2024 Wedding Highlights: Captivating Moments from Northamptonshire
Posted on January 6, 2025
Another brilliant year of weddings! 2024 I got to photograph 15 weddings 3 pre-wedding sessions and 1 post-wedding session. It has been fantastic and I am excited to share all the details and all the photos! You can see where these weddings took place, colour schemes, personalised details, the florals and the trends couples chose to include or leave in 2023! All in Northamptonshire, showing the versatility and choice couples have in the area.
The first wedding to capture was in January, which was a lovely winter wedding at The Woodlands. A rustic venue with the option of marrying indoors or outside in the woods. It is a lovely setting just outside Market Harborough. Dom and Shannon had a beautiful wedding with some lovely details during the ceremony and reception. The glow sticks came out later in the evening which the guests enjoyed using!
Next I photographed a lovely intimate, wedding at the stunning Kelmarsh Hall. Janet and Matt chose a Spring wedding in March 2024. They fell in love with Kelmarsh when they were looking for their wedding venue and I can see why! It has such a romantic feel with so much character and history within each room. Their ceremony took place in the saloon, which even includes a baby grand piano!
The food was delicious and presented beautifully by Portfolio Events. Enjoy looking through some photos from their special day:
There is a wedding planning event taking place at the end of this month at Kelmarsh Hall. The Let’s Get You Wed – Wedding Planning Podcast live recording on the 29th January, tickets are available here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/lets-get-you-wed-live-wedding-planning-podcast-show-tickets-1041845918187 if you’re interested in seeing the venue in person and would like some wedding planning tips too!
April was the start of the busy wedding season with two weddings . The first at The Barns at Hunsbury Hill for Freya and Jordan and the second at Kettering Park Hotel for Abby and Ashley. With Freya and Jordan’s rustic wedding at the Barns in Northampton, they had a lovely ceremony with beautiful decor and music by the groom’s brother. It was a fantastic day.
Abby and Ashley had lots of personal touches for their wedding, including their wedding sign and table numbers, each with a different photo of them together. They both wanted a relaxed, fun day surrounded by their family and friends. It’s exactly what they had dreamed of!
“These are absolutely incredible. We are beyond grateful for all the time and effort that has gone into producing such beautiful photos. A forever reminder of our incredible day.” Abby & Ashley.
In May I captured Izzie & Matt’s incredible wedding at Dodmoor House in Dodford. It’s a favourite of mine, with stunning grounds and a beautiful barn for morning prep, the all important ceremony and reception! There is a space for outdoor ceremonies, though both times I’ve visited the ceremony has been inside the barn. Izzie & Matt opted for an afternoon Tea style wedding breakfast which was amazing. I’ve never seen it at a wedding before and it was really lovely to photograph the details. The chinaware looked amazing alongside the place names Izzie had made herself! They then had a Photo Booth, and their DJ was Smooth Moves Events who kept the dance floor full of guests!
Next up Sean and Chloe married in Corby, Northamptonshire. They had their ceremony at St Columba’s Church which was their local parish. Then their dog joined in after the ceremony for the group photos, so lovely when they can be a part of a couple’s special day too!
They also had a caricaturist Vix Caricatures who I’ve seen at a wedding before, she was brilliant. A great addition to the evening, with so many laughs and couples being sketched!
The first celebrant – led service of the year was for Hayley and Harry at the Dovecote Buttery in Newton. It was lovely, and Brenda was fantastic, the ceremony was so personalised to Hayley and Harry and there were so many laughs, smiles and tears throughout! They had shorter coverage and wanted photos just before their ceremony, up until their speeches. We then staged a cake cutting before I left to include that image in their gallery. As the cake looked amazing!
Part 2 is on its way! More weddings from July – December 2024 to share next on the blog very soon.
What is a Pre-Wedding shoot?
Posted on July 31, 2021
This is a question I’m asked quite a lot by couples usually when we are talking about their wedding plans and photography packages I offer.
If you’ve decided to read this blog is it because you’re not sure what it is and why you would have it? Either way I’m glad you’re here. Even if you know what one is and just want to see some nice photos!
