Tom Arber Photography Blog

 

Happy New Year to you all.

It’s a new season, a new month and a time for new blogs and weddings. It’s been a busy year for us, not just in terms of weddings but in the new addition to our family that has given us a LOT more to do. It’s definitely been fun though, and with Becky now on board, our wedding service will become a well oiled machine in the years to come.

Carrying on in our ‘new’ style, here’s another blog told through the eyes of bride and groom Shaun and Michelle.  Their wedding at The Black Swan in Helmsley was really intimate with only a handfull of family and friends.  I was lucky enough to form a good relationship with Shaun and Michelle as they carefully planned their wedding.  I have never seen soo many amazing finishing touches intricately designed and made for their day.

I would tell you more, but I think they can say it better. So in their own words, here’s the wedding of Shaun & Michelle, told by Michelle with some lovely insights from Shaun.

 

Their Story…

We met when we both enlisted onto a Graphic Design course in Leicester in the mid 80’s, we became rivals firstly, then good friends through the second year. We kept that friendship going over the following years until one day in the mid to late 90’s we became an item!
On 14th February 2007, I guess we’d reached a stage where we felt comfortable and secure in our lives and each other, we had been together over a decade, were closer than ever and more in love that we’d ever been. It did blow me away though, when Shaun popped the question on Valentines Day morning…with a strategically placed card on the dashboard of my beetle!! I got home that night after work to a candle lit house and home cooked three-course dinner! 

We started looking around at venues within a few months, but were unable to find that one really special place…then unfortunately because of family circumstances we postponed our plans for a couple of years. In April 2010 on a weekend away we saw the perfect Wedding rings, it sort of kick started plans again, looking for that dress then became my biggest mission, as nothing else could be arranged until I knew I had that dress!! We then heard about a vintage wedding fair happening in Harrogate in the September…this was the catalyst! I found Julie (From this day forward), an amazing dress maker of vintage dresses with a modern twist, she instantly understood what I wanted and sketched out the perfect dress, we also found DJ’s Matt and Annabel (it’s a wind Up) who play 78’s on wind up gramophones, music from the 1920’s to the 50’s. We found Lynette (nice icing) who makes the most amazing cakes, so beautifully decorated. We could then look at venues again! Returning to The Black Swan in Helmsley one weekend that same month, made us realise we had found our perfect venue! While in Helmsley we booked the local florist, Gemma (Topiary Tree) who again really understood the look and feel of what I wanted to achieve on the day. So all was booked in a matter of weeks…we were then 12 months away from the big day!

 

Our Venue was the Black Swan Hotel, Helmsley. We’d stopped there previously and knew the village well, the hotel and staff made us feel so very welcome and the hotel itself is wonderful and has so much character, we had exclusive use of 3 rooms for the duration of the day, it has such an intimate and cosy feel. They made all our guests very welcome too. The food and staff were excellent, Nicola and Matt took care of our every need and made the day flow beautifully, everyone had a lovely day.

The night before the wedding I didn’t get a lot of sleep, I was in quite a hyper state, I’d been up till 1am setting up the table decorations, woke at 7am, mum and I had a relaxing breakfast in bed. My closest friend Tracey was on hand at all times keeping me calm, especially when Leanne my hairdresser had been caught up in the traffic chaos, who was close to two hours late…at the peak of panic, Matt our wedding co-ordinator at the Black Swan came up to our room with a large bottle of pink champagne courtesy of Shaun…ooooh that did the trick! Before I knew it Tom was at the door, my room was full of activity and I just couldn’t stop smiling, I just felt so happy…

Shaun: On the wedding morning I had a lovely breakfast with friends and family, had a couple of hours to relax, got ready, Tony came to my room and presented me with a gift, a wonderful engraved watch from my Wife to be! I then went down to the bar to greet everyone, co-ordinate several people on route who had got stuck in the diversion into the village…the surprise vintage car I had ordered had broken down on route, luckily a similar car was on it’s way!…the stress was starting to build! Oh and I wanted to ensure the Bride was well, watered and stress free!

Shaun: One of my ‘Wow’ wedding moments was facing Michelle during the exchange of vows it was so overwhelming and emotional, I couldn’t stop looking at her and couldn’t believe how lucky I was.

As the day evolved it became so much more than I ever could have ever imagined, having everyone close to me by my side, seeing my nieces all dressed up, Katie as my flower girl, my brother Mike walking me down, seeing Shaun as I entered the ceremony room to the tune of ‘Michelle’ by the Beatles, exchanging our vows and rings. Hearing my sister-in-law and Tracey reading their poems. Watching everyone smiling and laughing, seeing the cake for the first time, seeing the rooms all candle lit and personalised with all our hand made decorations. Being whisked outside to see a beautiful black and cream Bentley waiting for us, I had no idea Shaun had organised this, such a lovely moment. The beautiful, emotional, hilarious speeches my brother Mike and Shaun gave.

We wanted our wedding to be personalised and fun for everyone, We’d put so much effort into every little detail it was all just so right for us, all the outfits, the handmade decorations, the little jars of flowers, the flowers and bees on the cake and cookies, the retro sweet jars, having Tom there as photographer capturing every moment, the music, the DJ’s and vintage music…!!
The style we’d wanted to capture was a small intimate informal dinner party feel, a hint of vintage, fun, atmospheric and candle lit. The colour theme was black & white with hints of vintage pinks/creams/greens. 

We found that having the pre-wed shoot helped us enormously, we’d never heard of a pre-wed shoot before, but would highly recommend one, it helps you get used to being in front of the camera. It made us realise Tom’s photographic style was just what we were looking for, informal and would capture those unexpected moments, very natural. On the day, we hardly noticed Tom was there, he was so discreet.

We both love the shots of us getting ready – they tell a lovely story, especially as we were apart at that time. I love the shot of Tracey and me looking down, capturing the moment with my 9 month old niece sat on the floor, the shot of Katie getting ready and looking back in the mirror. Shaun: The shots of my Dad and Brother – they looked fantastic in their suits. All the photographs of Michelle – she looked beautiful, Tom captured her so well. We love the close up outside the Hotel, signing the register, the captured glances, the shots of the table decorations and the gramophones, they really all do capture the feeling of the day, Tom did an amazing job, we keep watching the slide show over and over.

 

Michelle & Shaun’s Top Wedding Tip:

Detail…detail…detail…personalise it, make it your day!!

Confirm everything and then confirm it again!

Make sure it’s your day and how YOU both want it to be.

Take a step back…take it all in…enjoy and smile!

 

Michelle’s Reccommended Suppliers:

Cakes & Cookies: Lynette www.niceicing.com

Car: www.superiormotorcars.co.uk

Flowers: Gemma www.thetopiarytree.com

Venue: Nicola & Matt www.blackswan-helmsley.co.uk

 

I’ve taken a lot of photos recently, not just of weddings but Holly. The camera callouses are firmy setting in, but she’s worth it. The last seven weeks have been filled with new learning experiences, lack of sleep, crying, first smiles, visitors and so on…

Parenthood really is turning out to be one of the best things I’ve ever done. Holly is just brilliant. Thought it was about time I shared some more photos with you all that show her off.