February 2010 | DIRK VAN DER WERFF - WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY

DURHAM WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER REVIEW

DURHAM WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER: NIC  AND  JON HEAD DOWN TO PREBENDS BRIDGE - RACING A CHINESE STUDENT DOWN THE HILL!
DURHAM AND LANCHESTER WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY: NICOLA HAS A FEW TEARS
DURHAM WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHERS PHOTOS: INSIDE THE BEAUTIFUL CATHOLIC CHURCH IN LANCHESTER FOR THEIR WEDDING
ISN'T HE THE SWEETEST .. ?
A SMILE FROM NICOLA AS SHE GETS READY TO GO DOWN THE AISLE TO MEET JONATHAN
IT'S ALWAYS GREAT TO RECEIVE A REVIEW OR TESTIMONIAL FOR ALL THE HARD WORK AND PHOTOGRAPHS I CREATE AT A WEDDING.
This wedding review is from Nicola about her and Jonathan's wedding at Lanchester in Durham and at Van Mildert College - the university where they first met in Durham.
".... Planning a wedding can be a stressful time especially when the bride and groom are living 120 miles apart and the bride is 300 miles away from where she is getting married!
Choosing Dirk as our wedding photographer photographer however removed a massive part of this stress. He provided us with fantastic support before, during and after our wedding. With us living so far apart it could have been easy for a photographer to just leave it to the day and hope for the best but not Dirk!
Dirk came to my parent’s house to explain the various packages available to us. We were able to look at his previous weddings in full to get inspiration for our own wedding and we also looked at the types of wedding books available.
One of the reasons why our photographs are so special comes down to the fact that Dirk met us at the venue during a brief visit two months prior to our wedding.
He saw the church where my parents were also married and then looked around where our reception was being held. We then had some photographs taken around the lake and on Prebends Bridge which was special too us - and on our wedding day we stopped off there again to have some more photographs taken!
Getting to know Dirk before the big day helped us to feel relaxed and because of that we were very relaxed on our wedding day and Dirk felt more like a friend than our photographer.
One of the things we love most about our A3 wedding book is how it captures our whole day. Dirk was at my house whilst we were getting ready and photographed the build up to the grand event! He also did this at Jonathan's preparation 45 minutes away.
One of things we didn’t want was the guests hanging around whilst hundreds of photographs were being taken and although we had some group shots the majority just captured the special moments of the day. This helped make the entire day feel really calm.
We had a rather wet wedding day but I was determined to have some pictures taken by the river down in Durham. After the service Dirk followed us there and the results we feel were stunning. They really add to the uniqueness of the album and show the beauty of the city - and the photograph of us walking down the hill to the bridge with the Chinese student on her bike we chose for the front page of our wedding book!
Everyone wants to have the perfect wedding day but when the last glass of bubbly has been supped, the last crumb of cake gone and the thank you cards have been sent it can all appear to have been a bit of a dream.
Your wedding book or album therefore needs to be able to bring back all the wonderful memories and transport you back to the time of your happy day.
We both feel our photographs do exactly that and everyone who has seen them has loved them.
We can’t thank Dirk enough for all his time and effort and would recommend him to any potential bride and groom.
You better be quick though as with a service like this he will definitely be booked up fast!
Nic and Jon
NIC AND JON ORDERED MY A3 LANDSCAPE SAN FRANCISCO WEDDING BOOK MANUFACTURED IN THE USA WITH 70 PAGES AND 210 PHOTOGRAPHS.
NICOLA'S PARENTS ORDERED AN IDENTICAL WEDDING BOOK, BUT AN A4 LOS ANGELES VERSION WITH THE SAME 70 PAGES (SIDES) AND THE SAME AMOUNT OF PHOTOGRAPHS
There's a few more additional photographs here on my website from their wedding.
If you would like me to be the official photographer at your wedding, then ring me on 0778 7150966
MORE DETAILS ON MY WEBSITE HERE
My latest wedding news and photographs HERE

DIRK VAN DER WERFF

WEDDING FAIRS AT HILTON HOTEL GATESHEAD AND COUNTY THISTLE HOTEL NEWCASTLE

HILTON HOTEL WEDDING UNDERWAY



We are right in the middle of the wedding fair and wedding show season and The Great North Wedding Show is at 12pm at the Gateshead Newcastle Hilton Hotel on the banks of the River Tyne.
In the region of 100 stands from wedding vendors and service providers from throughout the North East and some famous name local and uk wide operators, such as House of Fraser, Moss Bros, Waitrose ,Thomas Cook as well as a host of regional exclusive use wedding venues from across the North East.
If you would like me to be your official photographer at the Gateshead Newcastle Hilton Hotel or the County Thistle Hotel, please ring  me  on 0778 7150966 AND TELL ME ALL ABOUT YOUR PLANS ..... prices, packages on the right hand side of this post.
My latest wedding news and photographs HERE

DIRK VAN DER WERFF

BELLE BRIDAL WEDDING MAGAZINE ISSUE TWO FEATURES RACHEL'S WEDDING



It's great to have Issue 2 of Belle Bridal magazine in my hands this week.

