Foster Photography

Eva and Richie's Wedding

2011-03-21T16:39:00.000-07:00

Eva and Richie are a lovely couple who had decided to tie the knot in February prior to moving to Spain where Eva is from. Their wedding was held at the North Tyneside register office which is housed in the lovely old Martime Chambers building overlooking the Tyne. Eva and Richie opted to book us for only a few hours on the day but the images below give a taster of just how many parts of their special day we were able to capture in this short period.

The weather on the day was wet and windy but that didn't dampen anyone's spirits at the wedding. Whilst waiting for the bride to arrive we captured reportage images of the guests including the smiley father of the groom:
As the ceremony drew nearer, Richie started to show the nerves a little:
Then the car arrived:

And with it Eva, looking absolutely gorgeous:
Eva walked into the room with her proud step-father. If you look closely at this image you can see the reflection of Richie in the mirror catching his first glance at his bride to be:
The ceremony was very touching, with lots of love and laughter involved:
We always bring ivory umbrellas to each wedding we shoot - just in case - and they were definitely appreciated at this one as the guests gathered outside to shower the newlyweds with confetti:

Then it was off to the reception venue:

I loved the personalised bride and groom cake toppers:
With the weather preventing us from taking pictures outside, and only a limited area available inside, we had to get inventive with our composition and direction for the bride and groom shots. The images below prove that you can still get a lovely range of images even when you don't have access to lots of different beautiful settings:
Finally we captured a few shots of the table settings and the guests sitting down to the wedding breakfast, before wishing the couple well and leaving them to the remainder of their day:

If you are interested in booking us to photograph your special day, why not visit our website http://www.sarahandmarkfoster.co.uk/ where you'll find lots more information about our services.

Louise and Mark's Wedding

2011-02-04T08:04:00.000-08:00

Our first wedding of 2011 couldn't have been a nicer one. The wedding was between Louise and Mark, a lovely couple who we instantly felt like we'd known for years. As with many couples, Louise and Mark wanted their wedding day to be captured with beautiful photography but were not particularly looking forward to being photographed themselves. This isn't an unusual reaction but our approach to wedding photography is unobrusive and about getting people to relax, so we reassured them that they would end up enjoying it far more than they could imagine. Louise and Mark had chosen to marry early in January and the weather on the day was wintry bright. They'd chosen to have their ceremony at St Nicholas with Christ Church in Dunston but before we headed there, we called round to both Mark's and Louise's parents houses to say hello and get a few pictures:

After Mark had set off to the church in his car and we knew there would be no risk of him seeing Louise who was next door at her parents house, we headed to see the bride-to-be:

Then it was off to the church to capture some shots of the ushers, the church details and the guests arriving:

As the church began to fill up, Mark looked impressively calm:

Then Louise and her dad arrived in a gorgeous car from Chapel Wedding Cars:

Louise looked beautiful in her tea-length dress and stole:

And Louise's dad couldn't have looked prouder:

Then it was time for the walk up the aisle:

With Mark looking lovingly on:

A beautiful ceremony followed:

Then the walk back down the aisle as Mr and Mrs:

After the service was complete and Louise and Mark had chatted to their guests, we suggested they come back into the now-empty church for a few extra pictures. We stood back to allow them to have their first private catch up of the day and captured their interactions with a long lens:

To the sound of ringing bells, Louise and Mark left the church all smiles:

Then it was off to Low Fell for their reception:

Their car had a wonderful fold-back hood so we were able to get some shots of Louise and Mark leaning out:

Then into Eslington Villa which has a really homely and welcoming feel, and felt especially cosy on a winters day:

Though cold, the sun was shining, and so we headed outside to capture some images in the grounds of the newlyweds with their guests:

We then continued our walk round the grounds with just Louise and Mark:

Then it was back inside into the warmth where the dining room had been beautifully set for the wedding breakfast:

After the meal, the speeches were given and were excellent; giving us plenty of opportunity to capture some fantastic reactions:

It was a lovely wedding and we really enjoyed our role documenting it. Louise, Mark and their guests were fantastic.

We were delighted the next day to get a message from Louise saying 'Just wanted to say a huge thank you for yesterday. It was largely down to you that we enjoyed the day as much as we did as the photos were an area of dread for both of us and many guests commented on how fab you were!'

And we were equally delighted to get further positive feedback once we had delivered the finished images, including a message from Louise's parents thanking us for 'being so professional on the day and keeping the photography so relaxed which is reflected beautifully in the finished results. The photographs are stunning and will be proudly shown off to many friends and family.'

If you are interested in booking us to photograph your special day, why not visit our website http://www.sarahandmarkfoster.co.uk/ where you'll find lots more information about our services.

The End of a Special Year

2010-12-31T08:54:00.000-08:00

In one of our blogs a little while ago we mentioned that we've been busy with more than just other people's weddings this year. The reason? We had decided to tie the knot ourselves too!

