What another fantastic year for weddings! I’ve had a wonderful time capturing couples’ wedding days locally and further away from home. There were half the amount this year compared with 2022, which meant more time for portrait sessions, so cake smashes, newborn, branding and family photoshoots. I still got to visit some familiar venues, Kettering Park Hotel & Spa, The Granary at Fawsley and Grendon Lakes. Then I was able to visit some new venues which I’ve wanted to photograph at for a while! The Church Northampton and Stanwick Hotel.

Starting the wedding season off for me, it was Mary & Peter’s wedding at the Kettering Park Hotel. We met at one of the wedding fairs there and they wanted to book there and then! It was a lovely day, with Alice in Wonderland as their theme for the wedding. We also took a trip part way through the day to visit the groom’s parents in a care home, which was really moving. When his mother saw the bride in her dress, her face light up. There was so much emotion.

They also had an awesome live band in the evening Miami Vibe playing so many 80’s tunes!

The next two weddings I captured were both at the Stanwick Hotel. The first in May was Nicole & Jake’s special day. Surrounded by loving family and friends with their ceremony in the reflections suite. Their day was classically timeless with flowers by Rockabilly Rose Florist, from Kettering and her dress from Charlotte at Maisie Darling in Lutterworth. I loved the sleeves!

Sarah & Tim married at the church in Higham Ferrers which was such a beautiful church. Hidden behind the shops in the town. It is really stunning – I do love a church building. It was one of the windiest days in July and Sarah lost her veil at one point just after the ceremony as she stepped outside the church. I managed to retrieve it from a bush moments later, running with my cameras swinging at my side! They then had a fantastic reception at The Stanwick Hotel in Northamptonshire. Although it did rain on and off for the rest of the day, they got to enjoy the outdoors and get the large group photo of all their guests.

The bad weather continued throughout July and one of the wettest weddings I photographed so far was at Grendon Lakes, Northamptonshire. This is a lakeside wedding venue with a marque and small indoor space for ceremonies. It didn’t matter, Jodie & Mark still had a fantastic wedding day and proved you can have an amazing time regardless of the weather! They had a live vocalist throughout the wedding breakfast and also karaoke later on in the evening. Such a great party atmosphere on the dance floor. So much to capture!

The weekend after I was back in Northamptonshire. This time at Brampton Heath Golf Club for a short coverage of Tara & Michael’s wedding. It was a lovely day!

Abbey & Alfie also had part of their wedding day at a Northamptonshire golf club, this was Harlestone Park. Their ceremony was at a church in Wellingborough which was stunning! I had a second shooter with me that day, Lindsey Arber, who took the first shot in the images below in the church. It definitely needed two photographers to capture all angles in the church without being obtrusive and discreet. It was such a memorable day. From all the details and personalised touches Abbey had to the moments between Abbey and Alfie and their families.

This wedding was a little special as I met Elizabeth & James at Elizabeth’s sister’s wedding last year. I travelled a little further for their wedding day in Litchfield. Their venue was Coton House Farm. It was gorgeous! An exclusive use barn wedding venue. So picturesque. James and his groomsmen were in classic black tie and we got some amazing group shots later on with his friends and their cigars. Their 4 month old son was a huge part of their day too and was such a happy little boy throughout the day!

This was a busy week in August with two weddings within the space of a couple of days! It meant a lot of preparation beforehand, making sure I had everything I needed ready for both wedding days. I usually prep a few days before each wedding anyway to give enough time for charging, cleaning and prepping my equipment.

Nikky & Jack’s wedding day was another special one for me, but for a different reason. They are both good friends of mine, that I’ve known for years! It was so nice to see some familiar faces at their wedding as well and it was a really local one too. Their wedding ceremony took place at Raunds Town Hall and reception was in a family garden – which was huge! So much space for all their guests.

My second wedding of 2023 at Kettering Park Hotel was for Heidi & Neil. It was a great day and one they had booked with me 2 years before! Their day was relaxed a lot of fun to capture! This was one of the larger weddings I captured this year, with almost 100 day guests.

The Granary at Fawsley in September for Richard & Jenny’s wedding was amazing. It was a relaxed day with so many personalised details. I had to include some of these in the images I’ve shared in this blog. Including Colin and Connie the caterpillar wedding cakes! Of all the weddings I’ve photographed, never have I seen these as the wedding cakes before! Such a unique idea. Last year Gemma & Jack’s wedding was another unique and memorable wedding cake. Also at The Granary. Have a look here!

