Brian Harte People Photographer

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This year I was invited again to take the official party photographs for the Ilkley Candlelighters fund raising Ball at Rudding Park.

The Ilkley Candlelighters raise funds throughout the year in order to purchase equipment and fund treatment of children suffering from cancer.

The Ball a glamorous event and the committee set the benchmark high.

It’s a time to let your hair down, enjoy the entertainment and of course raise money for a great cause too.

There was a lot of balloons and it quickly became a sport to let them off cause as much mayhem as possible!

Auctioneer Jon Hammond whipped up the crowd in to a frenzy.

with bidding war’s for star prizes happening all around me…

Dancing seemed to be a major theme on the evening

with even a little dancing on the tables going on

The year the band was The Bogus Brothers who were a real party band!

As well as the band in The Radcliffe Room there was more entertainment including casino, multiplayer wii racing and pitch & putt

One of my favourite shots from the evening was an in love couple cuddling and laughing.

In total the night raised over £36000. I donated a prize to the auction which helped raise £800.

Along with taking the photos from the ball I also take the photographs which are used in the brochure to show the good work of the charity. Two of the photos from last year are now used on the main Candlelighters website.

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I was chatting with Rudding Park a couple of weeks ago when they told me they were holding a Valentines Ball.

My mind starting whirring with ideas and I asked “Do you have a photographer in case any one goes down on one knee?”…within a few seconds I’d somehow managed to volunteer to be offical photographer for Rudding Park!

So on Saturday evening I arrived in Harrogate hoping that someone would pop the question and knowing that even if they didn’t I’d still have some fun taking photos.

A few moments after midnight, in the early hours of February 14th, Robert Bell surprised his Valentine Tracy Kipling by proposing on one knee.

She said Yes!

Full of happiness they immediately hit the dance floor to celebrate the moment.

I am sure Robert must have been on edge all night knowing what he was about to ask. I could tell they were so in love before he asked and they were even more so after.

It was a privilege to capture the memory for them and I wish them all the best in the future!

They had a fab swing band on the night called Chris Hiltons Little Big Band (formerly Simply Swing).

If you are looking for a swing band for a wedding or event they were very good. Check them out here.

As well as Robert and Tracy there was lots more love at The Valentines Ball…

Plus lots of fun and dancing…

There was even a photo of me taken sporting my winter beard!

I had to leave before it finished as the next day I was at a wedding fair but when I left the dancing was still going strong!

This month I am involved in a Glamourous evening at Rudding Park in Harrogate, and best of all it is in support of a local charity.

Anita Massarella couture dress designer is organising the event to support the Acorn Charity raising funds for dementia and alzheimers. Acorn Charity are a Yorkshire charity and more information about their cause can be found at their website.

Anita and her team of winning designers are celebrating their 20th year of creating stunning dresses and tell me that it will be “an evening of Red carpet glamour with a celebratory fashion show”. There will also be live Jazz, wine tasting with Rudding Park’s very own wine expert and to top it off will be compered by the lovely YTV Gaynor Barnes.

I’ll be there supporting and enjoying the event so get yourself down too!

To books your tickets for 17th November call Anita on 0113 268 7783. Tickets are £20 or £25 for front row seats.

Luke warned me last week that his wedding would “be like no other” and he didn’t dissapoint!

You might remember Luke and Sara from the wedding invite photo.

Luke and Sara married abroad with plans for a wedding party with friends a month after they returned. They had chosen Middleton lodge near Richmond in North Yorkshire for their wedding party venue for the buildings character, setting and isolation (the last as Luke’s parties are well know to continue past sunrise!).

Middleton lodge can be booked for exclusive use from the Friday right through to the Sunday giving extra time to enjoy it’s beautiful building and grounds.

The day started with some clay pigeon shooting for close friends and family.

Sara was doing really well and showed her excitement after a particularly good set.

Spencer, a close friend, got two on his first go…

After the shooting Luke and Sara got changed and we had a few photos while the guests arrived.

With the morning shooting Sara had got to know me and was relaxed from the first moment with her photos. This one was taken using the window her their suite.

and I just love the light on this one…

We had about half an hour before most of the guests would arrive and walked around Middleton Lodge taking photos as we went.

I love the doorway framing them here…

Luke and Sara were enjoying themselves so much I think they even forgot about the camera.

We then went outside for a walk next to a field of cows. A couple of the cows decided to get a bit amorous and Sara developed a fit of giggles…

While walking Sara’s dressed kicked about giving me an opportunity to capture all the detailing.

At the front of the house our photos were gatecrashed by a friendly cat who had decided that she wanted to be part of their day.

Luke and Sara really relaxed with the camera and it’s when people relax completely that I get the best photos.

