Wedding: Victoria & David, a Beautiful Winter Wedding at Wortley Hall

On Saturday I had the pleasure of photographing Victoria & David's Wedding at Wortley Hall. I love Weddings at the best of times, however, I've known Victoria for probably over 15 years through her Chief Bridesmaid Rebecca. I also got to photograph Victoria & David's twin girls both as newborns and for their cake smash.

I started with Victoria, her parents and the girls, Charlotte & Amelia before the other bridesmaids Rebecca, Kathryn and Amy joined us for final hair preparations and then get dressed to go and celebrate the Wedding.

I am sure you will agree that Victoria looked absolutely beautiful in her Wedding dress, which went against everything she said she originally wanted which I find is usually the case. But it suited her down to the ground and was perfect for her Wedding and the venue. 

And her Dad couldn't contain his emotions upon entering the room and seeing all of his girls dressed and ready for the celebrations.

Victoria, Dad and Bridesmaids all headed down the beautiful staircase at Wortley Hall before I went into the Ceremony Room where David was waiting with his Best Man, Matthew, and the rest of the guests awaiting the entrance of the Bridal Party.

A beautiful short civil ceremony, including a reading by Chief Bridesmaid but more importantly filled with lots of love, laughter and of course some tears...

We headed outside for some photographs, it had been raining most of the morning and was threatening to rain some more but luckily we managed to get some photographs outside despite the ground still being very soggy in a few places. It was very cold so we tried not to keep the guests and children outside for too long and Victoria was great being outside before she turned purple from the cold! Great Sport!

We all headed inside for some warmth before speeches were delivered by Dad, Groom and Best Man. Short and Sweet before dinner was served and the new Mr and Mrs could continue to celebrate with their guests.

Thank you for choosing me to share your special day.

Advice: What to do with your Digital Files - Backup!

Whether you have taken lots of photographs of your little one on your phone, or purchased the digital files from your Professional Photographer the one thing you need to remember to do is back these files up. 

When I was at school we used to save everything onto floppy disc (careful! I'm only 32!) which obviously became obsolete with the introduction of CD's and USB's. But CD's can get scratched (and lost) and USB's can get hidden in a drawer never to be found again.

So, apart from printing your beautiful photographs you've purchased instead of them just sitting in a drawer on your USB, make sure your images are backed up elsewhere. You don't want to be moving house in 3 years time and accidentally throwing away your USB cos you forgot what is on it - or its lost in the house move. Because unless you printed them those images are now gone, and most photographers purge their systems after 12 months so you cannot rely on your photographer still having your images either.

So where can you back up:
You can save images to Google Drive, iCloud, Dropbox and even Amazon Prime has online cloud storage.

You can save images to your computer or external hard-drive - but remember if either of these fail (as things can) then you've possibly lost the images too.
Cloud storage is probably one of the most popular methods of storage now - and whilst some things are free, and some things are paid for, never put all your images just in one place.

Same really goes for phone images. I see so many people devastated when their child has sent their phone swimming, or its had to be reset or its been lost or stolen and people only want their images of their kids back. Whilst uploading them to Facebook is one option, not everyone wants to keep all their photos on it.

So again you can use the above suggested items or even set up an email account, for example bobbysphotos@gmail.com and email them once a week to that email address go in and read the emails check they've sent properly and then they'll always be an attachment on that email!

What ways do you back up your files? Do you have a system in place? Would love to hear your tips and tricks!

Engagement: Planning on Popping the Question?

It doesn't really matter when you are planning to propose who you are planning to propose to. Some of this information you'll want to follow - and some you'll want to completely ignore and that's fine. 

Have you talked about it?
It might sound really funny - but before you think about proposing, have you actually talked about getting married or spending the rest of your lives together? It's not a definite must, but it's something that could plan how things are going to pan out!

If you've not recently talked about it then look at other things. How long have you been together? Are things good? Are you living together? But most importantly if you feel deep down she's going to say yes - then ask her!
What did Dad say?
Have you asked her Dad? I know it tends to be seen as a bit old-fashioned, but a lot of people still like to think it's not about permission its courtesy. Some women will love the fact that you went to her dad to ask.

Of course if sometimes Dad's aren't in the picture then look at asking mum instead. 

Tell the parents your intentions before buying a ring - just in case it goes drastically wrong!

The Ring
As a woman, we all like to be surprised, and by now you probably have an idea of what type of thing that she is into. There are so many things to think of when choosing a ring, it's not just a case of going in and going "oo this one will do". If need be, ask people who know her the best for feedback. Ask her mum, her best friend or her sister. And if need be, take them with you when buying.

Ready to go shopping?
Jewellers will baffle you with science, and mention the Four C's quite a lot: Colour, Carat, Clarity and Cut.

