On Saturday I photographed the A-MAZE-ING wedding of Sheena and Andy at the gorgeous Sundridge Park Manor, Bromley. 10 minutes from where I live!

Here are just a few quick photographs that I 'favourited' as I'm editing and processing them!!

More photos and full blog post to come once the bride and groom have seen their album design and the rest of the photographs.

Bride having her jewellery put on by her sister and neice who were bridesmaid and flowergirl.  

Beautiful bride! Beautiful dress!

I love, love, love this photograph. I love their experessions and the negative space around them! Not a typical wedding portrait - love it!

...Back in March I had the pleasure of photographing the wedding of Tracy & Dave, at the Grasshopper Inn in Westerham.

I met Tracy and Dave sometime last year, we got on well and we did their pre-wedding shoot in the Autumn.  

On the morning of the wedding, we woke up to snow! Thick, cold, snow which was still falling on my way to Tracy's house! As I drove through Biggin Hill it looked like a scene from Narnia, so pretty!
I arrived to mild panic, Tracy's make up artist/hair stylist had had a car accident earlier that morning and so was unable to attend!! Frantic tweets from me and phonecalls/texts from the make up artist to the bride trying to arrange replacements.

Fortunately, a make up artist and hair stylist arrived in time to do Tracy and her two bridesmaids. They drove 2 hours to get to Tracy's and were absolutely brilliant! Unfazed, Tracy got in to the spirit of things and opened the champagne!!

After a couple of hours with the bride, bride’s son and bridesmaids, I made my way to the Grasshopper to see the groom, Dave, and photograph details/arrivals.

Dave was in good spirits, despite a few nerves which is to be expected.

The snow was still falling and had turned to sleet as Tracy and her half of the bridal party arrived! Still smiling and still unfazed the gorgeous bride was ready to marry her waiting groom.

The ceremony was beautiful and intimate and once over it was time for a few pictures before the bride and groom were whisked away for a short drive before coming back to The Grasshopper to greet their guests and a few group photographs.

Next was the wedding breakfast before speeches followed by more guests arriving for the evening reception! I had been looking forward to the evening because Tracy and Dave had arranged for a Blues Brothers band, a 12piece band, to entertain everybody! They were brilliant, thoroughly entertaining!! I love a live band at weddings!

I left as the party was in full swing, happy and singing loudly to ‘everybody needs somebody’ on my way home!!

...it is with muchos excitement that I am pleased to annouce that I am now a recommended photographer at the very beautiful Mount Falcon Country House in County Mayo, Ireland!!!

It is such a stunning venue, the grounds are simply stunning and the staff are all so lovely.
Mount Falcon is set in 100 acres of magical woodlands, between Foxford and Ballina in County Mayo - a most beautiful part of the West of Ireland.
Unique, intimate and made of all things fairytale, Mount Falcon was originally created from the love of one young man for his bride, whom he thought was so special that she deserved to live in a 'castle'.
A beautiful wedding venue set in a beautiful landscape with a Downton Abbey style charm!!

http://www.mountfalcon.com/

In September I flew to County Mayo in Ireland to photograph the beautiful wedding of Alannah and Tom at the stunning Mount Falcon Country Estate.

We arrived in Ireland the day before the wedding to wet, grey, windy weather however not long after arriving at Mount Falcon the weather started to change for the better.

Many of Alannah & Tom's family and friends were already at Mount Falcon as they were celebrating Alannah's father's 60th birthday a couple of days before and gradually throughout the day more guests started to arrive which added to the already great atmosphere. The bride and groom, along with friends and family, were getting the room ready in which the wedding breakfast was to be had. The room was filled with beautiful white flowers, Jo Malone candles, sweets and other gorgeous pretty things.

After we were there for a couple of hours we walked around the estate to find the best places for photographs - which was easy as there were so many beautiful spots! During the evening we went along to the beautiful cathedral in nearby Ballina for a recce and also to join everyone for the rehersal, which was quite moving! After some dinner in town we made our way back to Mount Falcon for a few drinks before leaving Alannah, Tom and their family and friends to enjoy the pre-wedding celebrations.

