Portrait and Wedding Photographer - Susie Lawrence Photography » Weddings

Debbie and Jonathan’s wedding at Chevin Country Park Hotel

susie — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 13:43:14 +0000

This is what love looks like. This wedding really needs no other explanation and I hope my photography has captured the incredible passion Debbie and Jon have for each other. Like so many people at the moment, they had to scale back their wedding plans when they realised they just couldn’t afford the big lavish event they’d dreamed of. So they had a small intimate civil ceremony with a handful of close family and friends in the Garden Room at Chevin Country Park Hotel followed by an emotional and personal blessing outside on the deck overlooking the lake. Their photography was important to them and they were brilliant to shoot. We walked around the lake after the ceremony and then went out again as the sun went down to make the most of the gorgeous light. Considering everything was done without a vast amount of money, the details, the flowers (from The Willow Garden in Hebden Bridge) and even the weather came together beautifully. But really it was all about the love. Debbie borrowed her mum’s old wedding shoes and had an old penny taped inside one of them…

The Chevin Country Park Hotel has a spa as well. There weren’t many people around that day (it was a Monday – great day to get married!) but those there were added to the holiday atmosphere…

Now I’m not very good on my bird species but this was a big bird-of-prey type creature. A kestrel maybe? I took four shots of it as it graced us with a fly-by, all with my lens still at f1.8 (this is for the photographers reading this, tune out if you’re not interested). Every one was pin-sharp. Not sure how I managed that but it made me smile.

Stella and Mick – wedding at Leeds Civic Hall and 3 Albion Place

susie — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 17:00:39 +0000

This wonderful wedding was a feast of Leeds city centre venues and understated sophistication. Like more or less every groom I’ve ever photographed, Mick claimed to be camera-shy but it wasn’t hard to capture him and the very beautiful Stella as they enjoyed their day. Stella was effortlessly stylish and gorgeous and I felt really lucky to photograph and share the day with two such fantastic people and their lovely family and friends. It was set off perfectly by the big red bus and all the lovely details. Congratulations Stella and Mick! I know I’ve gone a bit overboard blogging lots of images of Stella but I’m sure Mick won’t mind who can blame me when you get to photograph a bride that looks this amazing…

Perfect Languedoc wedding – Jason and Thalia, Chateau du Puits Es Pratx, Ginestas

susie — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 08:35:12 +0000

This wedding at the fabulous Chateau du Puits Es Pratx in the village of Ginestas in the South of France was a dream in every way, especially for a photographer! Jason and Thalia chose to get married in the lovely vineyard there surrounded by their closest family and friends to ensure that the day was memorable but intimate and unusual. Of course the sun was shining, as it almost always is in the Languedoc and the day was relaxed, full of happiness and fun and gorgeous details to set it all off. I had an absolute ball. Congratulations to Thalia and Jason and thank you for making me so very welcome. Here’s a selection of shots telling the story of their wonderful day as I photographed it.

Louise and Mark’s wedding at Holdsworth House, New Year’s Eve

susie — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 12:00:28 +0000

Being the photographer at a happy festive New Year’s Eve wedding was was such a great way for me to end a fantastic year. Louise and Mark got married at Holdworth House near Halifax and it was a lovely relaxed and very joyful day for them and their family and friends. Not surprisingly it wasn’t the brightest of days and venturing outside was more than a little chilly. But it didn’t matter, happy expressions light up the images for me. Louise’s two gorgeous children were so excited and thrilled that their mum was marrying Mark and that was so lovely to photograph. What a way to end the year and celebrate a new one!

Kaye and Craig’s wedding at Stubton Hall

susie — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 09:10:59 +0000

I was so lucky to photograph Kaye and Craig’s fabulous wedding. They got married at the very lovely Stubton Hall in Nottinghamshire and the day was full of happiness and fun from start to finish. They were even blessed with some late Autumn sunshine and although it made my job tricky during the ceremony, nobody would have had it any other way, it was glorious. Their daughter was very much part of proceedings too and along with the rest of the family and their wonderful friends, made it a celebration and a half. Congratulations Kaye and Craig. Here’s a selection of some of my favourite images of your beautiful wedding. With thanks to the very talented Verity Holland-Lloyd for second shooting with me.

Stubton Hall is a really gorgeous venue. Stunning.

The room Kaye got ready in was the most beautiful suite too.

The bride’s hairstyle required an unbelievable amount of hairspray!

But wow, was it ever worth it…

The amazing dress being ‘steamed’ to get rid of any last minutes creases in the amazing bathroom.

