As some of your may have noticed this blog hasn’t been updated for a while and there are two reasons for this: firstly I’ve been crazy busy the last few weeks travelling all over the country for one of my big commercial clients and all my time has been put into my clients specifically and on editing photos and I literally haven’t had time to devote to my blog so I truly must apologize; secondly and more excitingly I have a new blog – http://stuartjames.typepad.com!! There are soooo many updates to come onto this blog in the coming days and it is the final stage in the exciting rebranding of my company. Please update your RSS feeds and jump onto the subscribe list that will be appearing on the new typepad blog soon!!

I look forward to seeing you all over there!!

sj.p

It’s been a couple of weeks since I posted an update on here and I thought it was time to catch up…
Gemma and Steve were married 6 days ago at Haughton Church and it was such a beautiful day – it’s safe to say I thoroughly enjoyed sharing ‘The Fishers’ special day with them and the photos look absolutely stunning… As has been the wonderful trend this year, Gemma and Steve have chosen the sublime Jorgensen Album in which to present their story and the order was sent to Gary and the gang in Perth on 5th July (less than 38hrs after finishing shooting!!) and I simply cannot wait to share it with you all!!
In the meantime, here are a few photos from their day to keep your appetites going…

The warm colours in the church were fantastic, and as you’ll see further down looked incredible during the ceremony:

When I was stood in the house with the Bride’s Father and her brother waiting for the girls to come back from having their hairs done I was looking for the different areas of lighting and I just knew this was a shot I had to get:

I think it’s safe to say this little cutey of a Flowergirl stole a few hearts on Friday:

As soon as Gemma took her shoes out of the box and put them on the table I knew that was the green light to do as I wished – and I ordered this spot – what do you think?

See what I meant about that stunning church?

I love archways:

From the church we went on to The Moat House, still one of my favourite venues to work even after all the years I’ve been working there!
The staff are fantastic and it really is a partnership when we work there, and it is such a fantastic location for photos you really are totally spoilt for choice on locations and angles to use…and it’s no exaggeration when I say the Bride & Groom portraits around the grounds look great – but you’ll have to wait for the album to be in Gemma and Steve’s hands before you see them…so for now, it’s onto the wedding breakfast…

Don’t you just love speeches with character and action?:

I can’t quite remember what was being said but with an expression like that does it really matter?:

Being an only-child Steve’s Dad decided to make the most of the opportunity and gave a short speech before handing over the the Best Man, Nav. It was definitely worthwhile and it went down a treat with everyone…

I love when it comes to the Best Man’s speech…unlike the Groom!:

The whole day was absolutely fantastic and the rain stopped just in time and the whole day went exactly as planned. After a great wedding breakfast the evenings entertainment was handled by APLeisure and The Cartoon Kings band – and they certainly set a great tone for the night!

I can’t wait to be able to share the rest of the photos with you all. Hope you are both having a great honeymoon guys. See you soon!

sj.p

Claire and Andy have now chosen their photos for their album and whilst it is being made in Italy I thought I would share a few more of my favourites from their day.
I had a great time photographing their wedding at Wollaston Free Church, and the novelty of having an elevated position to work from during the ceremony, made a nice change from which to record the ceremony. Although the weather wasn’t kind to us on the day, we managed to get a fantastic story and I personally can’t wait to put everything together in the album to give to Claire and Andy.
However, as promised, here are a few more favourites from the day, along with a slideshow at the bottom…enjoy.

sj.p

Yesterday I had the pleasure of photographing a lovely wedding that took me back to St James’ Church, Acton Trussell – which some of you may remember I last photographed on the 30th December 2008 (which is here!) and I was very very happy to see a distinct lack of scaffolding when I arrived!! The church has been undergoing some renovation work over the start of this year but thankfully, just-in-time for Tara and Dan, the offending item’s were removed…
The reception was at a venue I have had the equal pleasure of working at a number of times over the years from the first wedding held there under the current ownership in 2005 – Hadley Park. Hadley is a great venue with so much going for it, and after having not photographed a wedding there since the Summer of 2006, it was very nice to be back!!

Saturday 20th June was a beautiful day and the weather thankfully remained with us, with the only discerning spots of rain falling whilst travelling from the church to the reception. I truly had a great time recording Tara and Dan’s special day and I can’t wait to show them all the photos. In the meantime, here are a few to whet your appetite…

I love the flags someone had gone to the trouble of preparing!! Fab:

Classic – and the colour shot that preceeds it for the album is even better!!!

You could say they enjoyed themselves with the confetti!!

