Barter Books Alnwick (Chris & Katy's Pre-wedding shoot)

Going back to October 2012, I finally got a chance to visit Barter Books in Alnwick, Northumberland. It's an amazing second hand book shop, set inside the old train station. It is quite famous for another reason as to being a great book shop. It was in this very shop that the Keep Calm and Carry on poster was re-discovered hiding in a box of books and ended up being popular around the world! It is a very quirky place, and as soon as I walked in I started coming up with ideas for a shoot there in future. I dropped them an email afterwards and they said they'd be happy for me to take some photographs there. 

I hadn't found the perfect couple to photograph there, until I met Chris & Katy, nearly 18 months later. When we first met up to chat about their wedding, they revealed they both love books and met working in a branch of Waterstones. Well I immediately suggested my idea of having a pre-wedding shoot in Barter Books, so not only was I delighted that they booked me (hehe, pun!) to photograph their wedding, they also loved the idea and went with it!

We chose to pop up to their wedding venue, Ellingham Hall first. This was to look around as they wanted to come up with some ideas with me there, given that they hadn't seen the grounds in daylight before.  The other reason was to spend 10 minutes or so for them to feel a bit more at ease in front of the camera first, as it was the middle of the school holidays and we knew Barter Books would be busy! Well it worked, Katy & Chris were fabulous to work with and I was thrilled that I finally got a chance to shoot in this amazing place. I did research before and couldn't find any other examples of a shoot like this in Barter Books yet, so will be interesting to see if I get further request from any book-loving couples in future :D Thanks  so much to Natalie, a great photographer and friend who assisted me on the shoot too. 

Thanks so much to Katy & Chris for being so fab and easygoing, Natalie for her help and for Barter Books for allowing us to take photographs there on a busy summer's day. 

 I cannot wait to be part of Katy & Chris' wedding next year..... I hear there may be a bit of a book theme running through the day, eek!! 

Copyright Katie Byram Photography. Photographs must not be used without written permission of the photographer. 

If you're looking for fun, relaxed & quirky wedding photography for 2015/2016 please drop me a line through my website...  to check availability and have a natter about your wedding. 

Minsteracres & Lord Crewe Arms Blanchland Wedding (Shaun & Jo)

Shaun & Jo got married in May 2014 at the very beautiful St Elizabeth's church within Minsteracres Religious Retreat Centre. I knew that their day was going to be full of fun, colour and laughter, and after their extremely cute Up-themed pre-wedding shoot  I was very excited about their big day.

Jo's gorgeous wedding dress was a Phoenix Bridal gown, customised especially for her and from Wild Brides at Heart in Durham. Her shoes were by Irregular Choice .

Her and her bridesmaids opted for a cute and quirky 50's style for their hair, make up and dresses.
When I arrived at the house there was such a buzz, and the dogs were very excited to be involved too!

                           Jo had specially customised dressing gowns for her ladies, so cute!

 Jo's Grandma was so happy and smiley, I love these shots of her getting ready!

 After the ceremony, and lots of confetti, the couple treated their guests to ice creams outside the church, and the gorgeous ice cream van from Scoops and Smiles came along so that everyone could enjoy a sweet treat. What was so nice was that they got some time to stay there outside the church and take in the gorgeous surroundings, enjoy an ice cream and hug the happy couple. 

The guests then hopped on a vintage double decker bus from Promotions Buses to take them to the Lord Crewe Arms in Blanchland. The happy couple chose a black vintage police car from Brooklands Wedding Cars, and the bridesmaids were in a black London cab from the same company.

The Lord Crewe Arms in Blanchland has been beautifully renovated and Jo & Shaun were the first couple to have their wedding reception there since the grand re-opening.  

All photographs copyright Katie Byram Photography and must not be used without written permission. If you're looking for quirky, relaxed wedding photography for your big day in 2015 or 2016, please feel free to drop me a message via my website to check availability and to have a chat!