Laura and Paul are getting married in June and so we recently got together for their pre-wedding shoot.

They decided to have their shoot at the very beautiful Stanmer Park, Brighton as since they got together they have enjoyed many a walk around the beautiful woodlands. Both keen cyclists, they have also done a few cycle routes around the park too! Although Laura & Paul booked me last September we had decided to wait till this time of year as Laura really wanted there to be bluebells in the shoot. It was tricky trying to plan the perfect time as they can be quite un-predictable due to the weather but after a few shots elsewhere in the woods we drove to a spot Paul was familiar with from cycling, pulled up and ventured into the woods to be greeted by a sea of bluebells! Yippee! Our mission was complete. We had such a great shoot and Laura & Paul were so awesome to photograph, they pretty much just laughed through the entire thing! I’d like to say that’s because I’m hilariously funny but I think it’s more that they are incredible happy together and so at ease in each other’s company. I’m so, so excited about their up and coming wedding and just had to share some pics from their shoot.

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I do love it when a plan comes together. What’s even better is when you also have an incredibly talented sister with her own workshop and a trade card for the hardware wholesalers…

For my wedding, I had decided to have a photo booth wall. I’d seen it before on good old Pinterest and I’m lucky enough to have people around me with the creativity and skill to make it happen. Afterwards I got to thinking about how I could have something like this to use within my business. The photo booth wall I had at my own wedding was HUUUGE! And clearly not something I could easily transport around so I needed to re-think the design in a way that meant I could take the wall apart and transport it in sections, and then easily and quickly bolt together once at the location.

And who did I know that could help me with this task? None other than my amazing sister. As a successful upholsterer in London, I knew she would know a thing or two about how we could go about making the wall, so I was delighted when she shared my excitement and enthusiasm for the project. Many phone calls and chats later (I’m pretty sure she never wants to hear me talking endlessly about different wallpaper designs ever again) and we were ready to begin the construction.

So, on a very cold and snowy February day, off we skipped to the wholesalers to get all things needed to construct my wall. I was able to upcycle the frames from the old wall so all that was needed was some MDF, some screws and hinges, wallpaper and paint. I’m quite sure that I was pretty annoying taking pictures of the ENTIRE process. But as a little sister, isn’t it my job to be annoying?!

Here’s how it went down;

Firstly, we gathered our materials…

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It’s always fab when a location shoot is booked and on the day of the shoot the sun shines brightly! That’s not to say that I don’t enjoy a moody, cloudy sky, there’s a time and a place for that, but when the location is Hove beach huts on a crisp February day with a couple of personal trainers I had envisaged something bright and colourful.  So imagine my glee upon waking up to glorious sunshine! YAY! The weather gods were shining down on us!

It was rather chilly on the seafront when I met Lou & Suzy, but we braved the cold and the wind to amble down to the seafront where the brightly coloured beach huts stretch as far as the eye can see.

Here’s a little selection of some of my faves. 

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Kev & Jaqs story began 8 years ago through their shared love of climbing. A lot of exploring, adventuring, climbing and one campsite later, (more to follow on that!) and that brings us to their wedding. When I met Kev & Jaqs at their fabulous campsite ‘Kokopelli Camping‘ in Serramonacesca in Italy, I was delighted when they agreed to book me as their photographer.

On the day of the wedding the sun shone brightly and it seemed that the whole village had turned out to celebrate their special day. With the campsite they run having become such an integral part of the village, it was so clear just how much they are loved within this fantastic community.

Guys, thank you SO much for letting me (and Sam) be part of such a wonderful day. I wish you both all the happiness in the world and long may your adventures continue!

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Gaz & Roo got engaged on Christmas Day last year and what with re-locating cities, new jobs & buying a house they have had a very busy 8 months! So to pull off their wedding in a mere 8 weeks is something that would make other couples drip with sweat in a state of abject panic! But I have to say, the wedding really was a treat for all involved. When they asked me to photograph their festival themed, 1950’s style wedding I JUMPED at the chance! I do love a good wedding….and a good festival for that matter, so I knew I was going to be in my absolute element!

Having just re-located up to Manchester from Brighton, they had decided to hold their festival wedding at Linnet Clough Scout Camp. There were Tipi’s, Star Marquee’s and Bell tents set up for the guests, with an extra special one for Gaz & Roo all set up by the wonderful boys and girls from One-Adventure, and lots and lots of handmade decorations made by friends and family. Even before anyone had started arriving, it had a lovely warm and friendly vibe about it – the perfect feel for a wedding…

As the guests starting arriving, you could feel the anticipation starting to build! Poor Gaz was looking more and more nervous and excited with each passing minute. Normally, I am with the bride before the wedding so it was really nice to see the other side for a change.

The ceremony was, quite possibly, one of the nicest I have had the pleasure to witness. Many, many moons ago, over a few pints of beer, Gaz & his best mate Dave had agreed that they would conduct each other’s wedding ceremonies when and if the time came. Well, the time had come for Gaz so Dave had written the most beautiful ceremony with friends and family contributing funny anecdotes and readings.  One of the things I noticed was how much laughter there was. By having Dave do the ceremony, it made the whole thing so very personal and you could almost feel the pride radiating from Gaz.

The first thing Gaz did after the ceremony was grab a pint for himself and his wife of their own special brew. (Glad they had their priorities straight!) Poor Roo was literally shaking like a leaf but could not stop beaming! After a bit of mingling with their guests we snuck off to get some pictures of the two of them together. This is always one of my favourite parts of photographing a wedding; it’s just after the bride and groom have said their vows, happiness  emanates from them.  And I get to share those first moments of them being husband and wife and capture them forever. It’s a pretty special thing to be part of!

Then it was back to their very swanky bell tent, which had been decked out with a custom made bed constructed using wooden pallets by the organisers, so that Roo could ditch the heels and get her dancing shoes on! Let the party commence!

Just like the ceremony, the speeches were filled with laughter, joy and a few tears. There were lots of embarrassed expressions from Gaz as his best man ditched the dirt and heartfelt emotion from Roo as her dad took to the mic. As the speeches came to an end Roo’s sister sang a beautiful song called ‘if the sun forgets to shine’ which held lots of meaning for both Roo & Gaz. Then they were up themselves for their first dance. They chose Ella Fitzgerald, ‘It’s wonderful’ A song that couldn’t have been more fitting.

So after that it was party time, the newly weds had an awesome live band which truly gave it that ‘festival feel’, followed by their good friend Bex on the decks afterwards. I think the images speak for themselves, you can see from all the smiley faces what an amazing time everyone had. The dance area  was packed from the start to the finish. And I’m pretty sure Gaz & Roo didn’t leave it once! (Except maybe to grab an ice-cream or a cocktail!)

Not all guests were welcome of course; that’s August for you!

Hope you’ve enjoyed looking through these pictures as much as I enjoyed taking them! I wish Mr & Mrs Haughton all the joy, love and happiness in the world. If you are thinking of having a festival style wedding, please do get in touch. I’d love to hear all your ideas and create beautiful memories of your festival wedding day!

And once more, a BIG shout out to the guys at one-adventure, they worked tirelessly setting up all the tipi’s, bell tents, stages etc….not to mention the epic food and booze – and always with a smile on their faces (mostly – see below); I really can’t recommend them highly enough.

Keep smiling!