CLAIRE AND JAMIE'S PRE-WEDDING PORTRAITS ON THE BEACH

Claire and Jamie are being married at Redworth Hall, a wedding venue near Darlington in County Durham this week and I spent some time with them a few weeks ago to have a chat about their big day and get to know them a little more.

I hadn't seen them since we met almost a year ago with their parents when I was pitching to be their official photographer at their wedding.

We got on well then, and I enjoyed being with their family as well, so it was good to hook up again and talk life, love and weddings.....

Jamie had injured his ankle, so I'm pretty sure he wouldn't have been too happy being dragged across the sand dunes and beach - but he took it in good heart and spirit, and Claire just laughed!

A pre-wedding portrait session gives my brides and grooms and myself a chance to bond a little so that when it comes to the wedding day, we're not strangers and they and their families will be confident that I can record the biggest day of their lives and create some lovely photographs at the same time!

I hope you enjoy a few of the images we created on our walk on the coast near Hartlepool - look out for a selection of their wedding photographs next week!

DIRK VAN DER WERFF

KEYWORDS: PORTRAIT, PORTRAITS, PRE-WEDDING, LOVE, ENGAGED, ENGAGEMENT, COUPLE, NORTH EAST ENGLAND, COAST, COASTLINE, WEDDING, BRIDE AND GROOM

GILL AND TIM'S INTIMATE FAMILY WEDDING AT THE BOWES MUSEUM IN TEESDALE

What a great day I had photographing Gill and Tim's lovely wedding at The Bowes Museum and their wedding breakfast overlooking the most fantastic views of Teesdale.

They were always enthusiastic about relaxed, chilled out photography to document their great wedding celebrations, but I also managed to grab a few minutes with them at Bowes Museum to produce some stylish images.

The rest of the day allowed me to capture the fun and ambience of their wedding in a magnificent historic building and onward to an amazing marquee setting for champagne, and great food by specialist caterer Alexander MacMurray with some excellent speeches from family and friends.

The Picture Gallery in The Bowes Museum is an amazing setting for any wedding - especially so if you are looking for a different type of wedding venue. Aileen Risbey, who co-ordinated the wedding and her colleagues did a great job, while the eight magnificent floral displays by Grace Hunter of Darlington Flower Club were quite unbelievable in their scale.

Gill looked fabulous on the day and had a great time with her close friends and relatives while Tim and his brothers looked extremely smart in their top hats and tails.

If you would like me to photograph your wedding at BOWES MUSEUM, in a relaxed, professional and natural observational way, with no bother or hassle or stress, then ring me now to check your date for late 2010, 2011 or 2012. ADD ME AS A FRIEND ON FACEBOOK WITH NO OBLIGATIONS, TO SEE MORE PHOTOGRAPHS FROM GILL AND TIM'S WEDDING, AND LOTS OF OTHER ADDITIONAL WEDDINGS.More information and weddings here on my WEBSITE . Don't lose your day! RING FOR FREE ON 0800 804 7270 or 0778 715 0966DIRK VAN DER WERFF

ELLINGHAM HALL WEDDING FOR AMY AND FRASER

THE SIGN FOR ELLINGHAM HALL REFLECTING THE LATE WINTER SUN BEFORE AMY AND FRASER'S INTIMATE WEDDING  - PHOTOGRAPH BY DIRK VAN DER WERFF WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY

A BEAUTIFUL WINTER WREATH ON THE FRONT DOOR AT ELLINGHAM HALL

LATE WINTER LIGHT WITH A WARM AND INVITING ELLINGHAM HALL IN NORTHUMBERLAND

A LITTLE HELP TO GET READY AMY?

AMY AND FRASER FLEW ALL THE WAY FROM CALGARY IN CANADA TO THEIR WEDDING IN NORTHUMBERLAND, ENGLAND

JUST TIME FOR A QUICK GROUP SHOT BEFORE THE WINTER SUN DISAPPEARS IN DECEMBER

ONE FOR THE FAMILY - SO IN LOVE AT ELLINGHAM HALL

THE BEAUTIFUL TABLE LAYOUT AT ELLINGHAM HALL IN NORTHUMBERLAND - FOR A BEAUTIFUL WINTER WEDDING

A CLOSE UP ON THE CANDLELIT TABLES

APPLAUSE ALL ROUND FOR THE BEST MAN'S SPEECH - PHOTOGRAPH BY DIRK VAN DER WERFF

PLENTY OF SPACE INSIDE FOR AN INTIMATE FAMILY WEDDING GROUP

FIRST DANCE AND TIME FOR THE STETSON TO MAKE AN APPEARANCE ALL THE WAY FROM CALGARY, CANADA AT FRASER AND AMY'S INTIMATE WINTER WEDDING AT ELLINGHAM HALL IN NORTHUMBERLAND - PHOTOGRAPHY BY DIRK VAN DER WERFF

FRASER AND AMY met at university in Aberdeen and since then have travelled the world from their original family homes in Scotland and Northumberland.

