Unusual winter wedding in the woods in Leeds
December 27th, 2011See more whole wedding, storybook albums, and wedding galleries on www.reellifephotos.co.uk. xx Elaine
Caina & Tony wanted to get married outdoors, rather than the traditional way in the UK. They were not put off by current English legislation (There has to be a roof at least for which a hefty fee has been paid to the council to “licence it”) which meant this beautiful ceremony would not be considered legally binding, as it was going to be their day (they did the legal bit beforehand). They chose Inter-Faith Minister Janette to conduct their wedding ceremony.
This is just few seconds of the wedding ceremony, showing the Element of Air in the fun bubbles ; such a beautiful idea too.
Right from the start when they were getting ready, they showed their love, as Tony struggled to place the necklace round Caina’s neck:

Groom lovingly puts on bride's necklace for her before they leave to get married outdoors in the woods.

Earth - the element and the smell of a hyacinth - gave Caina the strength to live - so a seemingly small thing such as this, plays a major role in their wedding ceremony
Little candles in their holders, sweet liquid and sour lemons, and the four elements of earth, air fire and water, make this outdoor wedding ceremony in the middle of winter in the woods by a lake, truly emotional.
To contact Elaine of Reel Life Photos or visit http://www.reellifephotos.co.uk to see loads and loads more wedding photos – in the galleries, All Day Wedding Pictures and more unusual and traditional wedding storybooks
Winter wedding in snow at Augill Castle in Cumbria
December 24th, 2010Ellouise and Colin had the most unusual wedding ever – not just because it was a snowy day at a magical castle, but also as they were the only participants: even the witnesses were provided by the hotel!
Contact Elaine if you are planning your exciting wedding – anywhere at all – both in the UK or abroad, as we travel anywhere for lovely people’s weddings (lovely on the inside that is…) see our main site http://www.reellifephotos.co.uk or our Contact Us Page
Winter church wedding in West Yorkshire with reception at The Huntsman Inn
December 25th, 2010Contact Elaine if you are planning your exciting wedding – anywhere at all – both in the UK or abroad, as we travel anywhere for lovely people’s weddings (lovely on the inside that is…) see our main site http://www.reellifephotos.co.uk or our Contact Us Page
The Ice Hotel wedding pictures with Snow Queen Zoe and dashing uniformed groom Steve
December 30th, 2010Zoe and Steve’s wedding venue in Sweden.
The Ice Hotel in Jukkasjarvi is a feat of engineering, creativity and solid determination. It glows out of the semi-darkness, attracting international visitors like moths to a flame.
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Contact Elaine if you are planning your exciting wedding abroad – be it icy as above, or hot and exotic – we travel anywhere for lovely people’s weddings (lovely on the inside that is…) see our main site http://www.reellifephotos.co.uk or our Contact Us Page
You can see this Ice Hotel storybook album here too! xx
Winter Wedding at Thornton Manor: wedding venue on the Wirral
January 1st, 2011

