Wynyard Hall Wedding Photography Review from Niki

WYNYARD HALL WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY:
NIKI IN HER FAIRYTALE WEDDING DRESS AT WYNYARD HALL

Niki and Steve have both been married before .. in fact all their children were involved in this wedding too!
What a great day it was for everyone, particularly for the bride and groom Steve and Niki I thought, they both knew they had finally found their soul-mate. So it was nice when Niki (and Steve) took time out to thank me for the time and effort I took in capturing the essence and atmosphere and the fun of their day.
"... Dirk van der Werff was recommended to me by my cousin Sue who had commissioned him for her only daughter Jo's wedding at Crathorne Hall.
She had saved all her daughter's life to give her the best wedding possible and that's why she hired Dirk because she wanted the best ... and that's just what she got.
I went to my cousins house and saw the beautiful wedding album and photographs Dirk had captured and I was amazed.
I loved how natural the photography was, people were happy and enjoying a wedding unaware that they were being photographed, and I knew there and then we had found our wedding photographer.
We arranged to meet up at our house and straight away felt at ease with Dirk, and by the time he left we felt like we had known him all our lives - a friend or part of the family.
My husband to-be Steve hated having his photograph taken and if anyone remembers an episode of Friends, the one where Chandler has to smile for his engagement photos, they will know what I mean.
Steve was just like Chandler .. but he couldnt smile ... 
So I was amazed when we had our pre-wedding photographs taken, Steve looked great and even had a few smiles! 
On our Wedding day was even better. There isn't one photograph of Steve that I don't like and even Steve was pleased.... 
Steve and I wanted Dirk to just capture all our family and friends naturally and we didnt want the old boring photographs where the bride's family all stare at the lens then the groom's family etc.... we had that at our first weddings, and it was just awful.
We love our wedding book and presentation box with 400 final edited photographs as hard-copy prints,  but the hardest job was picking our favourites to go in the album ... 
Dirk certainly had his work cut out on our wedding day as there were 9 bridesmaids, 5 pageboys, 3 ushers and a partridge in a pear tree!.
Anyone thinking of getting hitched I would thoroughly recommend Dirk as I have done to my family and friends.
If any prospective bride would like to see our wedding book - you're welcome to come and see it ,.... Dirk is the best and if the best is what you want you need to book him :) 
Thank you Dirk for making our wedding so special by capturing everything you did.
You truly are a friend for life and when you're in the area, pop around for a pot of tea!
Niki 
xx
SEE THEIR SNEAK PEEK PHOTOGRAPHS - 20 IMAGES FROM 400+ THAT TELL THE STORY OF THEIR DAY - HERE

Wedding photography costs from £1250, with the most popular package at £1475 which includes a pre-wedding shoot and a signing board, up to 400 hard-copy gallery proof-prints in a presentation box, a dedicated website, all final edited images on a CD, a Highlights wedding book, together with great customer experience and outstanding personalised customer service and satisfaction.

For additional images and news and special offers, add me as a friend on Facebook HERE

DIRK VAN DER WERFF

MIDDLESBROUGH TOWN HALL WEDDING FAIR 2012

MIDDLESBROUGH WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHERS: STEPHANIE AND HER FAMILY - READY TO GO DOWN THE AISLE AT ROCKLIFFE HALL

GARETH AND KATHRYN AT CRATHORNE HALL - WITHIN EASY REACH OF TEESSIDE / CLEVELAND NORTH YORKSHIRE

If you are planning a wedding for 2013 / 2014 then there's an opportunity for you to check out the latest wedding photography and wedding dresses and cars and a whole host of accessories for weddings at the Middlesbrough Wedding Fair at Middlesbrough Town Hall on Sunday 29th April 2012 between 12pm - 4pm.

There will be many scores of other vendors to answer all your questions about wedding photography and why you should make sure you set aside the right budget for creative professional photography to capture one of the biggest and most expensive days of your life.

The Middlesbrough and Cleveland areas have some GREAT wedding venues within a 20 or 30 mile radius, from Gisborough Hall, to Rushpool Hall at Saltburn and Grinkle Park with Judges Country House at Yarm and the magnificent Crathorne Hall.

You're just a hop-step-and-a-jump away from the wonderful Wynyard Hall, Rockliffe Hall a new 5 star wedding venue at Hurworth near Darlington and Redworth Hall Hotel, with options also for getting married at my favourite smaller exclusive use wedding venue Headlam Hall.