I’ve always loved the doorway at Hadley Park…not hard to see why really…

A stunning cake created by Amerton Farm

sj.p

Today I had the pleasure of photographing a fantastic wedding at Wollaston Free Church and the Ramada Hotel at Bewdley.
Claire and Andy booked me many months ago in early 2007 to photograph their wedding and although the weather wasnt with us today I certainly think we had a good time and captured a great set of photos too…
Here are just a couple of shots to whet your appetite…more will follow in a few days time when Claire and Matt Andy [ ( ] are back from Madeira…

Hope you both have a fantastic time on honeymoon. Looking forward to seeing you both when I get back from a few days in the sun too!
The post-wedding ‘Shoot the Dress’ Session will be great fun!!!

sj.p

AFBlakemore are the main distributor for SPAR Retail Stores across the UK serving over 300 stores throughout the Central Meridian region.
I have been fortunate enough to work for the company many times over the past few years and one of my favourite times of year has to be the SPAR Retail Show at the NEC, which as an annual event is a fantastic day and one I love covering.
Based at the NEC Metropole for the Tuesday for the Conference and Dinner Party then at the NEC Pavilion for the subsequent Tradeshow the following day it is a busy week, and with a turn-round time of 24 hours on the photos it is pleasantly demanding too!
The production of the show was again handled by the fantastic AirPlay  who really are a sublime organisation. The entertainment this year was from a legendary double-act – Cannon & Ball. To say they were on form is not an understatement and they certainly raised a response from the crowd! Following the comedy-duo were the ABBA tribute act, Voulez-Vou.

Below are a few of my favourite shots from the Conference day at the NEC Metropole and a slideshow of a few more below…

sj.p

Yesterday I had the pleasure of photography baby Jack Richardson – Louise and Lee’s gorgeous little 10 week old!
I photographed Lou and Lee’s wedding at Moxhull Hall just over 12 months ago and to be able to spend a couple of hours with them photographing their little one was fantastic – I can’t wait to see their reactions to the shoot!!
Here are a couple of my favourites – the rest is available to view on the client area but that’s only for mom and dad to see!

sj.p

As everyone who reads this blog will realise – I l-o-v-e weston park! It really is one of my favourite venues across the UK to work – it’s stunning! And to be able to share the special day of a stunning bride and groom in such surroundings truly makes this job a joy!!
On 9th May Linda and Andrew were married at Weston Park and chose the Dining Room for their ceremony and the Orangery for their wedding breakfast and the night time celebrations. Having only met Linda and Andrew once before the day it was great having hit off a fantastic raport with them over the phone and email so when we got together on the day and I started at 0930 with the Bridal preparations everything was incredibly relaxed – and a lot of fun!
It truly was a pleasure to share in the emotional and heart-felt wedding with Linda and Andrew and to party the night away with their stunning 10-piece soul band, who were absolutely sensational!
And to the pictures…
Below are just a few of my absolute favourites from the day, more will follow in a slideshow when Linda and Andrew return from honeymoon, but in the meantime please enjoy and please let me know what you think…

sj.p

Last Saturday I photographed a lovely wedding in Lichfield at the Registry Office then onto the Compass Suites in Aldridge. It isn’t very often I work within my immediate local area so to be shooting at the registry office in Lichfield with the gorgeous setting of the Beacon Gardens and with the Cathedral in the background, when the weather is with you it can be a fantastic location for photographs!
On Saturday morning I really did not expect to be able to work outside as the weather was horrendous, but quite miraculously a window of literally 60 minutes without rain opened up when we went in for the ceremony and lasted until we were taking the last photo outside before heading into the awaiting chariot from Special Day Services, a stunning 1938 Daimler Limousine. 
At the Compass Suites, which are only 5 minutes from my home, it was all very relaxed and  very personal as the manager of the Compass Suites is a lifelong friend of the Bride’s having known each other from the tender age of 4.5years I was reliably informed during the day.
Having chosen their album photos today, Clare and Matt are off to Sorrento tomorrow and I hope they have a fantastic time! Also, if you are a friend of Clare or Matts their photos are now available to view online at http://clients.stuartjamesphoto.com 

Here are a couple of my favourites from their day along with a slideshow giving you a glimpse of a few more…

sj.p

I am a great supporter of the National Trust and have been a proud member for the past few years. Although I have not been as active as I would have liked in the past I am looking at changing this and getting far more involved over the coming months…
When Ben and Liz approached me to photograph their wedding I had heard of Moseley Old Hall but I had never actually been there – despite it being so close to me…and it got me thinking – we should make more time to appreciate and enjoy everything that is around us rather than just rushing from one thing and one place to another – we only have one chance at this and we need to make the most of it…
Anyway, one of the biggest reasons I got so excited about working at Moseley Old Hall is it’s absolutely beautiful, steeped in not only history but elegance, beauty and above all – character! The venue is a true gem to work at and I think it’s safe to say we all had a fantastic time!
Liz and Ben had been together for quite a few years and the ceremony was a very small intimate family only affair – the big party was on the evening at the Chase Golf Club (where incidentally Ste is at tomorrow, 9th May) – and it was thoroughly enjoyable to be part of everything with them both. Although the weather wasn’t perfectly kind to us we managed to dodge in between the showers and get most of what we were looking for – and had a great time doing it!
Liz chose a very elegant gown from Monsoon  which personally I believe was a stunning choice as it complemented Liz perfectly…
I can’t wait to show the finished set of photos to both Liz and Rob, but in the mean-time below are a few shots from the day…

sj.p