“Martin Stembridge Photography was recently awarded  “Most Family Friendly Business 2010” by The Best of Bury, a well deserved achievement.  Awards at The Best of Bury are voted for by customers who have enjoyed the service they received, making them an honour to win.

The winner is chosen from 12 nominations, in recognition of being truly the best at what they do. For Martin Stembridge Photography, winning Most Family Friendly Business 2010 is a reflection of their professionalism and individual service to the client.

Martin Stembridge Photography are renowned as one of Bury’s premier weddings and portrait photographers, perfectly capturing those precious moments to treasure forever. The excellent reputation that Martin Stembridge Photography has built is mirrored in their friendly, relaxed and professional approach. This ensures that spontaneous and natural images are taken on your wedding, portrait sitting or special occasion.

Martin Stembridge Photography are highly trained and qualified to provide superb quality photographs for any occasion.  This high standard of work was officially recognised when Martin achieved silver award in the “Commercial Photography” section of The Master Photographers Awards 2010. Hundreds of entries were submitted and they were narrowed down to gold, silver and bronze in each category. This follows on from winning silver in 2009 and gold award in 2007 in the “Weddings” category!

As Martin Stembridge is a member of The Best of Bury, they have a bank of online testimonials from happy customers, which can be viewed 24 hours a day.

“Following my recent wedding, I would whole-heartedly and without reservation recommend Martin Stembridge to others looking for a wedding photographer. Leading up to the day on the wedding day itself both Martin and Sue were fantastic. They were extremely professional and it was obvious that they knew what they were doing! It was commented on by our guests on numerous occasions how organised they were. We are delighted with the quality of the photographs and can’t thank Martin and Sue enough.” Dan C”

Most family friendly business 2010

                          

I often think I have the best job in the world and its weddings like this that make me certain of that fact. A wedding is only as good as the people who are there and sometimes everything just clicks into place and you can tell its going to be a cracker of a day. Again the weather wasn’t reliable and there were times where I thought we were going to spend the day inside. This would have been a shame as Alistair and Claire has the lovely St Annes Church Tottington and then the stunning Stanley House Hotel in Mellor for their wedding.

As soon as I arrived at the St Anne’s, Tottington it was nice to see the friendly faces of previous bride and grooms at the wedding (even if one is starting to feel a bit like a stalker now , only kidding – keep up the recommendations Sharon !!). the group of guys Alistar had chosen for his best man and ushers were fantastic and the fun we had really helped keep the nerves at bay im sure.

As Claire arrived the sun broke through and the service went without a hitch (As usual at St Annes). After the service we all went into the gardens opposite and did the family pictures etc. The atmosphere of the whole wedding was electric and it was great that the weather was behaving and giving us chance to take as much as we could.

We all then made our way to Stanley House Hotel in Mellor for the wedding breakfast. As I walked through the bar area I was greeted with a stupendous sight – PICK AND MIX !!!! yes pick and mix at the wedding, huge bowls of licorice torpedoes and bonbons, Happy days !!! I hurriedly completed the pictures before the guests could devour all the sweets and then grabbed a bag for myself. I’m happy to report that the bag is still in my car and still isn’t finished yet !!!!

Its weddings like this that remind me how lucky I am to be able to be part of peoples most special of days. Thanks Alistair and Clair it was an honour !!!

Hope you like the pics and have a great time in Thailand – see you soon.

Getting ready pictures in Tottington

I Never guessed they were rugby players .....

Relaxed wedding photography in Tottington

The new ..... Mr & Mrs Clayton ...

Relaxed wedding photography

                          

St Johns Baxenden was the setting for Liam & Kimberleys wedding on the 9th July.

I arrived at the brides house to be greeted by their dog with a bow tie on, I was told that it would have been part of the wedding party but it want allowed in church !! We had to make do with pictures at home and then it was off to St Johns Church, Baxenden for the service. As I arrived at the church again I was greeted with an unusual sight, a page boy running around with no trousers on as one of the guests frantically tried to sew up his ripped pants before the service started. Never a dull moment as a wedding photographer.

The service went without a hitch and we again managed to dodge some very angry looking clouds and get the family pictures done. we all then set of to the Red Hall Hotel, Ramsbottom for the reception.

I hope you had a great evening and see you when you get back.

Bacon Butties in the morning - yum !!

St Johns Church, Baxenden

Wedding Photographer, The Red Hall Ramsbottom

Liam & Kimberley Derbyshire

                          

St Thomas’ Church, Radcliffe was the setting for Robert & Kathryn’s wedding on the 26th June. The weather held fine and we managed to get loads of pictures with the beautiful looking church in the background. Its nice to be finally having to look for shade from the sun for wedding pictures. The grounds have some great opportunities for photography especially the tree lined walkway to the church.

The whole day went without a hitch and after a quick visit to a local park we arrived at The Red Hall Hotel, Ramsbottom for the wedding breakfast. The room looked superb and Im sure the evening reception went with a bang.

Have a great time in Switzerland and see you when you get home.

Wedding Photography in Radcliffe

Robert and his Ushers in Radcliffe

Black & White Wedding Photography

Wedding photographer at The Red Hall Hotel Ramsbottom

Romantic Weddings in Ramsbottom

                          

We are now entering the busiest few months of the year and lets hope the weather stays fine for them all our weddings.