Mark had proposed to me when we were holidaying in Barcelona and so, this year, we set about planning our own wedding alongside continuing to photograph other people's. We've attended many weddings as photographers and guests and enjoyed them all - from small to large, traditional to quirky and local to overseas - so our problem was with choosing just one style rather than coming up with ideas in the first place.

We ended up opting for an intimate, relaxed wedding in Gibraltar with just close family as guests. After that had been decided the only diffcult thing left to do was ensure we chose a really good wedding photographer!

We got married in a beautiful garden in hot sunshine on the 1st October this year and followed our service with a walk round the botanical gardens, a lovely meal down at the marina and a trip to the beach. It was an absolutely fantastic day and we enjoyed every minute of it.

We couldn't resist bringing our camera gear and taking some photos ourselves on the day, however we entrusted the capturing of the service and botanical gardens shots to the very lovely Pierre Richardson who did a fantastic job for us. As we are fellow photographers, Pierre was kind enough to agree to provide us with the unedited RAW image files he took at our wedding so, after the event, we were able to post-process the pictures both we and Pierre had taken and from the combination of these we designed our wedding album:

So ends a very special year, full of lots of fantastic weddings including our own. 2010 has been a great year for us, as a couple and as wedding photographers, and we are now looking forward to 2011.

Happy new year to all!

Charity Portrait Shoot

2010-11-30T12:51:00.000-08:00

Earlier this year we were sent an email by a girl called Hannah who was wanting to organise a charity auction to raise money for the British Lung Foundation. The charity is close to Hannah's heart as her dad suffers from a chronic lung condition. Hannah asked if we would consider donating a prize for the auction and so we happily donated a portrait shoot.

Following the auction, we were contacted by Hannah's uncle who had bid to win the portrait session so he could take Hannah on it as a reward for all her efforts. So a couple of weeks ago we met up with Hannah and her Uncle Tony on the Gateshead Quayside for a portrait shoot. The weather was really great for the time of year - cold but crisp and sunny - and we were able to get a good mixture of shots for them.

Hannah told us that the charity auction had been a great success and that they had been able to raise around £500 for the British Lung Foundation which is brilliant news. We had fun doing the photo shoot with them, a few pictures from which are below:

If you are interested in a portrait photography shoot, why not take a look at our portraits gallery and information on our website www.sarahandmarkfoster.co.uk

Baby Paddy

2010-11-29T12:08:00.000-08:00

Earlier this month Sarah's sister-in-law Georgina gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. We couldn't wait to see him and really enjoyed taking some pictures when we visited them. He is a lovely little thing and has got us all smitten. We are looking forward to continuing to photograph him as he grows.

Babies change so quickly that it's great to get some beautiful photographs taken of your newborn to treasure forever. Details of our portrait photography services, which include newborn photography, are available on our website www.sarahandmarkfoster.co.uk

Lisa and Jonny's Wedding

2010-10-23T07:53:00.000-07:00

Well it's been a little while since we last posted anything on our blog. Not only is late summer the busiest time for wedding photography but we've also been wrapped up in something else exciting recently. All will be revealed in a future post!

For now, we wanted to share with you a selection of the images we took at the wedding of Lisa and Jonny. We woke the morning of their wedding to heavy rain and so geared up for a wet wedding. But by the time we got to the church the sun had come out and, whilst the weather remained mixed all day, the sun seemed to come out for every part of the day where the wedding party were outside. So thankfully we didn't need to call upon our selection of umbrellas and the rest of our wet weather rescue kit!

Lisa and Jonny got married at the very pretty St Mary Magdalene Church in Hadnall, Shropshire. Before the groom and his party arrived, we explored the church and captured some of its lovely details:

Then the groom arrived looking smart:

Followed by the wedding guests who headed inside the country church:

Once the guests had been seated, Lisa arrived in a gorgeous vintage Rolls Royce and headed up the aisle on her proud father's arm to a waiting Jonny:

Neither could keep the smiles off their faces as they came back down the aisle as Mr and Mrs and mingled with their guests in the church grounds:

Lisa and Jonny followed their ceremony with a reception at Goldstone Hall Country House:

While the guests enjoyed pimms and cream teas, we got some photos of special guests including Jonny's parents:

We then took Lisa and Jonny for a walk around the grounds to get some photographs of just the two of them:

The marquee where the wedding breakfast was to be held had been set up beautifully, including a fabulous cricket themed table plan which had been handmade by the bride and groom:

The newly-weds entered the marquee to cheers and applause from their guests:

After the meal came the speeches where we were able to capture a fabulous range of emotions, from adoration to tears of joy to fits of laughter:

Well fed, and entertained by the speeches, the guests all headed to watch Lisa and Jonny's first dance:

We really enjoyed photographing Lisa and Jonny's special day. Lisa and Jonny are a lovely couple and their wedding was fabulous and clearly enjoyed by all there.