A pre wedding shoot is a photoshoot with your wedding photographer any time from when you have booked them to a few months before your wedding day. Also known as an engagement shoot. It can be at your wedding venue or alternatively at a local venue nearby to where you’re getting married or where you live. It is a chance for you to meet your photographer before your wedding day and experience their photography style.
They usually last for an hour and you will receive some great couple portraits, personal to you and different from every other pre-wedding photoshoot. Perhaps to use as your save the dates if you book early, or use them at your wedding if you are having photos on display.
Locations I’ve photographed at are usually in Northamptonshire, with the exceptions of ones in Birmingham, Bristol and Peterborough. The Northamptonshire venues include East Carlton Park just outside Corby and Abington Park in Northampton.
It’s something I like to recommend, as since I’ve been offering them free with wedding bookings for 2021 and 2022 I’ve found them really beneficial. From a photographer’s point of view it allows us to find out more about your wedding and engagement, which is always exciting to hear! It gives you time to discuss photos you have in mind for your wedding day as well.
If you are feeling nervous to be in front of the camera all day at your wedding, your pre-wedding photoshoot will help calm those nerves. Your photographer will help you feel comfortable having the camera looking at you. This is something I really enjoy with my photography, helping you to feel relaxed and happy during your photoshoot.
Should you bring your dog to a pre-wedding shoot? Absolutely! Yes I would encourage this and look forward to meeting your dog if you do. There are many places they can go for a photoshoot so if you’re wondering if you can or not. Yes you definitely can!
So now you know what a Pre-Wedding shoot is and how great they are! If you are convinced you need one with your wedding photography package speak to your photographer!
Choosing your Wedding Photographer
Posted on January 19, 2021
Next on your Wedding Planning list is your photographer! Well that was next on our list after we’d decided on our venue (we chose Rockingham Castle for those who read my last blog post about Northamptonshire venues).
I spoke to a bride the other day about her wedding plans and surprisingly she had booked her wedding band first as she’d had her eye on that particular band for years! So there’s not a right way to plan your wedding, it’s all dependant on what is most important to you as a couple.
The main reason for booking your venue and then photographer as early as possible is that they get booked up fairly quickly. Particularly on the peak Saturdays during Spring and Summer.
I know there are so many questions you can ask your wedding suppliers. To keep it simple, when looking for your photographer, you may want to consider these few points:
Do we like their style?
Are they within budget?
Do they have enough experience?
Style is important as it draws you into a photographer’s images. Although there are a lot of wedding photographers available, they are all different and unique. Not only are you hiring a photographer for the images they can produce, but also you will be spending all day with them! So it’s always a good idea to meet them before your big day, whether that’s over a video call, meet up for a consultation, to arrange timings of your day (if it is possible) and even have a pre-wedding photoshoot. I like to offer both a consultation and pre-wedding shoot as I get to meet my couples before their wedding. That way I get to hear more about their plans, potentially visit their wedding venue and help make them feel as comfortable as possible in front of the camera.
Wedding photographers prices range on average from £500 to £2000, depending on the package you choose. The price incorporates all the prep work before the wedding day (emails, messages, meetings and consultations), the wedding day itself (10+ sometimes!) and then the hours of editing and culling afterwards.
Any packages cheaper than £500 may be from an amateur starting out so be sure to look through portfolios and ask as many questions as you can think of!
The amount of brides and grooms to be I have seen online ask for photographers with little experience or still studying in the hope they will save money on one of the most expensive parts (after venue and food) of their wedding day. Though you are saving money initially, is it worth it? Typically suppliers ask for an initial deposit to secure the date and the rest of the payment a month before the wedding. So there’s usually a lot of time to save for an experienced, good quality photographer with beautiful images that you love and will cherish forever.
It can become overwhelming when looking for suppliers and some may start to look the same as the next. So make a list of your top 5, then revisit these after a week or so and see if your top 5 still looks the same. Or has your favourite changed?
I saw our wedding photographer via a friend’s Facebook post of her own wedding. I looked through a number of other wedding photographers, no idea exactly how many, but narrowed it down to our top three. I couldn’t stop looking through our photographer’s images. Once he confirmed he was available. That was it!
Hope this has made your search for a wedding photographer a little easier.
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