Little did I know back in 2019 that Kate and Sam’s wedding at the lovely Pentney Abbey at the end of July 2021 would be my first wedding of the season. But with nerves of steel, these two held on to their date through everything and ended up being one of my only clients of the year that ended up with the same date they originally booked.

Whilst I’m based in Dorset and photograph weddings across the whole country, I don’t often get the opportunity to head over this part of the world. But it was absolutely worth it, as the whole day was so hilariously perfect. The venue, the weather, that dress, that hat…

Kicked things off at Kate’s parents palace. I mean, home. Well, it looks like a bit of a palace. These guys opted for my Mighty package which meant that I had a second photographer with me to hang out with the boys in the morning and meant we could capture both sides in the run up to the ceremony.

Seems so normal now that covid restrictions are long gone, but it was so awesome when weddings were finally back to full capacity, despite still needing to mess about with masks etc. 

What an absolute stunner of a ceremony room up above the gate. I have a bit of a thing for dark spaces with huge windows, and this one didn’t disappoint. So much so that after we’d cleared out after the ceremony, we were immediately heading back up there for an impromptu photo sesh with just Kate and Sam. 

The weather was definitely behaving itself. Well, you’d expect it to seeing as we were just ticking over into August at this point. Which meant an obligatory cornfield photo sesh as the light started to soften and before everyone started throwing shapes on the dance floor.

Got to love a wedding with a pizza truck. Pretty sure there isn’t anything better as a pick-me-up before Is This The Way To Amarillo. 

Dress: Grace Loves Lace

Florist: Authentic Charm

Cake: The Iced Vegan

DJ/Photo Booth: Epic Events Norfolk

Quite possibly the most fun I’ve ever had at a wedding. You know when it feels like you’ve ended up meeting your entire friendship group from an alternate dimension or a past life? 

Funny to think that Yana and Tom’s wedding was my first 2021 booking all the way back in 2019, and was one of the only ones that ended up staying on the same date all the way through lockdown after lockdown. Pretty surreal when the date actually arrived and it was as if we’d known each other for years, partly because we had! 

Colehayes Park is an absolutely beautiful venue in one of my favourite parts of the world. As a wedding photographer in Dorset, I’m pretty used to what the South West has to offer but the views here just seem to go on forever. The inside of the venue ain’t half bad either, with enormous windows and a certain quirky charm about it which just makes you feel at home. 

I was photographing on my own this time, but thankfully everything was nestled in just one place which meant I could just float about and photograph whatever was going on at the time. I’ve always been a big fan of outdoor ceremonies but this one felt a little special. The location, the emotions, the beautiful trees, the little doggos running around and causing chaos. Doesn’t get much better really.

The rest of the day was a bit of a drinkathon. There’s so many rooms at the venue that pretty much everyone was there for the whole weekend and didn’t have anywhere else to be. Result. My kind of party. 

The dance floor was absolutely nuts. Trying to work out if I’ve ever seen so many people doing flips and handstands on one dance floor before. Genuinely felt a little concerned that we were all going to go through the floor as everyone turned it up to eleven. Good thing Colehayes Park appears to have thought about this and installed an extra bouncy floor otherwise that would have been it.

My now husband found Stuart online and was immediately drawn to his unique arty style, and all important beautiful black and white photos! On the day he was so engaging, easy to talk to and made us feel so at ease! He made sure he was present during all the parts of the wedding and captured so many awesome parts of our special day.

We have just received the photos back and are so so impressed with how many there are, how absolutely gorgeous they all are and just how they captured our feel for the day. They made me cry! We are so ecstatic with the fact that these photos will be with us for ever and always remind us of that amazing day.

Thank you so much Stuart, you are so talented.

Catering: Refuel

Florist: From The Wild

DJ: Retro Disco

First timer at Grittleton House and hopefully not my last, as Chantelle & Myles’ autumnal stunner was on a whole other level.

2021 was a crazy year for weddings, what with the whole Covid backlog and all that. So many weddings had been postponed that I started to forget which weddings were where. But when I rocked up outside Grittleton House on that nippy morning, it all came flooding back and I knew we were in for a cracker. Didn’t know where to point my camera next, as this place is absolutely bonkers.