The Different Cuts of  Diamonds available

Cut is generally one of the most important parts of choosing the diamond - with colour being the next. A big diamond with a poor colour, will cost less than a smaller diamond with a very good grade of colour.

How much should it cost?
Really - it should cost what you can afford, or what you are willing to pay.  You might think that she might want some really big fancy flashy diamond. But she might not either, and she might not want you to get into lots of debts.

A lot of people say it should cost one month's salary, some say two, some even say three. But in general - it's what you can really afford. And if it's something that you are planning in advance you have time to save to get the best you can - without getting into debt. If you leave ring shopping to the last minute - you might have to take out finance or settle for something just because of what your bank balance says.

Where will you say "Will You"?
Are you planning on making a big fuss with the proposal? It doesn't have to be something completely out of the realms of reality. It could be your favourite restaurant - you don't need to book somewhere fancy. It could be where you first met. Or somewhere that has some significance to you both. Are you going to make it a super private affair, or have some friends waiting in the wings to celebrate with you? Just be yourself and don't over think it!

On one Knee?
If you are planning on proposing somewhere like a restaurant, then sometimes there would be a possibility that you may not think about going down on one knee. However, chances are most women have thought about being proposed to since being a child and how things are going to plan out and going down on one knee is one of those. However, bad joints? Bad back then I'm sure she'll forgive you after all you've probably just said lots of gushingly lovely things to her about how you want to spend the rest of your life together.


Good Luck!! 

Things To Do: 100 Things To Do With the Kids in Yorkshire and Surrounding Areas!

I know it can be hard to think of new places to go with the kids and especially if you've got children of different ages.

So I have come up with, with the help of asking on social media, 100 places to visit with the kids. MOST of the places are in Yorkshire but some are further afield. I can tell you that this list is not exhaustive there is plenty more out there too!

Enjoy!

Barnsley

• Cannon Hall Farm
• Elsecar Heritage Centre
• Elsecar Park
• Locke Park
• Pot House Hamlet
• Wentworth Castle
• Wigfield Farm
• Worsbrough Mill

Rotherham

• Aston Springs Farm
• Clifton Park
• Magna
• Roche Abbey
• Rother Valley Country Park
• Tropical Butterfly House
• Wentworth Garden Centre
  

Doncaster

• Boston Park Farm
• Conisbrough Castle
• Cusworth Hall
• Doncaster Dome
• Yorkshire Wildlife Park

Sheffield

• Abbeydale Miniature Railway
• Emergency Services Museum
• Endcliffe Park
• Graves Park
• Heeley City Farm
• Ice Sheffield
• Kelham Island Museum
• Langsett Reservoir
• Manor Oaks Farm
• Mayfield Alpacas
• Millhouses Park
• Ponds Forge
• Sheffield Botanical Gardens
• Whirlow Hall Farm
• Underbank Activity Centre
• Paradise Island Golf

Leeds

• Lotherton Hall
• Rainbow Factory
• Royal Armouries
• Temple Newsam
• Thackray Medical Museum
• Tropical World
• Swithens Farm
• Middleton Railway

Wakefield

• National Coal Mining Museum
• Newmillerdam
• Nostell Priory
• Pugneys
• Room On The Broom Trail
• Yorkshire Sculpture Park
• Thornes Park
• Hemsworth Water Park
• Charlottes

Castleford

• Diggerland
• Xscape

Huddersfield & Halifax

• Eureka
• Rex Cinema
• Ponderosa
• Kirklees Light Railway
• Visit Holmfirth
• Yummy Yorkshire

York & North Yorkshire

• Castle Howard
• Jorvik Viking Centre
• National Railway Museum
• The Web Adventure Park
• York Castle Museum
• Yorks Chocolate Story
• Stockeld Park
• Hesketh Farm
• Thornton Hall
• Fountains Abbey
• Flamingo Land
• The Forbidden Corner

Derbyshire & The Peak District

• Hardwick Hall
• Bolsover Castle
• Visit Castleton
• Conkers
• Padley Gorge Walk
• Renishaw Hall & Gardens
• Hathersage Outdoor Swimming Pool
• Gullivers Kingdom
• Heights of Abraham
• Matlock Bath Aquarium
• Chatsworth House
• Trans Pennine Trail

Nottinghamshire

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• Rufford Abbey
• Sherwood Pines
• Wheelgate Park
• White Post Farm
• Sundown Adventure Land
• Clumber Park

Others

• Blackpool Zoo
• Blue Planet - Cheshire
• Chester Zoo
• Beamish - Durham
• The Deep - Hull
• Leogland Discovery Centre - Manchester
• Sealife Centre - Manchester
• Drayton Manor
• CBeebies Land

Please click on the links to find out more including opening times, prices and travel directions. And I hope you enjoy making lots of magical memories with your little ones.

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