...or lack of them!

 I have got so much to blog but at the moment I am concentrating on album designs and editing for my lovely clients so bear with me, I promise I will be back to blogging some gorgeous wedding photography and babies very soon!!

For now, here's a cheeky little shot of beautiful Elsie from her First Steps package - where we capture your little 'un as a newborn, once sitting up and toddling!

...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/

...A few weeks ago I travelled to a little village just outside Royal Berkshire to meet up with the lovely Sarar and Naysam, and their new baby daughter Aaliyah.

I photographed their wedding almost 2 years ago and a few months ago we met up again for a baby bump shoot in Greenwich.

I was so excited to meet beautiful little Aaliyah and use some of my new pretty things that I use for my baby photography.
Fortunately Aaliyah played along nicely and slept well after a few milk top ups.

Such a pretty little girl, she is going to be spoilt rotten by all of her lovely family!!

Here are just a few sneaky peaks...

One of the most common things that I hear as a photographer is "what a lovely job you have".
Yes, I have the best job in the world and I am so lucky that I do the job that I do and even luckier that I still love it as much as I did when I first started as a photographer 15 years ago!!

One of the best things about my job is that I get asked to photograph the most special times in people's lives such as weddings and I get asked to photograph the most precious things in people's lives, newborn babies, children and families. For that I am truly priviledged, honoured and thankful.

Back in early 2011 I met Kate and Craig who came along to see me about photographing their wedding in the forthcoming November. As soon as we met I instantly liked them, I liked the way Kate made herself comfy in my home by kicking off her shoes and putting her feet up on my sofa! We had a cup of tea and talked about their wedding. A few days later they booked me and we met up a couple of months later for their pre-wedding shoot with their 3 young children.
Forward to November and the day of the wedding. We all met at Brandshatch Place Hotel and started with the preparations of both the bride and groom. I met up with Craig and their eldest son who was Best Man whilst they got ready and then made my way to see the bride who was very calm and relaxed as she got ready. The initimate family ceremony was full of love, smiles and emotion, with their youngest son giving his mum a cuddle as they signed the register.
The rest of the day just flowed beautifully, we had a few pictures, had dinner and then guests started to arrive for a big party. Kate, Craig and their 3 children started the dancing off with the cutest first dance I've ever seen. Everytime I hear 'their song' it just reminds me of them!

Kate and Craig were over the moon with their wedding photographs, I delivered their album a couple of months later.

Fast forward to early this year. I had an email from Kate asking me about a family photo shoot. I was delighted. I love it when my wedding clients get in touch with me about photographing their babies or their families. And besides, I like to know what they're up to so it's nice when we stay in touch.

We discussed options but what I didn't know, and what came as a shock, was that this was to be a very special family shoot. I remembered Craig hadn't been well during the album design stages. Kate had explained to me in a further email that Craig had been diagnosed with a rare form of cancer that was in fact terminal just 6 months after the wedding.
As I read Kate's email, tears rolled down my cheeks.

I offered to do a 'day in the life' shoot with the family to capture all the precious family moments such as playtime, bath time, story time. And so we set a date.

The date was last Sunday. I spent the afternoon and early evening with Kate, Craig and their 3 young children whose ages are (almost) 6, 4 and 2.

We had a fun day, the children were play 'wrestling' with daddy - the highlight of my day, because I have a young daughter and I'm surprised by how much energy the boys had!! I learnt all the names of the wrestlers!
The children were great! Despite having broken her arm a few weeks earlier, their young daughter joined in with the wrestling and then made me (pretend) tea and read me a story.

Once the children were all in bed, Kate, Craig and I had a coffee and a chat. I then took a few quiet photographs of them together...and some fun shots of Craig on his own, despite feeling a bit of a wally doing so it was  worth it, we got some great fun pictures!

Throughout my time with the family I didn't do many 'posey' photographs, I just stayed in the background and captured everyday memories, for the children. In years to come as the children get older they will appreciate the photographs that they have with their daddy and will treasure them.
Kate and Craig are a true inspiration, they've coped phenomenally with everything that has been thrown at them within their first year of marriage. The love they have for each other is special.

This is why I do the job I do. I love to capture memories. Every day is a memory and every memory should be treasured.

With Kate and Craig's permission, here are a few photographs from the day.

Homework time, Daddy building a dinosaur!

Enjoying a cuddle in front of the tv...

Bathtime...so precious!

I'd like to thank Kate and Craig for having me in their home and allowing me to capture precious memories for them. I wish them all the very best!

xx

Last month baby Harrison entered the world so I photographed him when he was just 10 days new. 
We spent a few hours together, and after a few top ups from mummy we got some fantastic photographs.

Here are a few of my favourites....

If your interested in having some newborn baby portraits taken please contact me claire@level11.co.uk

Claire x

So, after a busy couple of months I'm back to blogging!
I've made it my new year resolution to blog more often this year, but seem to have failed already!