Contact Elaine if you are planning your exciting wedding – anywhere at all – both in the UK or abroad, as we travel anywhere for lovely people’s weddings(lovely on the inside that is…) see our main site http://www.reellifephotos.co.uk or our Contact Us Page
Wedding Prep at the Ice Hotel in Sweden
January 2nd, 2011Contact Elaine if you are planning your exciting wedding abroad – be it icy as above, or hot and exotic – we travel anywhere for lovely people’s weddings(lovely on the inside that is…) see our main site http://www.reellifephotos.co.uk or our Contact Us Page
Wedding Ceremony in the Ice Chapel, Jukkasjarvi.
January 3rd, 2011visit our International Destination wedding page too…
See the first part of this Ice Hotel Storybook wedding album
and a revised version showing the whole of the Ice Hotel wedding album
Contact Elaine if you are planning your exciting wedding abroad – be it icy as above, or hot and exotic – we travel anywhere for lovely people’s weddings (lovely on the inside that is…) see our destination wedding page http://www.reellifephotos.co.uk or our Contact Us Page. Zoe and Steve also had a UK Blessing and masked ball evening reception See more Ice Hotel pics here…
Starship Sydney: glamorous wedding reception on a boat in Australia
January 9th, 2011
Carolina and Theo got married out of doors – under a huge tree in the Botanical gardens in Sydney. That was magical enough, but it was their wedding reception on a boat with the ever-changing views as it gently cruised the waters near Sydney, and the luscious array of seafood that made this a society wedding to remember. However, I have to say that the mainly Portuguese and Greek guests were all absolutely lovely, as were of course the bride and groom! Nothing snobbish about this elegant wedding at all…
This boat looks like a playground for the rich and famous, so it was a once in a lifetime experience to be photographing a wedding there, so far away from Reel Life Photos home base in the UK. Just wait till you see inside!
See here to contact Elaine of Reel Life Photos about your wedding or visit http://www.reellifephotos.co.uk to see loads and loads more wedding photos! – in the galleries, All Day Wedding Pictures and storybook
xx Elaine and Cuban videoman Jorge
Masked Ball at the Pumphouse in Bath for Ice Hotel Couple in Bath
February 7th, 2011
See here to contact Elaine of Reel Life Photos about your wedding or visit http://www.reellifephotos.co.uk to see loads and loads more wedding photos! – in the galleries, All Day Wedding Pictures and storybook
xx Elaine and Cuban videoman Jorge
Such attention to detail. Even the chocolates have the same design – specially selected by Zoe and Steve. They were also amongst the delights served at their small family wedding reception in the Ice Hotel restaurant following their wedding there. See some of their Ice Hotel wedding pics here.
wedding storybook album layout from church wedding & reception at Gomersal Park Hotel
February 20th, 2011This particular storybook album has – as always – been designed not only with the bride and groom’s own choice of images from their wedding, but also as requested by them to have interesting backgrounds, rather than just standard plain white or black. All the backgrounds are created using pictures from the individual wedding , so all contribute to the unique aspect of each and every hand-designed page. Hope you like it! xx Elaine (wedding photographer and storybook designer)
I decided to turn the confetti pic into a black and white wedding photo, as although beautiful in colour too, it had too many different colours to hang together properly in the album.