Craig and the boys were getting excited outside

Meanwhile, as Mummy was being pampered, nobody noticed that little Harry had decided to do her own makeup

Fortunately Paula was on hand to provide the finishing touches

Proud dad gets to see Kaye in her dress for the first time

Lovely sunlight directly onto the bride and grooms’ faces during the ceremony. Uncomfortable for them too but it didn’t stop them smiling.

Verity shot the same group from the side. I love these images – if you’re going to have group shots, at least have some fun!

Tobiah and Laura

susie — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 21:21:55 +0000

I am really lucky to belong to a network of photographers who are the most supportive, friendliest and helpful people I ever met. It’s largely down to them that I’m doing what I’m doing and that I (kind of!) know what I’m doing. There is no pretense, no competition and no secrecy at all among these people and I’m so proud to know them. Last week 24 of us went away to the Peak District for a couple of days and had a fantastic time sharing ideas, swapping stories and shooting for fun and to learn from each other. Tobiah and Laura are fantastic photographers (see – this is their website but you can look at that after you’ve looked at my photos of them below) but as they’d recently got engaged and are suitably adoring of one-another, they volunteered to model. It was bliss – not only are they both stunningly beautiful, but the location and light were gorgeous. Thank you Tobiah and Laura for making a dream shoot and congratulations.

Cat and Nick’s wedding, The George Hotel Piercebridge

susie — Sat, 16 Oct 2010 09:37:34 +0000

I had been really looking forward to photographing Cat and Nick’s wedding near Darlington as their pre-wedding shoot had been such fun (you can see it here). They were true to form on their wedding day and it was wonderful from start to finish. The day before the weather was atrocious, as you can see from how high the River Tees was flowing past the hotel, but it was fine and dry for their lovely wedding. Congratulations Cat and Nick, I hope you like these preview images and I can’t wait to show you the rest when you get back from your honeymoon.

Thanks to Neil Matthews for doing an excellent job second shooting.

Not everybody got caught up in the excitement of the preparations…

The river isn’t normally this high! The island is often used for the drinks reception but not surprisingly it was a bit too soggy.

Cat was a great sport and enjoyed doing a spot of posing in the atmospheric pub interior…

Pre-wedding at Castle Howard

susie — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 14:02:22 +0000

I first met Cat and Nick back in February when snow was on the ground and the temperature was in the minuses. It couldn’t have been more different than last week at Castle Howard. The weather was gorgeous and I’d forgotten how spectacular Castle Howard is – a photographer’s dream. But what really made the shoot was Cat and Nick themselves. They were so much fun. I didn’t have to ask them to do anything in these pictures, they were just spontaneously larking about and having a great time together, in between the odd pause to contemplate. Not surprisingly I am really looking forward to their wedding at The George Hotel, Piercebridge, near Darlington. If they’re even half as relaxed and happy as they were at their pre-wedding session it’s going to be an amazing wedding.

Aimee and Ben wedding at Fountains Abbey and Ripon Racecourse

susie — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 17:12:14 +0000

Aimee and Ben had their wedding on the hottest, most summery day at Fountains Abbey, followed by the reception at Ripon Racecourse. It was a special day to photograph in many ways: I used to work with Aimee about five years ago in PR and had several conversations with her then about the chances of Ben ever asking her to marry him; the venue was fitting as Ben is a journalist who writes about horse racing, and it was a very emotional day, with lots of tears of joy (the groom in particular was a big softie!). The ceremony, the reception and the party afterwards had a really wonderful atmosphere. Thanks to Neil Matthews for being an excellent second shooter. I drove home through the Yorkshire countryside afterwards feeling like I’ve got the best job in the world. Great venues, fantastic people. Here are some of my favourite shots from the day. There are rather a lot – I did say it was special!

Aimee and Ben pre-wedding shoot at Roundhay Park

susie — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 13:32:41 +0000

This is going to be a really special wedding for me. Aimee and Ben are getting married in a few weeks times at Fountains Abbey, followed by a reception at Ripon Racecourse. I am really really excited about their wedding because Aimee and I used to work together in PR. She and Ben were together then and I remember her talking about one day getting married. At that time I was very much into my PR career and I never in a million years dreamt I would be their wedding photographer. I think if I’d known I would have been so thrilled both for them and for myself! I can’t wait for the wedding which is going to have lots of lovely touches, including ‘Yorkshire tapas’ for the meal, which I’m hoping I’ll get to sample as it sounds intriguing and fun.

For their pre-wedding shoot, we went to the Canal Gardens at Roundhay Park. We thought we might have to escape into Tropical World as the weather was blowing hot and cold but we were able to give the meerkats a miss as the rain held off long enough to get some relaxed shots. Aimee and Ben were both convinced that they weren’t going to enjoy the session and that they don’t look good on photographs. Wrong! They went away smiling and I think they’ll now be convinced how gorgeous they both are. Here are a few favourites.