The Black & White Picture Place

Wedding & Special Occasion Photography

Dear Steve, we would both like to thank you for your unique and calm approach to taking our wedding photographs. You enabled us to to get on and enjoy proceedings knowing that you were 'snapping away'. We are looking forward to seeing the end result! Thank you again, John & Lisa Shorter, August 2001 When we opened our photography gallery over twenty years ago, in 1990, people soon started asking if we would photograph their wedding. They'd tell us they were looking for something rather different from the work offered by the average high street photographer, would point to the framed photographs on the gallery wall and say they'd like theirs to be similar. From small beginnings, our reputation has quickly grown, and, in addition to our many other photographic and digital services, we are now privileged to record many weddings every year. This has been achieved almost entirely through personal recommendations. When we photograph your wedding we impose no limit upon the number of pictures taken during the day and requests by you and your guests for specific photographs are welcome. In addition to the 'classic' pictures such as signing the register, coming down the aisle and family groups, we like to take lots of 'informal' pictures to more completely capture the atmosphere of your special day. We've all been to the wedding where the photographers have 'taken over' and bossed everyone about in order to achieve their concept of 'perfect' pictures. We promise never to do this. This is your special day and we undertake to do our very best to stay in the background as much as possible and not to intrude upon it. And we never photograph more than one wedding per day- we're all yours as long as you need us!

Upon your return from honeymoon, your proof pictures will be waiting for you. There'll usually be at least a hundred of these- often many more. From them you choose a minimum of twenty five images to be handprinted and mounted in one of our quality handmade albums which are available in a variety of subtle colours. Your album prints can be a combination of colour, black-and-white, sepia-toned or 'hand-coloured' as you wish. Of course, we are also happy to supply any prints requested by your family and friends. These may also be presented in an album or beautifully mounted and framed. Many of your guests will doubtlessly also be taking photographs at your wedding- if you'd like any of their pictures included in your album, let us borrow the negatives/digital files and we'll be happy to handprint them for you, possibly adding them to your album. We are also pleased to offer a full mounting and framing service. In addition, our extensive range of original photographs of Chester and many other subjects are a popular choice of wedding gift. For the service as outlined above, our fully-inclusive fee for the 2014 season remains at £895.00 We request a deposit of £300.00 at the time of booking, the balance to be paid upon receipt of your proof photographs. The only extra charges are for travel- and occasionally accomodation- for weddings held outside the Chester area, and for whatever additional prints you and your family may require. These are supplied at the following rates: (pictures measured in approx inches)...

Frank & Christine Stanschus: Gresford Church 1998

7x5	£10.00
10x8	£20.00
16x12	£45.00
20x16	£75.00

Charges are negotiable for large orders. There is always a selection of original prints, albums and letters from our satisfied clients available for your inspection at our studio situated in the pleasant suburb of Hoole, about a mile from Chester city centre. It's easy to park too! If we may... some well-meant words of advice Since the advent of cheap digital cameras, we have witnessed the rise of a new type of wedding photographer who will offer to record this, your most special of days for a couple of hundred quid, or even less. All we can advise is- beware! We've sadly had a number of the sorry products of these characters through our photographic restoration department in order to attempt to rectify the total mess they'd made. We're aware of the huge expenses involved in the modern wedding and that the temptation to save a few pounds is strong, but remember, once the day is over, what remains is your new husband or wife- and your wedding photographs. You should be enjoying them for the rest of your life as, hopefully, will your children and grandchildren- so is it really worth the risk? Similarly, the temptation to think, "Oh, Uncle John's got all the latest kit, he'll photograph our wedding for free!" We've frequently seen the results of this type of economising too- shockingly awful pictures and serious family fall-outs! By all means encourage Uncle John to snap away on your wedding day- but please, please leave the real job to the professionals! You'll be so glad you did. A picture, as they say, is worth a thousand words, so we first invite you view a few images from some of our recent weddings. Click on the small pictures to see a larger version...

Derek & Janine Martin

David & Amanda Bellis

And now a few blasts from the past: some favourite images from 25 years of wedding photography... once again, click on a picture to enlarge.

Registry Office Wedding? If you are planning a small, informal ceremony in the Chester area and require only a few commemorative photographs, we may be able to help. Our fee for this is £595.00 including proof pictures, which are, as with our main package, yours to keep. As with our full service, you select the pictures you'd like handprinted and these are charged individually at the rates quoted above. We stock a small, but fine quality range of albums, or you are free to supply your own. We are happy to mount your selection of pictures in the chosen album at no extra cost. Consider also a classic portrait sitting in the relaxed atmosphere of our Chester studio as part of your wedding photography package! Go here to view a selection of our work...

In closing, we would respectfully remind you that our wedding and other photographic services are increasingly in demand so if you want something different for your special day, please don't hesitate too long in talking to us! Steve Howe, proprietor/photographer

25 Lime Grove, Hoole, Chester CH2 3HW Tel 01244 345099 / 0775 1521 600

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