I helped them distribute their wedding magazine at the UK Wedding Show at Metro Radio Arena in Newcastle a week or so ago to raise £250+ for breast cancer research with publisher Karen Bell of Inka Publishing.

It was a very busy couple of hours while I helped them raise the money and the enthusiasm from the public was infectious!

I have Rachel and Jonathan's wedding at Headlam Hall featured in the magazine this issue, but I have to say that it very much looks like a national bridal magazine rather than an inferior regional magazine, and we should all be proud that it is designed and published in Sunderland.

The magazine is packed full of information and wedding vendors for North East brides - from The Borders and Northumberland down to North Yorkshire and beyond - highly recommended!


DIRK VAN DER WERFF

Headlam Hall Wedding Photography Exhibition and Fair


HEADLAM HALL WEDDING FAIR:
ROHANNE AND ANDREW'S ROMANTIC WEDDING AT HEADLAM HALL - ONE OF MY FAVOURITE WEDDING VENUES IN ENGLAND

HEADLAM HALL WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY:
RACHEL AND JONATHAN ON THE LAWN AT HEADLAM HALL WITH THEIR WEDDING PARTY
Headlam Hall is one of those very special exclusive use wedding venues with great reviews wherever you look.
The staff are magnificent, the location stunning, and the spa hotel west of Darlington on the edge of Teesdale and County Durham is in the top two of my favourite wedding venues for wedding photography.
My photographs above from Rachel and Jonathan's wedding and from Rhoanne and Andrew's wedding are just one photograph each from their weddings at Headlam Hall - see a more extensive selection of my favourite images from their weddings at Headlam Hall, HERE and HERE.
Charlotte's wedding was at Barnard Castle School Chapel with her wedding reception at Headlam Hall .. you can see the sneak peek from her wedding HERE and Nick and Amanda's Headlam Hall 2012 wedding is HERE
VIEW LOTS OF HEADLAM HALL WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHS ON MY COUNTRY DURHAM WEDDINGS PINTEREST INSPIRATION BOARD HERE
The annual Headlam Hall wedding exhibitions are held between 2pm and 5pm in the Edwardian Suite.
This is an first class opportunity to see the superb facilities of Headlam Hall and to talk with a member of their wedding team.
There will be an extensive range of high quality wedding service providers to make your wedding at Headlam Hall something really special ... If you would like me to be the official wedding photographer at your wedding at Headlam Hall, please ring me NOW on 0778 7150966 or the office 01429 423165 - happy to help and advise ... RING NOW ... DON'T LOSE YOUR DATE!
Read RACHEL'S REVIEW OF MY WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY, HERE
My latest wedding news and photographs HERE



DIRK VAN DER WERFF

CHARLOTTE'S WEDDING AT TYNEMOUTH AND BLACKFRIARS RESTAURANT NEWCASTLE

TYNEMOUTH WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHERS:
HOLY SAVIOURS CHURCH TYNEMOUTH - READY FOR THE BIG DAY!
BEAUTIFUL ORDER OF SERVICE FOR THE WEDDING OF CHARLOTTE AND ALEX
A FEW CHEEKY BEERS  .. JUST TO SETTLE THE NERVES OF COURSE!
AND SO, IT'S OFF TO GET MARRIED!
A FINE WEDDING SUIT AND BUTTONHOLE FOR ALEX
YOU CAN BRING YOUR BEST FRIEND TOO ... :)
A WARM WELCOME FOR CHARLOTTE AS SHE ARRIVES AT ST SAVIOURS CHURCH TYNEMOUTH
BEAUTIFUL DRIED ROSE PETALS AND BOUQUET
ALL NERVES GONE .. READY FOR THE WEDDING CEREMONY!
WE ALL LIKE A GOOD CONFETTI SHOT .. NO?
A QUICK RELAXED GROUP PHOTOGRAPH .. THEN OFF TO BLACKFRIARS RESTAURANT IN NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE FOR THE WEDDING BREAKFAST
THE MESSAGE IS CLEAR ... 
BEAUTIFUL BRIDE AND BEAUTIFUL BUS .... WHAT MORE CAN ALEX WANT!
FARES PLEASE!
A BEAUTIFUL AUTUMN WEDDING BOUQUET FOR CHARLOTTE.
A KISS??  WHY NOT!
BLACKFRIARS RESTAURANT NEWCASTLE WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER:
HAPPY AND CONTENT  ... ALEX AND CHARLOTTE TAKE A MINUTE OUT FOR SOME PORTRAITS TOGETHER
CHARLOTTE CHATTING WITH FRIENDS IN THE MARQUEE IN THE GROUNDS AT BLACKFRIARS RESTAURANT IN NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE
DON'T LOOK BACK ... APART FROM A WEDDING PORTRAIT
THE SMALLEST DETAIL .....
OLD FRIENDS AND BRIDESMAID TIME FOR A GIGGLE AND SOME PHOTOGRAPHS
BLACKFRIARS RESTAURANT SET OUT FOR THE WEDDING BREAKFAST
HAPPY AND SO IN LOVE .. ALEX AND CHARLOTTE IN THE GROUNDS OF BLACKFRIARS RESTAURANT
FIRST DANCE?  WHY NOT!
I had been looking forward to Charlotte and Alex's wedding at Tynemouth for a long time and what a great time they had during their wedding day!
Perfectly relaxed and beautiful with a great wedding breakfast at one of the nicest restaurants in Newcastle - Blackfriars!I started off the day wandering around and about Holy Saviours Church Tynemouth to get my bearings - and then headed off to the pub! Alex was meeting with his friends down at the Cumberland Arms at Tynemouth for a pint to settle his nerves, and who can blame him?