Groom's family on steps outside Gomersal Park Hotel and bridesmaid fishing confetti out of the bride's dress!
I normally avoid green grass as a backdrop for wedding photos, as feel it tends to clash with most bride’s flowers and colouring, but in this case, by making use of the right patch of light, and the bride’s unusual lemon roses, it very much suits Jodie and Scott’s relatively traditional wedding.
The usually undemonstrative groom goes with the flow – even holding the wedding bouquet and laughing! The soft background behind these images elevate it from the ordinary to the extraordinary – with a subtle feeling of relaxation and gentle light.
See here to contact Elaine of Reel Life Photos about your wedding or visit http://www.reellifephotos.co.uk to see loads and loads more wedding photos! – in the galleries, All Day Wedding Pictures and storybook
xx Elaine and Cuban videoman Jorge
Storybook wedding albums – few pics of Reel Life Photos albums & DVDs
March 7th, 2011We often get asked what our albums are like, so here are a few pics mainly taken at various wedding fairs in West Yorkshire . xx Elaine
and a few more album pictures on display at Dewsbury Town Hall in Yorkshire
And at our latest wedding fair in The Light Shopping Centre in Leeds in January 2012 – a very popular show!
See storybook wedding pictures as individually designed for each bride and groom personally by Elaine
Return to Reel Life Photos main website here: www.reellifephotos.co.uk
Uk wedding photographers in the Seychelles for Lauren & Trevor’s beach wedding
April 13th, 2011Lauren and Trevor found us on Facebook a year ago and clicked “Like” on Reel Life Photos Facebook Page. They are such a lovely couple I thoroughly enjoyed giving them a pre-wedding engagement portrait session in Sheffield. They had their honeymoon on one of the lovely islands in the Seychelles following their beach wedding on Mahe.
Little wedding photographer Levana and I both covered their Seychelles wedding and at the reception venue in Cap Lazare, we were joined by Damien, another young wedding photographer but from the Seychelles, so will also add his photos to our site separately under All Day Wedding Pictures.
The couple chose to get married in the Seychelles as the groom’s family are all from there, and decided on April as it is usually the driest month. However on the wedding day, the beach wedding nearly didn’t happen as the clouds decided to to drop their load on the individually embroidered towels laid out on the beach with personalised white paper fans! The downpour stopped just long enough for the ceremony and a few pics before letting loose again with renewed vigour as we drove the half-hour’s ride to the wedding venue at Cap Lazare.
The dried flower confetti accentuates Lauren’s trailing silk wedding dress as she glides over the sand under a canopy of tropical trees. Paradise!
See here to contact Elaine of Reel Life Photos about your wedding – anywhere in the whole world – or visit http://www.reellifephotos.co.uk to see loads and loads more wedding photos! – in the galleries, All Day Wedding Pictures and storybook
xx Elaine and Cuban videoman Jorge
Wedding prep at Waterton Park Hotel
May 24th, 2011Weddings at Waterton Park Hotel are always very special due to the wonderful location on a private island on the lake
The trees are still fresh, as if Spring has only just unfurled, as the light catches the water while the fisherman cast their lines and the Geese go about their day….
Kirsty and Paul chose Waterton Park Hotel for their 15 May 2011 wedding day, which started bright and early with all the little ones in the large en-suite room in the new part of the building. This room has changed quite a bit since our first ever wedding here in June 2002 for Lisa & Paul. Gone is the four poster bed, replaced by normal beds… but the charming mirror is still there, just moved to a better light for makeup by the window.
Loads more pics still to come from this wedding, when I get a moment!! You can see them all online anyway under All Day Wedding Pictures on our site. See below…
See here to contact Elaine of Reel Life Photos about your wedding or visit http://www.reellifephotos.co.uk to see loads and loads more wedding photos! – in the galleries, All Day Wedding Pictures and storybook
xx Elaine and Cuban videoman Jorge
Seychelles wedding album photos
June 15th, 2011
beach wedding in the Seychelles storybook album design
June 18th, 2011These Creole dancers performed in pitch black outside on the helipad by the sea at Lauren and Trevor’s Seychelles wedding reception. There was an official videographer there too (Michel T) , so this is just a basic clip I shot for myself (as the wedding photographer) on my Canon 5 D Mark II whilst also shooting photos.
Levana - aged 9 and a half - was my little assistant using one of my “big” cameras and two different “L” (top of the range) lenses during the first part of this wedding, up to the end of the beach ceremony, and several of her photos have been included by the bride and groom in this storybook wedding album. She has been coming with me on wedding shoots since she was three , so know what to do, though its only in the past two years she has been allowed to use one of my professional cameras to participate in the photography.
This wedding was also videoed by Michel – a professional cameraman in the Seychelles. He can be contacted on +2482510972 and his son Damien took over the assisting role once we arrived at the wedding reception venue. Some of his photos have also been included, so many thanks to both my young assistants. xx Elaine
The earlier pages of this Italian storybook, showing the bride and groom and their families getting ready for the wedding, and Lauren & Trevor’s beach wedding ceremony in the Seychelles can be found here.
Sometimes I feel that wedding photographers are frightened of colour and dull everything down to muted tones and plain black and white throughout. That might be appropriate for some weddings in the UK and for certain couple’s tastes, but when in an exotic or vibrant environment, its a shame to somehow avoid colour! Having lived in Greece for 8 years where I brought up my family, I soaked up the Mediterranean light which in turn formed my artistic vision through my oil paintings and line drawings of people, and photography too.
I doubt Kate and William had a better wedding than this, though they did honeymoon in the Seychelles too!

