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Gina & Jonny: Joyful Springtime Wedding at Bedford School

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Every wedding is special, but this one in particular will always hold a place in my heart as I’ve known groom Jonny for a long time, so it was really special to not only witness him marrying the girl of his dreams but also shoot it too!

Gina and her lovely bridesmaids chose to get ready at her mum’s house, with the fabulous Sarah Dunn working her vintage twist on hair and makeup. She chose a Justin Alexander dress from George James Bridal, with a flowing tulle skirt and a bodice whose beaded embellishments reminded me of Swan Lake. I love that she added another little twist with the cutest gold dance shoes! Jonny and his groomsmen looked dapper in my suits by my favourite people The Vintage Suit Hire Company.

I’ve lived and worked as a photographer in Bedford my whole life, but I’d never even been in St Paul’s Church in the centre of town before, let alone shot a wedding in it! Gina walked arm in arm down the aisle next to her proud mum, and I love the way Jonny looked at her as he saw her at the end of the aisle for the first time.

After a beautiful, heartfelt ceremony with light pouring in through the stained glass windows, the guests took a leisurely walk to their reception whilst we left in the wedding car for a little detour along Bedford’s Embankment. We took the chance to get some portraits there in their just-married excitement and most importantly to grab an ice cream!

Bedford School was the setting for their reception and a venue I am proud and grateful to be a recommended supplier at. They filled the Great Hall with tables decorated with vintage crockery and crates of white tulips, and a show-stopping 5 tier cake featuring delicate sugar anemones and bluebirds.

After family photos in front of the architectural arches of the hall we snuck off for some couple portraits in the grounds of the school. One of my favourite photos all year is the photo we took on the steps of the School’s chapel - a backdrop really unique to their venue!

With lots of light pouring into the hall and fantastic speeches, the guests reactions were a real joy to shoot. And to top it all off each table had a pub quiz, and we caught a lovely little moment where Gina & Jonny watched their guests from the balcony that overlooks the hall whilst the quiz was underway. They started their evening off with their first dance to Tiny Dancer by Elton John, and I’m SO glad stayed long enough to see Jonny get up on stage and sing with the band!

Thank you both so much for the privilege of shooting your incredible day.

featured suppliers

Venue: Bedford School
Hair & Makeup: Sarah’s Doo Wop Dos
Dress: Justin Alexander
Suit: The Vintage Suit Hire Company
Florist: Howbury Flowers
Cake: Restoration Cake

Gina sits on the steps of Bedford School with Jonny sat beside holding her close.
Gina stands facing French doors, light pouring in, as her mum carefully buttons up her wedding dress.
Jonny smiles as he waits at the church with his groomsmen sat in a row beside him wearing vintage blue suits.
Four bridesmaids, in blue dresses, hold white and green bouquets, as they sing from their hymn sheets during the wedding ceremony.
Jonny and Gina take a selfie while riding in their open top wedding car on the way to Bedford School
A wide view of guests congregating outside Bedford School as fluffy clouds pass by overhead.
Bedford School's Great Hall set up ready for a wedding breakfast, with homemade bunting hanging, chiavari chairs and tulips on the tables.
Jonny sings on stage whilst the guests cheer and hold up their phones to capture photos.
A dramatically lit Gina and Jonny share a kiss in front of Bedford School.

Are you getting married at Bedford School and looking for your wedding photographer? I’d love to capture your day in my relaxed, unobtrusive style.

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Alex & Dean: Multicultural Springtime Wedding at Woburn Sculpture Gallery

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Living in Bedfordshire I feel so privileged to live close to so many beautiful venues, and the Woburn Sculpture Gallery is no exception. Photographers dream of light, airy spaces with big windows and I remember being so excited the first time I visited this venue!

The girls got ready at the nearby Woburn Hotel, where they have cute little cottage suites that you can stay in. I always recommend these to anybody getting married at Woburn as they are a lovely and comfortable to get ready in and you get the opportunity to all get ready in the same space which is always better for photographs.

