Tag Archive for: lake windermere

Merewood Country House Wedding Photography // Becky and Colin

 

Merewood Country House Wedding

August 2017 was the busiest month of weddings I have ever had with twelve weddings, starting with Becky and Colin’s Merewood Country House Wedding. I love shooting at Merewood Country House Hotel, set back from Lake Windermere, it is a stunning location in the Lake District and one of the friendliest venues I have the pleasure of working at. The staff are absolutely terrific and I always receive a warm welcome at Merewood. Two years had passed since I shot Julia and Alex’s wedding at Merewood Country House Hotel, so it was nice to return to one of my favourite venues. Becky and Colin had their wedding on Tuesday the 1st of August as it both of their parents wedding anniversaries on the same date, so the 1st of August is a very special date for all of the family. Just to add, Becky is a photography teacher, so she really knows her stuff when it comes to all things camera related. No pressure then!

Views of Lake Windermere

I arrived in good time for the morning preparations and it was a very relaxed affair with Becky and her bridesmaids getting ready in the bridal suite (which has a stunning view of Lake Windermere). Colin and the boys were also in Merewood so I switched between the ladies and gents throughout the preparation. Colin looked a little nervous as her waited for Becky to arrive at the top of the aisle, but it was all smiles as Becky and Colin exchanged their vows, bathed in the beautiful light of the ceremony room at Merewood Country House Hotel. Confetti and hugs greeted Becky and Colin as everyone enjoyed canapes and champagne in the gardens of Merewood during the afternoon reception.

Heartfelt Speeches

Becky and Colin headed down to Merewood’s sister venue, Cragwood Country House Hotel (where I am shooting a wedding later this year) for a short session of couple photos. We made the most of the spectacular views over Lake Windermere. We are so lucky to have such stunning scenery in the Lake District, shooting wedding photography there is an absolute pleasure. The speeches followed the wedding breakfast and Becky’s father, Colin and his brother and best man all had the room in the palm’s of their hands with brilliant, funny and heartfelt speeches. With a short gap between the speeches and first dance, We nipped down to the jetty at Low Wood Bay for a few more photos before the cake cut and first dance kicked off the evening reception, which was expertly DJ’d by Gary Mills.

Luckily for me Becky’s sister and bridesmaid, Natalie has booked me to shoot her wedding to Antonee in April, so I’ll get to see Becky and Colin again soon! It was an absolute pleasure to be shoot their Merewood Country House wedding photography and a huge thank you to all the staff at Merewood Country House Hotel for their warm welcome, cups of tea and fabulous three course meal! It really is a wonderful wedding venue and one of my very favourite places to work at. So here’s Becky and Colin’s Merewood Country House Hotel wedding photography. Please let me know what you think in the comments below…

Merewood Country House Hotel, Merewood, Windermere, Cumbria LA23 1LH. 015394 46484

© 2018 Manchester Wedding Photographer James Tracey

The Samling Wedding Photography // Mia and Pete

The Samling wedding photography

Wedding Photography at The Samling

The Samling wedding photography for Mia and Pete was one of the weddings I couldn’t wait for this year. The Samling is a stunning boutique hotel set above Lake Windermere with beautiful views of the Lake and a Michelin starred menu. I love photographing in the Lake District but I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t a little nervous too. Including Mia and Pete, there were just eight people at the wedding. This was by far the smallest wedding I had ever shot (although I would beat this record just five days later in New York) so obviously I was a little worried that I might not be as unobtrusive as I like to be with such a small guest list. I needn’t have worried, in fact, having such a small guest list turned out to be so much better than I could ever have imagined and I loved shooting my first ever wedding photography at The Samling.

Bridal Preparations

Having driven up in the heavy rain I didn’t have high hopes for the weather and the forecast for the day was equally underwhelming with rain and fog forecast for the full day. However, the Lake District looks amazing in any weather! When I met up with Mia for the bridal preparation in one of the beautiful rooms at The Samling I got to work alongside the super talented make up artist Rebecca Forshaw. I got some of my favourite preparation shots of the year, helped by having one of my happiest brides smiling all the way through the morning (despite the fine rain outside).

Sophie Tolli Wedding Dress

After Mia’s dad saw her in her Sophie Tolli wedding dress for the first time we made the short walk to The Samling to see a fairly nervous (but extremely dapper) Pete waiting patiently for his bride in his bespoke handmade suit by Richard Smith Bespoke in Manchester. With Maxine Molin-Rose playing the harp (Metallica if you’re interested and it sounded AMAZING) Mia walked into the tiny service room and I have to say, I was honoured to be shoot Mia and Pete’s The Samling wedding photography. It felt incredibly personal with so few people in the room. With emotion and laughter in equal measure it was one of my favourite services I have ever photographed.

