Brian Harte People Photographer

Last Saturday was my second Mansion at Roundhay Park wedding since I took the photographs for their website and brochure.

I met Bethan over a year ago when she booked with me for her wedding photography. If you recognise her in the photos that may be because I was so impressed by her bubbly character that I asked if she would represent me at my wedding fairs or it could be because she is a prolific socialiser!

Bethan gave me a short list of key photographs she would like and at the very top of that list was her Christian Louboutin bag so I had to make sure it was a special shot.

Her brother arrived with the flowers…

…which contained a sprig of rosemary from her grandmother.

Bethan was absolutely gorgeous and was very relaxed having her photo taken.

So were her bridesmaids!

I met with James, the groom, before the ceremony where he introduced me to his two bestmen.

James’ charm is his funny/crazy/madness and Bethan must have thought so too.

The Mansion have only one rule on confetti…lots of it!

James was sporting a fab pair of Gucci shoes which matched his suit and personality perfectly.

After a while Bethan & James went for a walk to have some photos taken at the bandstand in Roundhay Park.

Just before returning to The Mansion we stopped of for some photos at a nearby water fountain.

When we got back it was almost time to go in however I caught Bethan’s sister have a cheeky look at the wedding cakes.

After dinner, when the sun had dropped down a little, we went outside again to take a few more photos.

Bethan & James danced to Elvis Presley’s The Wonder of You.

And after a while, when night fell, Bethan & James along with their guests stepped outside…

…where they lit chinese lanterns…

to drift away over Roundhay Park.

I love it during the ceremony when there is lots of eye contact, exchanged smiles and sometime a fit of giggles as it gives me opportunities to take photos. You cant fake these moments so I know that the couples will love looking at them after the wedding.

Bride Can’t Stop Laughing During Vows

I had a couple last year who couldn’t stop looking at each other. From the moment Charlotte entered the Church it was as if she and Charles were the only two people there.

Even the Wakefield wedding videographer Ken Wilson commented on how in-love they were. All I had to do was hitch a ride on their love for one another to get fab photos at both the Church and Bagden Hall.

Charlotte & Charles had booked an old red route master bus to take their guests to Bagden Hall and it made a fab place to do a confetti shot too.

Charlotte’s father had passed away and could not be there for her. Charlotte invited me along as she paid a visit to her father’s grave to lay a flower from her bouquet.

It is times like this where you stand back and give people time and space and I was happy to record the moment for them in their album.

I met with Daniel from Dine catering earlier this year at Nostell Priory. Daniel couldn’t contain his excitement about his new venue in Yorkshire and his excitement quickly rubbed off on me as I agreed to shoot some photos for their up coming brochure.

I hadn’t known about The Mansion House in Roundhay Park, Leeds and the state of disrepair it had fallen into however what I do know is that it will become one of the best wedding venues (also corporate meetings & events) in Leeds.

At the side of the house is the stunning colonnades which make a great feature for photos.

I had a bit of fun shooting this photo…I don’t know what Susannah was thinking but lying on the floor shouting and whooping certainly made her smile.

Here Susannah was playing with her dress while the wind was blowing.

Using the colonnades I was able to shield Susannah from the direct sun and get some beautiful light in her eyes.

The interior of the house is very fresh and vibrant with a lovely symmetrical staircase.

I made great use of the staircase to frame Helen (who also modelled for me) lounging on one of the funky chairs.

Daniel had told me that he thought the photos should be elegant and I pulled out my portable flash equipment for this shot to see how elegant I could take it.

The detailing inside is simply stunning…

And here is one of the funky chairs with a diamond in the middle of the cushion, how cool…

The walls are decorated with framed photos showing the history of The Mansion House…

Even the rest rooms are gorgeous. I spent about 20 minutes taking a multitude of photos including using the reflection in the full length mirror.

I had to be careful not to get myself in the reflections…although I couldn’t help taking this one as I don’t often get to feature in photos!

The Colonnades Room where your ceremony is held has fantastic light for photos with a beautiful warm glow.

With a little bit of furniture re-arranging I was able to take a few photos of my bride too…

For larger wedding functions The Mansion room is just the ticket and with a permanent dance floor at one end there is no need to leave the room and then come back in at the end of your meal.

With several rooms available The Mansion can also cater for smaller weddings including this room set up for the very intimate wedding breakfast.

All of the rooms have fantastic views of Roundhay Park.

Susannah an I took a trip out in to Roundhay Park to see what we could find as a location for photos and as we were The Roundhay Land Train pulled up and we did the done thing and hitched a ride!

The light in park is great for some natural photos…

…and only a few minutes away we found a band stand.