Alex is a true girl after my own heart, opting for an Eliza Jane Howell dress with the subtle sparkle of white sequins and a funky pair of platform heels. She carried a big bouquet of juliet roses, anemones and ranunculus by my favourite florist, The Basement Florist, too!

Light poured in as Alex & Dean said their vows in front of the temple in the Sculpture Gallery, and they left to a joyful storm of confetti from their guests! We were so lucky that shortly after the ceremony the sun came out for family photos in the gardens, and of course I couldn’t resist heading to the spectacular Camellia House for their couple portraits, and for the first time I got to shoot with the camellias in full bloom!

Ever since I attended a friend’s wedding which featured a Chinese ceremony I’ve always wanted to shoot one, so I was thrilled when Alex & Dean told me they were going to have one. As Alex returned having changed into a red dress, everybody congregated around the dance floor for the tea ceremony and it was lovely to witness the exchange of tea-giving, red envelopes and of course lots of hugs.

After dinner and wonderful speeches, the couple visited each table of guests for a traditional Chinese toast which got sillier, funnier and louder with each table they visited!

Thank you Alex & Dean for having us along to photograph your incredible day.

featured suppliers

Venue: Woburn Sculpture Gallery
Dress: Eliza Jane Howell via Bridal Rogue Gallery
Florist: Basement Florist
Entertainment: Matt D Sax

A wide angle view of the 12th century Woburn Abbey with its vast gravel drive and perfectly manicured lawns
Alex and her bridesmaids laughing with glasses of champagne in hand, wearing matching floral robes.
Alex and Dean smiling as they exchange vows, registrar stood between columns in the Woburn Sculpture Gallery ceremony room.
Guests toss confetti over smiling Alex and Dean, with Alex raising bouquet in front of historic columns at Woburn Sculpture Gallery.
Woburn Sculpture Gallery reception room, featuring white tablecloths, chiavari chairs, and cream and ivory rose centrepieces.
Alex smiles with her three bridesmaids in pale blue lace dresses with cap sleeves, holding ivory and cream bouquets.
Alex and Dean in black and white sharing a laugh with Woburn Sculpture Gallery in the background.
Tea is poured from a white tea pot into red ceramic cups for Alex and Dean’s Chinese tea ceremony
A group of guests laughing and smiling, raising their champagne glasses around the table after the speeches.
Alex and Dean share their first dance, in black and white, with their guests smiling and taking photographs in the background

Are you getting married at Woburn Sculpture Gallery and looking for your wedding photographer? I’d love to capture your day in my relaxed, unobtrusive style.

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Piers & Katie: Sunny Springtime Wedding at Ripley Castle, Yorkshire

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As a wedding photographer there isn’t much higher an honour than being asked to capture another photographer’s wedding day, and this was exactly the case with Piers & Katie’s day at Ripley Castle in North Yorkshire. I was so excited on the run up and their fantastic day lived up to everything I hoped for!

Katie channelled major Audrey Hepburn vibes, looking so elegant with her vibrant red hair styled in a chic updo. Her dress was beautiful: a lace bodice cinched with a sparkling waist that flowed into a soft tulle skirt.

Their joyful ceremony took place within the castle's ancient walls and was full of emotion from the biggest of smiles to many happy tears. One of the things I love most about weddings is how they’re not only bringing a couple together, but their families and friends too, and it was lovely to capture Katie & Piers marry in front of their nearest and dearest.

Post-ceremony, the celebrations spilled into the castle gardens after one of the longest and best confetti tunnels ever! Their guests enjoyed drinks and canapés alongside garden games and exploring the castle grounds.

The highlight for me was nipping off with Katie & Piers to the walled garden to take couple portraits. The sun came out just in time and we took photos amongst both soft pink and vibrant purple wisteria - my absolute favourite!

After a receiving line to ensure they could say hello to everyone, the celebrations continued indoors with dinner and heartfelt speeches. The dining room looked gorgeous decorated in purple flowers and fresh greenery with tables named after mountain peaks they’d climbed together.

