Filtering by Category: Photography

Sarah & Nick - Anne of Cleves House

It has been a difficult time for all of us in the wedding industry over the last few months, we’ve had all our jobs postponed or cancelled, and in addition for me jobs that have been moved have now clashed with others in 2021 and I have had to subsequently let down my clients, which is something I really hate to do.

Weddings can soon take place with a reception from August 1st, but with only 30 guests and currently most clients would prefer to have an extra guest than a photographer, and take photographs with their mobile phones.

So you would think I do not have any work to post and share on my website and social media platforms, but I was lucky enough to have had the chance to photograph two weddings before lockdown started that I have not yet posted. I thought I would hold off from sharing them because being in the middle of such difficult and sad times I felt people would not want to see other people’s wedding photographs, but as we are moving forward and hopefully into better times I decided it was time I finally shared one of them. Weddings are always days that are full of love, hope and so much joy. I feel it is something we could definitely do with more of at this current time.

The following photographs are a highlight of the wedding of a lovely couple, Sarah and Nick. They married at Southover Grange Gardens in Lewes and then moved a couple of minutes walk down the road to the beautiful Anne of Cleves house for their reception. It was a very intimate ceremony in which they were surrounded by their close friends and family. The bride was walked up the aisle by both her parents. She was wearing a beautiful lace dress that was bought on the high street! She paired it with the most spectacular pink shoes and a beautiful pink bouquet that her friends had made for her. You can guess the theme colour was pink, the groom also had pink socks. The reception was full of lovely personal touches, favours of beautiful succulents, the decor included pink cushion covers and an initialled light display that were all made by the very clever bride. There was even an Anne of Cleves quiz for the guests to do before the evening meal.

All of my couples receive a personalised gift of little felt gingerbread people, and an embroidered keyring (both made by me), that comes with their usb. Couples will receive all edited images on their usb stick, I do not limit the amount of images you will receive. Of course, Sarah and Nick’s usb had to be a pink one!

The food was supplied by Elizabeth Caton Food and Wine and the exquisite pink lemon and elderflower cake was made by Harriet Tamsin Cakes.

I still have some spaces left for 2021, prices start from £500.

A Room of One's Own - Garden Huts shoot

I have done several jobs for this client and they contacted me in January to take photographs of their new venture. They had a couple of shepherds huts for people to stay in at nearby Bentley Wildfowl Museum and Gardens. Unfortunately Bentley has now closed, so my client decided to move the huts into their garden in Rodmell, so they can run a B&B from there. They asked me to take some external and internal photographs for their social media and online presence. I luckily had a bright, but cold day for the shoot. I also had the cutest helper and model in their labradoodle Maggie. It was lovely to be able to include her in the photographs as she bought a friendly and welcoming feeling to them.

Rodmell is a lovely location. It is on the South Downs Way walk. Rodmell is the village where Virgina Woolf and her husband Leonard lived, so you can visit her old home Monk House. It is also in close proximity to Charleston Farm House where her sister Virgina Bell lived and was the home of the Bloomsbury set.

There are three huts, a large blue one called Ouseside, a smaller green hut called Caburn and a luxurious bathroom hut, which has a beautiful roll top bath in it. Ouseside has a mini kitchen and en-suite bathroom with a shower. they both have double/king sized beds.

They are available to stay in from March and their facebook page is called Garden Huts or call them, if you fancy a visit to the Sussex countryside, 07941 133370.

Newnham College, Cambridge - Head shots

I had the pleasure of being asked to photograph an amazing group of young women. They are all on a June event committee for Newnham College, Cambridge. They needed some head shots for their launch event and their social media.

Newnham College is an amazing college. It was established in 1871 as a house in which young women could reside while attending lectures in Cambridge, long before they were allowed to become full members of the university with the granting of degrees to women in 1948.

Newnham is beautiful with stunning grounds and buildings. They have bright red bricks and large Victorian sash windows. It was important that the backdrop of the photographs were Newnham, especially as it is where the event is being held. We were lucky to have a dry and bright sunny day for the shoot, but as it was January it was still rather chilly.

All the committee members were asked to wear pastel colours, so there would be a cohesive look to the photographs. When you are working on individual images that need to be a part of a bigger group of photographs a colour theme can really help pull those images together.

I was very pleased with all the photographs. The ladies were so lovely and it was a pleasure to meet them all. I wish them well for their June event and I hope it will be a huge success.

Daniella and Sandrine - Michelham Priory

I can’t believe it has taken me this long to write this blog about the two lovely ladies, Daniella and Sandrine.

This wonderful wedding took place at the beautiful Michelham Priory in Hailsham. This stunning venue is a part of the Sussex Past venues, which include Lewes Castle and Anne of Cleves House in Lewes.

We were very lucky , as this was one of the only dry days in October. It always helps to be able to take photographs outside. I feel the natural light ( even if it’s cloudy ) lends something to the quality of a photograph. Michellham Priory has some lovely gardens, a pond with a bridge and some stunning buildings, so it was great that it stayed dry so we could make the most of the lovely environment.

One of the brides was from France, so they had a bi-lingual MC who was able to translate the speeches. He was also a great help in rounding up the family and friends for photographs. It can be quite difficult at weddings to get everyone together for a photograph, even more if they do not understand the language.

Their wedding was full of lovely personalised touches, they love to surf so they had a miniature surf board for everyone to sign. Their cake was a giant croque en bouche, one of the brides did not like big flowers so there were no big table displays and her button hole was a blue thistle and their first dance was a cèilidh, so everyone could join in.

Weddings are such fabulous occasions to be a part of. I always find it the greatest honour to be asked to document and share in the couples special day. I love the ceremony, the speeches, and meeting their family and friends, but my favourite part is when I steal the couple away from the celebration and take them for their couples photographs. They get to have some quiet time and can reflect on their day so far. It is a really lovely moment. It is one of the only times in the day it is just the two of them (apart from me). A tip for any future couples, always make sure you have a good length of time to have with just the photographer. You get to process the days events and get some beautiful photographs at the same time. It can be quite a lot for a photographer to get those magical forever shots in just a 20 minute window, so make sure you find that space in your day, it will be worth while.

Alice and Ed -Anne of Cleves House

I was lucky enough to be asked to photograph the wedding reception of this adorable couple at the stunning Anne of Cleves House in Lewes. I had photographed weddings at Anne of Cleves before, so I felt very comfortable with the venue and I know quite well the lovely people that work there.

There is also a beautiful garden a short 3 minutes walk from the venue, so we went to the beautiful Southover Grange for some couple shots within the colourful flower gardens. It was a glorious sunny day and we were there early evening, so there was a beautiful soft light. Alice looked perfect, she was like a May queen with her flower crown on and surrounded by the stunning blooms of many colours. Alice was perfection in her amazing beaded dress. She looked naturally beautiful and ever so cool. Ed was my first groom in a patterned shirt and I thought he carried it off with aplomb, and looked fabulous.

It was such a lovely day, the couple and their friends didn't take themselves too seriously and had so much fun with their photos. There was many a fun pose and plenty of silliness. It’s brilliant for me as that makes for great photographs that are a representation of the couple and their personalities. I always try to make sure that my couples are relaxed and themselves in their wedding photographs, I don’t want them to pose for photographs in a way that makes them feel uncomfortable.

One of my favourite decorative touches Alice and Ed had was a photograph of their cat, Laszlo, so I decided I would embroider him on their usb keyring, as part of their gift package as well as their gingerbread people avatars.

Go over to our Facebook page for more photographs from Alice and Ed’s big day.