wedding photographer

I’m always looking for fun ideas to help wedding parties go with a swing, and these wedding photos by Birmingham photographer Steve Gerrard really made me smile. His Fun Booth has a set of kooky props and costumes which guests can use to stage informal pictures that bring out the livelier side of their personalities. Steve sets up an area of your reception room, and unpacks a treasure box of theatrical hats, specs, wigs, deely boppers, musical instruments…  anything colourful and daft that’ll help guests to relax. They seem to need no persuading to show off their silly side, and the result is loads of hilarity, whether you’re watching or taking part! And you’ll come away with some playful pictures that your guests will love.

Steve also offers some edgy ideas for couples looking for a daring, original look for some of their wedding photographs. His Trash the Dress sessions are a new look at portraiture, contrasting the beautiful bride and bridal gown against alterative settings, including urban backstreets, scrapyards, fields and beaches. A great way to get more out of your wedding dress (and you don’t really need to trash it…)!

Click for more fun ideas for breaking the ice at wedding parties, and wedding props for hire in Scotland and the north of England.

Visit Steve Gerrard Photography for more of his lively wedding photographs.

Lindsey Hunter of Get Knotted is a wedding planner for Scotland and the north of England. She’s the in-house wedding planner for four lovely Scottish wedding venues: Mellerstain House, Aikwood Tower, Hoscote Estate, and the Buccleuch Arms Hotel. For more wedding inspiration, visit our gallery.

I’ve met up-and-coming Scottish Borders wedding photographer Alex Martin at several Get Knotted wedding venues, and she’s gained a well-deserved reputation for stylish images that capture wedding couples and guests looking their relaxed, natural best.

She puts her success in dealing with people’s wedding nerves down to her own recent experience! ‘I was dreading having my photo taken on my wedding day, but my photographer made it such fun that he inspired me. Now, when brides say to me ‘I hate having my photo taken’ (and nearly everyone does!), I use myself as an example.’

Alex trained with award-winning photographer David Bryce before setting up her own studio, and is constantly on the lookout for new inspiration – not from other photographers, but from fashion magazines and anything that can bring a fresh twist to her images. ‘My ambitions are just to be the best I can be, really. I want to be happy with my work, and I want the couple to be happy too’.

She says the key is being sensitive to the bigger picture and making sure she captures great images as straightforwardly as possible. ‘The thing that strikes me when having meetings with couples is that they are always concerned the photographer might take over their day and take up too much time. So I try my best to be as quick as I can, within reason. It’s important to make sure the couple give time to the photographer, but just as important the photographer remembers it’s the couple’s wedding day.  Most of my couples have said how happy they were with the time I spent on the day, and they didn’t even know I was there’.

Alex is based in the Scottish Borders. She has photographed weddings at several Get Knotted wedding venues, and often travels to weddings in Northumberland, Edinburgh and Glasgow, too. Visit her website for a look at more gorgeous photographs!

Visit Alex Martin Photography for more gorgeous photographs, ring Alex on 07976 392879, or email Alex Martin.

Lindsey Hunter of Get Knotted is a wedding planner for Scotland and the north of England. She’s the in-house wedding planner for four lovely Scottish wedding venues: Mellerstain House, Aikwood Tower, Hoscote Estate, and the Buccleuch Arms Hotel. For more wedding inspiration, visit our gallery.

Sheila Scott has been taking wedding photographs in the Scottish Borders and north of England for more than 20 years, but she’s no plans to rest on her laurels! Part of an award-winning team with her husband Harry, she specialises in bringing out the best in each couple’s personality and passions, and seizing the moment on the day. Whether it’s wind-strewn leaves, a sleepy bridesmaid or a shower of rain, Sheila beautifully captures the small decisive moments that make every wedding different.

‘I started photography as a hobby when my daughter was born,’ she says, ‘then opened a studio business in portraiture, and branched into wedding photography over 20 years ago. My photography experience has included everything from industrial and commercial assignments, to the Queen, TV personalities and government ministers.  Some of my more unusual commissions have involved coffins, sewage works and septic tanks, but I can also be seen wearing  a yellow reflective jacket, hard hat and safety boots, up ladders, on building projects or photographing road works in progress’.

Sheila’s work has been widely published in magazines, and she’s photographed brides from all over the world. ‘Now, I choose to concentrate mainly on wedding photography, as Harry and I both enjoy it, and we feel it’s a privilege to be involved in such a special day’.

A self-confessed gadget and technology lover, Sheila moved into digital photography in 2000. ‘I took the plunge earlier than most professional photographers, and I’m constantly updating my products to include the latest in digital offerings for the bride and groom, introducing an iPad package in 2010. My most recent venture is a professional wedding photo booth, which is the latest must-have for wedding receptions’, she says.

Most photographers would be happy to rest there, but not Sheila! ‘I recently became an author, with my first book, Galashiels Through Time. It’s a collection of colour and sepia photos recording the change in the town where I live, with a bit of history thrown in!’

Email Sheila Scott or visit her website: Sheila Scott Photography.

Lindsey Hunter of Get Knotted is a wedding planner for Scotland and the north of England. She’s the in-house wedding planner for four lovely Scottish wedding venues: Mellerstain House, Aikwood Tower, Hoscote Estate, and the Buccleuch Arms Hotel. For more wedding inspiration, visit our gallery.