding and from these you can select up to 150 to be digitally designed into a 10″x8″ or A4 storybook album. We will also include a framed 16″x12″ portrait of your favourite picture and a disc of the edited images for you to print from yourselves.

Option B: £1295 (saving £400)

As above 2 photographers will be in attendance but the coverage will begin with me capturing all the excitement of the bridal preparations in the morning whilst the 2nd photographer meets the groom at the ceremony venue. Coverage finishes with the start of your meal. 150 of your favourite images will be chosen from your preveiw book and printed into a stunning A4 Desire storybook album. Along with a framed wall portrait and disc to print from you will also receive a pack of 2 parent albums and 4 guest albums (copies of the main book with Rhapsody covers).

Option C: £1995 (saving £250)

Full day coverage with the option to go to the grooms house as well in the morning, after your meal I will stay to cover the fun of the speeches and the arrival of your evening guests before leaving after your first dance (or 9:30pm at latest). A beautiful 16″x12″ (A3) storybook album with up to 250 images digitally designed into a unique layout is included with 2 smaller copies for parents. Along with a disc of the edited images to print from your wall portrait will be a 24″ canvas wrap of your favourite picture.

Looking for the perfect photographer can be a daunting task – there are hundreds advertising their services today – so here are a few things to think about when starting to look.

1) How long do you want your photographer to be there for on the day itself – ceremony, reception, bridal preparations, speeches, first dance?

2) How would you like to view your wedding images – proofs, internet, preview book?

3) How do you want your finished pictures presented – traditional album, coffee table book, storybook album, wall portraits or a disc to print from?

4) How much value do you put on the photographs – what’s your budget?

It’s always best to start with recommendations from friends who have recently married – see if they liked their pictures and the photographer themselves, check the photographers website and see if you like the style of work they do then arrange to meet with them to discuss your options and what you want.  When meeting make sure you view albums from an entire wedding not just a handful of pictures from different weddings – this will give you an idea of how the images work together in a fininshed album.

Is your photographer a member of the Master Photographers Association?

Although there are many great photographers out there who are not members of a professional organisation you do get a little peace of mind by booking with an MPA member. Not only does each member have to achieve a high standard of photographic competence to join but it is the only organisation who will only accept Full Time Photographers – this means your photographer doesn’t undertake weddings as a hobby or additional income to supplement another job, they earn their living from photography and need to maintain their own reputations to get the next job. As a member they also need to have full professional indemity and public liabilty insurance should the worst happen on the day itself – always advisable to sort out your own wedding insurance thought to cover any eventuality. If your photographer is suddenly taken ill on the day then they have a network of other professionals who can be called upon to cover if needed.

I’m often asked why wedding photography is so expensive but there is no simple answer to this. The majority of a wedding photographers work is done before and after the wedding day itself – they will spend time in consultations with you, possible pre-wedding photo sessions, visits to the venue if needed, the day itself then all the time editing images for your previews, album designs and construction along with the costs involved in the album / prints etc. When looking at the prices it may seem a lot for “a couple of hours work” but all the office based time has to be included as well – if I do a full days wedding (approx 10 hours) then I will spend the best part of 24 hours editing your previews, sorting slideshows and then there is the extra time taken to do the final album not to mention the basic costs of equipment and overheads.

When setting your budget for the photography just remember that you will spend hundreds of pounds on a dress you will wear once and pack away, the cost of a cake that will be cut up and eaten, cars that will drive you for 20 minutes, table decorations and plans that get tossed away afterwards, flowers that will eventually die  – the photographs taken on the day itself will be the only lasting keepsake that you have. A good photographer will be able to capture all these details along with shots of you and your guests and help bring back the emotions and atmosphere of the day when you look back through the pictures years later.

Finally, make sure you like and get along with your photographer – if you think about it they will be the only wedding service provider that will be with you for the longest time on the day itself, you don’t want someone you dislike at your wedding. I’ve heard many stories about photographers who were less than polite to guests and had run ins with the couple themselves.

So after all that – give me a call if you’re getting married and we’ll have a chat about thing.

Good Luck!