Some of you may know that this weekend I had arranged a bridal fashion shoot. Lots of people ask me the purpose of doing this so here is the explanation. Obviously when you shoot weddings it is a case of telling someones story and shooting the day as it unfolds. You get the opportunity to be creative however there are only so many risks a bride will take. I have to be mindful of the fact that a lot of money has been spent on a beautiful dress and a bride may not want to lay on the floor or go out in the rain. By doing a bridal shoot you get the chance to let your creative juices flow. Its a lovely way to push the boundaries and get some amazing portfolio shots. Maybe do things you wouldn’t really get the chance to do at a wedding! So on Saturday this is what we did! I have an insane amount of editing to do however know everybody is super excited on seeing some shots from the day. I want to say a massive thanks to everyone involved on the day, I know it was a lot of work and organising however am so grateful to all that pulled out the stops to make it sooo much fun and a really relaxed day. I will link all the suppliers that helped below however would like to give more thanks to My Mum and Godmother for bringing the horse Rainy, Sarah and the owners of Hexton for use of such a beautiful venue, my mums partner Eddie for his fabulous Morris Minor, Ivan and Theo for bringing up the super cool Tatra car and the four gorgeous girlies Jo, Kelly, Camilla and Louise. Everybody got on so well and it was thoroughly enjoyable working with such wonderful talented people!

From left to right Camilla, Lou, Bex, Yours truly, Kelly, Natalie, Alex, Jo and Tracy.

Photography: Binky Nixon Photography Hair: Bex Mobile Hairstylist Make-Up: NC Bridal Beauty Dresses: The Bridal Boutique Flowers: Creations Flowers Venue: Hexton Manor Props: By-Alex

Keep an eye out for the full set of images which will be coming soon! xx

I am not going to waffle on to much about this beautiful wedding other than to say it was great day. The couple had a civil ceremony at Wrest Park followed by their reception there to. It was a chilly day but the sun was shining so we had the opportunity to get outside to do some shots. Lisa is a very photogenic girl and with a happy smiley groom we managed to get some stunning photos of then within the grounds.

This is my favorite shot of Lisa, she looks stunning! Lisa had a little penny (for good luck) taped to the bottom of her shoe. A very cute idea!Love this shot of Paul celebrating his best mans speech. Cheers guys! x

Michelle & Jason had a Christmas themed wedding at the beautiful Claridge’s Hotel in Mayfair. I have never shot a wedding there before so was pretty excited when they tole me their chosen venue! I enlisted the lovely Sally Elvin to help me shoot the wedding as felt it would be good to have a helper lug my stuff across London and also to pinch some extra shots of guests.

We headed to Michelle’s sisters house first where all of the bridal party got ready. If there was a year for Ian Stuart, it had to be 2010! I have photographed more brides in Ian Stuart this year than you could shake a stick at. Its just as well they are absolutely beautiful! As well as the getting ready shots I got some photos of Michelle outside as thought it may be nice to incorporate a bit of a London street backdrop into the photos. With Winter weddings you loose the light so much earlier so I was also conscious of getting some nice shots of all the girls having fun before we left for Claridges.

When pulling up at the venue I instantly fell in love with the gorgeous lit up bows that went around the of Claridges. Straight I away I was thinking how i could use them for my couple shots. After an intimate ceremony we headed outside and I managed to get some lovely shots of Michelle & Jason before it got dark.

The reception room look stunning and just in case you weren’t feeling Christmassy enough there was a roaring fire, blazing away to keep all the guests toasty! There are some fun photographs of Michelle stuffing cake into Jason’s mouth. This summed up their playful nature towards each other. After dinner the mood quickly chnaged and with a fantastic band in full flow all the guests were ready to party. It was great to see so many people up in the dance floor and having a great time! xx

Never ever have I shed so many tears at a wedding. This was just so adorable, with a head over heals in love couple, a touching father of the GROOM speech and a musically talented groom, there really wasn’t a dry eye in the house. The day kicked off with Chloe getting ready with all her chicks and sister. Champagne was consumed and some yummy M&S snacks laid on by an organised Mum! Chloe looked stunning in her Ian Stuart dress with a matching little cape. Im sorry to say I have forgotten the name of the make up artist, although I have come across her before and love how she does glam, yet subtle make up on her brides. We all knew Gareth was likely to well up when seeing his beautiful bride.