It’s so great looking back at the year and remembering all these wedding days. It makes me so happy to be able to capture such a memorable day for couples and provide them images they will cherish forever. I also try to be as helpful and friendly as I can to on the day and make booking a photographer as straightforward as possible!

The last two weddings I captured were in October and again fairly local, both in Northampton. Suzy & Scott’s wedding at The Church Northampton was a wonderful day. They were super chilled and really enjoyed their day with lots of family and friends surrounding them. The confetti they had was perfect and looked fantastic in the photos! I really do love a confetti shot.

David & Anna’s wedding was another stunning day in October. It was at a local family church in Northampton and then a reception at The Marriott Northampton. They had some different personalised touches which I hadn’t seen before at a wedding – Pokemon! There were Pokemon on the tables, in the seating plan and the theme song was played in the church on the organ! It definitely brought back some childhood memories. And shows you can have what ever you like at your own wedding, it’s your choice! There may be new trends each year, but it doesn’t mean you need to follow them!

We even got some sunset shots which was very exciting! Anna had mentioned wanting some earlier on, but with the natural light fading fast during the speeches I thought we may have missed it. But we stepped outside and saw the perfect sunset! Which called for a few couple portraits including a classic twirl.

It’s been amazing going back through images from this year, these are only a glimpse of the galleries sent to couples. I have really enjoyed being a part of each wedding day this year and cannot wait for more in 2024!

Happy New Year to you all! Wishing you good health and happiness for the year ahead.

Thanks for reading. More next month!

I wanted to start the second part of this blog with a special wedding, I’ve known Corinne for many years after working with her and when she asked me to capture her wedding with Tom I couldn’t wait! So many traditions, first look with father of the bride and then her bridesmaids, recreating an image from her Grandmother’s wedding day, a serenade from the groom, Mr & Mrs quiz game and bouquet throw.
It was a very wet August wedding, but we had some time where we could make the most of the beautiful grounds of Dodmoor House. An exclusive-use barn wedding venue in Northamptonshire.

Rachel & Harry had their wedding back home in Canada, then wanted a wedding celebration at The Crown, Tur Langton in Market Harborough with family and friends. They even got to include Harry’s treasured car as their wedding car and some alpaca’s as their special guests. The rest of the wedding party had no idea they would be there – with bow ties and everything!!

Sophie & Ryan had their wedding at the picturesque Grendon Lakes, in Northamptonshire. A relaxed wedding setting which over looks the lake. Their ceremony was outdoors and reception too, with their meal in the marquee. We had some beautiful portraits by the water with the boats in the background!

October was my second visit to Kettering Park Hotel for 2022, with 2 more later in the year. Laura & Craig had their wedding reception in the Rockingham Suite. There was lots of laughter as you can see from their photos, a little nervous laughter at first, but more relaxed as the day went on.

Carol & Desmond had a shorter wedding coverage with me, just their ceremony, at the Guildhall, Northampton. They seemed to have a lot of fun together during the ceremony and their couple portraits.

Carlie & Brett were one of the couples that had to move their wedding very last minute due to their original venue shutting down giving them less than a month’s notice. Luckily another venue down the road was available within a couple of weeks of their original date and they were able to move everything across including most of their suppliers!

Hannah & Dean were married at the Talbot Hotel in Oundle. This was a special day with the morning prep being moved last minute to the same room I had my own bridal prep in – it brought back so many happy memories! Hannah’s dress was beautiful, with a pop of pink in the skirt. It was an enchanting celebration at the start of December with their closest friends and family.

Jack & Alex’s Christmas Wedding at the Kettering Park Hotel & Spa was one of my last two weddings at this venue with my last on the 29th December. There was even a sprinkling of snow for Jack and Alex which was perfect! Their little boy played a big part in their day and he even joined them for some of their couple portraits in the garden.

All my couples have been so lovely, welcoming and looked after me throughout their wedding days. I’ve really loved photographing them at their best and happiest, documenting all the emotions a newly wed couple go through.

This has been my busiest year so far being a full time wedding and portrait photographer. I feel like I have gained so much from 2022, both in experience and my skills. I plan to slow things down a little over the next year or so, to make the most of the time with my little girl. They say this time goes so fast and it really does! She has changed so much already and is learning fast. As I write this she is walking and starting to talk which is so exciting! I take so much joy from capturing all these memorable days in people’s lives and these photographs will live on forever. This is the reason I do what I do!