ASIAN WEDDINGS ARE HELD AT MIDDLESBROUGH TOWN HALL - PHOTOGRAPH BY DIRK VAN DER WERFF

If you are having a wedding in Middlesbrough, perhaps an Asian wedding, on Teeside or in Darlington or Whitby or on the North York Moors, Ripon or Thirsk or Northallerton, ring me on my mobile 0778 7150966 and let's talk about the plans for your wedding. If you would like to progress to a meeting, without obligation, I will travel to meet you!

READ MY WEDDING REVIEWS HERE

READ ABOUT COST / PRICES / INVESTMENT HERE

DIRK VAN DER WERFF 2012

HALLGARTH GOLF AND COUNTRY CLUB WEDDING REVIEW FROM MEL AND GAVIN

Wedding reviews are always lovely to receive .. the end of a wedding commission well done .....
Melanie and Gavin had a great day at Hallgarth Golf and Country Club near Darlington after their wedding at Norton Church on The Green last summer, and they have kindly sent the following review .... with just a couple of the 300+ final edited images telling the story of their day from beginning to end .. 


"....When Gavin and I started to make plans for our wedding I was immediately give the job of finding a photographer as I am a trained photographer myself, so I have an eye for detail and quality.....and I found both in Dirk’s work.
I remember when I first met Dirk, it was at a wedding fair at Redworth Hall.
It was a huge building with rooms after rooms full of reps from different companies trying to get your business for one thing or another and by the time I got to the last room I was pretty fed up with being hassled and was ready to leave with my mountain of leaflets......when I heard a voice.
Dirk said, ”I bet you’re fed up by now.....here’s my details.....speak to you soon!
It was like a breath of fresh air not to be hassled and this stuck in my mind plus I was very impressed when I saw his images that night on his website. 
We arranged a meeting with Dirk at Hallgarth Golf and country Club near Darlington to discuss things in more detail and made our booking there and then....
Dirk is a professional and hard working person, and Gavin and I were immediately put at ease with Dirk’s fun personality and humour.
Dirk captured the mood of our special day perfectly. Everything when smoothly and we didn’t even know he was there most of the time as he blended in and mingled with our family and guests effortlessly.
When we received the final edited images in a presentation box and had to narrow them down to the final ones to go in to the album I found it really hard as there was just so many fantastic ones to choose from.
I’d forgotten some of the moments of the day and as I was looking through them all, I found myself laughing as Dirk had captured some beautiful moments perfectly.
Dirk is a fantastic photographer and an inspiration!..."


Many thanks indeed ... another satisfied customer, and if you are having a wedding on Teeside or in Darlington or Whitby or on the North York Moors, Ripon or Thirsk or Northallerton, ring me in the office on 01429 423165 or on my mobile 0778 7150966 and let's talk about the plans for your wedding. If you would like to progress to a meeting, without obligation, I will travel to meet you! More details about pricing and packages HERE for 2011 / 2012 / 2013

DIRK VAN DER WERFF

DURHAM WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER FOR NICOLA AND JON AT LANCHESTER AND DURHAM UNIVERSITY

DURHAM WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHERS:
THE BEAUTIFUL INTERIOR OF LANCHESTER'S CATHOLIC PARISH CHURCH

LANCHESTER WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY:
HE WILL BREAK HEARTS ONE DAY LADIES ....

DURHAM WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY:
NICOLA READY TO HEAD DOWN THE AISLE WITH HER FATHER .. JUST BEFORE SHE DOES!

THE BEAUTIFUL INTERIOR OF  ALL SAINTS CHURCH, LANCHESTER COUNTY DURHAM

A FEW TEARS FROM NICOLA DURING THE VOWS .....

HAPPY AND CONFIDENT HALWAY THROUGH THE SERVICE .. 

THIS YOUNG CHAP AND HIS LION WANDERED TO THE FRONT OF THE CHURCH DURING THE CEREMONY

A BEAUTIFUL BLACK AND WHITE IMAGE OF NICOLA .. ONE OF MY FAVOURITE FROM HER WEDDING DAY

ONE OF MY FAVOURITE EVER WEDDING PHOTOGRAPH - THE CHINESE STUDENT JUST APPEARED .. NICOLA LOVED THE IMAGE SO MUCH SHE CHOSE IT AS THE FRONT COVER OF HER A3 WEDDING BOOK

A TENDER MOMENT FROM JON .. 

NICOLA'S VERY GOOD FRIEND FOOLING ABOUT AT THE RECEPTION!

FUN ALL THE WAY FOR NIC!

RADIANT AND BEAUTIFUL ... NICOLA ENJOYS HER DAY

PHONE CALLS TO FRIENDS ....