groom's sister Katherine plays a delightful flute recital for the wedding guests at the start of the wedding reception
The little pictures show details of the personalised coconut-shell cups the welcome drinks were served in decorated by star fruit. the tropical leaves overlaid with white Frangipani flowers following the theme of green dresses for the bridesmaids, and banana crisps wrapped in funnels of banana leaves. Absolutely fantastic!
I originally designed these with the images of the bride and groom to the left and to the right in a slightly smaller size, as believe space surrounding the images is important to display the photos better, but always listen to bride and groom’s personal views and preferences so this is a revised version to suit their tastes.
Love the emotional hug from the groom for his sister after the flute performance while their Mum applauds and smiles with happiness too. All the bridesmaids had Frangipani flowers in their hair too, so overlaid this lovely image of Katherine onto a picture of the red flowers used.
The background photo here is of a sunlit dark green pool surrounded by palm tree fronds at the entrance to this Seychelles wedding venue at Cap Lazare in Mahe. I really wanted to photograph the bride lying on the smooth undulating rocks at the side of this pool but it had rained heavily during our drive from the beach wedding ceremony to the reception venue, so it wasn’t to be…
See here to contact Elaine of Reel Life Photos about your wedding or visit http://www.reellifephotos.co.uk to see loads and loads more wedding photos! – in the galleries, All Day Wedding Pictures and storybook
xx Elaine and Cuban videoman Jorge
See here to contact Elaine of Reel Life Photos about your wedding or visit http://www.reellifephotos.co.uk to see loads and loads more wedding photos! – in the galleries, All Day Wedding Pictures and storybook
xx Elaine and Cuban videoman Jorge
Winter wedding Italian storybook pictures Thornton Manor on the Wirral
July 27th, 2011Italian storybook cover: Karen & Paul’s wedding was on New Year’s Eve: the best possible way to start married life by entering into the New Year together with all their friends and family. The first we knew about it was when I (Elaine) received a phone call from France in 2008 – two years before this wedding – from the Mother of the Groom, lovely Linda, whom we had met at another couple’s wedding in Tenerife. Jorge and I had enjoyed videoing and photographing that wedding so were delighted to be chosen for Linda and Roy’s son’s wedding too. I didn’t even get to speak to the bride at that stage: she took us on trust, as she had a great bond with her future Mother-in -Law. They were looking for a special venue, but already knew the date the wanted. It took several months and loads of research before Karen & Paul settled on Thornton Manor for their wedding venue; and what a venue!