The morning of the wedding started with the sun shining and me visiting Alannah's room, the bridal suite, which was BIG but it had to be as she had 8 bridesmaids, 2 flower girls and 2 page boys!! Sounds like a bit of a logistical nightmare but actually it was brilliant! Chris, the bride's hairdresser, friend and mum of one of the bridesmaids, did an amazing job keeping everything on time. All the bridesmaids had matching hair styles which looked fantastic. 
The bride was calm and enjoying the atmosphere of the morning, and was surprised when she received her groom's gift to her - a beautiful pair of diamond earings that matched her diamond engagement ring.

After a while I made my way to the groom's lodge where he was with his best men and ushers - all chilled out on the sofa watching TV, much to my amusement. Tom had already received his gift from his bride which was a stunning Rolex watch so whilst the boys all started to get ready I photographed the watch and other bits before moving on to document the boys getting ready. They all looked very dapper in their matching Charles Tyrwhitt suits.
Once I had finished, the boys made their way to the pub and I made my way back to the bridal suite to capture the final moments of the bridal preparations.

The bride slipped into her beautiful dress which was from Pronovias and looked absolutely amazing!! Her dress, along with her 100 foot (ok, not quite that long, but it was long) veil suited Alannah perfectly. Nothing could prepare me for one of my favourite moments of a wedding - the moment a bride's father see's his daughter for the first time as a bride. As soon as Alannah's dad saw her he was overwhelmed with pure emotion!! I'm so glad to have captured it as it quite simply 'captured the moment'.

After a few photographs we made our way to the Cathedral - in the rain!
As Tom eagerly awaited the arrival of his beautiful bride, the bridesmaids, flowergirls and page boys made their way up the aisle in pairs. And then it was the moment everyone had been waiting for....the arrival of the bride!

Alannah made her way up the aisle to her smiling groom on the arm of her proud dad. Such a beautiful moment, especially from the balcony as it showed her beautiful dress to full effect - a Princess Diana moment.

The ceremony was beautiful and full of emotion.

The couple made their way down the aisle as husband and wife and made the dash into the car to escape the Irish rain.
We made a dash for it to get back to Mount Falcon to capture their arrival.

Everyone arrived to enjoy a glass of champagne whilst we started on the few requested group photographs and took the oportunity to grab some beautiful photographs with the bride and groom.

It wasn't long before everyone was ushered into the beautiful room for the wedding breakfast. The room was filled with the scent of Jo Malone candles and white hydrangeas.
Once everyone enjoyed a delicious dinner it was time for the emotional speeches - which left many in tears.

A short break followed so everyone could enjoy the sweetie table and cigars before being called back for the first dance by the amazing band.

The celebrations continued long into the night - well, until 7am the following morning to be exact  
I left during the dancing to collapse into bed before getting ready to leave the next day.

Typically, the day after there was glorious weather! Such a shame it hadn't happened the day before but it didn't spoil the day, nothing could've spoilt this wedding day. It was perfect, in every way!!

Here are some of my (many) favourite photographs. I loved this wedding and it was such a priviledge to be asked to be a part of it so thank you to Alannah, Tom and their family and friends for having us.

I loved photographing this wedding. I feel priviledged to have captured beautiful memories for Alannah and Tom to cherish forever. We felt part of the celebrations from beginning to end so thank you from us to Alannah and Tom and their family and friends for having us. We wish you all the very best and hope to see you again.

Claire x

So, here I was going through some photographs for marketing purposes and found this lovely photograph that I took in October at the beautiful, intimate wedding of Leigh and Steve, their two mums and their six children at the Archbishops Palace in Maidstone.

If your interested in having your intimate wedding photographed please do get in touch.

Claire x

At the end of August I had the pleasure of photographing the lovely wedding of the equally lovely Richard and Jo. We first met to chat about their day over a coffee back in March and I felt like I already knew them! I was excited about photographing their day and finally it was here!