Lake Windermere

After the service Mia and Pete were joined by both sets of parents and Mia’s brother and his partner, on the terrace at The Samling for a champagne reception with canapes. Fortunately the rain had stopped and the mist started to lift so we were treated to the stunning views of Lake Windermere. I stepped back quietly into the background on the 85mm prime lens to capture the laughter whilst Maxine played the harp in the background. Then, completely unexpectedly, the sun appeared and we had a glorious summer’s day. With a handful of family formals in the bag I took Mia and Pete down to the jetty of Low Wood Bay hotel (where I’d shot Laura and Rob’s wedding in November 2014) to shoot some couple photos. Mia and Pete were a dream couple to photograph, being relaxed and natural helped create one of my favourite ever photographs (that one on the end of the jetty). After a few shots by the lake we returned to the hotel for a few more minutes of The Samling wedding photography.

With a Michelin starred tasting menu to come for Mia and Pete and their guests I quietly left them to enjoy the rest of their wedding day in the stunning summer sunshine overlooking Lake Windermere. Mia and Pete’s The Samling wedding photography was one the highlights of the year for me and I loved their intimate and immensely personal wedding service. So here’s Mia and Pete’s The Samling wedding photography. Music by Bright Eyes, photos by me…

Credits

Venue: The Samling
Dress: Sophia Tolli at The Bridal Path
Shoes: Jimmy Choo
Accessories: Halo & Co by Liberty in Love
Groom: Richard Smith Bespoke
Make Up: Rebecca Forshaw
Flowers: The Floristry
Live Music: Maxine Molin-Rose
Cake: M&S

Mia and Pete’s The Samling wedding photography has also featured on leading wedding blog Brides Up North.

Get In Touch...

Getting married at The Samling? Click here.

view of a misty lake windermere from the samling hotel THE SAMLING WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY MIA AND PETE-5 THE SAMLING WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY MIA AND PETE-8 THE SAMLING WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY MIA AND PETE-9 THE SAMLING WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY MIA AND PETE-10 THE SAMLING WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY MIA AND PETE-11 THE SAMLING WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY MIA AND PETE-13 THE SAMLING WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY MIA AND PETE-17 THE SAMLING WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY MIA AND PETE-21 THE SAMLING WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY MIA AND PETE-23 bride reflected in a mirror getting into her wedding dress at the samling hotel THE SAMLING WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY MIA AND PETE-26 THE SAMLING WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY MIA AND PETE-34 THE SAMLING WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY MIA AND PETE-35 THE SAMLING WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY MIA AND PETE-36 THE SAMLING WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY MIA AND PETE-38 THE SAMLING WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY MIA AND PETE-39 bride and groom getting married at the samling on lake windermere THE SAMLING WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY MIA AND PETE-43 bride and groom exchanging rings at the samling wedding THE SAMLING WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY MIA AND PETE-47 THE SAMLING WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY MIA AND PETE-50 bride and groom sharing their first kiss at the samling in lake windermere THE SAMLING WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY MIA AND PETE-54 THE SAMLING WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY MIA AND PETE-58 THE SAMLING WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY MIA AND PETE-59 THE SAMLING WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY MIA AND PETE-60 THE SAMLING WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY MIA AND PETE-62 THE SAMLING WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY MIA AND PETE-63 THE SAMLING WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY MIA AND PETE-64 THE SAMLING WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY MIA AND PETE-65 THE SAMLING WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY MIA AND PETE-66 THE SAMLING WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY MIA AND PETE-67 The Samling wedding photography THE SAMLING WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY MIA AND PETE-69 THE SAMLING WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY MIA AND PETE-70 views of lake windermere from the samling hotel THE SAMLING WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY MIA AND PETE-73 The Samling wedding photography THE SAMLING WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY MIA AND PETE-75 bride and groom confetti shot at The Samling wedding photography THE SAMLING WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY MIA AND PETE-78 THE SAMLING WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY MIA AND PETE-80 bride posing in the gardens at the samling hotel THE SAMLING WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY MIA AND PETE-84 The Samling wedding photography THE SAMLING WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY MIA AND PETE-89 THE SAMLING WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY MIA AND PETE-94 THE SAMLING WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY MIA AND PETE-95 bride and groom stood outside the samling hotel on lake windermere

The Samling, Ambleside Rd, Windermere, Cumbria LA23 1LR. 015394 31922