Sam Chipman Photography

Sam Chipman Photography Storytelling wedding photographer, covering Yorkshire, Lancashire, and Cumbria & the Lake District. Non posed wedding photography for relaxed couples

/ LUCY & JAKE //Lucy apparently met Jake on a night out at uni by bombarding him with questions about Sheffield until he...
07/09/2026

/ LUCY & JAKE //

Lucy apparently met Jake on a night out at uni by bombarding him with questions about Sheffield until he became her personal tour guide.

Turns out he never did manage to get rid of her.

Fast forward a few years and they’re at Lodge Farm, getting married in a celebrant-led ceremony involving a tree planting, their dog Fudge, plenty of questionable dance moves and a lot of very happy people.

When I asked them to describe the wedding in three words, they wrote:

“Relaxed, fun, us.”

Pretty much nailed it.

Venue: Lodge Farm Weddings | Barn Wedding Venue
Photographer: Sam Chipman Photography
Catering: H&A
Florals: Walter + Blossom | Sophie Robinson
Hair: Kelly Hanks | Bridal Hair Yorkshire
Make-up: Emily Josephs Bridal Makeup/ Uk & Destination / York based /
Dress: Wedding dress shop sheffield
Daytime music: Olivia Jayne | 𝑼𝑲 𝑾𝑬𝑫𝑫𝑰𝑵𝑮 𝑨𝑵𝑫 𝑬𝑽𝑬𝑵𝑻𝑺 𝑺𝑰𝑵𝑮𝑬𝑹
Evening band: Northern House Band | Wedding Band for Music Lovers
Dessert: Where The Ribbon Ends
Cheese: Love Cheese
Celebrant: Deborah Page | Celebrant Yorkshire | award winnning celebrant
Styling:
Suits: FORT Formalwear - Ripley

I recently came to learn of an article from an established lifestyle publication making the case for booking a wedding c...
30/08/2026

I recently came to learn of an article from an established lifestyle publication making the case for booking a wedding content creator.

One of its arguments was that they’ll capture “the things your official camera might miss.”

And that’s what bothered me enough to make this carousel.

I have no problem with content creators. There’s clearly a market for them, otherwise couples wouldn’t be paying for the service.

Yes, they can sometimes affect what a photographer or videographer is able to do, get into an angle, or simply be in the way. But that’s a different argument entirely, and the same can happen whenever multiple people are documenting a wedding.

What I do think is disingenuous is marketing the service by implying photographers and videographers routinely miss the little interactions, reactions and candid moments happening throughout a wedding.

For a huge number of us, those moments are literally what we spend the day looking for.

Of course we’ll miss things. Everyone will. A content creator will miss things too.

But that’s very different from presenting candid moments as something their service captures because the “official cameras” somehow don’t.

I feel similarly about the phrase “behind the scenes.”

If you’re standing beside the photographer or videographer, filming the same moment from roughly the same place, I’m not sure that’s behind the scenes.

You’re documenting the wedding too. Just in a different medium.

And that different medium already gives content creators a perfectly good selling point.

Phone footage can be delivered quickly. It can be sent raw or with minimal processing. It’s already vertical and designed for the device most people will watch and share it on.

Speed and immediacy are genuine differences.

So sell those.

I just don’t think you need to manufacture another difference by suggesting photographers and videographers aren’t capturing moments that many of us have built our entire approach around noticing.

// LAURREN & MATTHEW //A romantic, relaxed and very emotional wedding at Burtonfields Hall.There were tears from the sta...
28/08/2026

// LAURREN & MATTHEW //

A romantic, relaxed and very emotional wedding at Burtonfields Hall.

There were tears from the start, plenty more through the ceremony, and that lovely mix of big feelings and complete chaos that makes a wedding feel alive.

English countryside, long banquet tables, live music and plenty of personal touches. A little Bridgerton inspiration thrown in for good measure.

Personal vows. Their closest people. Great food. A packed dance floor. And plenty of space throughout it all to actually enjoy being married.

Beautifully styled, but never at the expense of it feeling relaxed, personal and full of them.

Exactly the kind of day I love photographing.

Congratulations Laurren & Matthew.