The theme was 'relaxed English country garden', which was exactly what it was!! With a little bit of 'Don't Tell The Bride' thrown in.

Jo knew hardly any details of her wedding day as Richard, along with the help of his mum, kept details of the day a secret until the actual day.

So, the day started with me arriving at Richard's parents home in High Halstow, near Cooling, Kent, which is where he was getting ready and which was also the location of the reception. 
The gardens and the marquee looked absolutely stunning!! The sun was out, the lawn was freshly cut, the floral decorations placed on the tables, the fabric for the table and cushion coverings were beautiful, all the little gorgeous details really set the theme of the day....and the bride knew nothing about it!

After I photographed all the details I made my way to see the bride and her bridesmaids for some prep shots. Needless to say everyone was excited and it wasn't long before the champagne was open!
After an hour or so it was time for one of Jo's surprises..the bridal car!! After a few squeels of excitement it was time for Jo to get into her dress.

A few family shots later it was time to leave for the ceremony which took place at the Archbishops Palace in Maidstone, Kent.
I arrived just as Richard and the guys were making their way from the pub. As the groom and guests took their seats inside the ceremony room, the bride arrived with her dad and was met by Jo & Richard's gorgeous, excited little daughter.

Finally, it was the moment everyone was waiting for....the bride met her waiting groom and the emotional ceremony began. The smiles on their faces said it all.

After the ceremony, husband and wife made their way out to the courtyard to greet their guests before leaving to go to a secret location which had been arranged by Richard's mum. This was one surprise that even Richard didn't know about.
I met them at the secret location to spend some private moments alone with them before making our way to Richard's parents house for the reception.

Such a relaxed afternoon, everyone was in great spirits despite the weather, which had changed from sunny to on and off drizzly rain, and the celebrations continued long into the night!

I had a great time working with Jo, Richard, their family and friends and I look forward to seeing Jo, Richard and Lexie again next year!!  

Here are a few favourites from the day.

Here come the boys...

Big group, photographed by climbing through a sash window onto a wet flat roof. Good job I don't mind heights!

Claire x

Here are a few of my favourite photographs from Sarah & Alan's halloween wedding at The Lost Village of Dode, Kent.

Happy Halloween!!

...I've only gone and got myself shortlisted as a finalist in the Kent Wedding Awards 2012!!

Little old me! I'm so happy and excited to be a finalist!

The winner will be announced on the 15th November....wish me  luck!!

x

This weekend saw me get on a plane and fly over to County Mayo in Ireland to photograph Alannah and Tom's beautiful wedding at one of the most beautiful stately homes in Ireland, Mount Falcon.

Here is a sneaky peak for you!

Vintage effect...

Beautiful Mount Falcon, the morning after the night before

Back in June, on Fathers Day, I had the absolute pleasure of photographing the wedding of Donna and Michael at one of my favourite venues, Cooling Castle Barn.

The day was sunny, warm, windy and filled with lots and lots of laughter!! In fact, laughter is one of things I remember about Donna and Michael's wedding! And bling! 

I started the day with Michael, his best man and boys getting ready. I love the concentration on the boys faces in this shot!!

I made my way down the block to meet the bride and ladies who were all very calm, and laughing! Dressed in their 'blingy' t-shirts and slippers! In fact, 'bling' was the theme of the day - I loved it!!
The beautiful flowers and table displays were by the fantastic Flowers and Sparkle

Once everyone had their places, Donna walked into the ceremony with her eldest son and was met at the bottom of the stairs by her dad who did a little jig as he walked through the curtain!

Once the ceremony was over and after a few minutes, I grabbed the opportunity to spend about 10 minutes with the couple taking photographs of them alone whilst their guests filed out into the gardens to enjoy reception drinks in the sunshine!

The day was filled with emotion, love and laughter. It was a real pleasure to be a part of it and capture some great memories for Donna and Michael to remember.

Love, love, love this shot!