I followed the crew back to the church where everything was in full swing, guests arriving, for a few flower details and a shot or two of Alex starting to look nervous!
Charlotte was nervous too, but the great thing for me was that they had selected me to photograph their great wedding because they knew I would keep my distance, capture everything naturally just as it happened without stopping and starting and making them pose un-naturally.
She looked gorgeous when she arrived, and I just knew that Alex would be bowled over when she came down the aisle - and he was!
There was time for a few photographs outside of church in a swirling wind before we walked around the church to where Dreadnought double decker buses were laid on for the journey into central Newcastle to get us to Blackfriars!
Charlotte and Alex and their guests walked a short way to Blackfriars where a marquee was set up on the lawn for champagne and canapes - and Wylam Gold Tankard bitter!
There were lots of relaxed, happy people about and it was a pleasure to be part of such a great relaxed atmosphere, and I managed to grab a few nice photographs of the happy couple chilled and enjoying themselves in the quadrangle as well as a few family groups too before we headed into the restaurant for the grand wedding breakfast at one of the finest restaurants in the north east!
Good food and wine and great speeches and pudding and coffee's and more champagne flowed as the evening wore on with a traditional cutting of the cake and great cheers as Charlotte and Alex stepped onto the tiny dance floor for their first dance!
I could still hear the laughter and the fun as I walked off down to The gate where I had parked my car first thing on the morning - and now it was well past 10pm.
A great wedding celebration for Charlotte and Alex - thanks so much for allowing me to be a small but important part of your day... and I hope you enjoy a sneak peek of the 350+ final edited images which told the story of their day SEE OTHER REVIEWS AND WEDDING AT TYNEMOUTH ..... 
GARY AND CATHERINE'S WEDDING AT TYNEMOUTH GRAND HOTEL IS HERE
CHRIS AND BECKY'S WEDDING AT THE TYNEMOUTH GRAND HOTEL IS HERE



If you would like me to be part of your family wedding celebrations at your own wedding at St Saviour's Church, Crusoe's on Longsands or in Tynemouth itself, Tynemouth Priory or The Grand Hotel, or just to chat about your wedding plans, in the North East, North Yorkshire, Cumbria, The Borders, or anywhere in the UK, ring me on 0778 7150966.
Wedding photography costs from £1195, with the most popular package at £1495 which includes a pre-wedding shoot and a framed portrait together with a signiture A3 print for signing by your guests at your wedding. Up to 500 hard-copy gallery proof-prints in a presentation box, a dedicated website, all final edited images on a CD, together with great customer experience and outstanding personalised customer service and satisfaction.
Smaller weddings with less than 25 guests, midweek, cost £750, these options are also available 10 weeks before a Saturday or Sunday if the date is free.


For additional images and news and special offers, add me as a friend on Facebook HERE