Following a delicious, relaxing meal with hilarious speeches, its easy to have a those happy family photos.
We also have a clip from Karen & Paul’s wedding video on our video page
See here to contact Elaine of Reel Life Photos about your wedding or visit http://www.reellifephotos.co.uk to see loads and loads more wedding photos! – in the galleries, All Day Wedding Pictures and storybook
xx Elaine and Cuban videoman Jorge
Medieval pre-wedding pictures at Roche Abbey
August 6th, 2011
Gill and Graham travelled all the way from Canada to renew their wedding vows in South Yorkshire, to celebrate 34 years together and to have the big wedding they never had. This will take place in a church today, so more piccies to follow!
See here to contact Elaine of Reel Life Photos about your wedding or visit http://www.reellifephotos.co.uk to see loads and loads more wedding photos! – in the galleries, All Day Wedding Pictures and storybook
xx Elaine and Cuban videoman Jorge
Asian wedding photography in West Yorkshire
September 12th, 2011We have just completed a 3 day Asian wedding in Dewsbury and Batley and Ravensthorpe – all popular areas for UK residents whose families originate from India and Pakistan, so many of our wedding clients are Gujarati or Urdu or Arabic speaking Muslims, Sikhs or Hindus.
I can’t as yet show you more than a few details till the couple get back from their honeymoon in Dubai and Mauritius, as they have requested to be the first to see their wedding photos.
Asian wedding at Grand Banqueting Suite WF13
September 13th, 2011Like any wedding, Asian weddings are full of their own unique traditions. Here the groom’s family arrives at the Grand Banqueting Suite on Huddersfield Road, bearing well-chosen gifts for the bride. Inside the Asian wedding venue – near Dewsbury in West Yorkshire – the bride is awaiting her groom on the stage, where her family’s gift to the groom are all neatly load out.
I have had to be selective in the images used for this story, so as not to reveal too much as yet, until the bride has had time to see and approve her wedding images.
Storybook wedding album from unusual wedding in Lake District
September 19th, 2011Emma & Luke piled into my car to join four special friends on Lake Windermere while we were waiting for their wedding venue to open, following their midday ceremony at Kendal Register Office. After a snack of crisps and ice-cream, the bride and groom and their entourage clambered aboard the road-train to go the the the Island Cruise boat at Bowness. There was a huge queue, but everyone kindly allowed the wedding party to board first and get the best seats on the top deck at the front. The Captain sneaked up to me to ask what the bride and groom were called, then made a surprise public announcement welcoming the new Mr. and Mrs. onboard, cheered on by the Japanese tourists who in turn snapped away with their own cameras too. On the way back the road-train driver kindly allowed the bride and groom to pose for pictures inside his cab, so they were both made to feel like stars for the day.
This album aims to show what a fun time everyone had at Emma & Luke’s wedding in the Lake District on Wednesday 31 August 2011.
See here to contact Elaine of Reel Life Photos about your wedding or visit http://www.reellifephotos.co.uk to see loads and loads more wedding photos! – in the galleries, All Day Wedding Pictures and storybook
xx Elaine and Cuban videoman Jorge
Asian wedding in Pakistan
May 9th, 2012The first Asian wedding we ever covered was a massive event with 2,000 guests on the final day’s Walimah. Roll on nearly 10 years and that very same family was organising another wedding, for one of the brothers this time, so the family was happy to invite me to Pakistan. The visa and flights came to over £700, which I paid myself, so you can see my motive wasn’t financial, but to experience a real Pakistani wedding.
If you want to see more pictures from Reel Life Photos wedding photographer Elaine go to http://www.reellifephotos.co.uk
Travelling to photograph an Asian wedding in Pakistan
March 15th, 2012I had always wanted to travel to India or to Pakistan to photograph a traditional village-style Asian wedding, and last week I got such a chance. My head is so full of images and the overall experience of being immersed into such a different way of life, where I was the only “white” woman the locals had ever seen, that I know I will struggle to choose the right images for this page, knowing that I cannot show you all that is exciting, that depicts even the first day’s travel from Islamabad to the village of Bhamber, 35 kilometers outside Jhelum, without totally crowding out this blog, so here are just a few photos that might entice you to look further.
The first day involved a 3 hours drive from Islamabad airport, squashed two to a seat , as I clicked away at all the colourful lorries and buses which, unlike our beasts, look for all the world like elegant gypsy wagons, complete with curves, tiny patterns and shiny chrome.
Outside Islamabad airport, the desperate, but highly skilled, beggars plead and badger you till you either give in or are rescued by your transport.
Art picture postcards from Tunisia
February 3rd, 2012Just a few art images from my first few days in Tunisia, that would make beautiful picture postcards. Not been able to wander far from the hotel due to being at a photographer’s conference here, but still think they are interesting. Will see more of Hammamet tomorrow.
Wedding blessing at Lyneham and reception in Bath
January 20th, 2012Zoe and Steve actually got married on 28 December 2010 at the Ice Hotel in Sweden, so this was their UK church wedding blessing for the benefit of all the relatives and friends. Elaine, their wedding photographer, also photographed their wedding in the Ice chapel at Jukkasjärvi. You can see some of those pictures here:
See more happy wedding photos and how to book Elaine on Reel Life Photos main site http://www.reellifephotos.co.uk
Birthday party photos in storybook album
January 9th, 2012You can see more photos on Reel Life Photos website
There are many more pages in this charming storybook, but the rest are family pictures that include the adults…If you are having a special party, call Elaine for a quote.
Visit our main site for wedding photography and our contact details .
Asian wedding photography in Bradford
October 29th, 2011To see the pages properly, just click on them, one by one, as these thumbnails only show the middle of each page. We have loads more info on our site too, and love travelling to any wedding venue, be it in the UK or an exciting wedding destination abroad. We have more than 200,000 wedding photos, under All Day Wedding Pictures, selections of wedding galleries, and other wedding storybooks , so have fun looking at some of them, and get in touch with Elaine if you are keen to secure her as your wedding photographer, or just need a bit more info. http://www.reellifephotos.co.uk.
- cover of Italian storybook album
- Asian bride getting ready for her wedding Nikah
- bride sprays on perfume then descend the stairs in her white wedding dress
- Doesn’t she look gorgeous!
- The light shines through her veil as the bride arrives at her wedding venue in Bradford.
To see the pages properly, just click on them, one by one. We have loads more info on our site too. http://www.reellifephotos.co.uk
Ice Hotel storybook wedding album pictures by Reel Life Photos
October 18th, 2011Zoe approached me early in 2009 to see if I was up for photographing another wedding in the Ice Hotel at Jukkasjärvi in Sweden – on 28 December 2010 - after finding my original Blog post for Colin and Sarah’s wedding that I covered in 2007. Apparently I appeared so enthusiastic with my ideas that she was completely bowled over so coupled with the fact that we don’t charge for travel – just accommodation – and was happy to throw in her planned UK reception in Bath too – she quickly decided that we were the right wedding photographers for their special wedding. This is the resulting Italian made storybook wedding album – which I’ve just finished designing for them. I also had to squeeze in all their UK reception – AND church wedding blessing (yes – it was like a full-blown second wedding!) into this same album but think it will look better in a separate wedding blog post at least…if not in a second album! xx Elaine
- A swirl and a twirl for the newly wed Ice King and Queen

