This wedding is still a firm favourite, I know you are going to LOVE it and it’s perfect for inspiration! The lovely Kelly from Boho featured this wedding and I think the way she describes it is just perfect “It’s a Festival themed wedding held at the brides parents home, with the ceremony in the front garden and the reception in the back! It’s a real celebration of love, colour, vibrant patterns, DIY, and so much fun and laughter! Lauren and Jay really made their wedding a family and friends affair, with so many people pitching in and helping make their day a wedding to remember. From the amazing rag bunting, to the tie died table clothes, the whole look and feel of this wedding is bang on! With a glitter bar, dressing up area, Pizza ovens and a hot dog stand, everything about it is cool, relaxed and full of joy. Even the dogs got in on the wedding action.”
I’m totally starting from the beginning with this one, as I think it gives you a huge insight into how I work and the relationships I form with my couples. So, are you ready!! (more…)
“Emma Emma Emma, where do we blimmin’ start! You’ve made this so difficult for us, because there is so much we want to say to you and I want to be able to write so that it does it justice, but literally from start to finish every single photo is perfect. Fact! You captured it all brilliantly, creatively, naturally and it was all done with such ease and panache. We both feel like we have relived the best day of our lives, and your photos did that. You’re a massive talent!”
Ahhh how lovely is that to read when you’ve just delivered a wedding, the best! When Anna and Jack first got in touch with me about their pizza filled wedding at the Walled Garden in Mells, I was so so excited. They were planning a really fun barn wedding with plenty of home-made touches such as cute succulents for table name holders, a traditional artisanal creperie (oh my these were good!!) and cocktails on request from Event Bars South West. Anna and Jack are the loveliest people, we had great video calls leading up to their day and I couldn’t wait to shoot their wedding!
The Peak District… it’s pretty breath taking isn’t it! Shamefully it’s a place I’ve not really visited much before, passed through and gasped yes, but not taken the time to breath in that crisp air and jaw-dropping views. Chris and Gemma got married here in September last year and it was just stunning. I was actually a guest at this one (hence a few photo’s!) as they are good friends. Chris was best-man at our wedding so it was my hubby’s turn to be best man and did the funniest speech taking time to seek a friendly revenge!
We’ve know Gemma & Chris for well over 10 years now being good pals in Malvern, where we all used to live and take in the many walks to the pub, which was pretty much was ended by a stumble back home with tea and cake. The best! It was a dream seeing these guys finally get wed at Prestwold Hall. Gemma wore a beautiful silk and lace dress from Emily Bridal Wear and Chris looked super smart in his tailored three piece. They filled the room with gorgeous deep burgundy botanicals and berries, then decorated the tables with wooden carved names for the guests and a nod to their worldly travels for their table names. There was even a super cool retro arcade machine for the evening and fish & chips, which is a pretty neat way to celebrate getting married.
The next day they had asked me to do a couple shoot at Higger Tor as their wedding gift. So we all met up and had lunch together, then I helped Gemma get back in her dress, although with wellies this time and off we went. The weather was stunning, it rained, the sun shone, it rained… giving us the most atmospheric skies and these stunning photo’s. Yes to wedding’s in the Peak District and yes to good friends that are always up for a laugh and climbing rocks in bare feet!
So exciting times are ahead… Its already February, how did that happen! Which means you are into wedding planning if you are getting hitched this year. But don’t panic, I’m here to spread a bit of light on planning a relaxed wedding day. My previous couples have all been pretty chilled, I love that about them all. I seem to attract that quality which is absolutely fine by me, a mix between a little bit of tradition with all the quirks in-between! However I do get asked frequently at the start of your journey, “what can we do to make sure it all goes smoothly?” So I’ve put together some tips and timings from my experience as a Wedding Photographer so far in the hope you might find it useful for your day!
Firstly, EVERY single wedding is different but as a general rule of thumb there are still some set timings so hopefully this will still apply to your day! The reason why I go through this so much with my couples is so on the day I know exactly where I need to be and you guys can relax and now and again if needed, just ask me “what are we doing now” etc no surprises for you guys and some gentle structured flow to your day from me. I can then be in the background catching all those moments you booked me for in the first place! I thought it might be helpful if I break it down into sections that as your photographer I’m mostly involved with, you don’t need to get bogged down with the logistics of the day so let me take that away from you; especially as there is so much “wedding” stuff out there, don’t let it put you off from the start! Right lets get started.
Morning preparation & getting dressed // Time allocated 1hr – 1.5hrs before the ceremony.
I love this time I get with you. Its THE best, so much fizz and excitement in the air. I get to see everything you’ve planned come together in one room. This is my chance to grab those stylised shots I love setting up of your shoes, wellies, hair accessories and anything in-between. Its absolutely essential that you only have people in the room that have their positive pants on and are there for you. Don’t go overboard with it either, more people, more chaos! Less interruptions are the key. I love the documentary element to this part so just relax, be pampered and have fun. Definitely create a playlist to have fun with, a good mix of all sorts that will keep your toes tapping. Food is also a vital part of this time, if you haven’t already had your breakfast then get a little spread of fruit, croissants, cookies and plenty of water to keep everyone going. Think about where you are getting ready, the space in-particular. No one wants to put their gear on in a tiny cupboard! Equally important is light, you’ll hear most photographers get over excited about light, we can’t help it, its our thing! So think about natural light. I’m known to kind of come in and move things around if I need to, I might face you a different way for example, but trust me I’m always doing this for you. To get the best shot. Wear something you are happy to be seen in too, treat yourself to a new PJ set or gorgeous kimono dressing gown, oh and think about how you will get it off to put your dress on as well. I’ve cut tops off before now that wouldn’t stretch!
Another happy day from HEART FULL OF TEA. Well it’s February already and I thought I would crack on with my round-up from 2017. I get so many lovely comments from my wedding couples about the slide shows I send them so I thought I’d put one together for my last year of shooting. It was pretty epic! I LOVE looking back at all the photo’s I’ve taken and the moments I’ve been privileged to share with you. My wedding season started in March last year, and then I jetted off to Japan for 3 weeks, not long after Wai & Mark’s Chinese Wedding and then I went straight back to shooting a few days later! It was the second time my hubby and I had ventured there and this time was to catch the sakura season, aka blossom amongst plenty of other geeky days spent in retro game shops! Yet again Japan did not disappoint, I feel so connected to that place. I’ll be doing another blog post on Japan as a honeymoon destination soon so keep you eyes pealed for that!
Thank you so much to all my couples from 2017, it was a utter blast. You trusted me through and through and it made the days so much fun, sometimes I forgot I’m actually at “work”, so much laughter and happiness. I’ve met some amazing people along the way and the stories of finding out all about you both are the best. I love first date stories and how your relationship has played out since, then seeing that reflected back in so many quirky ways throughout the wedding day is the fascinating! I also worked really hard over 2017 to collaborate with some amazing suppliers and create content for the wedding industry. Which by the way had got to be one of the most creative industries to be in, it amazes me what people craft. I’m really grateful for these opportunities and definitely happy to say that 2018 is already filled with more commercial work. It’s also pretty full with new wedding couples too, I can not wait to shoot your day, I love my job!! I still have a few spaces left for 2018 so if you are getting married or know anyone who is then make sure you get in touch! I wrote a little blog post about how to book a Bath Wedding Photographer, if you wanted to read that too, click here for more happy people!
Thank you so much to Kirsty, Alexa, Kate,Naomi, Lydia, for either second shooting with me or for second shooting with them. Then Laura from The Bridal Edit, Emma from Coco Wedding Venues and Ali & Dom from Prezola for all the collaborations.
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