Dream team:

Venue: Burtonfields Hall
Photography: Sam Chipman Photography
Catering: Homegrown Hospitality
Florals & styling: Blush & Bloom
Hair: CAITLIN CHAPMAN - York Hairstylist
Makeup: ☆ Amy George ☆
Dress:
Designer: Dando London | Wedding Dresses
Content: MadeByChloe
Cake: 52 Broadway Coffee Shop ☕️
Band: The Vinyl Steppers (ft Jack Amblin)
DJ: James Alexander

I’ve thought about Dolly a lot this week.Not just about what she made, but about the way she seemed to move through the ...
27/08/2026

I’ve thought about Dolly a lot this week.

Not just about what she made, but about the way she seemed to move through the world. The warmth, humour, generosity, and the sense that she knew exactly who she was.

That quote about leaving something good behind has stuck with me because it feels like a useful way of thinking about work, success, and probably life more generally.

I’m lucky that photography gives me something tangible to leave behind. Images that might become more important as the years pass.

But I hope the photographs aren’t the only thing.

I hope people remember that they got to actually live their wedding while I was there. That they had time with the people they love. That I didn’t make their day bend around my camera.

Maybe that matters just as much as the pictures.

And maybe “leaving something good behind” is a pretty good ambition for all of us.

Pricing is always a hot topic in wedding photography, and I completely understand why it can feel confusing.One photogra...
25/08/2026

Pricing is always a hot topic in wedding photography, and I completely understand why it can feel confusing.

One photographer charges more. Another charges less. One includes travel. Another doesn’t. Some bundle everything together, while others keep things separate.

There isn’t one right way to do it. What works for one business might not work for another.

This is simply how I see it.

For me, every wedding is a different job.

A Saturday in August carries very different demand to a Wednesday in February. I also deliberately limit how many weddings I take on, both to give each one the attention it deserves and to protect some kind of work-life balance.

Then there’s the actual cost of the job.

My nearest venue, Woodstock Weddings And Events, is literally five minutes away in the next village.

That’s very different to a wedding involving a three-hour drive each way, hotel stays and multiple locations.

Those weddings don’t cost my business the same in either time or money.

Guest numbers and coverage matter too. A 40-person wedding is different to one with 150 guests, and not every couple needs the same number of hours.

That’s why I keep my core pricing simple and let you choose the coverage and extras that actually make sense for your day.

I publish a clear starting price, and most quotes sit pretty close to it.

If the price moves slightly, I’m looking at what the job requires from me. The date, travel, logistics, scale and coverage.

Not how much I think you can afford.

Not the prestige of your venue.

Once I’ve quoted you, that price is fixed.

For my business, I think that’s fairer than pretending every wedding is exactly the same.

If you were choosing your wedding photographer, which would you prefer?

That they had one clear, set price for every wedding, regardless of the date, travel or logistics?

Or a clear starting price, followed by a fixed quote based on what your own wedding actually involves?

Weddings will change because of climate change.Probably not overnight, and probably not in one obvious way. But slowly, ...
18/08/2026

Weddings will change because of climate change.

Probably not overnight, and probably not in one obvious way. But slowly, through lots of smaller decisions.

The dates people choose. The time they get married. What they wear. What flowers are available. What food costs. What venues need to provide.

A lot of the wedding industry relies on things being predictable in the background. Climate change makes that harder.

So while weddings aren’t going anywhere, the way we plan and experience them probably won’t stay exactly the same either.

What do you think will change first?

 

// SOPHIE & EDMUND //“There’s very few times in life when all of the people in your life are together in one room.”Sophi...
18/08/2026

// SOPHIE & EDMUND //

“There’s very few times in life when all of the people in your life are together in one room.”

Sophie & Edmund wrote that as their advice to other couples planning a wedding.

And I think it sums this day up pretty well.

They both grew up visiting Bolton Abbey with their families, so getting married at The Tithe Barn at Bolton Abbey wasn’t just about finding a beautiful venue. This place already had a history for them.

Then they filled it with so many of the people they love.

Their brief for the day was joyful, whimsical and relaxed.

And it was.

There’s always loads of attention on how a wedding looks.

But I think Sophie & Edmund’s advice gets much closer to what actually matters.

How often are you ever going to have this exact group of people, from completely different parts of your life, together in the same place again?

That’s the bit worth soaking up.

Venue: The Tithe Barn at Bolton Abbey
Florist: Julia Umpleby - Florals -Weddings - Events
Hair:
Dress: Ava Rose Hamilton | Lancashire & Yorkshire
Tiramisu: Gem King
Content: Afterglow | UK Wedding Content Creator Team

// VERITY & TOM //My first ever wedding at The NormansWhich feels slightly ridiculous considering it’s only about 15 min...
18/08/2026

// VERITY & TOM //

My first ever wedding at The Normans

Which feels slightly ridiculous considering it’s only about 15 minutes from my front door.