Guests started arriving and there was an impromptu group shot.

By now I was starting to get that the night was going to be a bit different.

There was a brief shower and I noticed a full rainbow so I grabbed my camera and took a shot. Just as I was doing so Luke arrived to tell me he’d booked that too.

Although the guests had free roam of the house the main party was in a marquee in the grounds.

After dinner the music took off and people started let their hair down on the dancefloor.

And it wasn’t only the hair being let down on the dance floor, the wig made several appearances in the night worn by almost everyone on the dance floor at some point or another.

I was framing up for a shot of Luke having a boogie when I got this shot of the wig thrust in front of his face!

Luke told me that he wanted plenty of comedy shots of people having fun on the dance floor. You can’t get more comedic than this one…

For a closing shot we went out in to the grounds and took a photo of Luke and Sara with the house and marquee at night.

I’d like to thank Luke and Sara for inviting me and for the top class fish ‘n’ chips & mushy peas….how did you know it’s my favourite!

Katrina booked me for their Swinton Park wedding last year after meeting up for afternoon tea at the castle. I have been looking forward to shooting their wedding since their engagement shoot when the were telling me about the different flowers.

I was also looking forward to Ashley’s speech after having a taste of his jokes during the engagement photos!

When the day began I was a little worried about the weather. I wasn’t worried for me because I know that I can get fab photos even on the wettest day, I was more worried that the guests wouldn’t get the chance to make the most out of the amazing grounds around the castle.

The ducks seemed to be enjoying the rain…

Katrina had told me about the flowers and orchids. The bridemaids each wore an orchid in their hair as well as a white orchid bouquet.

Katrina took a few moments to relax before rushing to Swinton as she remembered the registrar had said she couldn’t be late!

Katrina & Ashley got married in the Library which had the most beautiful light.

Swinton Park was overflowing with flowers and Katrina’s sister Emma read a passage from Winnie Pooh.

Little Ben was the Bestman for the day and he did a stunning job. During the meal he kept popping in to the drawing room to keep me company by telling me stories and crack a few jokes.

After the ceremony Katrina and Ashley relaxed with their friends on the lawn. Then they had a few photographs…

The cars were supplied by Keith Snowden and were stunning. I managed to get their details before I left… tel. 01765 604417 or their Wedding Cars in Harrogate and Ripon website

The room was set out to perfection with different Roses on each table.

A guest joked that with The Chelsea flower show on the same weekend that Chelsea had been left short of roses for their displays!…(I hope they were joking) The wedding flowers were from Lynda Moss Flowers in Harrogate.

With the guests taking their places Katrina took a few moments out in the drawing room.

Chris, a friend to Ashley & Katrina, embraced to role of Master of Ceremonies…

linking all the toasts and speeches with some witty humour.

The food was a work of art…I overheard the kitchen speaking in french which could have been one of the reasons the standards were so high.

I love the light in this shot with Katrina and friends.

I didn’t stop taking photos and even borrowed their wedding rings to take a shot using the reflection on the piano surface. Ashley joked that having given me the rings it might be last he saw of me!

Katrina had told me all day that she had a second dress which she was planning to do the first dance as she was worried about tripping on her train. In the end she didn’t need it as they spun each other in circles on the dance floor.

I stepped outside to take this shot as the sun set with the party going full swing inside.

The night ended, for me at least, with seven minutes of fireworks. I got some great photos of which my favourite is this one with the warm glow of the castle.

I really enjoyed shooting Katrina & Ashley’s wedding photos and can’t wait to meet up with them again.

It was my first time at Swinton I realise now how special it is as a wedding venue. Katrina & Ashley had booked exclusive use which meant they could really let their hair down and enjoy getting married in a real english castle!

If you’d like to know more about weddings at Swinton Park you can contact Hannah Hinchcliffe on 01765 680971 or hannah@swintonpark.com

When Luke and Sara asked me for “something different for their wedding invite” my mind started going in to over drive. I thought about re-enacting scenes from great movies or maybe something more challenging to set up….a kiss underwater or maybe as they are parachuting from an airplane (ok…I like to dream big).

Luke and Sara had already given it some thought and wanted a photo to show Sara looking a bit miffed cleaning up after Luke.

They told me they only wanted a quick snap for the front of their wedding invite but I wanted to make it more than a snap. After a bit of furniture rearranging and setting up a light or two we settled on a montage of photos showing many Sara’s cleaning while Luke lounges on the sofa watching TV!

Luke and Sara have since married in Bali and I will be taking their post-wedding photos when they party through the weekend having booked exclusive use of Middleton Lodge, Richmond, North Yorkshire.