I’ll always look back fondly on this day - a real honour to capture a fellow photographer’s wedding, and we felt so welcome and a part of the celebrations. Congratulations you guys!

“Thank you so much for the truly incredible photographs that you have created for us. From first getting in touch with you enquiring about your services to meeting you for our engagement shoot, we have always been comfortable and confident in our decision to choose you as our photographer.

Our friends and family have all been singing your praises about you on our wedding day. Your personality really shone through to us and our guests and we really want to do it all over again. So, from the bottom of our hearts, thank you for capturing our wedding day. Will we cherish these photographs forever.”
— Piers & Katie

featured suppliers

Venue: Ripley Castle
Dress: Ava Rose Hamilton
Suit: Eric Spencer
Hair & Make Up: Anna Stephenson
Band: The Wilde Ones

Katie and Piers embracing in a wooded area of Ripley Castle, bathed in warm spring sunlight filtering through trees.
A candid moment of Katie in her lace wedding dress, having her lipstick touched up as light cascades in at Ripley Castle.
Front row guests hold up their cameras and phones to take photographs during Katie and Pier’s wedding ceremony.
A view from above of wedding guests mingling in the grounds of Ripley Castle.
Katie and Piers smiling and laughing, embraced with Piers' arm around Katie's waist amidst vibrant wisteria.
Katie and Pier's first dance at Ripley Castle, captured in colour and black & white.

Are you getting married at Ripley Castle and looking for your wedding photographer? I’d love to capture your day in my relaxed, unobtrusive style.

I'm back!

It’s been a strange past year, hasn’t it? If you had told me in 2019 what lay before us, and that it meant I’d essentially stop working for myself for over a year, I’d have said you were crazy!

With the exception of a 5 wonderful weddings (2 pre-lockdown, and 3 under restrictions), the majority of my weddings were understandably rescheduled in the wake of coronavirus. After a few months at home playing way too much Animal Crossing, I decided that I needed to get a job, and I am so grateful that an opportunity presented itself in the form of working for Little Mouse, a premature baby clothing business owned by one of my past couples, Gill & Elliott. I have loved shooting new products, creating social media content, writing copy, packaging orders, and best of all, chatting to their lovely customers.

It has been such a pleasure to be welcomed into their world over the last 12 months, and last week was a bittersweet moment with my last day at the company. I am so sad to leave them but at the same time incredibly excited to get back to what I love: photographing weddings!

My June calendar is fairly chilled out, which means I’ve got lots of time to catch up on everything I need to do to get myself into gear for an exciting and busy season ahead. I’m hoping to catch up on sharing the beautiful wedding days I’ve been fortunate enough to capture over the past few years (I am desperately behind on blogging!), get all of my business admin in check and of course, catch up with my fab couples! I’ll be emailing all of my 2021 couples in the next few days and I am so excited to get back into my business.

Thank you all for bearing with me in this strange year.. I’m ready to hit the ground running!

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2020: A round up

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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.

Yogi & Simon - 8th February 2020

Yogi & Simon - 8th February 2020

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 - 22nd February 2020

Lizzy & Simon - 22nd February 2020

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 - 21st August 2020

Abby & CHris - 21st August 2020

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 - 22nd August 2020

Eilis & Tom - 22nd August 2020

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!

Katie & Ben - 18th September 2020

Katie & Ben - 18th September 2020

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!

A trip to Morocco

A trip to Morocco

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!

BIG personal milestones

BIG personal milestones

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

Astrophotography

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.

A new opportunity

A new opportunity

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.

A trip to the seaside

A trip to the seaside

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.

cross stitch crazy

cross stitch crazy

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.

So I think that covers a bit of everything, really.. it’s been a crazy year and one that’s difficult to sum up, but we got through it!

If you got this far, thank you, and here’s to a much more peaceful 2021.

AS FEATURED ON..

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