I’d been looking forward to photographing here for a while, and Verity & Tom gave me a pretty good introduction to it.

“Plan everything for yourself. It’s your day.”

That was their advice to other couples, and looking back through these photos, I think they followed it pretty well.

Bright colours. Exposed brick. Bridesmaids choosing their own dresses. One of their mates on the sax. A day that felt relaxed, colourful and very much theirs.

Then all the stuff you couldn’t really plan.

Being fed a banana while getting ready.

A small person becoming very involved in proceedings.

Confetti absolutely everywhere.

Big hugs.

People properly laughing with each other.

Guinness. Plenty of it.

The plans give a wedding its shape, but it’s all the unexpected, slightly chaotic, very human bits happening around them that make each one completely different.

Verity & Tom, you absolutely nailed it.

And The Normans Wedding Venue, hopefully I’ll be back very soon.

Venue: The Normans Wedding Venue
Catering: H&A
Florist: Leeds Florist & Stylist
Hair: NATALIJA | BRIDAL HAIR SPECIALIST | YORKSHIRE | LEEDS
Make-up: ☆ Amy George ☆
Dress: DOTTY BRIDAL ™️
Evening entertainment: Agent Smith
Cake: Dotties Cakery

A little reminder that you never really know what’s going on behind somebody’s Instagram.We all naturally share the good...
14/08/2026

A little reminder that you never really know what’s going on behind somebody’s Instagram.

We all naturally share the good stuff.

The holidays. The weddings. The new house. The new baby. The exciting bit of work. The thing we’re proud of.

We’re much less likely to post about the money worries, the health stuff, the quiet periods at work, or the things we’re still trying to figure out.

And I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that.

Nobody owes the internet every part of their life.

But I do think it’s worth remembering when you’re scrolling through everyone else’s.

Because it’s very easy to compare the full, messy version of your own life with a tiny selection of somebody else’s. I’m guilty of it too.

You see somebody whose business looks like it’s flying and wonder why yours isn’t. Someone who seems to have everything sorted while you’re still making it up as you go. Someone sharing one good thing after another, while you’re wondering why your own life doesn’t look like that.

But you have absolutely no idea what’s going on outside those little squares. The good stuff people share can be completely genuine.

It just isn’t necessarily the whole story.

So I thought I’d put a little bit more of mine out there.

Not because any of it is particularly dramatic, or in a “woe is me” kind of way. And definitely not because things are terrible. They’re not.

There’s loads in my life that I’m incredibly happy about. In lots of ways I’m thriving.

Just because there’s always more going on under the surface than you can see on Instagram. And maybe we could all show a little more of the stuff behind the highlights too.

Be a bit more open. A bit more transparent. A bit more honest about the things that aren’t going perfectly.

Only if you’re comfortable doing so. Nobody owes social media their private life.

But if sharing something makes somebody else feel a little less alone in what they’re dealing with, that feels like a pretty good use of social media to me.

// ROSIE & DAN //A very sunny Saturday at Howard Court.Pink confetti, drinks in the sunshine, kids running around, marsh...
11/08/2026

// ROSIE & DAN //

A very sunny Saturday at Howard Court.

Pink confetti, drinks in the sunshine, kids running around, marshmallows over the fire, plenty of laughter, and one particularly emotional surprise when Ruby the dog arrived to join the party.

Looking through these, I love how much is happening around the edges of the obvious wedding moments too.

A bouquet being dried with a tea towel. A rubber duck hidden in a flower girl’s basket. Hands held underneath the chairs. People laughing in doorways. A child being launched into the air. Someone discovering just how quickly you can cremate a marshmallow.

And Ruby, who quite rightly ended up becoming a fairly major character in the story.

The ceremony, confetti, speeches and first dance are obviously part of a wedding day.

But so is all of that other stuff.

That’s what makes it their wedding.

Venue: Howard Court
Games: Yorkshire Games Hire
Magician:
Drinks: Mobile Bar Hire UK | Land Rover Defender Bar
Catering: MK Catering NE
DJ: DJ Thorpy Entertainments
Florist: Fabulous Florists | Wedding Specialists | Venue Stylists 🌻
Dress: THE BRIDAL HOUSE

Address

Keighley

Telephone

+447974171205

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