A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to have one of those mad weekends where I shot 2 weddings, unbelievable both weddings were sunny ones, I'm pretty sure it's only been dry and sunny on days where I've shot weddings this year, maybe I'm a good omen, haha!

So the first wedding of the weekend was Gemma and Mick, they married at St Pauls Church in Whitley Bay followed by a gorgeous pink reception at The Grand in Tynemouth, there were many many cute children at this wedding so I was in my element!

A very handsome group of groomsmen don't you think?  Mick is a fitness instructor, he's very tall!

Gemma arrived quite late, looking splendiforous in an amazing gown, I had to do a couple of quick photographs and then let the lovely vicar get on with the wedding!

Gemma might look calm and smiley here but she was very nervous and shaking, thankfully once she'd joined Mick at the front of the church the nerves just seemed to wash away, amazing what happens when you finally get to stand next to the love of your life.

and 45 minutes later after a lovely ceremony they were married!

and they finally got to have that first kiss as there'd been no kissing in the church, I have to admit that it always makes me a little sad when the vicar doesn't let the groom kiss his new wife, I'm sure God wouldn't mind.

a few crucial group shots later and we were ready to go off to the beach for some portraits!

it was quite a busy Friday on the beach, a school trip even gave Gemma and Mick a big cheer and a clap which I thought was lovely!

we got some beautiful portraits on the beach, or nearly on the beach, Gemma had realised that she should have worn some flat shoes or wellies to go on the sand but it wasn't a problem and we just stayed on the ledge.

Of course The Grand in Tynemouth has such a gorgeous staircase it would be rude not to use it for a couple of portraits.

Gemma had a gorgeous pink colour scheme which suited the gorgeous room at The Grand so well and wowza look at this cake with the swans on top, sensational

and all too soon after we'd got there it was time to leave another lovely couple to party away the day and night, it's a shame I didn't get to stay for the first dance with this one, I have a feeling it was sensational!

Gemma sent me a lovely email the other day to tell me that they all think the photos are amazing, it's always lovely to hear, I hope they have many many happy years together.

If you want to talk to me about photographing your  wedding in  Newcastle, North of England or maybe somewhere further afield in the UK or even overseas then please do get in touch either via my website (if you're viewing on a non flash device like iPhone or iPad I also have a website without flash here or of course you can call me on 07918 121838.

My next wedding is in Kendal in the Lake District and I can't wait, please let me take some sunshine!

On being a female photographer

Yes dear reader, it's true, I am female and I'm a photographer, I come from a long line of feisty women, my ancestors were in the NE branch of the suffragettes with Emily Dickinson, we're a determined type of women.

Now, over my 5 years of being Mandy Charlton Photography I've mostly been assisted by men, not sure why, it just so happens that I've had more male assistants than female ones.

The crazy thing about it is whenever I'm shooting a wedding and I send my male assistants to check things with vendors or members of clergy or DJ's they always assume that the male assistant is the photographer and I'm the assistant, I wouldn't mind half as much if my business didn't have my name in it, not all the guys who've assisted me can look like they're called Mandy can they?

Women have achieved so much in photography, look at Nan Goldin or Annie Lebowitz, look at the phenominal success of Loretta Lux, women have been achieving greatness in photography for a very long time so why assume that the men are in charge? 

Well I guess I've just found one of the reasons, there seems to be a branch of women who really aren't helping themselves to be accepted within the industry, news reached me today of the latest photography magazine aimed at women in photography, it's called Pix and describes itself as 

"PIX is a photography lifestyle magazine for women. If you love to snap photos, chances are you’re pretty creative and artsy about the rest of your world too. It’s important to you that your business is modern and cool, you’ve always got an eye out for hip clothing and accessories, and looking professional and shooting well are top priorities."

Upon reading it contains articles on which makeup to wear for shooting weddings, adverts for lens covers to match outfits and don't even get me started on the cover of the magazine.  

If you love to snap photos??? if you want to create cute crafts for your studio, someone  please kill me now.  Is this magazine seriously aimed at female professional photographers?  

The ones who have to fight to be recognised as anyone other than their assistant?

This magazine does more damage to women in the industry, women don't need to be differentiated as female photographers, we're simply photographers who work as hard as the next person, it's not like sport, there are no male and female sides, we're simply all photographers striving to create art and make a living out of this career we've chosen, this job we love.

I am Mandy Charlton, I'm a photographer, that is all....

a few sneaky peeks from last weekends weddings

Last weekend I shot weddings on Friday and Saturday and both of them were absolutely wonderful, I had a total blast last weekend, I think if you're going to spend your weekends working then there's no better way to do it than to photograph lovely weddings with fabulous couples as I do.

The top 2 images are from Gemma and Micks wedding, they married at St Pauls church in Whitley bay and had their reception at The Grand in Tynemouth, it was such a gorgeous wedding and we were so lucky because it didn't rain so we got to shoot the portraits as planned on the beach opposite The Grand.