So here I am, with a beautiful post Christmas wedding. The wedding of Gemma and Steve in Kent.

I met up with Steve at Brandshatch Place Hotel where he was getting ready with his best man and ushers.

Steve seemed quite relaxed, if a little nervous as we 'mocked' getting ready because it was too early to actually get ready. As I was about to finish and leave to get to Gemma's hotel, Steve received his wedding gift from his bride - a beautiful pair of Mulberry cufflinks and wallet! I 'heart' Mulberry and drop hints to my husband every birthday and Christmas to have a new Mulberry bag - sadly it falls on deaf ears!

So, I finished with the guys and headed to the bride's hotel, which was also the reception venue, to meet Gemma and her 7 bridesmaids all getting ready and drinking champagne! Lovely!!

Here I photographed all the little details. I love photographing the small details of the day, details that you spend a lot of time and money on!! 

Once the bride's hair and make up was finished it was time to get dressed! Gemma looked absolutely beautiful in her gorgeous gown and Louboutin shoes.

After spending an hour or so with the girls I headed to the church in West Malling to capture the arrival of guests, photograph the guys and arrival of the bride and bridesmaids in a mahoosive Hummer!
Fortunately the rain (just about) held off. It was grey and damp with light rain during the guests arrival however it held off during the important bits of the day which was brilliant!!

It was a beautiful service, quite emotional at points especially when a poem was read out which was written especially for the bride by her groom!  

After the ceremony and a few group photographs it was onto the hotel for drinks, mingling, dinner, speeches and dancing!!

Here are (a few) of my favourite shots from the day.

Answers on a postcard for the shot below...

Congratulations to you both. Thank you for allowing me to capture your day for you!!

Back in November I photographed two gorgeous little girls in the beautiful Autumn sunshine.
I met their mummy at the Baby and Toddler show at Bluewater in October and after seeing examples of my work she booked a location portrait session with me.

I love the Autumn, I love hearing the crunch of crispy leaves as you walk, I love the beautiful colours and the light that Autumn brings!

We met up just after lunch one Sunday afternoon and took a walk to two local parks. We spent a while chasing each other around the park and throwing leaves up in the air whilst I captured some lovely natural photographs.

As 2012 comes to a close I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all of my clients, both past, present and future, and of course the fantastic venues and wedding suppliers who recommend me for all your support in 2012.
I'd especially like to thank my husband, daughter, family and friends for putting up with me!

It's been a fantastic year, full of lots of memories - both for me and for my lovely clients. Lots of beautiful weddings I've had the priviledge of photographing, lots of gorgeous families and lots of scrummy newborn babies who I've photographed.

I'm very lucky to do something that I love and it really is a priviledge, and a honour, to be asked to be your photographer.

This year has had lots of highlights for me, the first was becoming a finalist at the Kent Wedding Awards for the Wedding Photographer of the Year. Sadly I didn't win the title but I will be entering again!!
I also travelled to County Mayo, Ireland to photograph the beautiful wedding celebrations of Alannah and Tom at the gorgeous Mount Falcon Country Estate. You can read about it and see some of the photographs earlier in this blog.
I photographed the youngest newborn I've ever photographed (apart from my own daughter), baby Jack at just 4 days new.
I photographed the daughter of one of my wedding couples exactly one year on from their wedding - and their daughter has the same name as my daughter.
Lots of highlights in 2012 that I can't list them all.

I'm excited as we enter 2013, lots of lovely weddings to look forward too and new babies already booked in for their first photo shoot with me.

BUT, I'm most excited about 2013 as it is my 15th year as a professional photographer so I will be celebrating my 15 years with monthly offers and the odd giveway! So, please do keep an eye on the blog and also keep up to date by giving my facebook page a 'like', www.facebook.com/level11 and you could just benefit!!

I am also excited to be exhibiting at the Wedding Fair at Glow, Bluewater (http://weddingfairatbluewater.com/) in February, 8-10th, and again in October. Plus I will also be exhibiting at the Baby and Toddler Show at Glow, Bluewater in April. 
So, if your planning your wedding please do come along in February and see me at stand S8 for some very special show offers and a look through some of my gorgeous wedding albums.

I have 20 pairs of complimentary tickets to the wedding show to give away, to grab yours please just email me at claire@level11.co.uk

Finally, I'd like to wish you all a very Happy New Year! I hope it's full of love, happiness and fun with good health to enjoy every moment!

Here are just a few of my favourite photographs that I've captured in 2012...

Here's to a sucessful 2013 filled with lots more wonderful memories!

Claire xxxxx

So, I have a few days off before my last wedding of 2012 on the 28th December.

I'd like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas. I hope it's a happy, peaceful, safe and relaxing one. 

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