Ashley and Peter at The Little Haven

Earlier this month Ashley and Peter became Mr & Mrs Foster! We had all prayed to every available god for good weather but unfortunately we must have got a bad connection as the storm clouds gathered. However this opened up new opportunities of dramatic shots on the beach with umbrellas against the storm clouds.....and Ashley and Peter were such a cool couple that a little bit of rain was not going to stop them!

Ashley and Peter personalised every part of their wedding and it was obvious that a lot of thought, care and attention had gone into the planning to make sure everyone had a fabulous time. During the ceremony Peter said special vows to his step children, Lucy and Louis and this was a very touching and emotional.

Here are a few of my favourite images from the day.

http://www.karenmcgowranphotography.co.uk/

The Teachings of Henry Aarvold

Last week I was fortunate enough to spend sometime with the very talented Henry Aarvold. Not only is he an amazing photographer but he is a lovely guy too. He is a great coach and gave me some valuable advice and generally pushed me to make better images...and spend more money on kit (wisely of course). I came away feeling really invigorated and motivated and hopefully my work will improve. As a photographer , standing still and getting stuck in a rut doesn't work. I want to create the best wedding images I can and I am always looking to learn a thing or two...or three. I owe it to all my lovely customers. And to myself of course! The images below are from my day with Henry - my daughter Christy and her friend Lynda were willing models and did everything asked of them. Thank you girls!

In October I am popping down to Manchester and attending another course with Brett Harkness. I've got my eye on a few others too as I don't intend on standing still!

www.karenmcgowranphotography.co.uk

Ruth and Stephen....and fog!

Last weekend an unexpected visitor arrived at the church....thick, heavy fog! Now this strikes fear into any photographer's heart as our primary objective is to create beautiful images for you to treasure forever and we hate anything that stops that from happening. So after a few carefully chosen swear words (that I hope nobody of the cloth heard!) I got on with the task at hand and Father Mark must have had a word with the powers that be as it did lift quite a lot during the cermony!


Ruth and Stephen chose a lovely intimate ceremony at Minsteracres where Father Mark, an family friend, married them in front of around 20 close friends and family - although many of Ruth's friends and of course their cute dog Archie were waiting to greet them afterwards. They got a bit of a shock when I asked them to come over and have their picture taken with the bride!


Once again this was a short wedding for me - three hours - but there is a lot I can do in a short time. This is a great way of keeping to your budget and stil getting some lovely photos.


http://www.karenmcgowranphotography.co.uk/

Rajvir and Baldeep

OK this was some wedding!! This was a three day wedding but I was only hired for the 3rd and last day when the actual wedding happened. Indian weddings are an assault on your senses! The smells, the colourful sights of all the wonderful saris and the sounds of the Indian music blasting out really made this a unique and jaw dropping day for me. Rajvir was a beautiful bride who did her best to follow all the traditions (although being a modern woman she did put her twist on a few things!) and I felt priviledged to be part of it all. We started out at Rajvir's parents where I was lucky to have time for some bridal portraits then it was off the the ceremony at the temple in Sunderland. The place was packed out with a sea of colour and athough the cermony lasted a couple of hours (and it was very hot!) I found it fascinating. Then we ended up at The Hilton with at least 600 guests who were treat to the most scrumptious Indian food and a banging dancefloor which was my favourite thing of the whole day!

www.karenmcgowranphotography.co.uk

Ellie and Jo at Horton Grange

I made my second visit this year to this special venue, Horton Grange for the wedding of Ellie and Joe. The weather decided it wasn't going to play ball for us but the beauty of this venue is that there are still little places to stay dry and get some great images. Ellie and Jo did things a little different in that they had a small intimate meal before the ceremony and then as Ellie was getting ready, the wedding guests turned up for a later wedding and straight through to the evening party. I have to say I fell in love with Ellie's hairstyle created by Lisa Cameron who is a friend of mine and a very talented wedding hairdresser.

Joe had booked the honeymoon and kept the location a secret until they were at the airport the next day...Croatia was the venue and I am sure they had a romantic and beautiful two weeks away! Here's a to a lovely couple and may all your dreams come true x

www.karenmcgowranphotography.co.uk

Kaitlin

The last time I saw Kaitlin she was about 3....but she is certainly blossoming into a gorgeous young woman and we had great fun down at the beach on sunny evening last month. I recently got back on touch with Claire, her Mam, through the power of Facebook and I have also shot her little (and very cute) brother Harry.

If you would like a similar photoshoot, it's much cheaper than you think. The shoot is £50 and you can then buy your favourite prints in a variety of sizes - at very reasonable rates.

http://www.karenmcgowranphotography.co.uk/

Tony and Andrea are married!

Tony and Andrea picked a glorious day and a very pretty church in Tynemouth to get married. I have to say I adored Andrea's fishtail dress and their guests were all extremely friendly, especially the cute flowergirls and pageboy, who adored their Uncle Tony! You could tell that the reception and party afterwards at The Caledonian Hotel in Jesmond was going to be so much fun.

I was asked to shoot the wedding ceremony and some formal photos afterwards in the church grounds and it always amazes me how fast the time goes but you can get some great photos in a short space of time. This is great news for anyone on a budget! I have done a few shorty weddings like this now and have a few more booked so they are obviously very popular. If you are intertested for the low price of £400 I can shoot for 3 hours. This includes prints and a DVD slideshow and a web gallery so you can share your photos far and wide.

Here are a few of my favourites from Tony and Andrea's wedding and I am sure you'll raise your glasses and wish this lovely couple a long and happy marriage. Cheers!

www.karenmcgowranphotography.co.uk