VOTING CLOSED
Here are our finalists in the Win Your Wedding Photography competition. Our judges had such a hard time whittling it down to just 3 so we have 5 finalists all competing for your votes.
Votes should be cast using the buttons at the top. The competition will end at 8pm on Wednesday, 24th August 2011. Please ignore the ticker, it's set to American West Coast time. We wish you all the best of luck.
Without further ado, here are the couples and their stories.
Amy Hutchison and Max Smith
Amy wrote "Whether or not this competition is for us, don't get me wrong it would be fantastic and certainly a weight off cost wise, but i cant give you no sad story or tale, but i certainly can tell u that we are soo much in love. I could write so much as to how we met and what was said, but no one will truly know how we feel deep down. And this is why on the 19th of May 2012 in the St Matthews church of Scotland, we will be getting married nothing fancy nothing over the top just something to show we are in this life together for the rest of our life's. So i take this opportunity to tell everyone that i Amy Hutchison cannot wait for the day that me and my fiancé Max Smith become MAN & WIFE!!!!!!xxx"
James Stewart and Kassandra Hart
Kassandra wrote "I think that my fiance and I should be considered for the photography as we have been together since the age of 14 and have proved many people wrong about young love. We are getting married on our 8th anniversary and it will be such a special day. Most of our family have not met before and it will be a chance for our families to come together for the first time. It will also be a sad day for me as my mum passed away when I was 15, and with all of the emphasis on weddings being about the bride and her mother, I have already been through so much in planning my wedding without her. Photography is not something that we have much to spend on, but having photographs of our special day will give us something to look back on and remember, years down the line."
Garry Cooper and Stephanie Riley
Stephanie's sister Debbie entered them to our competition.
Debbie wrote "i hope my story is different from the rest you received as i am not the bride or groom but we the brides older sisters always a bridesmaids never a bride lol. Our younger sister is 24 and her fiancée 25 and Garry proposed on a beach in mexico inside the love heart shape on the sand was a table and a romantic meal for two with candles the works ........down on one knee with a ring he had hidden in his suitcase lucky she never found it .....so romantic ..... x they have been putting everything into their wedding any extra cash goes towards their day but winning this prize would make her year and winning a photography package like you are offering is a dream come true. Garry is so romantic and they are loves young dream and seeing their faces if they were to win would be amazing. They both work so hard Stephanie is a dispensary and her evening job being a carer gives her little time but we all have a weekly meeting usually dinner with a few wee cheeky cocktails to chat about the wedding and Garry and ourselves have been trying to arrange special treats for her on her big day. Everyone will say the same thing about this prize changing their day but it really would be the best start for these loved up young couple it would save them a fortune and from your website your pictures are fantastic and would make anyone day to have you as a photographer and a great memory and fantastic photos to display and look back on."
Helen Brough and Damon Charlie Howard
Helen wrote "I am writing to you are story of why we should win your amazing competition. Myself and Damon met in 2008 in a work environment of which I should never have been there as i was currently waiting for my visa to Dubai. However this was running late and my sister mentioned to come work with her To earn some extra cash. I had always heard of this lad called " damo" funny caring guy but never thought anything of it ( I didn't want to fall in love nor meet any one) however time went on and within a few weeks of sitting next to Damon I fell madly in love with him. We both knew I could be leaving any minute so we made every minute count. No one seen us for days on end and we would enjoy each others company. We planned our first date for 31 st October and was so excited however I received a phone call the 30th to say I was booked on the plane for the next day. We shed some tears we hugged for hours. Never once was Damon ever selfish he never made me feel guilty he never asked me to stay he was so encouraging and became my rock whilst I lived my life in Dubai. Damon made the experience so easy we spoke everyday on the phone and sent letters all the time. In February 2009 Damon flew to Dubai an proposed to me on the 14th February. Of course I said yes this was our commitment to one another that we would last. At first some of the family were not supportive and we got the talking of how it wouldn't last but we knew different. I spent a year in Dubai finished my contract and came home to spend the rest of my life with Damon.
Since coming back from Dubai in 2009 we have been through so much meaning every time we saved for the wedding something would go wrong. Damon lost a very good job and was in and out of jobs for nearly a year we lost a lot of deposits that were on venues and churches and got ourselves into a lot of debt nearly having the mortgage reposed. I then went on to become clinically depressed and seeing a counsellor after losing a best friend of mine ( my chief bridesmaids) again putting the wedding on hold. My parents went through a nasty divorce after 35 years together, again which made the wedding difficult to cope with along with my depression. In the end myself and Damon are living separate now due to money issues which is agony for us both. However we love each other so much and we know we are strong enough to do so. I have had my wedding dress for 2 years now and so living apart is allowing us to save for our wedding in 2012 ( small budget) Which is all we want to be husband and wife.
We are on a really tight budget and one of the things we are having to cut back on is the photographer yet this is what we want the most, pictures to capture of our special day and how in love we are. This would mean the world to us we have never won anything and had such bad luck in what's meant to be the best years of our lives. I hope you read our story and see why we deserve to win this. Thank you for taking your time to read our story."
John McQueen and Margaret Keany
Margaret wrote "Since meeting John over 5 years ago, I am now a firm believer in destiny. The night we met was my first work night out and I just managed to catch the last bus home. At the next stop more people got on and being a naturally nosy person I looked up, straight into the most gorgeous brown eyes I have ever seen, and the rest of his face was lovely too - I really couldn't have stopped the smile that jumped to my lips even if I had wanted to, and I was rewarded with a smile in return. He sat next to me and we started chatting about our nights - mine with work friends, his watching his football team win on TV in a bar.. Eventually he plucked up the courage to ask for my number - after we passed his stop and the bus emptied a little more. I gave it to him and a week or so later we had our first date and first kiss and the rest they say is history. I think that if we hadn't met that night then destiny would have still brought us together because there are so many things we like and have in common. John proposed to me on one knee at the Magic Fountains in Barcelona - it was beautiful.
I really will be marrying my best friend on our wedding day.
I know that our wedding day will be very emotional, I lost my mum and grandad when I was 15 and the closer the wedding gets, the more I miss their presence in all the planning and organisation that a wedding takes, my mum was of course my mum and the mother of the bride tends to be very involved in wedding preparations. I was very close to my grandad as he and my gran raised me and I would have loved for him to give me away. Im sure my uncle (my Grandads son) will be just as wonderful. We lost my aunt just over a year ago and my uncle who was also my grandads brother and really made a party a good one with his presence and humour and kindness - they will all be sorely missed on the day. There are some ill members of family on both my and Johns sides and we hope that they will be able to join us on our special day. We are also on a very small budget and since buying our first home together in October, are reluctant to take on more debt, and so the more we can make or do or selves or friends and family can help with the better. I know that we will have a fantastic day anyway but it would be so special to have a professional photographer to capture all the happy and sad moments on our big day for us to look back on in years to come with our own children and grandchildren."