This monumental snow arch is an engineering feat in itself, but today marks the start of Zoe & Steve's new life together

Ice Hotel Bride Zoe swishes her black cape as she walks past the Ice Hotel with her father at dusk and the groom inside the ice chapel awaits his bride.

The Ice Hotel bride and groom's breath intermingles in a cloud of frozen vapour as they become joined as one in their Ice Chapel wedding ceremony

Soft light glows throughout, bringing the ice sculptures to life, echoing the couple's solemn vows, in harmony with the world.

I can honestly say this is the first time I have photographed the throwing of the bouquet inside the Ice Chapel!

bridal party silhouetted outside the Ice Hotel entrance, ice glasses with hot lingonberry juice inside Absolut Ice Bar .

The background is from one of the Art Bedrooms in the Ice Hotel, but the photos are inside the Absolut Ice Bar

Just love the sheen on the clear ice, as it reflects the coloured light. Perfect for wedding pictures! The guys look great in uniform too!
On the left there is a sequence of photos where everyone was throwing snowballs at Zoe & Steve. Love their expressions!

The picture on the bottom left shows Eva - who usually conducts the civil wedding ceremonies. She is just wonderful!

Even the blue colour makes me feel cold, but the atmosphere is electric!
The image on the bottom left with the green sky shows the fleeting Northern Lights – The Aurora Borealis – which we were lucky enough to see between taking wedding photos inside the Ice Hotel! Magic! xx
See here to contact Elaine of Reel Life Photos about your wedding or visit http://www.reellifephotos.co.uk to see loads and loads more wedding photos! – in the galleries, All Day Wedding Pictures and storybooks
Storybook wedding pictures at Nostell Priory and Waterton Park Hotel
October 14th, 2011
Storybook album cover showing Sara & Dan as they cross the bridge onto the island for their wedding reception.
Sara & Dan chose to get married in the lovely chapel at the National Trust-owned Nostell Priory, the bride having got ready at her parent’s home nearby. The following pages tell the story of their wedding day, using just the photos they themselves chose, though with all the unused shots they could easily have created a second album, that showed more of the reportage-/documentary type images.

The bride does up her father's cuff-links, there's a last-minute spot of ironing , and its into the wedding dress and on with the veil.

The bride's arrival almost looks like a moving video as your eye is drawn through the perspective of these images.

Beautiful colours and evening light on the island as the evening wedding reception draws to a close with a barbecue and strawberries.
See here to contact Elaine of Reel Life Photos about your wedding or visit http://www.reellifephotos.co.uk to see loads and loads more wedding photos! – in the galleries, All Day Wedding Pictures and storybook
xx Elaine and Cuban videoman Jorge









































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