On Saturday Susan and Jonathan married in a small civil ceremony at Newcastle Registry Office before we went off to the Newcastle/Gateshead Quays for photographs and then onto the County Thistle Hotel in central Newcastle for a swish reception. Once again I thanked the universe as we ended up with a day where it didn't rain and we got all of the planned outdoor shots with no problems at all, of course i had a back up plan for both weddings but luckily didn't need it.

What struck me about last weekends weddings was the depth of the love shared by both couples, there were so many smiles and special moments they shared and I'm so lucky that they chose me to be their wedding photographer.

Full blog posts on both weddings coming up as soon as the couples are back from honeymoon and they've seen all of their lovely galleries.


To speak to me about shooting your 2012/2013/2014 weddings please click through to my website and if you're viewing on an iPad/iPhone click through to my HTML website

The wedding of Donna and Richard at The Mansion House, Jesmond

A couple of weeks ago I was lucky enough to photograph the wedding of lovely couple Richard and Donna, I met them some time ago through Twitter when they were looking for a wedding photographer, I jumped at the chance to shoot at The Mansion House in Jesmond because it's one of my favourite venues, I'd last shot Caroline and Omars wedding there and it struck me as a cosy intimate venue, perfect for Donna and Richards wedding with 28 of their closest friends and family.

Here's the story of their special day in photographs -

The gardens at the Mansion House are so beautiful and well tended, there are so many areas to have gorgeous couples portraits

 and don't worry if it rains, there is a beautiful staircase and plenty of areas indoors where portraits would be perfect too!

Richard and all his groomsmen wore bright socks and so we shot a slightly amusing portrait, note that they're all doing funny things with their fabulous Paul Smith socks!

Richard and Donna took time to email me from their honeymoon to tell me how much they loved their photographs, things like that make me so happy!!

If you are getting married soon or maybe not for a while why not come and have a chat with me about your wonderful day, I have some availabilty left in 2012 while 2013 is looking busier by the minute, to contact me visit my website or if you are viewing on your iphone my html website is here

The before I get to 40 bucket list

Yes thats me, just in case you haven't been on one of my websites!

So on the 1/2/14 I'll reach a milestone, a milestone I'm moving towards with great trepidation, yes I'm going to be 40!

I love being in my 30's, the best times of my life have been during my 30's, I think your 30's you become confident in your own abilities, you stop worrying so much about what people think of you and as you surge onward you get more and more comfortable with your own self.

So why am I scared of 40?  Well I know it's not exactly old age but I think it makes me feel like I'll have to suddenly become a grown up and I'm not old enough to be a grown up yet!!

So, everything I have set out to achieve in my life so far I have done, even some of the things I would never have thought possible, my Business Mandy Charlton Photography was 5 years old last week and it's been a ride akin to being on the biggest fastest roller coaster of your life, lots of huge ups and a few real lows but you know what, you just have to ride them with your hands in the air screaming at the top of your lungs.  I'm the first to admit that I'm not perfect, part of being in business is making mistakes and learning from them but I truly love what I do, I'm so proud of what I've achieved, I've made so many friends because of what I do and I've shared in so many bride and grooms most important days, I suppose I never want to get to the point where I'm too old to photograph weddings and you know we have so many beautiful venues in Newcastle and the North East of England and I still haven't photographed half of them!!  5 years, over 30 awards and 150+ weddings, long may that continue!

So, anyway, I have around 18 months until the big 40 so I'm trying to compile a bucket list of things I want to achieve before that particular big birthday and this is what I have so far.

1.  Get my passport so that I can explore the world with my family - well I'm pleased to say that my passport application went off on Wednesday and I shall soon be allowed to leave the country.

2. Learn to drive and get a teeny tiny car - well as soon as my passport comes back the next thing to do is apply for a provisional license.  The thing is that I always have assistants when I'm working and I'm the master of buses, trains, taxis so it's never really been an issue and mostly I'm completely phobic of getting behind a wheel but I'm going to conquer it and then world domination will be mine, muahahaha.

3.  Sing in public and not on Karaoke, you see I love music so much and I love to sing but it's very much a nerve thing, I must do this though because otherwise I'll end up being an old lady with one of those old lady singing voices and it'll be too late.  I also want to write a musical but I figure it might take more than 18 months so I'm not going class it as a fail if I don't manage that!

4. Be thin, well you see I've never really been one of those thin ladies so starting 3 weeks ago I went on the Weight Watchers Online plan and I've so far lost around 9lbs, only 2 and a half more stone to go, it's not that I hate myself or feel hideously ill or unattractive but I figure once you get past 40 your body makes it even harder for you to lose weight so I better do it now, I have a physically demanding job and let me tell you after shooting 2 weddings in the last 2 days carrying a rucksack weighing who knows how much and sitting here with aching calves and tired toes I reckon that fitter is definitely better and obviously as I get older my old knees are going to start failing, haha, yes I know 40 isn't 100, it just feels like it might be sometimes!

So thats it really, 4 not so hard things to achieve, I reckon with the things I've already achieved so far in my life that I should truly be able to look back on my Big 40th birthday and happily exclaim that I did everything I wanted to do and more.