matfen hall northumberland - alan mason

I turned up early at Matfen Hall and found staff putting into place some rather tasteful table decorations designed by the bride.

the picture above shows the bride and grooms chairs, at the top table, several hours prior to the wedding.- this kind of picture is something that can't really be planned - in different lighting conditions - the table might look better from another angle - I was simply lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time for this one.

Alexandra (the bride) and her pals were busy getting ready in one of the guest rooms at Matfen Hall.

Quick as a flash, the photographer and assistant raided the room and located the brides garter.

The garter was unsuspectingly posing on the brides shoes -

hah - in a trice the little devil was captured for eternity. It never knew what happened !

The image below shows the service, held in the Great Hall.at Matfen.

The hall has a rather grand staircase which terminates on a balcony which is extremely useful for a photographer as it allows pictures to be taken during the service very discreetly - no one notices anything !

Alex and her husband steal a moment in a corridor,

I dont know if it's the dress, the suit or the light, but this picture contains quite a bit of atmosphere -

Alex chose this image for her album.

Her groom Thierri certainly didn't need any encouragement in the kissing department !

Hah - a gust of wind - this shot would have been a perfect excuse for that old cliche - the picture of the brides garter (if it were showing - which it isn't)

you need to know the relevance of the car - twas a wedding present from her husband

Happy accident .

a gust of wind,

a camera ready for action,

a smile,

a rather nice image.

I like this sort of thing,

unintrusive

unplanned

simply composed.

A rather more carefully planned image - (I like to do some arty shots when I get a chance) where the pose is organised to exploit the dress to its maximum potential.

Alex liked this picture and it appears in her album.

total number of pictures taken on this wedding was about 300

a photographer in Sunderland argued with me that it is quite unnecessary to take so many pictures - who needs them he yelled (yup - he got quite excited and yelled) his argument was that he takes a lot less than I do and he SELLS every picture that he takes. . . . . . (big deal)

I think that his argument must revolve around 'only working as much as you have to' .

I dont understand the mentality of a photographer who sees a the possibility of a picture and who doesnt take the picture immediately.

Wait for a moment and the moment is gone, recreating the past is both time consuming and almost impossible.

I'd rather take lots of pictures - this gives the bride and groom a really good choice of images for their album - anyway - I actually enjoy making pictures.so it isn't like work, it's fun, and makes me happy. so there . . . .