We kicked things off with both Chantelle and Myles in the main house but getting ready in separate rooms. Good thing they opted for my Mighty package with a second photographer, as Myles and the boys were soon off down to the pub. Doesn’t take very long to put a suit on…

Will went off with the guys while I stayed put with Chantelle, snapping all of the shenanigans as they unfolded. Weddings hardly ever run on time and this was no exception, keeping Myles on his toes as Chantelle sorted out the last few necessities. After slipping into a little Provonius number, it was time to do that wedding thing and put Myles’ mind at ease.

With the anticipation finally over, the rest of the day was just a melée of good people, good vibes and quite possibly the world’s biggest doggo. The whole room was a blubbering mess during the speeches, which was so great to quietly capture as no one knew whether to cry or laugh their heads off. 

There are wedding firework displays and then there are firework displays, this was the latter. Trying to work out if I’ve ever seen such an epic display at a wedding before. Safe to say everyone was in awe of everything going on, and also meant for some fantastic photo opportunities. 

Round two, let’s go.

Where do I even start with a review of Stuart as a professional, and the quality of his work? Throughout our very long Covid-affected marriage journey, Stuart was absolutely phenomenal, and one of our stand-out suppliers in terms of his cooperation, support, consideration and amenability. Nothing was too much for him, and every new obstacle, Stuart offered a solution, always making us feel reassured.

When we finally reached the wedding, Stuart’s approach on the day was absolutely perfect. He was everywhere, snapping everything, without being invasive or commanding, and still allowing us ‘our moments’. When he needed to direct proceedings, he did, and when he was snapping the candid moments of the day, he was very subtle.

Finally, the results…the pictures are absolutely phenomenal. We couldn’t have asked for a more wonderful depiction of the day. We are so happy with all of the photographs. Thank you.

Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Sorella Vita

Embellishment: Hand and Lock

Evening Dress: Made With Love Bridal

Shoes: Freya Rose

Makeup: Kelly Dawn Bridal 

Hair: Tracy Pallari

Hair Accessory: Katie Mangan Millinery

Flowers: Flowers by Passion

Morning Suit: Neal and Palmer

Waistcoats: Booksters Tailoring

Wedding bucket list has had another nice big tick added to it. Somerset House in London, as we all know, is a bit of a stunner.

Never really thought I’d have the opportunity to shoot a wedding here and see the famous Nelson’s Stairs, never mind photograph one of my favourite weddings of the 2021 season here. 

Eliana and Henry’s wedding in London was somewhat unconventional but in all of the best ways. Trying to remember if I’ve ever photographed a wedding that started with everyone together having lunch at a kebab shop, followed by couple portraits around Covent Garden—all BEFORE we’ve even thought about the ceremony. Not only that, to then dance in procession with a marching band back to the pub for what become an impromptu bar crawl across London’s West End. 

I honestly didn’t want to leave at the end of the night, so much so that I had to plead with the parking security to free me and my car after I overstayed into the wee hours. 

Highlight of the day had to be photographing on Somerset House’s famous staircase. This spot has me written all over it, and Eliana and Henry were so accommodating with me having a little M.C. Escher moment while they just got their chill on. With Eliana being heavily pregnant at the time, I’m sure she was just enjoying having a moment to stop and relax for a bit! 

What a day. Let’s do it again. 

I had absolutely no doubt that Helena & Samuel’s would be absolutely bananas after the very first line of their enquiry: “we’re getting married at a paint-balling site in the forest that’s now overrun with plants and all of our friends are camping. Oh and we have no idea what it’ll look like as the owner changes it every few months.”

Helena, count me in.

The day started very much not in the forest but instead at the local pub in Hampshire where Helena was getting ready and sporting a stunning Rime Arodaky number complimented by a bouquet by the lovely Katie Mawson.

Unfortunately the weather was very much not on our side for the first half of the day, so Ceremony Plan A ended up becoming Plan D as the clouds and rain just kept rolling in like clockwork. But Mother Nature being the sassy minx that she is, the sun soon popped it’s head out mid-ceremony and meant all the worries were pretty much for nothing. Great timing, eh?!

Dinner was provided by Vamos Paella in enormous quantities and was bloody lovely. I also have a soft spot for rows and rows of long tables for dinner and speeches instead of round ones. The shapes and layers are just something else.

Photo opportunities were literally endless. I mean come on, a paint-balling site in the forest?! This has me written all over it. And things only got better once the sun finally set, as the entire forest was kitted out with light orbs to keep things going until the wee hours. 

The dance floor was much what I expected—a hell of a lot of drinking combined with a hell of a lack of rhythm.

What an absolute blast.