Today I have an awesome couples shoot for you! As a Newcastle wedding photographer, I offer pre-wedding shoots with my couples. Laura and Adam were getting married over the Thanksgiving weekend at their family home, so we met up a few weeks before for their pre-wedding shoot.
Jesmond Dene – a park with a Newcastle wedding venue!
Laura and Adam live in Jesmond so they suggested we meet locally to them, at Jesmond Dene. As someone who’s fairly new to Newcastle, I was super excited as it was somewhere new to me.
The Dene is a long wooded valley, running right through the centre of Newcastle. There’s plenty of green space, cute bridges and wooded walkways. There’s also a wedding venue – Jesmond Dene House! The House was owned by Lord Armstrong, but is now a boutique hotel and central Newcastle wedding venue. As a listed building it has beautiful period features, and overlooks the valley of Jesmond Dene.
Couples photography in the Dene
Back to my pre-wedding photo shoot with Laura and Adam! With all my couples shoots, I’m super relaxed and the aim is to just have some fun. I take my couples on a stroll to use various backdrops and keep everything very chilled out. We met at Pet’s Corner and then took a winding walk around the Dene.
It was one of the first chillier days of the year and it had been raining that weekend, so the dene was giving off some lovely moody vibes. The clocks had gone back the weekend before, so we were catching the last of the winter sun. Through the trees, we kept coming across pockets of gorgeous light.
A wild couples shoot location in the heart of Newcastle
In one part of the dene, there were two bridges together, so I stood on one to be able to capture Laura & Adam on the other. With winter coming and the shadows from the tree I really loved playing around with a bit of a darker edit for this. Eventually we reached the famous waterfall Lord Armstrong had landscaped. On a drier day, we could have got closer, but with lots of mud and leaves we definitely weren’t risking anything!
Right by the waterfall, there’s also the ruins of an old mill. Laura and Adam were actually getting married at Laura’s family house which is a converted mill! We thought it only right to get some shots at the one here.
We were really losing the light by now, and the last glimmers of it were coming through the trees above the mill. I really liked how it looked through this crumbling doorway.
Pre-wedding sessions are perfect if you feel awkward in front of the camera – which most people tell me they do! It gives us a chance to get to know each other, and for you to see the way I work. When I arrived at Laura and Adam’s actual wedding day, it felt more like we were friends who’d known each other for ages!
If you’re looking for a Newcastle wedding photographer and want to talk through your plans, or book in a couples shoot with me, drop me a message!
Caroline