Everyone then headed to The Prioy Barn in Little Wymondly where they had a civil ceremony followed by the reception. Chloe had decked out the barn with lots of candles, bright flowers and a yummy cup cake tower. Although there were 100 people there everything about their reception felt so intimate. The wedding had a wonderful vibe about it and you could tell that Chloe and Gareth wanted to ensure all their guests had lots of fun. Gareth’s dad got up to do a speech and it was the most touching thing I have ever heard. He talked about being a parent, the love for your child and how proud he was of Gareth. Obviously being a wedidng photographer you get to hear a lot of speeches however this was by far the most moving thing I have ever heard. The videographer came over to me at the end and said its the first time he has cried after 15 years in the business.

To top the night off Gareth played the guitar and sang a Oasis’ track “Wonderwall”. It was a beautiful moment and so sincere. I love the photos I shot at this wedding and thoroughly enjoyed the day, Thank You both! xx

I love that Chloe put a reminder on her phone for her own wedding, well you never know – you might forget……

Eeeeeeeeeeek This wedding was shot back in October……….seriously where is the time going? I am going to have to get on a mental blogging vibe if I intend to get everything blogged in time for  Christmas.

Ok – so Jess & Tom got married at the beautiful church in Olney followed by a reception at The Swan Hotel in Bedford. Jess has picked a deep purple colour theme for the wedding which went really well with the Autumn colours. The weather did hold out and although it was threatening to rain when we came out the church, actually all we got was a lovely dramatic sky and a few specs of rain. I think English brides are so used to our dia weather and know that natural light makes for great pics, so are happy to get out in all terains.

Jess is a school teacher and all of her class came along to the church and sang whilst the couple signed the register. It was so sweet and all the guests were in awe of them belting out their little hymns. All in all it was a great day, one which I was happy to be a part of. With Jess and Tom off on their honeymoon tomorrow, hopefully they will manage to get a sneak peak on the post before departing. Bon Voyage guys! x

I used to make these things all the time as a kid!I love this shot of Jess – it looks more like Barbados than Olney….

Well I am sure unless you have been living under a rock for the last few days, that you know all about Kate & Williams forthcoming wedding. It may be all the talk of the town right now, but this week the only wedding i am thinking about is Claire & Phil’s. The got married in a lovely church just meters from their house and then went onto the Sculpture Gallery for their reception.

These guys have been so excited about their wedding with Claire’s plans kicking into full swing earlier this year. Claire is from Northern Ireland so I guess its always a bit more challenging to organise something when the support of your family is from a far. Despite this she did a cracking job, with friends and family flying in from all over it was a reunion for many. Its safe to say that these guys know how to party, both working for the drinks industry they decided to have miniatures for their favors, which was a great idea. As I have always said, its lovely when people bring a bit of themselves or what they do to the wedding. Another reason why I loved this wedding was that a four legged friend made an appearance. The dog lives in the local pub and Claire and Phil asked for him to come along. The couple walked down the aisle with him – definitely peeps after my own heart!

Claire looked stunning in a beautifully elegant Sassi Holford dress. Having shot a few weddings with Sassi dresses I can now confirm she is my favorite designer. They are always fit great and the designs are so feminine and elegant. claire also did her won hair and make up which I have to say looked fab. You may be in the wrong job Claire as the bridesmaids were all swooning over how great it looked. Thanks guys for letting me get involved. Enjoy x

I adore this shot of Claire!

Such a gentle moment this shot – I love it.This is my favorite shot that i took of Claire & Phil togetherThe best man having a quick practice of his speech!

