Maria & Nick of Studio 1208

Cheshire based Maria & Nick are crowned well deserved winners of the 2011 competition to find the Wedding Photograph of the year. Maria and Nick do plenty of weddings in the UK, but are also Destination photographers shooting in locations such as Brazil, Italy, New York, California and Boston to name a few.

The winning photograph was taken of Bryan & Kim in Rincon, Puerto Rico. Maria said "Their wedding was held at the beautiful and very exclusive 'Horned Dorset Primavera', a resort on cliffs over looking the ocean.

The photo was taken in one of the property's gorgeous infinity pools over looking the ocean. Kim and Bryan were great sports in taking their shoes off and doing the balancing act on the edge of the pool!

On asking Maria about the inspiration for the shot she commented "Whenever I approach a wedding, an engagement shoot, or even a fashion shoot, I try to take inspiration from my location and surroundings. I always make sure to spend some time at the location before the shoot so that I can get some great ideas and do some test shots. I like to try and make the location work for me - by this, I mean that I try to create a relationship between the background and my subjects in order to help them stand out. I guess I use the location as an accessory - I never want my subject(s) to get lost in the background; after all, it's about them!"

Both Maria & Nick wished to add that this wedding was very special to them, as it was the first wedding Nick and Maria shot together as STUDIO 1208. "The couple, Bryan and Kim, we now consider to be great friends and we thank them for allowing us to be part of their day. Also, a special thanks to all the vendors involved in making this wedding so beautiful, especially Amy Nichols Special Events.

Winners - Maria & Nick

We are so humbled and honoured to have one of our images be considered as the best wedding photograph of 2011 - we thank everyone who voted for us, and thank UK Wedding Belles for nominating us. We wish the best to all of the artists who had images included in the competition, and hope to see you all next year!"

Studio1208's wedding of Bryan & Kim will be featured in the May/June 2012 issue of Brides UK

Congratulations Maria & Nick (pictured right) on a very well deserved win. Visit the Studio 1208 website at www.STUDIO1208.com

Second Place, goes to Alan Barnes of Alan Barnes Photography. Alan is based in Surrey, Sussex, Kent & London and took this particular shot of Rob & Anita on the Band Stand at Brighton sea front.

Alan Said "Whilst the room at the Hotel was being turned around for the evening celebrations, I noticed the sun setting over the sea's horizon. I had discussed the potential of such an opportunity with the couple at the pre-wedding meeting and the three of us immediatly ventured out towards the sea front!"

We took a good set of photographs on the beach, then on the way back, we walked on to the band stand as no one was now around. After getting some great shots of them looking out to sea, I sensed they wanted a few moments to themselves as the last of the sun disappeared over the sea. I backed off but when I looked round, I saw them locked in an embrace. I loved the way the lines of the bridge walkway and railings led the eye to this scene and captured the moment. I knew straight away that I had caught something special; and a genuine moment, not posed, just real love captured in the evening lull of a beautiful Brighton memory, and a genuine moment captured for Anita and Rob to treasure. Visit Alans' website at www.alanbarnesphotography.com

Third Place, goes to Cornwall based Warren, of Warren Derrington Evans Photography. Warren's main interests are Landscape, Portrait and Reportage Party and Wedding Photography. The shot was taken on the North Cornwall coast at a little place called Trebarwith Strand. The bride and groom are Liezel and Martin who got married on 24 September 2011 at Upton Farm, Trebarwith, Cornwall.

Warren said "The weather in Cornwall is extremely variable, so we’d spoken to Liezel in advance about the possibility of taking her and Martin to Trebarwith Strand right on the coast, even if it rained! Sure enough the day was a typical blowy grey day with lots of what the Cornish call ‘mizzle’ – a blend of mist and drizzle!! Liezel had prepared for the weather and changed out of her wedding shoes into a pair of stunning Vivienne Westwood flats, and I had some ivory golfing umbrellas, so we set off in spite of the weather! The strand is a particularly beautiful and rugged part of the North Cornwall coast, approached through a pretty little gorge. We surprised a few tourists in their wet weather gear by doing some initial photos with the brollies right out on the strand itself – a huge sheet of rugged grey slate protruding into the sea, with the waves crashing up into the sky behind them. We then drove up a tiny track to this point overlooking the strand as part of the shoot."

Visit Warren's website at www.warrenderringtonevans.co.uk

Fourth Place, goes to Kris Laszkiewicz of Kris Soul Photography. Kris is based in Penicuik at the outskirts of Edinburgh and covers the whole of Scotland. The picture was taken during Michelle and Andy Howard’s wedding in a beautifully situated Kilmonivaig Church, Fort William, Scotland. Kris said "The photo shows my natural, informal and reportage style. I not only focus on bride and groom but I always try to capture what is going on around the couple. This way they can see things and moments from their big day they might have missed or didn’t notice.

The flower girls on the picture were cute and adorable: they had done their job before the ceremony and they decided to rest a bit on the church bench. Visit Kris' website at www.krissoulphotography.co.uk

The above winners have come through from over 750 entries this year to the final 12 below. Many Thanks to the initial competition entries, Thanks and congratulations to our 12 finalists, a special congratulations to our winner Maria & Nick of Studio 1208. And not forgetting our readers for providing over 6000 votes... Thank you! Please contact us should you wish to learn more about any of our 12 finalists. photo@ukweddingbelles.com.