Beamish Hall - Sarah-Jane and Daniel's 2020 lockdown wedding

We’ve known Dan for a long time now, he is a former barman at Beamish Hall, later becoming one of their wedding coordinators. He met Sarah-Jane while working at the Hall where she worked behind the scenes in housekeeping. These two are a match made in heaven, they are always having a giggle together, and are so much fun to be around. We were thrilled when they asked us to photograph their big day at the place that they first met.

Of course, as it did for so many, Covid 19 got in the way of their plans, and the large wedding that they had planned had to be re-thought. The result was a wonderfully intimate wedding day with a guest list of just 6, along with Nigel and myself, and our good friends Janet and Chris from One Digital Image (Video) bearing witness to their nuptials. Family and friends joined them outside after the ceremony to congratulate the happy couple.

It was a real joy to have been a part of their special day. Sarah-Jane and Dan, thank you so much for having us along! We wish you all the luck in the world and a lifetime of love. x

Seaham Hall - Andrea and Christopher's 2020 lockdown wedding

I’m looking back today, remembering Andrea and Christopher’s wedding at Seaham Hall. They were married in September 2020 when restrictions for weddings were beginning to ease. While numbers were still restricted and they could not have an evening party and dancing, they were still able to have the day that they wanted.

Here are a few of their pictures from their 2020 lockdown wedding at Seaham Hall.

Auckland Castle - Sarah and Will's 2020 lockdown wedding

Sarah and Will certainly didn’t have it easy planning their 2020 wedding, but enduring setback after setback, and refusing to let Covid get too much in their way, they somehow managed it. There was no other setting more perfect for Sarah and Will than Auckland Castle - her father is the current Bishop of Durham, and Auckland Castle is the Bishop’s official residence, and no one more perfect to perform the ceremony than Will’s father who is an Army Chaplain. Their ceremony in the Chapel of St Peter was beautiful, filled with sentiment, funny stories from Sarah and Will’s childhood, and so much love for the two of them. It was wonderful to witness. They along with their families could not have made us feel more welcome. The atmosphere throughout our time with them was amazing and is something that we won’t ever forget.

Of course, it’s been a little while since their wedding - with a very busy 2021 leaving us little to no time for blogging, but even so, I very much wanted to share their special day with you, along with their words below.

(Please note, we haven’t included many photographs of guests mingling and chatting, simply to avoid any potential issues related to social distancing).

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“AMAZING!

They are so fantastic we couldn't be happier with them! We are struggling to stop looking at them... Dad who has seen his fair share of Wedding photos over the years says these are the best he's ever seen! Thank you so much, we also got loads of positive comments from friends and family who were there, saying how great you both were!

Will and Sarah”

"THANK YOU SO MUCH NIGEL AND CHRISSIE! We are so so grateful for all the time and energy you have invested in creating our amazing Photo's, we absolutely love them! Trying to do a wedding in 2020 has certainly been an experience! But your continued help and support and sense of humour really made things so much easier for us. You worked tirelessly with us on changing dates and so many plan B's we lost count. On the day, you made us feel completely at ease and you've been able to capture the day for us perfectly. It was clearly evident how much you both love your jobs! We had such a great day and we couldn't recommend you guys as photographers more! P.s. If anyone is reading this, wondering whether to book Nigel and Chrissie, then please... go for it, honestly, you really won't regret it!”

Ouseburn - Josie and Kelvin's 2020 lockdown wedding

Back in 2019, Josie and Kelvin booked us to photograph their August 2020 wedding at the True Jesus Church in Newcastle. Due to the Covid 19 pandemic, they had to reduce their numbers and the duration of the day to fall in line with the restrictions at the time. Being a part of such a tight-knit community that treat their friends like family, it was almost impossible for them to get down to the maximum number of 30 guests. Somehow, they did manage it, but sadly, there was no room left for photographers. Instead, we met them outside the church for a few socially distanced family photos, and a walk down to Ouseburn afterwards.

A few of our couples have asked how we organise socially distanced family photos, so I’ve included some so you can see. They take a little longer than normal, but they are easy enough to do, and actually, I quite like the different placements of the family groups.