Kelly & Neil were married at The Priory Barn in Little Wymondley. For a bride I should imagine the Priory Barn is just idyllic. Its old, full of character and is very much a blank canvas to do what you like with. Photographically it can be quite a challenge as there is very little natural light. I like to work predominantly with natural light as I don’t like to bring big lighting set ups to my weddings. I think it takes away from my concept of “being discreet”, I’m not sure I feel I could blend into the back ground whilst shining a huge light in peoples faces. Despite it being a challenge I was able to get beautiful moody shots using only the available light and candles. Sometime I think it can actually work in your favor as you are able to get something quite atmospheric.

Anyway i am going off on a lighting tangent, back to the wedding. Kelly looked totally GORGEOUS on the day with a very simple yet beautifully fitted dress. Her shoes were also to die for – very cute and girly! Kelly explained to me how she had put everything together herself from the buttons on the table numbers to lining an old vintage suitcase. Cute cup cakes and bags of sweets adorned the tables – it all looked very cute. A lovely idea that i have seen before and always thinks works really well is photos of the couple. Kelly and Neil had framed collages of the hen and stag do which was great for all the guests to see.

The couple are also lovely – always making sure myself and toastmaster were ok and had everything we needed. Its so lovely to see when people are like this as I always think couples have enough to think about on their wedding day. Not only are they great but photograph so well together. They are both happy go lucky people and this comes across massively in the photos. You are album is going to look stunning guys! xx

I guess before I start writing anything about this wedding I should appologise beforehand about how many pictures there are of Emma’s beautiful Louboutin’s. This girl had an eye for gorgeous girlie flowers, pretty pastel pink dresses, a stunning Suzanne Neville dress for her self and the perfect accessory to top everything off THE SHOES! I am sucker for details and all the little things that make a wedding come together, so when turning up in the morning and seeing all Emma’s beautiful things come together I was very excited.

The couple got married at Olney church followed by a reception at Fawsley Hall (one of my favorite venue’s over in Northamptonshire). The sun was shining all day and with it being slighter later in the year it was low enabling me to get those lovely sun beam shots.

Outside the church there are some palm tree’s (yes palm tree’s) and with the blue sky it makes it look like we are somewhere you would go on your honeymoon rather than good old Blighty. The church is a stunning ornate back drop to not only get married in but for photos to. When we arrived at Fawsley and I saw all the lovely tables laid up and pastel flowers everywhere I went into photographic heaven. Emma & Jonathan had little tea lights on top of a huge letter “E” and “J” around their cake – it looked so cute.

Usually my coverage goes from bridal preps through to the end of the speeches however Emma & Jonathan wanted extra coverage so I stayed on until the first dance. Emma’s mum approached me to say they had arranged a surprise firework display for the couple. They blasted out military music (due to Emma’s father) whilst the fireworks exploded above the venue. It was a great moment and the couple had no idea so it was great to see their reactions. I had a fabulous day with very warm sincere people and am very excited about designing what will be a stunning wedding album! xx

This is my favorite ever confetti shot!

I first met Jo & Matt a while back and was also fortunate enough to meet their lovely children Reece and Tyler. The boys are an absolute pleasure, polite kind and a real credit to their parents. I knew that Jo & Matt wanted them to be heavily involved in both the wedding plans and the big day itself. Tyler is the little artist of the family so he had the task of designing the invites and all the bits that go with it. Tyler got up at the end of the day and did a speech – a pretty big achievement for someone so young.

When I arrived with the bride the morning of the wedding she explained that they were all shattered after spending most of the evening at A&E. Unfortunately Tyler had eaten pineapple on a pizza (whihc he is allergic to) and had to be rushed into hospital for treatment. Jo was pretty anxious about the day ahead as they were all tired including the boys. Despite this the day went off without a hitch and they married at a small local church and then onto Letchworth Hall Hotel for their reception.

Jo had made a lot of the bits for the room herself and going for a bold green colour scheme certainly made the room look bright. It was a great day to be a part of – Thanks very much!