Pre-Wedding Photography

Did you know that Chelmsford is famous for the following things?

1. It’s the birthplace of radio – Marconi opened their first wireless factory there in 1969. Well I never.
2. It’s the second healthiest place to live in the UK. I’ve no idea what the first is, sorry.
3. Sir Geoff Hurst lives there. They think it’s all over etc
4. The cracking comedy Chelmsford 123 was based in…erm…Chelmsford.
5. It also played host to one of the most EPIC engagement sessions EVER – Kate and Claire at Hylands Park!

I first met Kate and Claire last year for a coffee on a rainy Saturday morning to chat about their wedding. Unfortunately they, along with numerous other couples, had to postpone their big day due to the dreaded C-word.

However, every cloud has a silver lining, as a wise man / woman once said. If they couldn’t get married this year, then the very least we could do would be to meet up again for a storming engagement session.

So that’s what we did, and storming it was!

Hylands Park played host, and we chatted, laughed and talked about how amazing their wedding would be when all this C-word nonsense dies down, and couples can get back to the business of getting married (please Lord, let that be soon…)

Anyway, here are some of the best photos from the session. Enjoy!

Oh! I do like to be beside the seaside!
I do like to be beside the sea!
I do like to stroll along the Prom, Prom, Prom!
Where the brass bands play, “Tiddely-om-pom-pom!”

Blazing sunshine? In February? After the winter we’ve had? What’s the heck is all that about then?

I arrived at St Margaret’s Bay on a gloriously sunny Sunday morning to photograph Fae & Lewis’ engagement session, and a lovely time was had by all (even if I do say so myself). I have to admit that there was a five minute period of mild panic when I thought I was almost an hour late, until I remembered Fae mentioning that all smartphones revert to French time at St Margaret’s Bay. Phew.

And yes, the weather was glorious. I arrived wrapped up to the nines expecting a gale force wind to be howling in off the channel, but when Fae and Lewis turned up looking fab in just jeans and a jumper, I had a feeling I might have gone over the top a bit!

Not to worry though. We walked along the beach and up along the cliffs, chatting and taking photographs as we went. Afterwards, Fae and Lewis mentioned how much they enjoyed the session (mission accomplished), and I can’t wait to photograph their wedding at Lympne Castle in Kent this coming weekend. See you soon guys!

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Felicity & Patrick

I don’t think you can ask much more from a pre-wedding session that glorious weather in October, rutting deer and an upside-down groom, can you?

Of course, the fact that Felicity and Patrick were flipping lovely and up for a laugh certainly didn’t hamper proceedings either. Before you say, “I can’t believe you made Patrick climb that tree!” I’d hasten to add it was his idea. My pre-wedding sessions are all about fun, and what better way to have fun than to shin up the nearest tree, hang upside down and plant a smacker on the lips of your other half? Exactly.

I’ve been to Knole Park a few times now and each time the weather has has been absolutely gorgeous – remember, this session was back in October too. Seems that summer forgot that it was time for her to pack her bags and leave…

Thanks to Felicity and Patrick for being great fun and game for a laugh, and a huge thanks to Patrick for not falling out of that tree (my insurance is good, but it ain’t that good…)

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I like lists. In fact, I’m very good at making them. I don’t always read them after I’ve made them mind, but on the whole I find them useful.

For example, I have a list called, “Pre-Wedding Locations In London I’m Yet to Photograph At”. There are quite a few places on the list as you’d imagine (as London is enormous), including Bushy Park. I was aware it was adjacent to Hampton Court Palace (where I conducted a fantastic pre-wedding session earlier in the year), but I’d never experienced its wondrous tree-lined splendour. Until now, that is.

I met Victoria and Stefan late afternoon, and I could tell two things at that point. One, they were going to be lots of fun to photograph, and two, we were in for an unseasonably warm October pre-wedding session. And so it turned out…

The light certainly didn’t let us down. It was ridiculously lovely for the time of year, and Victoria and Stefan were both fantastic and open to ideas (and even made a few suggestions themselves, which always makes my job that little bit easier). We had lots of fun, the session lasted a lot longer than I’d planned (which is a good thing), and despite a minor painful mishap with my camera harness (which involved a small metal clip and a fleshy section of my arm…ouch…) everything went completely to plan.

Here are some of the best photographs from the session:

Storm Brian. Honestly, if ever there was a rubbish name for a storm, this was it. Especially taking into account the damage it caused…anyway, you’re probably asking yourself, “What relevance does the somewhat pathetically-named Storm Brian have to do with this rather fetching pre-wedding photo session in Isabella Plantation, a charming location tucked away in the corner of Richmond Park in London?” Well, I’ll tell you…

I met Dan and Charlotte bright and early in readiness for their pre-wedding session, although the weather was firmly at the back of our minds. The aforementioned storm had been forecast to hit southeast England at around midday, so we knew we were definitely up against it as far as time was concerned.

We really needn’t have worried. Okay, the wind picked up a little towards the end of the session, but to be honest with you we couldn’t have wished for a nicer morning. The light was absolutely gorgeous. I mean, look at the fifth photo in this collection, and the way the light bathes the back and sides of Dan and Charlotte’s heads…sigh…of course, being extremely photogenic certainly doesn’t do them any harm either…!

A quick word about the Isabella Plantation. I’ve visited Richmond Park many times, but was completely unaware that this section of the park even existed. I’m always looking for new photo locations for my pre-wedding couples, so was thrilled to stumble across this beautiful area of London. It’s actually a Victorian woodland 40 acre garden, first planted in the 1830’s, in case you didn’t know. If you’re in that neck of the woods, it’s definitely worth a visit.

Anyway, here are some of the best photographs from the session – enjoy!

Isn’t it funny how you can live in a certain part of the world, but be blissfully unaware of the beauty that’s literally on your doorstep?

When Hannah and Chris suggested we meet in Lullingstone Park for their pre-wedding photography session, I was intrigued. A few weeks earlier I’d visited Lullingstone Castle with my other half Bea, but someone didn’t read the website properly and failed to notice that the castle was closed on the day we visited (no names of course…okay, it was me). Instead of exploring the park, we decided to turn on our heels and venture into Eynsford, where we ensconced ourselves in the local hotel for lunch and a pint of real ale. Lovely.

However, none of that ultimately mattered in the end. Hannah and Chris were great fun (as was their beautiful dog Poppy who proceeded to slobber my face every time I tried to take a photo), and Lullingstone Park is stunning and definitely somewhere I’ll be visiting again in the future.

Here are some of the best photographs from the session – enjoy:

“Stop leaving and you will arrive. Stop searching and you will see. Stop running away and you will be found…”

It’s funny isn’t it – you can live somewhere for a decent amount of time, yet discover hidden treasures long after you’ve left. That’s exactly what happened when I photographed Fliss and Jonny’s pre-wedding session in Cannizaro Park, Wimbledon.

A few years ago I lived in Wimbledon for a year with my now-wife Bea. She’d been living there for a number of years before I moved in with her, but neither of us knew about Cannizaro Park. Yes, we’d walked across Wimbledon Common many times, but we were blissfully unaware of this little oasis of loveliness tucked away in the corner of the Common.

So after researching suitable pre-wedding photography locations, I was thrilled to discover Cannizaro Park. I met Fliss and Jonny there and we spent a couple of hours chatting about their wedding, enjoying the weather and capturing some lovely photographs together…