Nowadays they live in Calgary in Canada, so organising a wedding from thousands of mles away was never going to be easy - but thanks to the internet and some great organisational skills - they did it - in style!

Amy had seen a wedding that I had photographed for Liz and Steve at Ellingham Hall, a beautiful exclusive use wedding venue in Northumberland last year on my BLOG and e-mailed to to ask some questions. Once I had done that she was determined, on the basis of my wedding blog and my website that she wanted me to be a small but important part of her wedding at Ellingham Hall!

Fraser and Amy visited Northumberland in September - and we met for the first time and got on really well, and I met with her mum too. We e-mailed each other a few more times, and last Saturday, finally was the date for the BIG day at Ellingham Hall.

It was a gray overcast day, drizzling rain and there was fog too on the roads as I made my way though Newcastle and then headed up the A1 past Alnwick, but once I was in the beautiful Ellingham Hall, all decked out with Christmas trees and decorations and open roaring fires, I was transported to a much nicer place!

Amy's mum came to greet me and before long I was watching and photographing all the decorations and detail pieces which come in so handy when I come to designing their wedding album - and Fraser appeard wearing his kilt but he was wandering about in his running shoes! Cool calm and collected!

Amy was tucked away on the third floor having her hair styled and all around the lovely old house, people were appearing in their wedding finery.

The service was short and sweet - with lots of laughs and immediately after the ceremony we headed straight outside as there was only about 10 minutes of daylight left and we knew we wanted to get a good group shot of everyone together.

After that was a relaxing hour or two with canapes and drinks before heading into the main hall, decked out with candles and decorations for our dinner and speeches before chilling out for a while in the reception room and the main lounge as the ceilidh band set up.

Then Fraser and Amy surprised us all by putting on their cowboy boots for their first dance and Fraser donned a wonderful stetson which made him look so handsome for their first dance!

The candles .. the music .. the ambiance and the fun stayed with me as I headed for a long drive down the A1 back home. 

A great day for everyone!

I hope you enjoy a SNEAK PEAK of a few of the images from their great day.
If you would like me to be a small but important part of your day in Northumberland at Ellingham Hall - then ring me ijn the office on 01429 423165 until 6pm or on my mobile 0778 715 0966 and  tell me all about your plans!
NEW !!  READ THEIR  REVIEW OF MY PERFORMANCE ON THE DAY HERE

DIRK VAN DER WERFF

WEDDINGS AT CRATHORNE HALL HOTEL IN NORTH YORKSHIRE

SARAH AT CRATHORNE HALL DURING HER WEDDING TO DAN IN MAY 2011

JO AND JEZ SHARE A KISS DURING THEIR WEDDING AT CRATHORNE HALL

SARAH AND LEE IN AMONGST THE BLUEBELLS IN MATE APRIL 2011 DURING THEIR WEDDING AT CRATHORNE HALL

CATHERINE AT CRATHORNE HALL DURING HER WEDDING TO CHRIS

KATHRYN AND GARETH AND THEIR CLOSEST FRIENDS ENJOY THE WARM AUTUMN WEATHER OUTSIDE CRATHORNE HALL AFTER THEIR WEDDING

MY 2014 PINTEREST INSPIRATION BOARD IS HERE

I love photographing weddings at Crathorne Hall Hotel in North Yorkshire - it has a very different and special atmosphere for a wedding, and especially so if you have exclusive use for your wedding.

