Phew..

No rest for the wicked and after a (very) hectic weekend I'm back at the coal-face designing not one, but three, new Wedding albums, and I just had to show you a couple of shots from the first one I've worked on today.. an absolutely gorgeous pairing of 'arm' shots, and a great way to show the front and back of Wendy's dress on one page.

Anyway, it was great to see everyone down at the One-Off Wedding Fayre yesterday, and I'm so pleased so much came out of it including, for me, a booking there and then on the day! Unusual, these days! So now it's downhill fast to the next one. I'm at Blackburne House, on Hope Street in Liverpool, this coming Saturday. Get down there if you can!

Now, please excuse me.. I have albums to work on!

BST - Bridal Show Time!

Today's the day, folks! The One-Off' Wedding Fayre is finally here, so hit the road and get on down to sunny Glazebury to meet me and my wedding specialist cohorts! Our informal 'meet the experts' day kicks off at 11am, so you can be home again in time to sunbathe in the garden this afternoon! I'm really looking forward to meeting some great couples!

He shoots, he scores ..

We watched a real charmer of a film last night! Sixty Six! I'd never heard of it, but decided it looked fun so ordered it from Love Film! It's really sweet! All about a Jewish boy who realises his BarMitzvah is going to be on the same day as the 1966 World Cup Final. Highly recommended! I threw in a shot of my brother's football team - circa 1976 - to go with the theme!

Anyway, that's got nothing to do with me reminding you that the One-Off Wedding Fayre is THIS SUNDAY! How exciting! I've never organised my own Wedding Fayre before so I'm obviously really keen to see how it goes down. Hopefully I'll get a kick out of it, it'll be in a league of its own and we'll score a few successes on the day..

A day off ... like, yeah!

Another corny play on the word 'Spring' for ya today, but I don't care!
It's SPRING, everybody! Hurrah!

So, I've actually got a bit of a quiet day today. I finished another Wedding album yesterday, and I'm just waiting for one of December's brides to give me her choice of images so that I can start on the next one but, until then, I do believe I have the day off! Well, I say 'Day Off' .. I need to spot the rest of my 'Boardom' set of images, scan about 50 more 35mm negs from my old XA days, cut down the buddleia in the garden, wash the car, nip up to Preston for a meeting, go to the lab to collect a test roll of 120 that I just put through my old Yashicamat .. and do a mail-shot for all the brides on my data-base to remind them about the 'One-Off' Wedding Fayre. God, I can't wait to get back to work!

Oh, by the way, the bungee jump shot was taken in Oz when I was travelling... It's a cool Flickr site! Oh, that reminds me .. I need to upload some new shots to Flickr, too!!

No sitting around ..

No time for sitting about this week as the countdown has begun for my 'One-Off Wedding Fayre this Sunday. It's really coming together well, with the addition on Friday of a bridal make-up lady, a hairdresser and a jeweller, and everybody that's on board loves the concept. This won't be a 'Wedding Fayre' in the traditional sense, rather a more informal 'Come and have a chat with the experts' afternoon, with no hard-sell, lots of free advice .. and cup-cakes! If you're into Facebook and tweeting, then please spread the word!

One thing you won't be seeing on Sunday is a shoe-repairer, as they'll all be out shooting Weddings! Honestly, did you see that article this weekend about Timpsons Shoe Repair? They're thinking of branching out into Wedding Photography! Pictures with sole, as I've branded it! I wonder if they'll aim for the well-heeled market? Well, cobblers to them, that's all I can say!

Spring? No, it's a lake!..

Puny jokes aside, it's great to see that Spring is definitely in the air now, and I'm itching to get cracking on my Wedding season 'proper'! I've just sent out my first 'Coffee-Table' Story-book of the year, and can't help wondering just how many more I'll send out before the end of 2012. This year, as an addition to my great packages, I'm including a low-resolution CD of all images from each Wedding .. ideal for sharing your images on Flickr or Facebook and fantastic value when you consider my Wedding coverage starts from only £499 !!

Oh, and don't forget, the Raven Inn 'One-Off' Wedding Fayre is getting closer .. less than a fortnight now for your chance to come chat with the experts!

Happy Leap Year!..

Hey, Feb 29th .. .and time for all you young ladies to propose to your man! Do it now or wait another four years! Like, oh yeah, I can't see today's modern woman sticking to that rigorous anacronism! Anyway, I've taken a leap with my thinking about the One-Off Wedding Fayre, and changed the concept from a busy, confusing Wedding Fayre to a laid-back, relaxed get-together with a select set of experienced Wedding suppliers! Instead of traipsing around a cluttered, crowded hall, visitors can come and have a Sunday pint and a cup-cake with me and my friends in the Wedding trade .. everyone from Rolls-Royce owners to florists, cake designers and cutting Wedding film makers. Sounds nice, doesn't it!

Today's photograph is one I took about 30 years ago - pre health and safety, I would guess - to illustrate a story about a guy who was going to make a parachute jump with his dog! Leap year, parachute jump .. see what I did there? Anyway, we togged the poor pooch up in goggles and a bandana and I had the owner throw him up in the air one or nineteen times. Then, as luck would have a it, a jet flew past, right in shot, so we launched Lassie skywards just in time to get the plane in the background. How they got on is anyone's guess. I hope it wasn't a leap too far...

Going swimmingly...

Sorry, I've had the phrase 'plain sailing' in my head since I wrote yesterday's blog, so I just had to pile into my travel photography folders to get you a suitable image to look at! It's ironic it's a mast-head, as the front page of the Daily Mirror has just popped up onto my Facebook page with the news that 75 jobs are to go in the newspaper group. My friend's a staff photographer on the Mirror .. I hope his job's alright! (I noticed, too, another photographer's studio has shut down near to where I live! Help!!!)

Anyway, let's not dwell on negatives (Hey, is that a photographers' joke?)  Things are going swimmingly (See what I did, there?) for my Wedding Fayre, which I've decided to call the One-Off Wedding Fayre, as it'll feature just one example of each of a range of Wedding suppliers. (With it so far?) So often brides go to Wedding Fayres and they're swamped and confused by five photographers, four nail-technicians etc., etc., so this way they'll simply get the best of each discipline. (And I don't need to add anything in brackets!)
Simples!