North Wales Wedding Photographer – Mark & Rhiannon

North Wales Wedding Photographer – Mark & Rhiannon

 

Its not often I get to photograph a friends Wedding Day and this year I am lucky enough to have shot Mark & Rhiannon’s and still have another three friends weddings to shoot this year!

Mark and I have known each other since the time I was the manager of a night-club in Llandudno and he was kind enough to contact me when he set the date for his wedding to Rhiannon.

On Saturday 24th March 2017 I drove from Blackpool down to the Llandudno area of North Wales.  I arrived to capture Bridal Preparations with Rhiannon, Nat and the Bridesmaids.  As soon as I was through the door Nat was looking after me with coffee and biscuits while the rest of the girls had their hair styled and makeup applied.  Rhiannon was calm and relaxed, while Nat was clearly looking forward to opening the bubbly!

Everything was running like clockwork, not even a problem with the Bridesmaids shoes could cause a drama.  Who brings self adhesive shoe adjusters to a wedding? Genius.

With make up applied and hair styled it was time for Rhiannon to get into her dress, and what a dress it was.

Rhiannon’s Father arrived and I discreetly grabbed a shot of the moment he saw his daughter dressed in her wedding dress before stepping out and giving them their privacy.

Then I was out the door and racing to the Church…. As it turns out I would have plenty of time… More on that later!

At the Church Mark was in good spirits with Lee the Best Man meeting and greeting guests.  I met with the Rector and he told me where I could stand during the Service.  I would have just one position to shoot from and was warned not to move or use flash.  A challenge but not entirely unexpected.

Now Rhiannon had timed her arrival at the Church perfectly.  With 5 minutes to go her Wedding Car pulled up on the road outside and waited to make her grand arrival….until Rhiannon realised that she had left her Bouquet back at the house! One of the guests Luke volunteered to make the dash back to the house to get it, a 50 minute round trip!

The Rector was informed and seemed ok with the delay although he was asking for updates regularly.  I can only imagine how Rhiannon was feeling, I could see the nerves were starting to kick in, wondering if the Groom was getting worked up.  I had an idea and popped my head back into the Church.  Sure enough Mark was laughing and joking with guests and I shot a quick picture of him looking relaxed and returned to Rhiannon.  After seeing that Mark was relaxed she began to relax herself.  To further take her mind off the wait we had an impromptu portrait session in the grounds of the Church.

Luckily Luke returned in record time, with the Bouquet and without any speeding tickets, and we could get started.

The Service went without a hitch, no fluffed lines, interruptions or mobile phones ringing.  Lots of smiles and laughs from Mark & Rhiannon, just the way it should be.

After the Service I had a 25 minute drive to the White House in Rhualt, a lovely venue just off the A55.  We took some pictures of Mark & Rhiannon with the car before they went inside to meet their guests and have a well deserved drink.  I had a fairly lengthy list of Family Portraits to work through so I arranged with Lee the Best Man how we would get people organised.  Its always handy to have a Police Sgt as the Best Man, the voice of authority works wonders when organising Guests! With Lee helping we flew through the formals, Mark & Rhiannon wanted informal posing so that saved on time too.

Fast forward to an excellent meal, a great speech from the Best Man and cutting the cake.  A very relaxed affair with lovely people who were clearly having a great day.

After the speeches I took Mark and Rhiannon out to a spot I had found for a more relaxed style of Wedding Photography.  I really liked the look of this field, I’m no farmer but I think they are turnips…  The shoots coming out of the ground worked well with the low angle and I got the sky I was hoping for.

 

Before we knew it it was time for the first dance.  The DJ for the night was an old friend of mine, Johnny Williams from Event Lounge and as ever he was on top form despite nearly losing his voice.  Johnny obviously knows his job, I didn’t even need to ask about lighting for the First Dance, he knew the problems that disco lighting and lasers can cause and switched them off on time.

With all their friends joining them on the dance floor it was time for the Evening Reception to get started.  Leading the dancing was Sarah who basically kidnapped all the Bridesmaids and got them dancing to Frozen’s Let it Go.

Everyone at some point was on the dancefloor, kids, adults, even Rhiannon’s Mum who is a wheelchair user was up there to share in the night.

I can honestly say that this was one of the most fun, relaxed and enjoyable Weddings I have been lucky enough to capture.

Congratulations Mark & Rhiannon, best wishes for a long and happy marriage.