Pre Lockdown Engagement Shoot

It’s only a few months since March when I met up with John-Paul and Emma for their pre wedding photoshoot, but within a week of our meeting, the UK was thrown into lockdown and it now seems like another world ago!

The couple were visiting the area ahead of their wedding at Lapstone Barn near Chipping Campden in August. Sadly, Coronavirus has put the Kybosh on their plans and they are having to wait another year until they can tie the knot.

We met in the beautiful surroundings of Batsford Arboretum here in the Cotswolds. The leaves hadn’t quite sprung into life but the trees still provided wonderful backdrops with their interesting bark textures and a profusion of delicate pink blossoms.

I think woodlands are perhaps my favourite place for a photoshoot. They are often quiet, which is great for helping my clients to relax and not feel as though they are on show. They are shaded, but when the sun is out, the light streams in shafts through the branches or between the leaves with an attractive dappled effect. The enormity of many trees alongside my subjects also provides a dramatic contrast in scale - especially the lofty Redwoods with their spongy, furrowed trunks.

It was lovely getting to know John-Paul and Emma and talking through all the plans for their wedding. That’s the beauty of a pre-wedding photoshoot - it’s a chance for everyone to feel at ease with the camera, get to know each other and there’s a great set of photographs to add to the wedding day decor too!

Spring Cotswold wedding at Lapstone Barn

This time last year, spring was well and truly underway. The sun shone, the birds sang and the lambs were leaping in the fields. And Lowri & Jamie celebrated their marriage in the perfect Cotswolds setting of Lapstone Barn near Chipping Campden. One year on and life is looking so different. But it’s at these times that it’s good to remember how things were and will be again and this lovely wedding really sticks in my memory.

Lowri had spent her childhood in the Middle East and so wanted to bring a flavour of that to her wedding day by covering the entire floor of the lofty Cotswold barn with a collection of stunning kilim rugs. What a great idea!

After photographing Lowri and the girls excitedly getting ready at Lapstone, I made the short journey down the hill to the little village of Weston Sub Edge to photograph Jamie and the guys enjoying drinks and lunch. It was then back up to Lapstone to capture the very special moment when Lowri was fitted into her beautiful crystal encrusted wedding dress with help from lovely Mum Amanda. There was just enough time for the girls to practice some all important dance moves for later, before Lowri, Dad Geoff and the bridesmaids made their way downstairs to be greeted by guests and Jamie in the ceremony barn.

Leaving to rapturous applause, the happy couple made their way outside. Now, this was a first me because while most couples have confetti in the form of paper petals, real flowers or potpourri, aviation mad Jamie along with his beautiful new bride were bombarded with scores of paper aeroplanes! Great fun for everyone! We then spent a short while strolling around the grounds and I caught some lovely shots of the two of them with the spectacular backdrop of the surrounding fields. They were so natural in front of the lens, it made my job so easy.

Back inside, everyone tucked into a delicious meal, followed by some hilarious speeches and then it was time to hit the dancefloor - with Lowri sporting some fab glittery platform pumps to keep her dancing feet pain free well into the night.

Autumnal wedding at Blackwell Grange

With its picturesque combination of traditional thatched and modern barns, Blackwell Grange in Warwickshire is a really lovely venue to photograph and I was delighted to be there one crisp October Saturday last year to capture the wedding of Emma & Matthew. Guests arrived with groom Matthew on a vintage bus while Emma and the girls got ready in the venue’s Potting Shed rooms. Emma then made the chilly walk through the grounds to the lovely ceremony barn and I have to say she looks so excited on the photographs! The sun shone all day in that lovely way it does in Autumn - warm and low - and we made full use of it, along with the interesting stables and outbuildings for photographs while guests enjoyed pre dinner drinks.

The best photographs come when couples are at ease in front of the lens and Emma & Matthew were so chilled on the day, I think the results speak for themselves. It’s my objective to get to know my clients well in the lead up to the wedding and I remain calm and supportive during what, for many, can seem a really daunting experience. I always say to my clients that it’s best not to perform but to be totally focused on each other - it’s about me capturing a moment between two people, not two people performing to the camera.

Lapstone Barn Showcase

I’m lucky enough to live in a beautiful part of the world here in the Cotswolds. Just a short drive up the hill from my town is Lapstone Barn - a stunning combination of the traditional and contemporary set high up in the beautiful Cotswold landscape. It’s a great choice for both summer and winter weddings and I love the many textures and outlooks it has to offer which makes for some very special photographs. I shot the venue’s first ever wedding back in 2018 and have been lucky to capture many more over the last year and a half. Here’s a selection of some of my favourite images so far.