If you are interested in booking us to photograph your special day, why not visit our website http://www.sarahandmarkfoster.co.uk/ where you'll find lots more information about our services.

Maria and Steve's Wedding

2010-08-03T12:58:00.000-07:00

Maria and Steve got married on a glorious day in July. Maria is originally from Slovakia and met Steve when he was working out there. They had decided to have a very intimate wedding with just close family as guests, held at the very lovely Jesmond Dene House. The exterior and gardens of the house are just gorgeous: Steve looked happy and relaxed chatting with his dad and the registrar before the service:

Then Maria arrived with her mum, looking gorgeous:

The ceremony was lovely and with the two of us shooting we were able to get a great range of pictures without moving around and causing a distraction:

The two of them couldn't stop smiling once they were officially 'Mr and Mrs':

With the sun shining we headed outside after the ceremony so the group could mingle and we could get some lovely candid and posed group shots:

Then we sneaked off with the bride and groom to capture some special images of just the two of them:

We always like to ensure we've captured all the details such as the bouquet and the rings:

In total we spent about 20 minutes getting shots of the bride and groom alone, and the grounds of the hotel provided lots of different and varied backdrops:

Maria and Steve had admitted in advance of the day that they were not looking forward to having their picture taken, which makes getting images like this all the better (you can't fake laughter like that!):

Finally we captured a few images of them cutting the cake and sitting down to dinner, before we left them to the rest of their celebrations:

We turned around the post processing of Maria and Steve's images even quicker than usual in order to have them posted before we went off on holiday, and it was lovely to get back to a message of thanks and to hear that we'd 'made the photo part of the wedding day a very relaxed and comfortable experience'. We really enjoyed taking the photos and being a part of their day, so it's great to hear the enjoyment was mutual.

If you are interested in booking us to photograph your special day, why not visit our website http://www.sarahandmarkfoster.co.uk/ where you'll find lots more information about our services.

Laura and Dave's Post Wedding Shoot

2010-06-28T15:34:00.000-07:00

Laura and Dave got married between Christmas and New Year when opportunities for daylit photos were limited. So Laura held off on getting her dress drycleaned and we agreed to all get together in the summer to take some more photos of her in her amazing Leigh Hetherington dress. I love post wedding shoots because everyone is relaxed and we can take our time getting great shots without worrying about detracting from their time with guests or getting the wedding dress a bit grubby. That said, with a dress as gorgeous as Laura's we'd all decided in advance that the aim of the photo shoot was definitely more Cherish the Dress than Trash the Dress.

We arranged to meet and take a route round the Newcastle-Gateshead Quayside using lots of different locations on the way. We were really pleased to hear Dave was as up for the shoot as Laura as we find catching the interplay between a couple always provides far more creative options. Laura and Dave were both great fun to photograph and were happy to go along with all our different photo ideas.

We started at the Baltic and Blinking Eye bridge:

The back of Laura's dress was so gorgeous we made sure we showed it off in the photos:

The early start was all made worthwhile by the lovely deserted Quayside pictures we were able to get:

Laura and Dave were naturals and made all our suggested poses look fabulous:

The cathedral made a gorgeous backdrop:

In a quiet corner we asked them to re-live their first dance:

While Mark kept a look out for cars, we grabbed some middle-of-bridge shots:

And we finished the session with a splash of colour by some fabulous graffiti murals:

If you too would like a good excuse to put on your wedding dress again and get some fabulous pictures to complement your wedding day images, what are you waiting for? Get in touch and ask us about our Post Wedding Shoot packages. www.sarahandmarkfoster.co.uk

Debbie and Jason's Wedding

2010-06-15T14:08:00.000-07:00

We've finally got round to creating a blog, and what better way to kick start it off than to post some of our favourite shots from the recent wedding of Debbie and Jason.

Debbie is the sister of one of last year's brides, Fiona, and her and new hubby Jason are a lovely couple. The wedding was held in Leyland, near Preston, and the weather was just gorgeous which meant the ceremony could be held outdoors. A great day was had by all, including us!

We were able to capture some lovely moments before the ceremony:

Debbie looked stunning:

I love the look of pride on Debbie's father's face in this picture:

And the smiles of relief once the ceremony was over:

Then came the drinks reception:

Debbie with the guys:

Some detail shots:

We love catching expressions during the speeches:

The lovely cake had been made by a very talented relative:

An intimate moment between father and daughter:

Debbie's chief bridemaid was her sister Fiona, whose wedding we photographed last year. Excitingly, Fiona is now heavily pregnant and we are looking forward to hearing of the new arrival:

Debbie and Jason had been nervous about being the focus of the day's photographs but we managed to get them to relax and their happiness really shines through in the photos:

Finally, some photos of the first dance:

And the bride dancing with her father:

Thanks for sharing your special day with us Debbie and Jason. We wish you a lifetime of happiness together.

If you are interested in booking us to photograph your special day, why not visit our website www.sarahandmarkfoster.co.uk where you'll find lots more information about our services.