The Hilton hotel, Newcastle
Laura and Graham booked us immediately after meeting us at a wedding fair held at Gosforth Racecourse. Laura said she knew straight away she wanted to book us for their wedding photography to capture their big day. They were getting married at a gorgeous old church in Gateshead then for their reception at The Hilton Hotel in Gateshead.
Getting Ready
Laura got ready at her mums home with her bridesmaids and mum as well.
When we arrived the room was full of activity getting everyone prepared for the big day! The girls were doing their own make up and the hairdresser was doing a fab job making everyone look stunning.
Nick popped down the street to the couple’s house which is where Graham was getting ready with his groomsmen for a few shots too, they were all in great spirits and graham didn’t look too nervous! The cars arrived to take the guys to the church- two beautiful white sports cars! The guys were all excited for that journey!
Back at Laura’s mum’s the bridesmaids were dressed and had been given lovely gifts as thank you’s and it was time for Laura to get her gown on. Mum helped her get into the dress and laced up the corset back (these can be tricky to do so little leopard was on hand to offer some advice and assistance!)
She added her jewellery and shoes and with her bouquet in hand she was ready! The bridesmaids came in the room to see their friend fully ready and it all got a bit emotional with lots of happy tears.
Uncle Harold was ready to do his duty of giving Laura away and they were off to the church in the vintage car the bride had chosen.
The Ceremony
The guests were all taking their seats waiting for the arrival of the bridal party, and Graham was at the front with his best man.
The chosen church is a fabulous old building full of character and an amazing altar and windows. Laura had arrived and the music began for the bridal procession to enter.
Graham looked happy to see Laura arrive and the ceremony began. The couple made their wedding vows to each other, and they had some family members did some lovely readings. They exchanged wedding rings and Graham got to kiss his bride and the register was signed to make everything official!
They walked back up the aisle as Mr and Mrs Gofton and they left the church
Everyone headed out to the front of the church for the family and group photographs, with the sun shining we got the formalities over with quickly so guests could then head off to the Hilton Hotel and relax to enjoy the rest of the day.
The Romantic Mr & Mrs Photographs
After the family photos were finished the guests were all heading to the hotel, we kept the couple at the church for a few shots with the wedding car then whisked the bride and groom away for a short time to grab some gorgeous couple’s shots down at the scenic Newcastle Quayside. The location of the Hilton Hotel makes it perfect for your wedding photographs as its got so many landmark sights on its doorstep close by!
We took advantage of the surroundings and went across the millennium bridge and along the edge of the quayside with the background showing things like the Tyne Bridge, The Sage, and The Baltic. With these pictures there is definitely no mistaking the area where they got married!
For all Graham was nervous for the photos we think you cant tell at all and he did a great job!
We did some more photos later on with the couple at the hotel with the bridges in the background there too and even managed to snap a celebrity with them! Graham is a big football fan so spotting Newcastle United’s newest signing- Georginio Wijnaldum who was staying at the hotel was so exciting they had to have a photo together! He was lovely and very happy to pose with the couple.
The Speeches
The room was set ready for the meal and looked amazing with the cake set up and pretty centrepieces. Guests came in and took their seats for the speeches to begin.
Laura’s uncle and her mum gave the first speech with some lovely words and a lot of emotion- they had put together a fab video of old photos and them signing along to a favourite song. They were clearly proud of the couple and caused a few happy tears all round.
The groom was next and gave a nice speech and said how happy he was to be married
Best man was next to speak and did a great job- we think graham had been a little nervous about what might be said! There was also a short speech from one of the bridesmaids, and a few words from Laura’s sister that were passed on as a traditional saying from their late nanna.
After the speeches we took a break to let everyone enjoy their meal and we got to work on a selection of the images from the day so far so they could be ready to go up on our projector for the evening reception guests to see! We love our Image Projector service and it goes down so well with guests, it’s a wonderful way to include evening guests in what happened during the day time and a great talking point for everyone too, as well as giving the Bride and Groom a sneaky peak at what’s to come!
Party time!
After the meal the guests made their way to the bar areas to relax while the room was set up ready for the evening celebrations. There was a sweet buffet, and our projector was up displaying the images for guests to see and the photo booth was ready to go all came together beautifully.
After a quick cutting of the cake was done Mr and Mrs Gofton took to the dance floor for their first dance as husband and wife, all the guests were watching.
This was followed by a dance with Laura and her Mum which was a lovely sentimental touch.
The kids were running round having lots of fun. The party really started then and everyone was having a great time partying on the dance floor. The night was in full flow when we left with and looked like it was set to continue into the early hours of the morning!
