Brian Harte People Photographer

Last month I had the pleasure to photograph Ruth & David Liddicoat’s wedding at Goldsborough Hall near Harrogate.

The day was gloriously sunny and unusually warm for May. Ruth arrived a little after noon to have her make-up and to get ready with her bridesmaids.

Ruth’s dress was a lovely Ian Stewart dress and her shoes were sparkly Jimmy Choo!

I placed Ruth’s bracelet on the layers of her underskirt to make this gentle photograph.

I knew the day was going to be fun as everyone was super relaxed…

Even dad was relaxing as I sneaked this photo…

The wedding ceremony was held in the Sir Richard Hutton room and I think while waiting for Ruth David may have been a little nervous, even if he wasn’t showing it too much.

David didn’t have to wait too long before Ruth arrived…

He even resisted (for a while) a quick glance over his shoulder.

And when they saw each other they couldn’t contain their excitement.

After their vows they had a quick kiss…

…and their signing of the register.

As they walked out from the ceremony they glanced across to me for a quick photo framed by the arch way and with the chandelier and their waiting champagne in the background.

As the weather was so wonderful everybody went out in to the beautiful gardens to mingle and have canapés.

The Sun was moving around quickly so I changed my plans and decided to take the big group photo while they were all backlit. From a 2nd floor window I was able to get a shot of all the guests and the wonderful gardens and woodland of Goldsborough Hall.

I could tell a few of the guests were now itching to throw their confetti so we made our way around to the main entrance…

Previously, when I was looking around the Hall for spots to take photos, I had met Mark Oglesby who owns the family home of Goldsborough Hall. Mark told me about a few of the lesser known photo spots, one of them an old twisted tree….I think I found it!

We then went on a walk around the Hall taking photos at the different places along the way.

Again thank you to Mark for telling me about the hidden urns!

Goldsborough Hall has fantastic gardens and a stunning quarter mile Lime Tree Walk…

…each planted by Royalty and on this plaque it reads Tilia Europaea var. Handsworthensis, planted by H.R.H. The Prince of Wales 27th May 1923.

There was just enough time to take one last photo

…before it was time for the guests to be seated. I took the opportunity to shoot a few of the details in the Princess Mary’s drawing room.

Their cake was from an Italian deli in York called Le Langhe with the top and bottom layers a plum and almond tart and the middle layer a rich raspberry tart.

Speeches were fun with a plunger being pulled out at one point to embarrass David

I love to get character portraits of the bridal party and guests during the speeches.

…but the best wedding speech portrait was of this little cheeky baby.

During the speeches I learned that Ruth was quite musical and liked to play, amongst other instruments, the piano. So I borrowed their wedding rings for this shot on the piano keys.

We hadn’t had time to take photos on the staircase before the meal so we took a moment for a few more photos.

Including one with with reflections that repeated in facing mirrors on the staircase.

Before I knew it the time had come for their first dance and I could tell that they had been practising.

For their second dance everybody joined in.

The evening entertainment was Ceilidh dancing with the Yorkshire ceilidh band Dogsbody

There was a surprise when Ruth’s mum pulled out her daughters violin and asked her to join the band in playing a couple of songs dear to their heart.

Ruth played Callum’s Road and Mrs Macleod of Raasay. Her family knew Callum about whom the song Callum’s Road was written and her grandfather is from the island of Raasay in the Hebrides in Scotland….it is also where David proposed!

David looked on very proud of his new wife.

Then the dancing really started and I ducked and dived through the ceilidh dancers to record the fun.

A very big thank you, Ruth & David, for choosing me as your wedding photographer.

 

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Ruth’s make-up was by Bonita B, the beautiful flowers were supplied by Angie Walker (01423 358471/07803 596625), the bridesmaids dresses were a Mori Lee design from Confetti and Lace in Harrogate, the wedding cake was by Le Langhe in York, and of course the Ceilidh band!

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.

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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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