PALYIMNG THE DIVA ... MESSIN' ABOUT AFTER THE WEDDING BREAKFAST AROUND THE LAKE AT VAN MILDERT COLLEGE IN DURHAM

HAPPINESS AND FUN .. JUST WHAT I LOOK FOR IN WEDDING CLIENTS ....

'THE BOYS' MESSING ABOUT AROUND THE LAKE AFTER A FEW GLASSES OF CHAMPAGNE AND BEER!

THE BOYS AND THE GIRLS HAVING FUN LATER IN THE EVENING!

NIC MAKES HER SPEECH, THANKING ALL HER GUESTS AND EXPRESSING HER LOVE FOR JON .. NOT A DRY EYE IN THE HOUSE!

I was chatting with a bride-to-be last night who met her husband-to-be at University in Durham, and I told her all about Nicola and Jon and their wedding in Durham ... so I thought I would share it with those of you who may have missed it recently!
They decided to get married at the church where Nicola's Mum and Dad were married in Lanchester, County Durham and have their reception at Van Mildert College in Durham where they had met each other while at University .... aahhhh.
I met with Nicola and her parents and grandparents as they prepared for the day at home in Hartlepool before travelling through to Lanchester on the west side of Durham, where she met up with her smaller bridesmaids and other family members.

In the meantime I dashed across to the church, All Saints Catholic Church to catch up with jonathan and his parents and family who were putting final touches to their outfits and in the church, before a dash back to Nicola's Aunt's home to see her leave under leaden skies and persistant rain!

Umbrella's were then the order of the day!

The ceremony was beautiful - Nicola cried (as you can see from my photograph!), and afterwards we went across the road to her grandmother's house to say 'Hello!" as she was not well enough to come to the service, afterwards Jonathan walked to the graveside of Nicola's grandfather and placed a bouquet upon it as a mark of respect, a poignant part of the day.
On our way back into Durham we stopped for 5 minutes for Nic and Jon to have some photographs taken at Prebends Bridge which was a special place to them, and it featured in my pre-wedding portrait photography session too.
It's never easy to get a clean shot of the bridge without tourists or students on, but with a little bit of persuasion and 'coaxing' and a touch of luck, I managed to get some lovely images of them on the bridge and walking (very gingerly on the wet coblestones) down to the bridge too.
The photograph I took of them coming down the hill with the Chinese student peddling away is the front page photograph in their album!
The reception at Van Mildert College was lovely, and the speeches were full of laughs and tears, and one the formalities and the lovely wedding breakfast was out of the way, it was time for a few informal groups - as you can see above.
There wasn't a dry eye in the house, when after the first dance, Nic took the microphone and pledged her undying love for Jon!
I hope you enjoy a sneak peek of their 450+ final edited images telling the story of their day .....

Wedding photography costs from £1250, with the most popular package at £1475 which includes a pre-wedding shoot and a signing board, up to 400 hard-copy gallery proof-prints in a presentation box, a dedicated website, all final edited images on a CD, a Highlights wedding book, together with great customer experience and outstanding personalised customer service and satisfaction.

For additional images and news and special offers, add me as a friend on Facebook HERE

MORE DETAILS ON MY WEBSITE HERE

My latest wedding news and photographs HERE

DIRK VAN DER WERFF

TYNEMOUTH WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY REVIEW FROM CATHERINE AND GARY

TYNEMOUTH WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHERS:
GARY AND CATHERINE TAKE A WALK ON THE WILD SIDE

TYNEMOUTH WEDDING PHOTOS:
CATHERINE'S BESPOKE DOC MARTINS!

I love photographing weddings in Tynemouth, there's such a lot of interesting churches and venues and hotels and some of my nicest photography in the last couple of years has been created at weddings in Tynemouth.

Last summer I photographed Catherine and Gary's wedding at The Grand Hotel Tynemouth and we had a ball, and as seems 'de rigeur' we ended up on Tynemouth Longsands one the speeches were over and everyone had had plenty of champagne!

Gary has kindly send a review of my performance as photographer at their wedding, and as he is a very talented videographer and photographer too, there was no pressure ... :)

"...Photography is something a lot of people misunderstand. I earn my living from it too so I know how easy some people think it is.

Given that anybody can buy a camera these days, even in things like their phones, surely this means that anybody can be a photographer, right? 

Wrong - and Dirk proves exactly why, because there’s much more to photography than just taking a picture. What Dirk did on the wedding day of Catherine and I was not just capture what was happening and where, but pressing his shutter at exactly the right moment and from exactly the right angle to crystallise everything into beautiful, artistic images that help us remember a day that, to be honest, was all a bit of a blur in our heads (when it’s your turn, you’ll see!)

