So.. wow! We’ve come to the end of a bizarre and tumultuous year and for the first time in a few years I have the time to sit down and write a blog post reflecting upon the past 12 months.

First of all I just want to say a huge love and thank you to all my fab couples who have been so kind, understanding and flexible in this madness. The majority of my weddings for 2020 ended up being rescheduled due to coronavirus, and for nearly all of those we were able to find a date that worked for us both.

Although it has certainly been a difficult year for me and my business, I cannot begin to imagine what it must be like to have to reschedule your wedding day, and my heart goes out to every couple who has gone through this, or had to dramatically change their plans to fit in with the guidelines.

I figured that since my business has been a lot quieter than usual this year, I’ll share photos from both my work life and personal life on this post. First up is of course.. weddings!

Five fabulous weddings

At the beginning of my year, my calendar was packed with my usual number of around 30 weddings, and this ended up being 5 in the end! I shot 2 in February before the national lockdown happened, and then 3 afterward when we were allowed weddings with a 30 person limit.

I was so thrilled when Yogi & Simon’s wedding enquiry landed in my inbox as Yogi was one of the models I worked with when I was a fashion photographer 8 years ago! We kept in touch via Facebook as we are both obsessed with cats, and it has been lovely watching their relationship grow over the years. Their beautiful winter wedding at Eastington Park in Gloucestershire was the perfect celebration and ended with some of the best dance moves and tunes I’ve witnessed at a wedding!

Lizzy & Simon married under festoon lights in a heartfelt ceremony in front of their family, friends and church community on a chilly February day. The cheers and whoops as they walked back down the aisle perfectly illustrated how thrilled everybody was for Lizzy & Simon, and how much love and support they have behind them! I love that we had the opportunity sneak off to a local country park to take their portraits among the blossoms, before heading to a village hall for plenty of cake and a quiz that everyone got involved in. A perfect day.

Abby & Chris’s day took me back to one of my favourite venues, South Farm in Royston, for their mini wedding in August. They had always planned to marry on this date, and I loved their relaxed attitude of “let’s just go for it!”, and their wedding was a welcome joy amongst this crazy year with tears of joy, fabulous food and great speeches. They scaled down their guest list to just 30 people, and said their vows in front of closest family and friends in the Tudor Barn, before sneaking off for photos in the beautiful grounds of their venue. It meant the world to be asked to capture such an intimate celebration.

Eilis & Tom were originally planning to marry in April, and although they moved the “big day” to next year, they wanted to get married anyway and I was so thrilled to be asked to capture their ceremony in August. They had a beautiful church ceremony with sunshine pouring through the windows, and lots of giggles as their nephew chattered in the vows from the pulpit! Afterward we headed back to Eilis’ parents house for a little moment of quiet as we took their portraits as a newly married couple in the garden. See you in 2021 you two!

In September I headed down to Hampshire for Katie & Ben’s wedding day. I was particularly excited for their day as I had photographed her brother Joseph’s wedding in 2017, so it was lovely to see their family again and to meet Joseph & Abby’s little girl too! Their colourful church ceremony featured lots of beautiful, heartfelt readings, and we were blessed with blazing sunshine all day. As dancing wasn’t allowed due to coronavirus restrictions, they changed their evening to be a games night instead and it was an absolute hit with their guests. Lots of fun!

..And here’s a little bit of everything else!

As this year has been quiet on the weddings front, I thought I’d share some moments from my personal life this year, both before and after coronavirus!

The year started with a week in Morocco, staying in a beautiful riad with my dad and stepmum. Lots of walking, striking colours and fragrant, incredible food. And of course, shoe shopping as I can’t resist anything with tassels on. It is hard to believe that I was actually on holiday earlier this year with everything that has gone on since!

February marked 10 years since my mum died, and in March my divorce finalised and I was able to buy the other half of my flat. It meant a lot as a small business owner to be able to afford to take on my mortgage alone, and I am so excited to start more work on my home soon. And finally, in October I turned 30.

Astrophotography is something that I have wanted to dabble in for a long, long time but never found the chance until this year. I have been fascinated by the stars and space since I was a child and this year gave me the opportunity to explore that interest in more depth.

We were so lucky to have the incredible Comet NEOWISE pay us a visit in July and after a few fruitless evenings, I finally got a chance to see it with my own eyes and I will never forget that moment. And in the Autumn I was thrilled to have the above three photos accepted for an exhibition at the Quarry Theatre in Bedford, featuring work created under lockdown.

This year I have been working 4 days a week for Little Mouse, a company founded by Gill & Elliott whose wedding I photographed in 2016. I have been doing a bit of everything - packaging up orders, taking photos, putting new products online, and I have loved being a part of their team and made to feel so welcome. Thank you guys.

When restrictions were eased over the end of Summer, I went to stay at a friend’s holiday home in Norfolk. It was a wonderful trip with my household bubble (as I live alone, I am in a bubble with my photographer pals Dan & Sarah), and I’m not sure there are many things more joyful than seeing dogs run around in the sand having the time of their lives! And to top it all off, we got a beautiful view of the Milky Way on our last night there.

Over this year I have rediscovered my love for cross stitch and finished my first big project, this gorgeous sampler featuring lots of little plants. I’m also half way through my next project, a big planet Earth amongst the stars.