You all may or may not remember at the beginning of the year, I mentioned there were a few things I wanted to scrub off the old bucket list for 2023, one of which was to get my work featured in a magazine.
To be completely honest, I genuinely didn't know where to start, and I wasn't holding out much hope for actually managing this one, so you can all only imagine how shocked I was when I received word that one of my photos had made it into "That's life" magazine this week The even more shocking thing, is that I'd done all this whilst letting a blog slip through the net for the fantastic Lindsey and Mick who tied the knot just before Christmas on the 20th of December.
I'm going to kick this one off with an apology for not honouring them both with a blog sooner, as their day was nothing short of fantastic, unique and an absolute blast to capture.
Some of you may have watched a program on Channel 5, called "Trucking Hell", (Thats not a spelling mistake, before you ask!) which follows Crouch Recovery, a company that specializes, in, you guessed it, Vehicle recovery. They're somewhat of a renowned business in the Midlands and have thousands of followers through their spotted pages on Facebook, and through their program on Channel 5.
Lindsey and Mick are without a doubt dedicated followers of the company, active in all the relevant Facebook groups, and big mates with Donna, who helped rescue our little Cleo from the streets of Romania. Lindsey and Mick have their own Rommi, and I know Lindsey takes care of a lot of dogs as soon as they arrive in the country too before they get whisked off to their forever homes.
Donna had very kindly put my name forward for this one, and through her contacts at crouches, she'd also arranged for them both to have one of the recovery vehicles as a wedding....truck, for the day, in all its orange glory.
Wedding chauffeurs in high-vis coats is a new one for me, but as you all know, I'm all about going against the grain and doing things the non-traditional way, so I was only too happy to grab some shots of Lindsey arriving in a very clean, bright orange truck, adorned with its very own ribbon for the occasion.
Before Lindsey arrived, I made sure to get photos of the guests arriving, and of Mick waiting for Lindsey to make her way up the aisle. Mick was an absolute pleasure throughout the whole day and was just the kind of groom I love to photograph. He was laughing and joking with his friends and family throughout the whole day, so grabbing really natural shots of everyone enjoying themselves was an absolute breeze and made my job incredibly easy.
After capturing the ceremony, we quickly worked our way through the group shots, which I tried to rap up in a timely manner, as the weather was chilly, to say the least. The last thing I wanted was everyone shivering in front of the camera, so it wasn't long before we wrapped up the formal pictures, and headed over to the next venue at the John Nike Ski slope in Swadlincote.
Even though it's an artificial ski slope, there was definitely a real Christmassy feel around the venue, which really added to the magic of their day. If that wasn't enough, the log fire, and Christmas trees in the dining area just kicked things up another notch too.
Whilst Mick and Lindsey settled down to enjoy their meal with their guests, I tucked myself away in a corner, backed up my memory cards, and changed my batteries, whilst I tucked into my own dinner that they'd both very kindly laid on for me. It's always welcomed and appreciated but never expected.
For me, It's always important to step away from the action at any wedding whilst guests are eating. Not only because no one wants photos whilst they've got a face full of food, but because it gives me chance to edit up a couple of photos too. Where I can, I always try to send them over before we launch into the evening reception. It's a nice touch and it means that in the age of social media, rather than airing a phone picture, you can put something out there that shows off your day, and does your wedding the justice it deserves.
The fun and games were definitely not over though, as after the speeches, it would of course, have been rude for the bride, groom and their guests not to head out onto the slopes for a spot of snow tubing. As you can imagine, it was a real laugh to capture, but despite a fair bit of encouragement, I elected to stick to the sidelines, camera poised and ready, rather than heading down the slope in a rubber ring with their guests.
Just as the evening guests were arriving, I finished off my final few photos of the cake cutting and first dance and left Lindsey and Mick to enjoy the rest of their day with their guests having had a thoroughly fantastic time with them both.
Believe it or not though, the excitement didn't stop there, and after getting home, and logging into Facebook, I noticed I'd been tagged in a post on the crouch spotters Facebook page. Those very same photo's I'd edited just a couple of hours before were racking up hundreds of likes, numerous well wishes and congratulations for the newlyweds, which was honestly awesome to see!
I'd have been happy with that, but it was only this week, Lindsey messaged me saying I should go out and pick up a copy of the "That's life" Magazine as one of my photos' was sitting proudly on page 37, which honestly, made me very proud!
So here it is. My photo of the lovely Mick and Lindsey. The very same picture, which shares a page with a topless man and another chap dressed as a Disney princess.
I'm sure if and when I do have grandkids, they'll be desperate to hear about this one!
All jokes aside though, Mick and Lindsey are a fantastic couple! It's clear to see they're absolutely smitten with each other. I genuinely want to thank them both for including me in their plans, and for allowing me to share their day with them! It was an absolute pleasure.
I'll catch you all next week, same time for another blog!
Peace. Love and Photos.
Jono x