A month ago I got to second shoot and assist the fabulous Chris Thornton at Sam & Paul’s west yorkshire wedding. I was super excited about this one as they were having a roman catholic ceremony at St Anne’s Cathedral in Leeds. I was baptised roman catholic but I’m not a religious person and I was truly interested in seeing this wedding. I know the morals from the childrens bible and I’ve been to mass but never been confirmed and I’m far more spiritual in nature than religious. Anyway, the main difference I found was the holy communion which I’ve been witness to before but this time I paid full attention and I love witnessing their time and blessing from God. I truly enjoy seeing the different styles of church ceremonies out there.

I focused on groom preparation photos with Paul, but I just managed to squeeze in a flying trip to the brides to shoot her dress and say hello to Sam and the main photographer Chris. Before heading over to hang out with the boys and Pauls’ family. A good Irish family who were wonderfully welcoming, solicitous and kind. The boys were fun and a little flustered with their ties and cufflinks and what to do with keeping the wedding rings super safe. I loved the family inclusion of the little flower girl and ring bearer, too cute.

Sam & Paul were married in the gorgeous St Anne’s Cathedral in Leeds and the reverand was a lovely fellow. Happy, measured and calm. I love people that have an inner peace like him, where everyone feels at ease in their company. I liked his interaction and the way he made both Sam & Paul laugh so much throughout the ceremony.

To finish up their day the held their reception at Rogerthorpe Manner Hotel in Pontefract. With gorgeous grounds and a wonderful sunset with only a hint or rain here or there in the evening, it was a perfect ending to their day.

Thank you to Chris for asking me to assist and to Paul for a wonderful morning and to both of you I wish you a very happy and long life together. Congratulations!

Ps. I was DETERMINED to ‘catch’ the flash when photographing behind the scenes photos of Chris working. It’s a little fuzzy because I was hand holding the shot at I think 1/20 th of a second and trying to capture Chris taking a photo which fires the flash at the same time, while not disturbing them… well it was a lot of luck and stubborness in getting this. I wanted this shot.

Thankfully only Chris will ever know how many attempts it took!