A fabulous PapaSnapa!
When Sally asked me if I would write for the PapaBlog, I thought it might be fun to share what a PapaKata wedding is like from a photographer‘s point of view.
My name is Annemarie King and I’m a wedding photographer. I have small, boutique wedding photography studio in the pretty village of Bishopthorpe, near York, so PapaKata HQ is almost my neighbour!
My website will tell you that I am a lover of nature, of greyhounds, gingham, crackle paint and country living… in fact, I love all things country! I enjoy walking my dogs (Boo and Patch) in the fields; I notice the changing of the seasons. I see the fresh green first bloom of spring; the golden colour of high summer and the fruit and berries at harvest time.
I think my love of nature has greatly inspired my photography over the years. These days, I specialise in country weddings and engagements. I shoot in country houses and rustic barns. I photograph joyous family weddings in village halls strewn with bunting and gingham napkins, and, of course… gorgeous PapaKata weddings.
I shot my first PapaKata wedding in 2006. It was that of Richard and Amanda Monaghan, the owners of PapaKata. When we met to chat about their wedding, they said they were having a teepee! They said they were going to decorate it with all different kinds of beautiful flowers in jam jars and vases. There would be lanterns, a chill out area and cosy fires. They said they were having curry for their wedding breakfast, with poppadoms and cobra beers out on the tables for guests to tuck in to. It sounded amazing!
They also said they were coming home to North Yorkshire to set up a business helping other couples create their own perfect wedding receptions in a fabulous PapaKata teepee. I was so excited!
I shot the wedding and it was beautiful. It was a joyful day, so wonderfully unusual… and I fell in love with PapaKata!!
I now shoot several PapaKata weddings every year, all different and all stunningly beautiful. I still love to see the reactions of the couple’s guests as they experience the teepee for the first time.
Here’s some of the things I like to shoot at a PapaKata wedding:
I’m always mindful to capture the overall setting of the wedding. How the teepee’s look in their unique environment, as often the teepees are pitched at a place that has special meaning for a couple.
I like to get this shot at different times of the day too. As the sun slips down and the marquee is lit up, it glows from within and gives of a wonderful sense of the party continuing on inside.
Sometimes it’s nice to get a shot of all the guests enjoying the day within the wider environment of the wedding, whether formally or informally:
Shooting country weddings means that I get to meet lots of imaginative and creative people who love to personalise their wedding. PapaKata weddings are the best for brides who love creating artistic and personal touches.
I love to shoot all the little details. It’s a signature look with my albums to mix ‘people pictures’ with the details of the day. For me, a detail can be something natural like apples on a tree in the orchard where we’re shooting, or maybe a flower that only grows at that time of year. Oil seed rape always means May weddings to me, golden wheat says August and hawthorn berries and orange bracken means autumn! My wedding album pages are full of detail shots of things like cream jugs filled with wildflowers, homemade signs, and yes, of course… photographs of the couple!
One of the reasons couple book me is for my relaxed portraits of the bride and groom together. With a PapaKata wedding, I like to shoot some pictures of the couple against the canvas of the teepee. It’s a lovely soft warm tone and makes for great portraits. I like to shoot some close up, uncluttered images… just the top of the teepee with the poles sticking out and the couple below. It’s such a striking thing to see and it’s the shot to get. After all, this couple has chosen this as their amazing venue for their wedding day and they want pictures that show it off as much as possible! This tends to be the shot that goes BIG in the album, small in their wallets and sits on the piano in their parents’ home. It’s the iconic PapaKata wedding image in my mind.
I always shoot the inside of the teepee and the tables before the guests are seated. I know that couples want to remember the teepee looking warm welcoming and ready for their guests to enjoy. There are often personal favours on each table, a signature board, or cool vintage trunk with labels for guests to write a personal message. I like to shoot the bride and groom’s names at their table setting, particularly if it showing the bride’s new name for the first time. Call me sentimental? Yep…. I am!
I love the shot below of the tables named after books – these are the books that this couple read to each other when they first started dating.
Once guests are invited to take their seats in the teepee for the wedding breakfast, I start capturing all the fun of the party. Couples want to see their guests HAVING FUN!! Let me tell you… they always are!!!
So as well as capturing the drinks reception and the teepee behind, for me it’s important to capture the atmosphere inside too. I love getting shots of the fires burning, the people chatting around them and the laughter at the tables as people pass plates to each other and share a joke.
I like to photograph each couple at the wedding very naturally and informally at the tables. In particular, the friends of the bride and groom who may not already have appeared on family pictures. By now they’re relaxing and enjoying themselves and sometimes they don’t even notice me!
I think the teepees are particularly beautiful at night. They have a special glow from the outside but are magical inside. The disco ball and the twinkly lights look stunning. The fire and the candles add a warm cosy feel.
So thank you to Sally and to Papa and MamaKata (as I like to call Richard and Amanda) for allowing me to share a little of my life of as a Yorkshire Wedding Photographer. I hope you have enjoyed seeing a Papa Wedding through my eyes and have some inspiration for your own wedding day
Annemarie x
PS: One last picture! If you haven’t yet experienced a PapaChristmas event, you are missing out! It’s very special xx
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