From the first call to discuss your wedding photography to when your big day finally arrives, I am always there for you to go through things and give helpful advice for you. Together we can plan your wedding photography from bridal prep & groom prep right through to your Sparkler Exit....
Bridal Prep
This is one area of your wedding day that really captures the moments and excitement before you walk down the aisle. Its time spent with your close bridesmaids and moments with you parents. Having some drinks to calm your nerves and prepare you for the day.
My style of wedding photography allows you to still enjoy the time with your bridesmaids without me being intrusive.
Photos of your hair and make-up being done are great photos to capture and ones that add to your full wedding gallery and tells the story of your special wedding day.
Wedding Car
The wedding car Rachael and John had was stunning and worked really well for photos. For their wedding day they had decided to go over to Gawthorpe Hall to get some photos after the ceremony and the wedding car was perfect parked up outside. The wedding car was also a surprise for Rachael and thankfully John had made me aware of this during our pre-wedding meetings leading up to their wedding day. The photo of Rachael looking out through the wedding was when the groomsmen arrived in the wedding car, and I had Rachael and her bridesmaids prepared for the photo.
The Lawrence Hotel - Wedding Venue
This 200-year-old, grade ll listed Wedding Venue in the heart of East Lancashire is a stunning boutique hotel. The Lawrence Hotel caters for those special small intermit weddings of just 15 guests to the larger of over 120 guests. You can also hire the whole wedding venue for your big day which is what Rachael and John did here.
Gawthorpe Hall - Padiham
The Lawrence Hotel is just around the corner from the stunning National Trust mansion of Gawthorpe Hall. Affectionately referred to as the ‘Downton of the North’, Gawthorpe Hall was redesigned in the 1850s by Sir Charles Barry, designer of the Houses of Parliament and the ‘real’ Downton Abbey, Highclere Castle.
The modest Hall houses the North West’s largest collection of portraits on loan from the National Portrait Gallery as well as The Gawthorpe Textiles Collection, a wonderful collection of intricate lace, embroidery and needlework amassed by Miss Rachel Kay-Shuttleworth.
There are lots of options here for some nice wedding photos with huge gardens and woodland area to explore. You will need to buy a permit from The National Trust to come here and take photos so please do not just show up on the day or you will be turned away.
The Wedding Ceremony
At the Lawrence Hotel in Padiham the wedding ceremony is very intermit and cosy. For Rachael and John there were approx. 60 wedding guests for their wedding ceremony. At the far end of the Wedding Hall there are some large bi-fold doors which let a lot of natural light into the Ceremony Room. This is great for the photos and if you need to use a flash the low-level white ceiling is perfect for bouncing any flash off.
The service and staff at The Lawrence Hotel we perfect and they were on hand for anything that was needed. Michael, was the guy who ushered everybody after the Wedding Ceremony, and we headed straight out to the front of the hotel for a big Group Photo and then the Confetti Shots.
This was the moment before they exchanged rings and said those famous words in front of all the family and friends.
Getting married is a big step and working with good vendors will make your day flow and be as stress-free as possible.
If you would like to check my availability for your wedding day, you can enquire below...
Formal Photos
There are plenty of options for formal photos at The Lawrence Hotel in Padiham. Rachael and John had booked a wedding photography slot at The Gawthrope Hall which is just 5 minutes' drive away. This worked perfectly for Rachael and John and just the bridesmaids, groomsmen headed out over to Gawthorpe Hall for 60-minutes of formal wedding photography.
At The Lawrence Hotel there are outside photography locations for your wedding photos however when we landed back at The Lawrence the rain came and we decided to have some formal guest wedding photos inside. The staff at The Lawrence helped move a few things around in one of the rooms and within a few minutes we were all set ready to do some formal guest wedding photos.
Wedding Entertainment
For the Evening Reception Rachael and John had booked a Wedding DJ for the night but for the in-between times why had booked a Magician called Magic Mark! He was great and mingled with the guests doing magic tricks which left them all shocked and surprised.
Cutting The Cake & First Dance
The formalities of the Evening Reception are the cutting of the Wedding Cake and The First Dance. Some wedding couples choose to do a Father and Daughter Dance before the First Dance with their Husband. For Rachael and John, they went straight into the First Dance and then towards the end of their Dance they invited all the wedding guest to join in....
The Sparkler Exit
If you are thinking of having a Sparkler Exit there are a few things you need to do to prepare for this. You can not just have them as a surprise to everyone, especially the Wedding Photographer and the Wedding Venue. As you can imagine there are a few Health & Safety concerns and the Wedding Venue have to have a few safety things in place ready.
Location is also a big thing to think about. Some Wedding Venues will only allow you to do a Sparkler Exit in one specific location. To get the best photos of your Sparkler Exit, you need to have space so that people are not burning each other with the sparklers or even worse, burn the Wedding Dress for example. You are also best choosing a location which is quite dark so that the sparklers pop more on the dark background.
The Lawrence Hotel has a nice dark alleyway on the left-hand side of the Hotel which works well for the Sparkler Exit. If there is a downside, it can be quite tight here, so you don't need a large group of people with the Sparklers. Rachael and John had a Sparkler Exit which you can see some photos below;
The Lawrence Hotel - Padiham
If you are looking for a Wedding Venue around the Burnley & Padiham area, then I would certainly take a look at The Lawrence Hotel. It will tick a lot of boxes for many Wedding Couples and is in a very good location for wedding guest to get a taxi or minibus home after your big day.
Get in touch with The Lawrence Hotel and see what they can offer you...
28 Church St, Padiham, Lancashire BB12 8HG
Tel: 01282 771804
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