Taking amazing photographs is only one of Dirk’s many skills, and his other skill is far less common, because throughout the day Dirk, while never stopping, was only visible when he needed to be.

Amazingly, he took everything he needed and that we wanted without ever making his presence felt, unless it was time to stage portraits and quick group shots or respond to requests, in which instances his friendly manner and good humour set people at ease and brought out their best for the photographs.

An intrusive or overbearing photographer can easily get in the way and slow things down, while one that is too timid may well miss something magical. Dirk is neither, and we can safely say that his presence was as professional as it was welcome and enjoyable.

Selecting the right wedding photographer is a big decision, and we made the right one.

So thank you Dirk for helping make our big day everything we wanted it to be, and for producing a portfolio of photographs and wedding books that has stunned all who have seen them.

We’re delighted!..."

Gary and Catherine Kester

Catherine and Gary have fun drawing a love-heart in the sand art Tynemouth

See the rest of their sneak peek images - selected from their 350+ final edited images telling the story of their da

Wedding photography costs from £1250, with the most popular package at £1475 which includes a pre-wedding shoot and a signing board, up to 400 hard-copy gallery proof-prints in a presentation box, a dedicated website, all final edited images on a CD, a Highlights wedding book, together with great customer experience and outstanding personalised customer service and satisfaction.

For additional images and news and special offers, add me as a friend on Facebook HERE

DIRK VAN DER WERFF

CRATHORNE HALL WEDDING FAIR 2012

CRATHORNE HALL WEDDING FAIR AND OPEN DAY:
SARAH AND LEE IN THE GARDEN AT CRATHORNE HALL IN 2012

CRATHORNE HALL OPEN DAY AND WEDDING FAIR:
SARAH'S BEAUTIFUL WEDDING GOWN ON SHOW AT HER MAY 2011 WEDDING - PHOTOGRAPH BY DIRK VAN DER WERFF

CRATHORNE HALL HOTEL WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY: KAREN AND HER FATHER AND ATTENDENTS

LATEST 2011 / 2012 CRATHORNE HALL WEDDINGS ..... SARAH AND DAN HERE, SARAH AND LEE HERE and HELEN AND IAN HERE

OR VIEW MY PINTEREST BRIDAL INSPIRATION BOARD FOR CRATHORNE HALL HERE:
CRATHORNE HALL IN YORKSHIRE IS ONE OF MY VERY FAVOURITE WEDDING VENUES IN THE NORTH OF ENGLAND AND SOME OF MY FAVOURITE WEDDINGS OVER THE PAST TEN YEARS HAVE BEEN AT THIS VENUE.

On Thursday April 26th 2012 between 5pm - 8pm you can meet the wedding team and see rooms set up for a civil ceremony, a wedding breakfast and wedding reception as well as the fabulous honeymoon suite with stunning views and discuss your ideas and plans.

Crathorne Hall Hotel is a magnificent country house set in stunning grounds and gardens making it the perfect venue for your fairytale wedding.

This magnificent stately home is perfect for all occasions, from small intimate celebrations to the grandest affairs and offers fully licensed premises for Civil Ceremonies.  For the ultimate in luxury, take over the entire house and grounds.

Catherine in her stunning dress on the lawn at Crathorne Hall

The Drawing Room is steeped in grandeur originally designed to be the main room in the house and still is today. In the Summer the French doors can be opened giving a magnificent view of the front lawn and in the Winter you and your friends can dine in front of the original log fire.

The Edwardian Room is bright and airy with stunning views over the front lawn, originally the Morning Room used by the Dugdale family, still houses the original cornices and fireplace.

Kathryn and Gareth with some of their family party at Crathorne Hall

If you would like me to be part of your family wedding celebrations at your own wedding at Crathorne Hall, or just to chat about your wedding plans, in the north east, north Yorkshire, Cumbria, The Borders, or anywhere in the UK, ring on my mobile telephone on 0778 7150966. 

Wedding photography costs from £1195, with the most popular package at £1495 which includes a pre-wedding shoot and a framed portrait together with a signiture A3 signing board for signing by your guests at your wedding. It also includes up to 500 hard-copy gallery proof-prints in a presentation box, a dedicated password-protected wedding website, all final edited images on a CD, together with great customer experience and outstanding personalised customer service and satisfaction. Don't think in terms of packages or albums at this stage - the most important thing is to book your professional creative photographer, which guarantees top quality images - wedding books and wedding albums can come later when  finances recover or you get a bonus at work!

