Since the announcement of my engagement to Aidan, many have asked the same question; who is going to be your wedding photographer? I never wanted to hijack the wedding with my creative appetite for styling every inch of the wedding day. The wedding was not about a stunning piece of creative genius from the Aspire styling team and my imagination; this was about a girl marrying the man of her dreams.

It would have been too easy, to have taken control over every aspect from style, location, theme, and photographer choice. Don’t get me wrong, Aidan has left all of the planning and arranging to me! Yet his wishes, likes and tastes matter deeply; I wanted this to be our day and a day for our families too.

Photography is so important to us both, we both value a photographs family heritage, the meaning within each image captured. Our home is filled with photographs, from treasured photographs of my grandparents wedding day, to a loved image from Aidan’s Mum and Dad’s wedding day on the pier at the Low Wood Hotel over looking Lake Windermere; it’s a picture both Aidan and I love looking at, it’s a priceless treasure.

We are hopeless romantics and we needed a ridiculous romantic to capture our day. I can remember asking Aidan “who would you like to capture our wedding day?” I was over the moon when he said Lisa Aldersley, as over the years, I have listened to her lectures and how she feels about her couples, love, marriage, the whys within every wedding day, photography and albums - and we share so many of the same beliefs and values. I always consistently thought if I ever get married, Lisa would be the wedding photographer for me. I would have moved my date, a mountain, even parted the ocean to have Lisa within our day. And thankfully Aidan felt the same too.

It was never going to be my choice solely as two were entering the marriage; I wanted Aidan to share his opinion and needs as much as I would air mine.

I have had the privilege of listening to many lectures helmed by Lisa Aldersley, I have absorbed her thoughts and views, and listened to why pictures matter so much to her too. Lisa captures as much of how you look on the outside as how you feel on the inside.

The question so many professional photographers and budding photographers have asked is this - “why Lisa?”

We share the same values

Lisa gets Aidan and I; she understands why a second time marriage differs, and certainly when children have to be considered too. I knew we needed somebody who would treasure the feelings, and emotions of those sharing our day too. This was never going to be simply Aidan and I’s day, our wedding was just as much about the children. Ailish and Niall are grown up, yet they will always be our little girl and boy, two wonderful characters, that would be within the core of the day as much as each other

The understanding of marriage - why marriage

Aidan and I knew Lisa got it! Why we were getting married at our age! Why marriage; love and loving each other is deeply important to us both. As you get older, time becomes more and more fragile; we have no time to waste, no time to spare. Time is a priceless gift, and we both want to spend as much time together as possible, never waste a moment and live a life with no regrets. Marrying Aidan is the next chapter; the church service will matter deeply to us both. I have promised Aidan I will try and hold it together, yet I know my emotions will be doing somersaults. Sharing this with the right photographer for you is vastly important; totally grasping and capturing all of this emotional depth can only be done firstly by a professional and secondly by a romantic.

The couple

Every couple is different and all couples connect in differing ways. Aidan and I share the same spirit; we needed to be captured by a photographer that ascertains how we feel and why the wedding matters. It’s not about the dress, the styling, the flowers or the cake it’s all about two people making a life long commitment. To treasure one another through winter flu’s and life blues, the challenges of life and all of the realities of the grown up lives we lead.

Sheer gifted boundless talents!

Shamelessly, I have to now confess that all of the above is firstly, and secondly Lisa a whiz with her camera, and her ability to know when to press the shutter, she has made flattering light her friend and wow, is she gifted in post-production! We both love with a passion Lisa’s wedding and photography style; I love her colour palettes, her photographic opinion, what she shoots and how she shoots. Lisa is a content gal, and each image is rich in content and value. I have said this before and I will say it again; Lisa is one of the best photographers of our time. We feel overwhelmed and privileged to be captured by a girl who places so much within all who she photographs.

The girl with the camera

When you select a wedding photographer, select a photographer you would be prepared to be shipwrecked with. I could live on a desert island with Lisa; you would laugh each day, have a great conversation over a campfire and she allows me to freely disco dance! My constant desire to sing would be tolerated, as those that know me well know I love a disco dance and I sing from room to room daily.

As for Aidan he continually admired Lisa’s graft for life; she is a doer, a girl that if required could build a raft with her bare hands and a nail file whilst doing so stylishly and without a complaint. In all of her lectures I have never heard Lisa moan or complain. She is simply a hard working, very talented and skilled, northern gal, who understands what being a professional photographer is all about “loving those that love dancing”.

Why book a professional? You never risk not having the above; Aidan and I get married on the 28th November 2015, the day will be beautiful, my heart will be in every stride of the day, yet the treasures to come will be the pictures captured, and stories told through the eyes of a photographer called Lisa who understands the humble word love.

Catherine x

Image by Lisa Aldersley