I first met Gemma and Sean over a year ago when they came to talk to me about photographing their wedding at As You Like It in Jesmond, Newcastle, from the first moment Gemma walked in I knew we would end up being friends, she's just my kind of girl, she's got style and taste, she knows what she wants and she loves a bit of floral and vintage.  I love it when that happens, to end up with friendship from your clients is quite the most special thing.  You know when you're at school and you make new friends all the time, let me tell you it's a lot harder when you're a grown up (well in my case, pretending to be a grown up, I'm still a full on Disney princess if I'm honest, I sing to the enchanted squirrels quite often in the hope they'll come and wash my dishes).

Sean on the other hand is what I like to call a proper blokes bloke although he's definitely got a soft side, I know because I've seen him waiting at the top of the aisle for his true love ;)  Just don't tell him I said that will you, you know how men like to be big strong men!

I think Gemma and Sean clearly compliment each other, I think Sean is laid back whilst Gemma is an organiser who like me likes to get stuff done, Gemma is also very giggly and you know how infectious a good laugh is.  Every time I've spent time with them as a couple it's been a total pleasure and we've ended up getting completely distracted and we've gone way over the planned time but you know what, that's the thing that's great and so when it came to the wedding I felt like I was photographing the day of two lovely friends.

As a wedding photographer in Newcastle I definitely have my favourite places to photograph weddings and As You Like It, in Jesmond is one of my favourite wedding venues if you are planning a vintage styled day and Gemma and Sean did just that, a small wedding with only 26 guests it was a pleasure to photograph, I love small weddings, I love the intimacy of them, I really enjoyed this one and I think it might be the first wedding I've been to where I got a round of applause as I left.

Gemma and Sean booked me for one of my smaller wedding collections and I spent just over 3 hours at their wedding and I'm delighted to say we've ended up with the most delicious little gallery where quality definitely wins over quantity, I've always said it's not about the number of photographs you get on the disk, it's what in them that counts, never be fooled by a photographer who promises you thousands of shots!

Shall we take a look at some of the highlights of the happiest day of their lives so far?

I adore these button holes made from used shot cartridges, so pretty!

adorable flower girls, every wedding needs a couple of those.

I do love a nice compact group shot which is handy for As You Like It as this is their only really outdoor area so it's something to consider if you are planning your wedding here.

The speeches were short and heartfelt, just the way I like them, use any words, use your words but think about them and never use the first speech which comes up on the first page of Google, I promise it's been done already many, many, many, times, if you're a nervous groom just remember that all you ever have to say is "thank you for coming" and "Doesn't my new wife look like the most beautiful woman in the whole world" As long as you say those things (you can paraphrase if you like) then you'll be guaranteed to be forgiven for anything you missed!

One of the flower girls read a poem and I don't think there was a dry eye in the room, obviously I cried too, I'm such a softy at weddings!

Gemma and Sean, thank you for letting me tell the day of your wedding in photographs, I hope I've given you images you can look at often and that remind you of just how special your day, your hearts and your lives have been/are now and will always be.

If you would like to have a chat about me shooting your wedding day at As You Like It or indeed anywhere in the North East of England and even further afield remember that I am currently offering a complimentary pre-wedding shoot with images on disk worth £335 with every package booked of 3 hours or over and if you have a friend or family member who is about to get married or wants to renew their vows please consider referring them to me and if they book I'll give you a complimentary family photo shoot.

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The Vow Renewal part 2... (The Jamie Emerson Selection)

Today I'm a very excitable young(ish) lady because I want to share photographs from our vow renewal taken by photojournalist Jamie Emerson.  I've known Jamie for a couple of years now and am pretty honoured that we're friends and that he agreed to be one of our 4 photographers.  Jamie is primarily a photo-journalist but he also shoots a wicked portrait.

Let me share some of my favourites -

There were so many fantastic photographs taken of Paul, I absolutely love this one.

Our amazing cupcakes from the Jesmond Cupcake Company, these tasted as good as they looked!

I love this one of me and my gorgeous girls, they look beautiful like princesses.  I had a vision in my mind that I wanted to look like a 40's movie star who was just off to a red carpet event, the reaction I got from Paul on the day really did mean that for him I had achieved that.

I was so overwhelmed and happy to see the man who I loved, the man who I had spent the last ten years of my life with, the man who made me realise what love really is and let me tell you his grin was just as big as mine.

This photograph I'll treasure forever because I can see just how much Paul is in love with me, to love and be loved is the most wonderful thing in the universe.

I always wanted a really cool contemporary portrait of us and this is it, this one has already been ordered for the wall.

Jamie really uses a 10-20mm lens with great effect, I absolutely love this image.