A venue I haven’t visited for a while was the setting for Adam and Emma’s wedding on the 26th June. The Ramada Jarvis Hotel in Blackrod was bathed in sunshine when we arrived but the sky was full of very dark rain soaked clouds. Again luck stayed with us and we managed to get all the photography done and stay dry. A great group of guests and a fun couple always make for great pictures and Im sure the evening reception was an evening to remember.

Hope you have a great day, see you soon.

The Ramada Jarvis Hotel, Blackrod

Wedding Photographer at Ramada Jarvis Hotel

Bolton Wedding Photographer

                          

Another scorcher !!! It sooo makes our job easier when we don’t have to worry about the weather.

I met Siobhan at the house and was greeted by a very peaceful scene. All seemed under control and running to time.

Our Lady of Lourdes, Farnworth was the setting for the service and when I turned up the guys were ready to go. Martin didn’t seem nervous at all until Siobhan arrived in the car. It always seems to be this point when the grooms face changes !!!

It was a lovely service and we all then set off for The Last Drop Village in Bromley Cross. They had selected a room called the Demdyke suite which looked stunning and was the perfect room for their wedding breakfast,

I hope you enjoyed your day as much as I did and ill see you next week !!

Wedding Photographer at The Last Drop Village

David & Siobhan Williams

Reportage Weddings in Bolton

Wedding photography at Our Lady of Lourdes, Farnworth

Weddings in Bolton

                          

Another sunny day !!! Its almost like we are having a summer this year !!

A glorious day greeted us for Martin and Samantha’s wedding at St Marys Church in Prestwich. For those of you who don’t know this church its the one used in all the Coronation Street episodes. Its a stunning church and even better for the men there is a pub almost next door, shame it was closed though !!

We met the Samantha in the The Green Quarter in Manchester and spent some time with her and her bridesmaids. Ive got to say they were a lovely bunch !! After that we met up with Martin and his ushers etc. at the church. After the service Martin had a very special surprise for Sam, he had arranged for them to release 2 white doves. Luckily we managed to get a couple of shots of them before they disappeared over the horizon. After some time at the church photographing the guests we all went to The Orangery at Heaton Park, it was great to have such a nice day so the guests could get a drink and soak up some of the sunshine.

Martin and Sam, I’m sure you had a fantastic evening reception and I hope you have a great time Gran Canaria. See you soon !!

Classical Wedding Photography in Manchester

The Coronation Street Church in Prestwich

Wedding Photographer in Bury

Wedding Photographer at St Marys Church, Prestwich

Releasing the Doves at St Marys Church, Prestwich

Wedding photography at The Orangery, Heaton Park

                          

The Red Hall, Ramsbottom was the venue for Lee & Rachel’s wedding on the 5th of June. I’m getting a bit sick of saying this but it was another glorious day for a wedding and the main worry of the day was trying to keep people out of the very very bright sun.

The Red Hall always do a fantastic job of looking after their guests and today was no different. After finishing the family pictures we took Lee & Rachel to a local park for some time on their own and for the opportunity for us to get some personal shots of them.

I hope you both have a great break in Jamaca and ill see you in a couple of weeks !!

Bury Wedding Photographer

Wedding Photography in Ramsbottom

Modern Wedding Photography at The Red Hall Hotel

Wedding Photographer at The Red Hall Ramsbottom

Reportage wedding photographer in Bury

                          

I love my local weddings and it doesn’t come much more local than Clair & Paul’s wedding on the 5th June 2010. We started at the lovely St Paul’s Church in the center of Ramsbottom, the weather was glorious (Again !!) and I started the photography at Claire’s parents house. Its great to knock on the door and see loads of familiar friendly faces (This is the second family wedding I have done). Everything was calm at the house and the same could be said for the guys when we met at the church later.  I must make a point of thanking all the people at St Paul’s church, as photographers we are often treated as an inconvienience but I have to say its so nice when you are greeted with “Do what you like as long as you dont get in the way” so a big thankyou to St Pauls !!.

After the service we went to the Last Drop Village in Bolton and had a great time with Paul & Claire and their guests.

I hope you enjoy your honeymoon in Spain and see you when you get back !!!

Paul & Claire Wilcock

St Pauls Church Ramsbottom

Reportage Photographer in Ramsbottom

Weddings at The Last Drop Village Bolton

Hire Society Wedding Cars with Martin Stembridge

Casual photography at The Last Drop Village

                          

Crabwall Manor is situated in beautiful, peaceful grounds on the outskirts of the historic city of Chester and was the venue for Paul & Claires wedding on the 2nd May.  This wedding really brought back memories for me as the last time I visited this venue it was one of my first weddings ever.  We were lucky with the weather again and we arrived in glorious sunshine and met the guys on the front lawn.  Paul was totally relaxed and I took the pictures of him and his best man and best woman !! (It was his sister).  The whole day went perfectly and all the guests had a fantastic time and we left as the sun was setting. I hope you have a great time in Florida.

Award Wimnning Photography in Chester

Reportage Photography at Crabwall Manor

Claire & Paul Seel

Claire & Paul Seel at Crabwall Manor, Chester

Martin Stembridge Photography at Crabwall Manor