I love the mirror in the lobby and it’s positioned quite high which is a bonus for me as at 5’6″ there is little chance of my reflection appearing in the photo!

I normally dont like completely defocused pictures however as I had a bit of time I had an experiment and took one of their crystal chandelier that works well.

I would like to thank Helen and Susannah for their time, Anita Massarella Design Couture of Leeds for the loan of her wonderful dresses and Kath from The Wedding Flower Company Leeds for arranging a bouquet of flowers at super short notice.

I would also like to thank Richard the head butler at The Mansion who not only doubled up as my assistant from time to time but also made sure I was supplied with all The Mansion’s own bottled water I could want (some say they have their own spring?)

Richard is ace….he reminds me of Alfred the butler in Batman.

If you would like to know more about weddings or corporate events at The Mansion Dine can be contacted on 0345 450 4545.

Last week it was announced that Sir Alan Sugar may soon become Lord Alan Sugar. Ok, I didn’t take Sir Alan’s photos but I did manage to take photos of another Lord at the recent wedding of Helen & David Murphy.

Here is Lord Richard Musgrave having his make-up topped up half way through the wedding breakfast.

Helen tell’s me that he is known to flash his card with his title on to get the best table when booking a restaurant!

I am yet to find out how his came to be a Lord but I am sure I will find out! Helen also said that he is one of the funniest guys she has ever met and I can vouch for that as he had me laughing my head off at Oulton Hall.

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.

You might remember Helen & Peter from their engagement shoot. I have great news…Helen & Peter had a baby girl and they have asked me to take their christening photos this summer!…

Helen & Peter had their wedding at the National Trust property Nostell Priory in Wakefield and were married in Nostell Priory church. Nostell Priory is a stunning venue run by Dine catering renowned for their professionalism and top class organisation of their weddings.

Dine recently invited me back for a wedding fair where I enjoyed chatting with couples about their up-coming wedding plans.

I am looking forward to the Christening and will post some photos of the day later on this year.

You might remember Helen & David’s wedding photos, well I had an email from Kath who supplied the flowers saying that she really liked the photos and would I like to come and see her garden flower studio.

The studio was brimming with flowers and table mock-ups which Kath makes up to show every customer how their wedding flowers will look. She can also supply wedding chair covers, cakes and table decorations so it’s a one stop wedding shop and you know they will all match in colour and style.

Kath is full of energy and we didn’t stop talking all afternoon about flowers and photography. I had a gut feeling that she might be a pisces too, so I asked, and you guessed it she is! No wondered we chatted the afternoon away!

If you have your wedding flowers to organise ring Kath on 0113 255 4938 and see the studio for yourself

The wedding flower company website

Everybody had their fingers crossed yesterday for the weather and it seemed to have worked Helen & David’s wedding missed the worst of it and the sun even paid a visit to bring a shine to the photos.

Helen & David booked with me over a year ago and I’ve been looking forward to their wedding ever since. They had booked an engagement shoot with me as they thought they might need a warm up….

…they didn’t really need it as they are such a natural and down to earth couple.

Helen looked stunning with her hair up

They got married at St.Wilfrids church, Calverley in Leeds. It is a gorgeous church and the priest was lovely.

They had a pink theme wedding and Helen text me on Thursday to ask me if I could get in on the theme. I was wearing a pink tie and I noticed that David was wearing pink socks!

There were a few photos in the church grounds

before throwing the confetti on the way to Oulton Hall.

Oulton Hall is one of my favourite locations and yesterday we took advantage of it’s beautiful setting to take some fab photos….

…including some during the meal and speeches.

The night, for me at least, ended with the first dance…

…but I couldn’t help unpacking my camera from the car to take one last photo.

Helen & David’s photos will be online from 2nd June. Please contact Helen or David for a password to the site.

Ben and Rebecca had been flying around Australia on a year out when they first made contact to see me. When we met up Rebecca spoke of all her wedding plans and her dream for something different when it came to the wedding photography.

On the wedding day the heavens opened and the wind blew a gale but that wasn’t going to stop us getting an album of fabulous photos. Rebecca and Ben even came out for some more photos and skipped dessert where they danced around the fountain at Oulton Hall.

Rebecca was so impressed with the DVD slideshow of her wedding photos that she sent me an email…you can read it in the testimonials section.

Nostell Priory, Wakefield, is a dream venue to have your wedding and I was personally invited to attend and show my photography at their wedding fair this year.

I would like to thank Gordon Watt for sending me his photograph of me chatting with wedding couples about their wedding plans.

Other Wedding fairs I have attended this year include The Craiglands Hotel in Ilkley and The Queens Hotel in Leeds. I will also be at The Bridge Inn at Wetherby on 14th June.