An Intimate Wedding at The Moorlands Loft - Michelle and Nate

From the start, Michelle and Nate planned a very personal, intimate wedding. The Loft at The Moorlands was a perfect place for them to get married; the perfect size for their guest list of only their closest friends and family.

When Michelle got in touch about their plans she had some ideas of where they would love to have photographs, at Ogden Water Country Park, which is just a few minutes away.

Perfect, I thought, I really enjoy it when a couple come to me with their thoughts on locations, so that we can explore possibilities together and decide on the best for their plans.

Before their wedding day arrived, I met with Michelle and Nate at their hilltop wedding venue, just outside of Halifax and Denholme, to consult on their plans and delve deeper into how their wedding day would look. We took a drive together down to Ogden Water, we each had ideas of how we could use the location for their wedding day couple's shoot, so the location scout together was really valuable to see each other's thoughts in real life and make a plan for the day. For better, for worse - Michelle and Nate embodied their wedding vows before they had even exchanged them. As their wedding day drew close, they received heart breaking news and decided to postpone their wedding day. I can only imagine what a trying time it was for these two, but they pulled together through it all. A few months later, their plans rearranged, family and friends gathered to celebrate with these wonderful two.

The Loft filled with chatter, Nate put on his button hole, with the help of his best man and soon silence fell as everyone waited for Michelle and her father to walk down the aisle.

While Michelle and Nate said their vows it was as though there was nobody else in the room, looking to each other, they made solemn promises and sealed them with their first kiss as husband and wife.

Time to celebrate! Everyone got in line for a big hug with Michelle and Nate and grabbed a glass of champagne to toast their marriage.

Now, this day was one of epic weather. Sideways rain and wind lashed the hills around us, the last thing that you want on your wedding day but we were able to find a little window to sneak off for our couple's shoot at Ogden Water Country Park. Michelle and Nate just embraced it, faced a slightly chilly summer day and hopped over puddles as we walked. It was great fun to get out, enjoy a little break from the busy wedding day (even intimate weddings are FULL of people you want to talk to, moments you don't want to let slip by and so much to do!) and get into nature for a wander through woodland and by the reservoir.

When we returned, the evening reception was getting underway and we jumped straight back into the fun. Michelle's father surprised everyone by standing up to make a speech - maybe that wouldn't be a surprise on most wedding days but these two had planned a day with no speeches. Speaking in his second language, Helmut addressed all of their guests with a brilliant speech.

Michelle and Nate had a cheeky 2-sided cake, with a hidden Batman side. One of the benefits of two cakes in one? You get to cut it twice!

These two played it so cool with their first dance, they've got moves!

As a wedding photographer who travels across the whole of the UK, I regularly find myself working in new locations. Stepping into a new venue opens up vistas of new ideas, opportunities and ensures I don't fall into a pattern of repeating images or envisaging a wedding in a certain way based on the venue I am working at. The beauty of working for couples who are breaking with tradition is that no two weddings are the same. Each of my couples bring their own vision and personality to their day and I work through each wedding, paying particular attention to their individuality, relationships and priorities in order to encapsulate the essence of their wedding. Being a natural wedding photographer, I look to capture the spirit of every wedding day, encapsulate every emotion and create images that speak to the very essence of my brides and grooms' relationships. Hearing about Michelle and Nate's priorities and ideas that they already had about their wedding photography helped me to bring all of this to their wedding day.

A huge thank you to both Michelle and Nate for making me so very welcome as their wedding photographer and for being a dream to work with from the very start. Thank you also to everybody who helped to make their wedding day such a special one.