Katherine Jenkins at Llangollen 2010

The evening concert on the very first day of the 2010 Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod needs little introduction.

This is the second time Katherine has headlined at the festival and we have photographed her many times both here in Llangollen and at other venues and she is always a delight meet and photograph. She is so beautiful and her singing voice is just incredible.

The concert was a sell out as you might expect and was a wonderful experience to both enjoy and to photograph

More photographs of Katherine Jenkins in other concerts and backstage can be seen on our main website at www.barrieneil.co.uk

The Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod

We have been official photographers for the wonderful Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod for many years now and every year it is an assignment we are delighted to fulfil. This event is not to be confused with the National Eisteddfod which also takes place every year and is a celebration of all things Welsh.

The Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod is a seven-day festival of music, dance, and song that takes place every year in the small Welsh town of Llangollen. It has been running since 1947, and since 1987 the prestigious Choir of the World competition has determined the best overall choir of the event. In 2005 Luciano Pavarotti added his name to the competition in recognition of his appreciation of the festival and its influence on his career.

It brings together adults and children from all over the world to entertain us with song and dance and also to vie against each other in prestigious competitions.

The next blog entries will show some of the events that took place over the week

Barrie Neil Photography

Crewe Hall ♥ Louisa and Ryan

A busy wedding this with lots of people, lots of travelling and a couple of celebrities thrown in for good measure.

Louisa and Ryan both got ready for their big day at Crewe Hall in Cheshire, a magnificent building set in stunning grounds just on the outskirts of Crewe town. The ceremony was taking place at St Bertoline's Church in the nearby village of Barthomley and whilst most of the guests were transported by minibus, Louisa naturally had a much more elegant mode of transport befitting the beautiful bride, in the form of a lovely cream Beauford car.

Once the ceremony was over, it was back to the magnificence of Crewe Hall for drinks, photographs and the wedding breakfast.

What of the celebrities I mentioned earlier you ask? The mother and father of one of the ushers are the well known actors Jessie Birdsall and Gwyneth Strong (aka "Cassandra" in "Only Fools and Horses").. photo below.

As usual, here are a small selection from the day.

Ryan and Oscar with Oscar's parents, Jessie Birdsall and Gwyneth Strong

More photographs from Crewe Hall in Cheshire and other venues can be found both in this blog and on our main wedding website at www.barrieneilweddings.co.uk

Ruthin Castle ♥ Rachel and Charles

You can tell Ruthin Castle is a very special place to get married when it attracts people like Rachel and Charles who travelled all the way from Australia to get married there.

A fantastic wedding and it was a pleasure to be with such lovely people. Rachel looked stunning in an elegant dress that really suited her slim figure. The bridesmaids wore pale green outfit. Very different and they looked amazing whilst Charles matched his ushers (grooms men) in traditional tailcoats and they even wore top hats. now top hats are not that common these days and they looked fabulous!

So many photos but here are just a few from the day

More photographs from Ruthin Castle in Denbighshire and other venues can be found both in this blog and on our main wedding website at www.barrieneilweddings.co.uk

Siddington Church ♥ Jenny and Nick

I usually put the name of the reception venue in the title but for the wedding of Jenny and Nick, the reception was at the dairy farm run by Jenny's family. The ceremony was at the stunning Siddington Church not far from the family farm.

Jenny arrived in a wonderful carriage pulled by two very well behaved horses and she and her husband Nick, left the church to return to the farm in the same way.

The garden of the farmhouse looked amazing with so many baskets of flowers (as did the marquee) which was to the great credit of Jenny's Mum and her small army of helpers.

It was a terrific day and Jenny's ever present smile will stay with me for a long time.

Barrie Neil Photography

Chester Zoo ♥ Denise and Chris

I mentioned in my blog entry yesterday, that every wedding is special. Sometimes, what makes it particularly special is the location and today's wedding was in a very different location... Chester Zoo!

We have in fact photographed many weddings at Chester Zoo and it certainly is different. Try walking around a very busy zoo in a wedding dress and you'll understand.

Denise and Chris are a lovely couple and make full use of the facilities the zoo had to offer even being photographed with some of the animals. The Orang-utans seemed to be particularly fascinated with Denise and her dress, pressing themselves against the glass to get as close to her as they could.

As the day at Chester Zoo can be quite long (the wedding breakfast is always after the zoo shuts), Denise and Chris thoughtfully provided afternoon tea for the adults and loads of sweets for the kiddies. Well, these two 'kiddy' photographers certainly enjoyed that I can tell you!

Here are some photographs from this great wedding.

More photographs from Chester Zoo and other venues can be found both in this blog and on our main wedding website at www.barrieneilweddings.co.uk