Friendly photographer covering weddings, elopements and families throughout Scotland.

Ethical Vegan Weddings ~ Styled Shoot

Ethical vegan weddings are definitely my kind of thing. I decided to go vegan almost a year ago, mainly for health reasons, I’d started jogging which made my joints ache and I read somewhere about it being linked to dairy so I thought I’d try and give it up for a bit. I didn’t eat much meat anyway so it wasn’t too hard for me and I’ve never looked back! I feel so much healthier and it’s made me think so much more about where our food comes from and how much animals are made to suffer for our taste buds! Because that’s really all it is these days, there’s so little (if any) health benefits to eating meat or consuming milk & dairy that it just comes down to what we fancy eating and I choose to no longer eat something that another living being has had to suffer to bring to my table. Don’t get me wrong, I’m no lettuce eating angel, did you know oreos are accidentally vegan!! 😛 This then lead me to think about the cosmetics I use and although I won’t throw anything away I already own, I will now only buy products that are not tested on animals. I love the “B” range in Superdrug and most of Tesco & Sainsbury’s own are cruelty free too which is a bonus as they’re usually the cheapest as well!

Anyway, back to the ethical vegan weddings shoot…. I met the lovely Carrie from CARRIE STARBUCK CRUELTY FREE HAIR AND MAKE UP whilst doing a little search on instagram for cruelty free make up artists in West Sussex. We instantly hit it off over drinks and our visions for the shoot were so aligned it was perfect! She wanted bold and sassy (and you don’t get much more bold and sassy than steam punk and a David Bowie mural painted by local artist Chloe Dowsett let’s be honest!) and a more earthy boho bridal look too and wow did she achieve that and more!

Lucy from THE FLORAL ARTISAN was a bride of mine from a few years back who now has her own fabulous floral design business. We’ve worked together a couple of times since her wedding and she’s also been booked by current brides of mine to do the flowers for their weddings too which is great as I know they won’t be disappointed! For this shoot all the flowers Lucy sourced were locally grown & British. All I said was oversized please and the wonderful Lucy came up with the rest and we couldn’t have loved them more!

The fabulously friendly Emma from BEAU BUTTONS supplied the non floral bouquets and weren’t they stunning too! Vintage inspired, ethically sourced and solar wood bouquets couldn’t be more up our street if they tried!

The other Lucy on this shoot was none other than my own niece who is studying photography at Falmouth University. I’m totally in awe of her work and to see how far she’s come is such a delight. Check out her own photos from this shoot HERE and give her a follow on INSTAGRAM too if you’d like! Her editorial street style photography is some of the best I’ve seen!

Our amazing models were Lyra & Zach. I met Lyra at a wedding once and she then convinced her brother to book me for his big day last December and Zach is a friend of Lyra’s who was roped in too. Kudos to him for owning that floral suit on the pier! Man he looked good in it! They were both so much fun to work with and sooo beautiful & handsome too! I want to do shoots with them every week so we can just hang out after and drink more vegan baileys together!

The long floaty “Bardot” dress was something Carrie found for the shoot, a beautiful bamboo silk vegan wedding dress from LUNA BRIDE who hand make all their ethical wedding dresses for the modern bride… we were so grateful to be loaned this for the shoot.

Zach’s suits were from Asos and BooHoo. Lyra’s other wedding dress was in fact the florist Lucy’s dress that she bought online from GRACE LOVES LACE for her own wedding and the tulle skirt and sparkly top combo were Asos again. The black gothic dress was from a second hand stall (what a find!) Shoes were Irregular Choice, Joe Browns, Oxfam, Converse & Topman. No leather required!

We all had the best time on this shoot and achieved so much in so little time – I’m chuffed to bits with the photos and I really hope you all like them too. If you want to collaborate with me on a shoot please get in touch as I do love to get creative with other suppliers in the industry…!

AND NOT FORGETTING THE ‘A’ TEAM!

P.S I’m no longer vegan – sorry!

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Southend Barns ~ Zoe & Andy’s Big Day

Southend Barns is one of my favourite venues to shoot at and I’m lucky enough to have captured quite a few weddings there now. Zoe & Andy’s big day was nothing short of amazing, they are one of the happiest couples I have had the pleasure to photograph. Smiling from ear to ear all day. They really do see the best in life and everyone and have so much love for each other and all their friends and family. The day was so laid back and relaxed too, such a joy to be a part of! Zoe & Andy’s nieces were all bridesmaids and they looked gorgeous, they wanted to meet the alpacas and even though they weren’t fussed meeting the girls we did nip round the back for some photos with them (sort of!)

I was excited to see the outdoor ceremony area at Southend Barns was almost finished too, wow that’s going to look amazing! Talking of amazing, BIRUTE did a fantastic job with the make-up for the girls and NATASHA with their hair – all those gorgeous plaits! The stunning floral arrangements were by the wonderful LILY LUPIN – in particular, the moon gate was so beautiful!

If you’re getting married later this year or some time in the future and like what you see then please get in touch to find out if I’m available and what my rates are – I look forward to hearing from you! Please also come and follow me on social media – FACEBOOK & INSTAGRAM

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The Walled Garden at Cowdray & Fitzleroi Barn Wedding ~ Rachel & Joe ~

A Walled Garden at Cowdray AND Fitzleroi Barn wedding I hear you say? Yep that’s right! Rachel & Joe had their ceremony at the Walled Garden at Cowdray and then went on to Fitzleroi Barn for their meal and reception celebrations and what a fabulous time of celebration they had! The weather was amazing, extremely hot and sunny all day, but the cold drinks & booze were flowing and everyone had such a good time.

Rachel got ready with her girls in the morning in a little cottage in Petworth. Jane of Wedding Hair at Home did Rachel’s gorgeous up do plait with flowers and pearls intertwined. Her dress was a custom made by Helen at Buttons and Bows in Cranleigh. Rachel told me she was so lovely, helpful and great at dealing with her last minute panics (of which there was definitely more than one!). The jewellery was Rachel’s late Granny’s… such a lovely touch.

The boys got ready down the road at House on the Brook and the lovely Helen of Helen Cawte Photography captured all the fun of the morning there and followed them onto the gardens until I arrived. Joe’s suit was Ted Baker and I loved the hip flask gifts he got the boys – full of course with his favourite tipple!

The gardens looked stunning anyway but added to all the glorious blooms already there were the exquisite floral displays arranged by Angel Like Flowers. Breath-taking floral arches and banners and the bouquet is still one of my favourites ever to photograph at a wedding.

The ceremony was beautiful, really heartfelt and moving and we stayed on afterwards for drinks, confetti and a few photos then carried on the celebrations at the Barn a bit later.

Everything about their day was so relaxed and fun, just my kind of couple. We’re still regularly in touch now almost a year later and they wrote me a lovely testimonial you can see on my Good Vibes page.

Now to select just a few photos to show you – I took so many that this bit is the hardest thing about writing a blog post…..! A few is never going to happen is it 😉 …

If you like what you see and want to get in touch to see if I’m available for your big day too then please drop me a line…

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The Palace of Westminster Wedding ~ London Wedding Photography

The Palace of Westminster is, to me, quite a big deal of a place to photograph a wedding in and I’ve been really lucky enough to capture two there now. I’m always interested our British history and heritage these days, fascinated by it in fact and Westminster is definitely steeped in plenty!

Carol & Pete began their big day at the equally prestigious Oxford & Cambridge Club on Pall Mall and I joined Carol and her girls in the Diamond Jubilee Suite to capture all the excitement of the morning. Their hair and make-up stylist Andrea and her assistant did an absolutely wonderful job, everyone looked amazing and Carol’s hair in particularly looked so stunning – those curls – definitely fit for Pinterest and not a hair extension in sight! The flowers from Window Flowers were really pretty too – tulips and roses, two of my favourite blooms! I loved Carol’s gorgeous dress from Love Me Do, she looked beautiful in it and took everyone’s breath away and got lots of whoops and cheers on the way to the House of Commons, as true to London’s traffic congestion dependability there was a road closure just outside Westminster and a little walk along Parliament Square was necessary right at the end!

Once we cleared the stringent security procedures I went to capture Pete and the boys who were busy greeting all the excited guests and eagerly waiting in the Jubilee Room for Carol and her Dad’s big entrance. The ceremony itself was lovely. They had two wonderful readings and after they said ‘I do’ we headed outside for some photos in the New Palace Yard then took a long stroll through the palace (with hundreds of tourists in tow!) and had a couple of stops for more photos until we reached the South Terrace and Churchill Rooms for the drinks reception and wedding breakfast.

I loved being a part of their celebrations and had such a great time with all their family and friends. The champagne and laughter flowed all day! The food and service was impeccable, the speeches a giggle and the scenery (despite Big Ben being covered from top to toe in scaffolding!) was so grand.

It just leaves me to thank Carol & Pete for booking me to photograph their fantastic Palace of Westminster wedding… and wish them tons of good luck for their future in Canada!

Beautiful wedding make up

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Upwaltham Barns Beautiful Autumnal Wedding

Upwaltham Barns is such a beautiful venue to shoot at any time of year. But for me, Autumn has to be the most colour-rich season and such a delight to photograph. All those delicious deep reds and warm sumptuous oranges and of course pumpkins galore! Laurie & Katie really did not scrimp on the details of their big day which as well as being Autumn themed was based on their love of birds. Their ring bearer was even a stuffed bird called Grahame!

I loved being a part of their big day at Upwaltham. Katie looked so stunning and took everyone’s breath away with her beautiful flower crown. In fact all the flowers were so pretty – lovingly put together and arranged by Rose Cottage Flowers. I’ve photographed a few weddings now where Kerry has been the florist and she never fails to impress with her creations.

Katie’s hair & make up was fabulously applied and styled by Charlotte from Polka Dot Hair & Make-up. I love working with Charlotte she really is so lovely and laid back and a delight to have by your side on your wedding morning.

Laurie & Katie’s friends and family welcomed me and I had a great time with them all and capturing all the fun, love and laughter of the day. In the evening they chose to not really have a first dance but just get everyone up on the dance floor with them – they all threw some great shapes! Oh and I loved Laurie’s dad’s spectacular home-made doughnut wall! Wow…! I just found out co-op’s doughnuts are vegan so I think I might have to indulge in a couple myself over the coming weekend … well I can’t eat most Easter eggs so doughnuts it’ll have to be!

I hope you enjoy these photos as much as I did taking them. If you know anyone getting married this Autumn please share this with them and let them know I’m currently offering some pretty good deals on late September, October and November 2018 weddings! Contact me for more information.

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