Jo and Rick at Horton Grange

There is something special about this venue....can't quite put my finger on it.....oh yes it's where I got married!!! So for that reason I was very much looking forward to returning and spending the day with Jo and Rick and their friends and family. Horton Grange is well known for it's stylish, intimate atmosphere and very high quality food and is very popular for weddings. The venue is exclusively yours for the day and the staff really work hard but blend into the background so you really feel like the venue is truly yours for 24 hours. Perfect!


The day started with Jo and her bridesmaids getting ready upstairs.I always love this part of the day as I get to photograph beautiful details but you can almost smell the anticipation!







This is Ethan their handsome little boy who was happy to pose for me.



There was quite a flurry of activity downstairs but I eventually got the boys together for a quick shot or two.




And before you knew it, in floated Jo and soon she was to be known as Mrs Nixon!







After a short time basking in the sunshine with guests I took Jo and Rick off for some relaxed shot of the newlyweds.











It wasn't only the Bride and Groom who enjoyed the day...the kids got in on the act too!









I love it when I am booked all day as I like to fill the gap between the reception and the evening party with some informal shots of the wedding party. They've usually had a few glasses of bubbly by then and far more relaxed and prepared to have some fun.



I'd like to wish Jo and Rick all the love and luck in the world as they start married life together. I've already delivered their album and they were over the moon with it!

www.karenmcgowranphotography.co.uk

Jo and Mark's intimate wedding at Blackwell Grange

Weddings come in all shapes and sizes, some have hundreds of guests and some have just a few carefully chosen chosen friends and family. Jo and Mark decided on the latter and this created a really intimate, relaxed feel to the day Blackwell Grange was a fine setting, not too large so the wedding part were lost but still grand enough for it to feel special. In addition is was a really hot and sunny day so we were able to enjoy all this venue had to offer, inside and out.


Despite this being a small wedding with around 30 guests, no details were spared. As soon as I walked into the room when Jo was relaxing with her girls and clocked the white Louboutins, beautiful flowers and matching dressing gowns I knew that this was going to be a great wedding to photograph! The tables were dressed beautifully and the cake was WOWZA! The tower of mini chocolate cakes was a creation by www.burnett4cakes.co.uk who also made Jo and Steve's cake the week before. Chris Burnett was there is person to set up the cake and gave me a little sample of the chocolate swirls and can honestly say they were delicious! I kept getting a whiff of the cake everytime I passed and was over the moon when Jo presented me with one of the mini cakes during the speeches!

After the reception Paul Lytton arrived to wow guests with his incredible table magic. Brilliant! He even performed a trick on me using my phone and I am still baffled! This guy is super talented and I always get excited when I hear my clients have booked him.

All too quickly the day came to an end and as the evening party was about to start it was my time to leave (with a scrummy cake!). I was really excited to get to work on these images as Jo and Mark chose a Jorgensen matted which are extremely beautiful albums. I can't wait for it to arrive!

I've decided to show you their album design and I'll post pictures of their album when it arrives.

www.karenmcgowranphotography.co.uk

Olivia

Olivia is a beautiful, inquisitive, happy little girl. We started the shoot at Saltwell Park but I caught up with her at home a few days later for some classic Black and White shots. Mum and Dad have some gorgeous Black and White shots from their wedding and I know some of these images will look great alongside.



www.karenmcgowranphotography.co.uk

Evan....a rockstar in the making!

This is Evan. Take note as he is going to be a big star! Not only does he look the part with Daddy's guitar but he does a mean rendition of 'You Are My Sunshine'...it's only a matter of time before he is rich a famous...and I am going to sell these prints for a lot of money!!



www.karenmcgowranphotography.co.uk

Carolyn and Peter..engaged!

Carolyn and Peter are tying the knot at the gorgeous Mansion House in Jesmond in October. They were keen to mark the happy engagement with some photos and we first met at Alnwick Gardens. Sadly, after 30 mins the heavens opened and we have to accept defeat but we met up once again at Mansion House and I was very impressed with the gardens and features.

I am really looking forward to their wedding later in the year and returning to this venue.

Jo and Steve....a Caribbean theme...and an owl!

On the 15th May the sun was shining on the small village of Heighington where they were gearing up for the wedding local lass Jo to her the handsome Steve. When I think back to this wedding there are a few things that really stick in my head...

1. Colour. Jo had chosen a Caribbean theme and the bold colours shone through, from the different coloured bridesmaid dresses to the truly stunning table decor. The oversized cocktail glass centrepieces were absolutely amazing!

2. The owl that flew down the aisle to the best man with the rings!! This was a first for me and all manner of 'things that could go wrong' were running around in my mind. Thankfully none of those things happened and it was a fantastic spectacle! The owl also came to The George and attracted some attention from the guests.

3. The warmth and love I felt from the couple themselves and all their friends and family.

Jo and Steve have just recently approved their album and as we speak it's winging it's way to the lab. I can't wait to see this album 'in the flesh' and I am pleased to share a few pages with you.






















I also want to share with you Jo's thoughts about the 'Karen McGowran Experience'!

You just know "IT" when you see "IT" and from the moment we looked on Karens website we knew she was "IT".......Karen is a friendly, bubbly, vibrant person and we knew instantly that she was the right photographer to tackle our bright vibrant some what unusual wedding!

So we booked Karen to be the photographer on our special day and she has been great! Nothing has been too big or too small for her.

She has a wonderful skill of taking photos to suit different couples personalities, if you look at her albums you will find that no couples wedding pictures are alike they each show each couples wedding and personalities differently, Karen doesn't just take pictures she has the ability to capture movement and life in her stills which is a great skill to have.

Her skill at what she does is just second to none and out of 800 plus photos we can honestly can say there is not one picture which we dont like. Everyone has commented on what a fabulous album we have and it is all down to Karen.

We and our families got on with Karen like a house on fire on the day and she blended in so well we hardly knew she was there, we met with Karen a week before the wedding at our venue and she went through everything with us in detail in order to ensure she would capture the day as we wanted.

She was full of advice and made us feel at ease and you can really tell that weddings arent just a job to her but a genuine passion!

Our photos were ready within a week to look at and she even managed to put some on my facebook page the very next day which we were able to look at on our honeymoon, which was a lovely touch from her.

You truly feel like a special couple to Karen opposed to just another number on a ever lasting conveyor belt.

We would urge everyone to take a moment to look at Karens albums, and then book her for your special day as she is perfect and you wont be disappointed.

Thank you Karen you were a dream to work with and have produced us with a album we could only have dreamt of and we will cherish it forever!

Kind Regards

Joanna and Stephen
May 2010