Describe your style in 5 adjectives.
vibrant, bright, fun, joyful, lively
What about your business are you most proud of?
Creating a natural raport with my couples in order to achieve relaxed, natural, happy, beautiful photographs.
What is your No. 1 wedding planning tip for couples?
Book the 'big things', such as your venue and photographer as soon as humanly possible after you get engaged! Everything else will fall into place.
What is your favourite personal touch you have seen at a wedding?
The Bride was English, the Groom South African. Since they couldn't get married in South Africa, the bouquets were made up of South African flowers. They weren't in bloom in December, so the bride made all the bouquets herself from silk flowers.
Describe your typical process with a couple.
We would usually meet at the wedding venue for tea, cake (there always has to be cake) and a chat about their wedding plans. I love all things wedding, so I love to hear all about the tiny details that so much time and effort has gone into planning. This is really important to get to know the couple better and to make sure we have a great connection with each other.
We would also schedule an engagement photoshoot at a place close to the couples' hearts. This gets the couple comfortable in font of the camera, without all the wedding guests looking at them! It lets the couple know my style of working, and lets me get to know how they react with a camera pointed at them - everyone is different.
The couple would complete my wedding questionnaire, which has all the important questions on it about specific photos they would like, and any family dramas, etc that I should know about. This is all to make the actual wedding day run smoothly. There would be constant communication, usually via email with regards to the wedding timeline, and then before you know it, it's the big day!
What is the No. 1 photo that you think every couple should take?
A full group photo, with every single one of their guests - this way, even if guests aren't in the smaller grouped photos, there is at least one photo with every person in it who attended the wedding.
What is the most original photo you’ve been asked to take at a wedding?
Photos with the wild New Forest ponies that came over to investigate the Bride and Groom portraits.
What do you recommend for a rainy day wedding?
Not to get stressed about it - it's only water. There are always plenty of beautiful inside spaces to get photos taken.
A clear umbrella - buy it the week before the wedding as a back up and return it if the weather is fine.
Even if it rains, it's still your wedding day. You still look fabulous and you'll still have a huge smile on your face - the photos will be perfect no matter what the weather is doing.
Describe how you got into photography.
I've always been quite a creative person, and have always looked for outlets for that creativity, be it crochet, card making, woodwork, or photography. Photography was the one that I always loved the most and it made perfect sense to transition the love of travel photography, wildlife photography and photoshoots with friends into a full time business.