Some of my favourite ever weddings have been there so the best place to see them are the links below!
SARAH AND CHRIS' WEDDDING AT CRATHORNE HALL IS HERE
KATIE AND GLEN'S WEDDING AT CRATHORNE HALL IS HERE
KATE AND JAMES' WEDDING AT CRATHORNE HALL IS HERE
HELEN AND IAN'S WEDDING AT CRATHORNE HALL IS HERE
SARAH AND DAN'S WEDDING AT CRATHORNE HALL HERE
SARAH AND LEE'S WEDDING AT CRATHORNE HALL IS HERE
CATHERINE AND CHRIS' WEDDING AT CRATHORNE HALL IS HERE.
KAREN AND ANDY'S WEDDING AT CRATHORNE HALL IS HERE
If you would like me to be a small but important part of your day, ring me now on 0778 7150966 or in the office until 6pm on 01429 423165


DIRK VAN DER WERFF 2014

MARTIN AND JAGDEEN'S WEDDING AT HARDWICK HALL SEDGEFIELD

I met with Martin and Jag a couple of times at different wedding fairs at Ramside Hall, and Hardwick Hall last year as they checked out different suppliers for their Sikh wedding for this year.

Plans changed a little because of unforseen circumstances, but they always had a smile on their faces, and you just knew that however the day turned out - it was going to be a great day!

Luckily, last week, Martin rang to say that they would very much like me to be part of their wedding celebrations at Wynyard and Hardwick Hall and capture some great relaxed wedding photographs of their family and friends having a wonderful time .....

So, if you were planning to invite me to photograph your wedding on Sunday 5th July 2009, I'll be a little bit busy photographing a lovely wedding at Hardwick Hall near Sedgefield

Images featured below from Ingrid and Joe's wedding

2012 WEDDINGS FROM SLALEY HALL, LANGLEY CASTLE, HOTEL BANNATYNE, STAINCLIFFFE HOTEL, TALL TREES HOTEL AND CRAB AND LOBSTER IN WEBSITE UPDATE

LATEST REVIEWS HERE

PHOTOGRAPHS ABOVE FROM:

SHELLEY'S WEDDING AT LANGLEY CASTLE

TEEDAH'S WEDDING AT SLALEY HALL NORTHUMBERLAND

VICTORIA'S WEDDING AT THE CRAB AND LOBSTER

CLAIRE'S WEDDING AT REDWORTH HALL

See photographs from Natalie's wedding at Gisborough Hall HERE

The wedding website photograph gallery update continues with the latest images posted from recent weddings I covered at Slaley Hall, Redworth Hall, The Crab and Lobster, Staincliffe Hotel, Hardwicke Hall, Tall Trees at Yarm, Langley Castle, Jesmond in Newcastle and Hotel Bannatyne in Darlington.

If you are planning your wedding at any of these wonderful wedding venues during 2013 or 2014 - I would be honoured to be part of your wedding celebrations .. give me a ring or drop me an e-mail ..

Happy to chat about YOUR big day - RING ME NOW ON 0778 7150966 ..  DON'T LOSE YOUR DATE!

New wedding photographs gallery HERE

Teedah's wedding at Slaley Hall Northumberland is HERE

Shelley's Langley Castle Wedding HERE

MOST RECENT WEDDING NEWS AND PHOTOGRAPHS HERE
DIRK VAN DER WERFF

Victoria and Jaeger's wedding - the album (cover)

I realised after I posted yesterday about Living North's North East Wedding supplement that I hadn't uploaded the front cover of Victoria and Jaeger's magnificent wedding album(s) which arrived hot off the press from the USA this week .......

The image is a bit different which is why I decided to use it, and my wife loves the series of images in black and white and in colour when the wind (and there was plenty of it on a windy day in Yorkshire) picked up her veil and swirled it around.

Hope you like it - they loved it!

WEDDING TESTIMONIAL FROM SUE AND DEREK IN MEXICO ON THEIR HONEYMOON AFTER THEIR VALENTINE'S DAY WEDDING ON BOARD HMS TRINCOMALEE

"...... Hi Dirk

Just to say we have been looking at our fantastic wedding photos from HMS Trincomalee on your website.

Thanks so much!! You have captured all we wanted ...fun, laughs, love....perfect happy wedding atmosphere.

Not boring!!

We are in Mexico City right now on our way to La Paz - so when we return we will contact you.

Thanks again....

Sue and Derek xxxxxxxxxx ......"


My latest wedding news and photographs HERE:

PHOTOGRAPH: Silver and Red hearts as part of the table decorations in the Captain's Cabin at Suie and Derek's Valentine's Day Wedding on board HMS Trincomalee, Hartlepool.

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Congratulations to Carrie and Phil ......... for their new baby!

Congratulations go to Carrie and Phil who I photographed extensively with their families on their wedding day at Dunsley Hall near Sandsend and Whitby ...... not for their marriage last year, but for their new baby... aaaaaahhhhhhh


My latest wedding news and photographs HERE: