Em & Iain’s wedding was amazing, it rained… a lot… but Em’s never-fading smile was enough to keep the day as bright and happy as possible! Plus this was a well-prepared bride, with wellies a plenty, umbrellas, tartan rug-shawl-type-things and  a beautifully decorated marquee the day was just perfect. The bag-pipe procession from the church to the field was just as much fun in the rain as I think it would have been without (maybe in a bit more fun!)

Here a a handful of my images from the day. You can see Matt’s full blog here, it was an absolute pleasure

Bradgate park is such a gorgeous place to photograph in, stunning trees, free roaming deer, ruins, rocks… the list is endless. So meet Fiona, Darren, Oscar & Ebony…

Back when it was cold and snowy I launched a promotion on Facebook to win a couple shoot. I’ve already shot the runners up Jooles & Carl who won a  half price shoot. Now I have photographed the winners Sara & Tim! They’d just got back from a lovely 3 week holiday in Thailand (jealous, much?!) and really wanted to show off their style and tattoos for the shoot.

It was a gorgeous day, with the odd bout of rain and we ventured off into the countryside…. Sara & Tim were awesome and loads of fun…

I first shot with Eliza Claire in August last year and we hit it off from day 1! I was really looking forward to photographing with her again this year and Jonathan & Kate’s wedding was the perfect one to start with!! We were working alongside the girls from Reel Love Films, who were brilliant! Hope our paths cross again soon at another wedding. Kate & Jonathan were properly made for each other, I’ve never seen such massive smiles all day.

They were married in the beautiful Islington Town Hall and then onto The Prince Albert pub in Camden, which was to die for… I couldn’t quite get enough of all the awesome lights and little touches here and there. The food was delicious and staff super friendly.

Kate’s speech was the tear-jerker… absolutely amazing and not a dry eye in the house. Anyway that’s enough from me, here is their story in pictures…

So after the school run off we all went, it was cloudy but sunny and UK Weather website promised me it would stay that way from 4pm… it didn’t… hale stones and rain descended, but we’d done most of the shots by the time it did. We barely saw the dog as he quite enjoyed charging up and down the tractor tracks or springing like a gazelle through the field.

Photographing yourself with your family with a tripod is not the easiest task!! however, here they are in all the bright yellow glory! if you’d like a family or couple shoot in the country (or anywhere else for that matter!) then give me a shout.

Me & Pops!

As you may be aware next month is Father’s Day I did have a little look around for a cool ODE to Dad type poem but couldn’t find one that summed up my feelings toward my own Dad so instead  I decided to chuck some words in to try and portray 31 years of knowing the kindest man alive….

All round good egg. Kind. Funny. Slightly Balding. Un-screwer of lids. Bucking Bronco to 4 little girls. Again Again. Expert Paper Plane Folder. Counsellor. Wise Owl. Listener. Superhero in Disguise. Peacekeeper. Provider. Supporter. Thoughtful. Strong. Carrier of “pretending to sleep” child to bed. Father Christmas. Healer. Laughter. Rubbish at being tickled but good at dishing out a tickle. Slippers. Newspaper. Watching TV & Reading the paper simultaneously with his eyes shut. Competitive. Fun. A bit Daft. Rescuer. Believer in Me. Rock. Awesome.

To celebrate awesome Dad’s I am offering a special Father’s Day Lifestyle Shoot for £99 including 5 high resolution digital images on Family Lifestyle Shoot bookings made between now and 16th June, shoots must take place before 31st August 2013. Photography sessions must include a Dad and the offer is only valid for up to 6 family members (if you would like a shoot and do not fall into this criteria, please contact me for a quote)

Some Daddy-O awesomeness….

Last year I photographed several weddings with Julia of Julia & You, I love working with her so it was great to get back out there with her again this year. What a stunning wedding it was too!! Kate looked amazing in her custom made dress from her new sister-in-law, the blossoms in the church, the gorgeous venue… <content sigh> I love weddings

I decided to dig back through all of them, not just the ones we had already selected back then for our album. I didn’t have the photographer with me at my friends salon where I was getting ready (really wish I had now!) but my Mum did capture some of the moments from having my hair put up, my daughter who was 23 months old then having her hair curled and so on. One of the things James said when he saw it was how lovely it was to see those as he didn’t see that bit on the day! So lesson number one, make sure you have a professional photographer booked in for your getting ready shots. This is such a sacred time and huge part of your wedding, everything you’ve been planning is coming together and you are becoming “The Bride” it is such a beautiful moment to treasure.

The biggest thing for me was discovering more pictures of James’ Dad who we lost 2 years ago and is missed dearly. Not just any pictures but happy smiling candid pictures (and that from a Yorkshireman is no easy feat!). I was really looking forward to adding these to the slideshow and the happy memories to go with them.

I personally work with a reportage style with my photography, which means taking pictures as they happen. I do formal shots for group pictures and also the Bride & Groom couple shots after the ceremony but the rest of the day I mingle in with the guests and just capture anything and everything. It’s important for me to do this, even though some might think for instance images of the speeches are dull… to me they’re not, one of my favourite pictures from my own wedding is of us all laughing at the speeches. There’s a moment when James and I walk through the door for the wedding breakfast announced for the first time as Mr & Mrs Walker and I think I am smiling from ear to ear… this is another of my favourites. Don’t get me wrong I absolutely love my couple pics too but I just wanted to explain the importance of those moments that we capture… it’s not just a case of a couple of shots in the ceremony and afterwards with the family, they are part of it BUT let us tell your story, you won’t regret it.

Well that’s enough waffling from me, here it is my wedding day slideshow. Massive thanks to Matt Beedle for photographing our wedding.