MORE DETAILS ON MY WEBSITE HERE
My latest wedding news and photographs HERE

DIRK VAN DER WERFF

Wedding Photography Wedding Venues Cleveland Teesside and North Yorkshire Moors

If you live on the boundaries of North Yorkshire, East Cleveland and Teesside, there are not as many options for your grand wedding as in Northumberland and Durham and North Yorskshire.
However, there are still quite a few select venues that offer a lot of substance and style for a great wedding celebration.
HISTORIC GISBOROUGH HALL ON THE BORDERS OF NORTH YORKSHIRE MOORS AND CLEVELAND COUNTY IN THE TEES VALLEY
Gisborough Hall (above) is one of the best - from the sweeping private driveway, to the surrounding woodlands and distant hills, Gisborough Hall Hotel exudes countryside charm and exclusive seclusion.
This historic Guisborough hotel, once home to the Chaloner family, is an ivy-clad example of Victorian architecture at its very best, and has such a fantastic ambiance that brides-to-be easily fall under it's charm - SEE Jennifer's SNEAK PEEK preview of my photographs HERE, and Natalie's SNEAK PEEK preview of my photographs HERE from Gisborough Hall
THE VICTORIAN HOUSE OF RUSHPOOL HALL NEAR SALTBURN IN EAST CLEVELAND
Rushpool Hall is a grand old Victorian country house in 90 acres of woodland on the outskirts of the seaside resort of Saltburn - and there are four bridal suites to choose from, but ask for exclusive use so that you don't share your day with another bride.
DUNSLEY HALL IS A LOVELY INTIMATE WEDDING VENUE NEAR WHITBY ON THE NORTH YOPRK MOORES / NORTH SEA COAST
Dunsley Hall on the outskirts of Sandsend and Whitby is another smaller more intimate Victorian country house hotel and offers traditional comfort and wonderful food against a backdrop of period elegance.
Grinkle Park is an elegant baronial mansion with original features including high embossed ceilings and wood panelling cradled between the north Yorkshire moors on the stunning north east coast set in 35 acres including secluded woodland, a tranquil lake and views over the nearby Moors where they have their own shooting estate.
ELIZABETH HAVING FUN WITH HER DESIGNER WEDDING GOWN AT ROCKLIFFE HALL DURING HER WEDDING
Rockliffe Hall is a new 5 star hotel country house that is not technically on Teesside, but is easilyt accessible being at Hurworth Village south of Darlington. It also has a championship golf course and the Orangery Restaurant is the flagship with Executiove Chef Kenny Atkinson. It is a beautiful location for a wedding if you have a large budget - though a small er budget for twenty or thirty people allows you use of the Rockliffe Suite where I have photographed a few weddings recently - see the link to Elizabeth's wedding on my BLOG
Crathorne Hall is also technically not on Teesside, but North Yorkshire and is near Yarm. This is easily accessible to the area and is one of my favourite wedding venues. - see Catherine and Chris' wedding HERE. It is a beautiful intimate wedding venue, a country house with style and the staff to match and a perfect wedding venue in any season with expansive lawns and beautiful rooms if you decide to have a civil ceremony there - but Crathorne Church is just around the corner and is a perfect foil for Crathorne Hall.
If you would like me to be a small but important part of your wedding celebrations at any of these venues in Teesside, East Cleveland, North York Moors, Rockliffe Hall or Crathorne Hall then ring me on 0778 7150966 .
READ MY WEDDING REVIEWS HERE
READ ABOUT COST / PRICES / INVESTMENT HERE
WEDDINGS FROM £1250 ... SMALL INTIMATE WEDDINGS WITH LESS THAN 35 PEOPLE FROM £750

DIRK VAN DER WERFF

ONE OF MY FAVOURITE WEDDING VENUES CRATHORNE HOTEL IS HOTEL OF THE YEAR







One of my favourite wedding venues in north Yorkshire has been named one of the best in Britain.
Crathorne Hall Hotel near Yarm has been awarded Hand Picked Hotels’ Hotel of the Year 2009.
Hand Picked Hotels, a collection of 17 country house hotels located across the UK, holds an annual ceremony with Hotel of the Year the most prestigious of three awards selected by chairman and chief executive, Julia Hands.
Other awards include Consistent Hotel of the Year, which was won by Crathorne Hall Hotel in 2008, and Most Improved Hotel of the Year.
Saltburn-born Mark Clayton has been general manager of Crathorne Hall since June 2008.
“It is a great honour to win this award and a real confidence boost and motivator for all the team here.
“I am hugely proud of the team and the level of commitment, service quality and standards they naturally deliver and attain.
“I’m passionate about this area and I’m passionate about the hotel so I am delighted that Crathorne Hall has been recognised as one of the best.”
Crathorne Hall Hotel was built in 1905 and has been part of the Hand Picked Hotels collection for nine years. It has been named among the country’s top 200 hotels for eight years, holding the prestigious accolade of four Red Stars since 2002.
Crathorne Hall, previously owned by the Dugdale family until 1977, has played host to HM The Queen Mother and Sir Winston Churchill when it was a private country home.
I've covered many, many weddings at Crathorne Hall over the year and it really is a distinct and beautiful country retreat with great staff attending to your every need, fantrastic food and a brilliant location on the outskirts of Yarm and close to the A19.

If you would like me to be the official photographer at your Crathorne Hall wedding then ring my mobile on 0778 7150966 to check your date.

MORE DETAILS ON MY WEBSITE HERE

My latest wedding news and photographs HERE