Their invite went down a treat with their guests…here are a few quotes from their replies

Choice invites, knew you would be different. – Ben & Hannah

Thanks so much for the invite though – it’s a great one – much better than the normal hearts and roses guff. – Catherine xx

Hi Luke, Thanks for the invitation they are fab! – Sasha

…look forward to seeing you both as husband and wife.  Ps.  I love the photo Luke, you are just going to have to retrain him sara. xxxx – Liz

Of course we will be there, quality invite!! – Rob C

Never seen an invite like that, they are excellent! – Soph & Kieran xxxxxx

So tell me your plans for a wedding invite and book with me for a special engagement shoot.

Last year I took Mike and Rowena Rogers wedding photographs at The Hospitium in York.

This year I sent them a sample of the photographs as a thank you for being wonderful co-ordinators and venue hosts. Looking through my web statistics I noticed a lot of visits from The Hospitium website and was pleased to find that they liked the photos so much they are now using them to advertise the venue!

The two photos they chose to use are Mike and Rowena walking through a glade of trees and Rowena chatting with friends at the reception….

There will be more of Mike & Rowena’s photos to come.

I was invited by my good friend and fellow photographer Annemarie King to come along for a super sunny wedding this weekend.

I have known Annemarie for a few years now and we each bob along on one another’s weddings when we have the chance. It’s great for us as we have such a ball trying to out do each other with the best photos and it’s great for the couple as they get two fab photographers (can I say that about myself?) shooting for them.

It was the hottest day of the year and Jamie told me that he had booked the weather especially for Claire. Here is Jamie getting ready and having a little trouble with his winsor knot.

Claire had chosen a wonderful fairy like wedding dress with fairies and wild flowers as their theme.

They held their wedding at the Church of St. Botolph at Bossall in North Yorkshire. The priest was a family friend who had seen Claire growing up from a young age. Here he is contemplating his service before Claire and her father arrived.

The Bridesmaids arrived by black cab which was decorated in wedding ribbon. It proved to be a great way to arrive as the doors were large enough to get in and out easily. If you’d like to book the taxis you can contact Ian or Dave on 01904 791739.

Claire arrived in a vintage chevvy…

Claire and her father were greeted at the Church by their priest.

I cheekily moved up the aisle to capture this fun moment…

Claire and Jamie held their reception on Claire’s parents farmhouse…

…where they opted for Papakata tipi style tents instead of a marquee where they had lounging sofas and real fires burning.

One guest had left a present for Claire and Jamie on the top table, a knitted wedding cake!

Annemarie’s mum was one of the guests and I took a quick photo of them when I saw them together.

As Claire and Jamie started their speeches I packed my camera away but not before I had time to take this closing shot of the Papakata tents in the lovely gardens.

The Ilkley Candlelighters 2009 Ball photos at Rudding Park are now online and a contribution from every order will go to the Candlelighters fund.

The photos can be found at http://brianharte.jambino.com with the password candlelighters2009

Thank you to Andrew McMillan, wedding photographer in Crawley Sussex, who has sent me his photos to place online alongside mine. Andrew has been giving his time to the Candlelighters photos for 14 years and has handed me the reigns after moving down to Crawley.

Thank you Andrew for your help on the night and I’ll hold you to your promise of a guest appearance at the ball in the future!

On Saturday 9th May I dusted off my suit and bow tie (dusted off from all the building work I have been having done lately!) for the annual Ilkley Candlelighters Charity Ball. The Ilkley Candlelighters are a local charity who each year raise thousands of pounds in support for the regional centre for the treatment of cancer in children.

The committee worked hard through the year to make Saturday a night everyone will be talking about for a long time to come.

This years theme was magic and along with magic I also much fun and dancing.

It was hosted at Rudding Park in North Yorkshire, a popular venue for functions and weddings. The committee had spent most of Friday and Saturday morning preparing the table decorations and magic table surprises and as you can see they did a stunning job.

The famous 80′s psychedelic rock band Doctor and the Medics headlined the event.

and even The Doctor commented on the great atmosphere of the event…

As well as raising money the night was a reason to let your hair down and have a bit of fun

My final shot of the night was of Sarah and friends. Sarah, along with her many other roles for the charity, runs the Ilkley Candlelighters website.

Earlier on in the year I made a trip to St James Hospital in Leeds to take the photographs of the children for the Candlelighters brochure. I also donated a prize to raise money on the night.

If you would like to be involved, become a sponsor or make a donation to the charity The Candleighters would love to hear from you.

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The Ilkley Candlelighters 2009 Ball photos at Rudding Park are now online and a contribution from all orders will go to the Candlelighters fund.

The photos can be found at http://brianharte.jambino.com with the password candlelighters2009