Atlast we have a family portrait, this image means so much to me, our first family portrait ever!

I'll end on this one which gives me shivers, it is just amazing!

Jamie, this precious gift, this wonderful thing you've given us will never be forgotten, thank you so much from the bottom of all our hearts.

The vow renewal of Mandy and Paul (yes thats me!!) (Part 1)

On 14/04/10 Paul and celebrated 10 years of an amazing and unique marriage by renewing our vows in front of our children and friends in a funky vintage setting at As You Like It, Jesmond.

This day, the day of my dreams was everything I imagined and more.

I want to share some photographs from each of our 4 photographers as they come in so what better way to start than those of ace photographer and Tilt Shift expert Mark Scholey.

When Paul and I booked our vow renewal we wanted it to reflect us as a couple so vintage, quirky and full of love,  I seriously believed that the photography that Mark produced is like some kind of vintage indie love story and that is a reason to love it even more.

My hubby looked hot even if his 40's outfit turned out to be Miami Vice 80's linen, never one to be defined is Meandering Paul.

Love this one of Paul with Iain.

The girls and I arrived and I was so nervous, my legs were wobbly and shaky, Paul also said that he couldn't remember being this nervous when we got married.

Walking in and getting our first sight of each other was a magical thing, the funny part was that at the hotel, James tweeted a pic of me and Paul looked, he said to Christine that if he hadn't of looked he would have cried! aww

We were literally the happiest you can ever imagine as we got to celebrate the strength and wonder of our love and 10 years of our marriage.

We were so lucky to have our wonderful friend Joel (who I first met when I photographed his wedding to Heather in April 2008)perform the ceremony, a ceremony which had been written by Heather, I can't say enough wonderful things about the ceremony, it was fun, heartfelt and above all it was Paul and I in a nutshell!

Yes so happy that when he kissed me for the millionth time in 20 minutes I actually lifted my leg up, thats how amazing my hubby makes me feel.

I want to share so many more photographs that I'll be blogging all this week or maybe all month with photographs taken by our astoundingly wonderful photographers.

Thanks Mark for your part, you have given us a priceless gift.

Vow Renewal - The Shebang is Official

Much has been happening in the world of moi lately, I have far too many family portraits and weddings to blog but I'm hoping that next week might be quieter and I can get down to the serious business of blogging them.

In my personal life things really couldn't be better, today saw the posting of the first batch of Save The Date cards for our vow renewal on 14/04/10, we're so happy and delighted with the efforts of the very wonderful and talented Paula at Heart and Design, I really recommend this wonderful purveyor of semi bespoke invitations and pretty much everything else you'll ever need for your special event. Paula is even making the vow renewal certificate to match in with the Save The Dates and the Invitations.

We've secured As You Like It in Jesmond as the venue after many wonderful experiences there both personally and professionally.

We've also been honoured that our wonderful friend and former groom Joel has agreed to officiate at the ceremony and of course as I previously mentioned we have our photographers Matt, James and Jamie my great friends who are going to be collectively known as "The Power of Three" I've been dropped snippets of info and we really are giving them carte blanche to provide us with something so amazing we'll never forget it. Apparently they're having a meeting soon, with an agenda and minutes, oh to be a fly on the wall at that one, lol!

The search still goes on for the car, of all of the wedding service providers I've contacted securing the car is the most troublesome.

I'm also delighted that we've booked Emma Cuthbertson to transform my face for the day, I've worked with Emma in the past and she does the most amazing makeup, fingers crossed that my face isn't too much of a challenge!

Of course the theme of the day is vintage glamour and I was slightly worried that people might not want to dress up but so far everyone is as excited about it as we are!

There's just over 7 months to go and I'm guessing the time will fly over, stay tuned as I continue my very own bridal adventure!!

Alex and Gary are married - As You Like It, Jesmond

I first met Alex last year at her brothers wedding so I was delighted that when she decided to tie the knot she gave me a call, particularly as the wedding was at my most favourite venue of all time. The thing is, I visit a lot of venues and for all their majestic impressiveness, nothing beats quirky vintage and Quirky vintage is exactly what you get at As You Like It.




Mmmm, yummy, shoes!



having a last minute giggle



getting into the dress

arriving at the venue



all of these following ceremonial images were shot at 3200iso f1.8 1/60, the venue is darker than dark and the registrar asked us not to use flash, so we didn't, lol, I actually love these ceremony shots!






and after a few formals out on the terrace it was off to the quayside to create some portrait magic.

One of my most favourite shots I have ever taken, the bigger this one is viewed at the better it gets!

Alex and Gary, I was so delighted to be involved in your day, you are a truly wonderful and fun couple.