Smaller weddings with less than 25 guests, midweek, cost from £750, these options for small intimate weddings are also available 10 weeks before a Saturday or Sunday if the date is free.

CRATHORNE HALL WEDDING PHOTOS: JO AND JEZ ENJOYING THE GROUNDS AT CRATHORNE HALL

For additional images and news and special offers, add me as a friend on Facebook HERE

My latest wedding news and photographs HERE

View recent testimonials HERE:

DIRK VAN DER WERFF

Wynyard Hall Wedding Photography Review from the Groom!

WYNYARD HALL WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHERS:
STEVE SWINGS HIS WIFE NIKI AROUND THE DANCE FLOOR AT WYNYARD HALL

View sneak peek wedding photographs from Nicolle and Wayne's summer wedding at Wynyard Hall HERE
View sneak peek images from Caroline and Antony's summer wedding photography at Wynyard Hall HERE with my Wynyard Hall Pinterest Inspiration board HERE

Wedding reviews are an important part of a professional wedding photographer's portfolio, and I'm lucky that so many of my brides kindly offer their thoughts about my involvement in their family celebrations.
The relationship that I build with my brides and grooms and often their family, even before the wedding day itself means that on the day, everyone is relaxed and happy. I become part of the day, rather than the man who stops and interupts and makes everything a pain and stressful
It's rare that I get a review from a groom, so it's great to have a view from Steve who married Niki at Wynyard Hall, and Steve, as you will read, was a bit worried about having a photographer at his wedding.
".... We heard about dirk from Niki's cousin Sue. I didn't know what to expect when I heard that a Dirk van der Werff was coming to see us about wedding photos, being the groom, I had just carried along in the tidal wave of preperations and arrangements so I shrugged my shoulders and waited to see this blonde moustached six foot something bloke to turn up on a bicyle and clogs and start saying how "he was jus goink to fotograf sum fantashtik pikturs "... 
However, who actualy turned up was a true north-east lad as I would say. 
I hate smiling, I'm not photogenic in the slightest and was dreading the staged "stand there and do this ...ok ..left a bit, left a bit ..now smile " approach.
How wrong could I have been?
Dirk put me at ease straight away, Niki and I talked about what we wanted to achieve with the photographs which was a relaxed, intimate, informal representation of our big day. Dirk arranged for a pre-wedding photo-shoot so we could get to know each other a little more, as I lived in Morecambe and work in Khazakstan at the moment, so on the big day Dirk could just mingle and do his thing as a guest at the wedding.
We had a laugh filled afternoon at Wynyard Hall where me and 'the missus-to-be' posed for some pictures as Dirk just snapped away .. and bugger me I found myself doing something I NEVER do, I smiled, slightly, and didnt even know I was doing it... (see image above..)
On the big day Dirk was there very early at Wynyard Hall and even caught me turning up with my support crew of ushers and best man in the streched limo.....the big day was great ..only a few contrived photos to please the older generations before the wedding breakfast and the rest of the day was spent just enjoying the guests company and my lovely wife and not even knowing we were being photographed....it was honestly that unobtrusive.....
Nobody realised that Dirk was telling the story of our day and that in his mind a wedding book was being generated ...and what an wedding book !!! 
I cannot believe that the whole essence, character, charm and emotion of the day was captured in such an artistic and natural but perfectly clear and sharp and true way.
So any grooms out there who are wondering about the whole 'Do I HAVE to smile thing' ...Well no ..you dont have to smile but that doesn't matter because you will smile naturally while interacting and laughing with friends and relatives, and IT WILL BE CAPTURED, you just won't notice its been done ....until you see the mindblowing results which in reality when you have the A3 wedding book in your hands puts everything into another dimension all together.....FANTASTIC! 
If I could go back in time I would not change a thing, and I can heartily recommend Dirk to be your wedding photographer
STEVE NELLIS
View some 'sneak peek' images from the final 400 photographs which told the story of Niki and Steve's Wynyard Hall wedding HERE

If you would like me to be part of your family wedding celebrations at your own wedding at Wynyard Hall Country House Hotel, or just to chat about your wedding plans, in the north east, north Yorkshire, Cumbria, The Borders, or anywhere in the UK, ring ME on 0778 7150966.
Wedding photography costs from £1250, with the most popular package at £1475 which includes a pre-wedding shoot and a signing board, up to 400 hard-copy gallery proof-prints in a presentation box, a dedicated website, all final edited images on a CD, a Highlights wedding book, together with great customer experience and outstanding personalised customer service and satisfaction.

For additional images and news and special offers, add me as a friend on Facebook HERE

DIRK VAN DER WERFF