Beach Wedding Photography Sussex, West Witterings Engagement: Rebecca & Matt

Posted on 23/08/2017 • Posted in Pre-Wedding Photography

You may well be getting the gist of the fact that I adore beachy sessions….honestly, I they really are my favourites and West Wittering Beach in Sussex is one stunning backdrop for an Engagement style session.

When Rebecca and Matt suggested this location for their pre-wedding photography I whooped as it’s one of my favourite spots! The one thing that lurked in the back of my mind was a) the weather and b) how busy would it be given the lovely weather? Well, it turns out that sometimes you have to reschedule a few times to get the perfect conditions(!) but once you have the right day, getting there at about 8.30 or 9am means you beat the crowds and I was utterly delighted to find we had the place, pretty much, to ourselves.

Aside from Wedding planning, Rebecca and Matt have had a lot going on since I first met with them…moving house, TWICE, being just part of that….but any stress that may have been lurking could not have been less apparent as they strolled along the beach together at around 8.30am. Whilst they strolled and chatted, I did my usual thing of dropping behin, running ahead, hopping and squeaking as I discovered what a joy it was to have them in front of my camera. The conversation flowed from start to finish covering the obvious subject of Wedding photography, but also encompassing food sharing (or not sharing as the case may be!) a love of clouds, tea drinking and evenings out socialising! It’s hard to feel anything but carefree and smily on a deserted, sunny, beach.

Bu the time I got home, I felt utterly elated and declared to Geoffers that we need to move to the seaside; that’s what a morning running around on the beach with lovely people will do to you. I’m so excited for their Wedding day at Avington Park this weekend! Watch this space for pictures of their beautiful day. In the meantime, here are a few favourites from their pre-wedding session…

Dorset Wedding Photographer, Avon Beach Engagement: Maxine & Kevin

Posted on 22/08/2017 • Posted in Pre-Wedding Photography

Some months ago I received a message from my friend Rachael asking me if I was available for a Wedding on a Thursday in August. She said that some of her dear friends were marrying and that they were an absolute hoot and she thought we’d be a great fit….well, if you know Rachael then you know that anyone she loves is worth knowing!! So, on a balmy Summers evening in July, that I met up with Maxine and Kevin for their engagement session on Avon Beach in Dorset.

Having not actually met before, I pointed out that I would be ‘the one with the camera bag and camera in my hand!’ but as soon as I lay eyes on them, I knew who they were. As they strolled towards me, I clocked their caring faces and wide smiles and there was no doubt that they were ‘my’ couple.

I won’t ramble on, except to say that Avon Beach is simply stunning and photographing in the last hours of sunlight make for a simply stunning beach engagement session. We strolled up, down and around the beach for about 40 minutes or so; enjoying the sand under our feet and the wind in our hair and talked easily about, well, everything!

I am so excited to document these guys Wedding celebration at Avington Park in Winchester, it’s going to be a corker!!!!!

Abi
x

Hampshire Wedding Photographer: Clock Barn Wedding Photography, Whitchurch: Jo & Craig

Posted on 07/06/2017 • Posted in Wedding Photography

Yesterday was the one month anniversary of Jo and Craig’s beautiful Wedding at Clock Barn in Whitchurch. Everything about the day was stunning, from the couple themselves to the venue and styling.

The day itself dawned bright and clear and any worries about showers melted away as blue filled the sky. The girls got ready, for the Wedding, at Norton Park Hotel where they enjoyed plenty of bubbles whilst being styled to perfection by the team at Chez Gerrard. I approach the morning of a wedding by offering myself as a pair of hands to help wherever necessary, from fetching flowers, sewing buttons on and helping with buttonholes….obviously in addition to taking the pictures(!) but this way I can be in ‘the thick of it’ without being in any way obtrusive. I loved that these ladies just let me crack on and didn’t bat an eyelid as I hopped around the room looking for creative angles and waiting for the perfect moments.

The chaps gathered together with Craig and headed to a local village pub for a few drinks and to relax a little before the day got into full swing. The difference between guys and girls approaches to getting ready never fails to amaze me!!!! 😁

On arrival at Clock Barn, I was stunned by the array of floral designs created by The White Horse Floral Company who had done a fabulous job of complementing the barn surroundings whilst accenting the tonal shades of the bridesmaids dresses.

Clock Barn Wedding Photography Hampshire, Whitchurch Wedding Photography by The Cole Portfolio

Flowers by The White Horse Flower Company

If you’re on the hunt for a beautiful Hampshire Wedding Venue then Clock Barn at Whitchurch really is worth taking a peep at. It has several adjoining rooms within the barn which offer a lounge area for some quiet time, a designated bar area, a spot for the entertainment and plenty of space for tables full of your loved ones. Jo and Craig took full advantage of the beautiful space with clean and bright styling and an abundance of fresh flowers. Everywhere I turned, the space was accessorised with ornamental jugs, lanterns and cute signs; it was a feast for the eyes!After a heartfelt ceremony, guests enjoyed Pimms and canapés on the lawn whilst we captured a handful of group portraits as swiftly as possible….no-one wants to spend hours on formal pictures, do they!? Once completed, we were able to whisk Jo and Craig away for some time alone to capture some creative portraits of just the two of them. This is amongst my favourite part of the day, especially somewhere as beautiful as Clock Barn, as it’s such a great opportunity to document the little moments between a couple. These guys were super patient with me and indulged me as I squeaked ‘oooh, let’s use that tree!’ and ‘Eep! I love that shed!’….previous clients will vouch that I do actually speak when I get excited!

Days like these are just magical! When the sun shines, the sound of laughter and clinking glasses surrounds you and the food and entertainment are top notch – you know you’re onto a winner! Jo and Craig, you did it with style! Thanks so much for inviting us to be a part of such a special time in your lives.

Enjoy the pictures.
x

London Wedding Photography: Kew Gardens Engagement Photography: Isabelle & Dominic

Posted on 22/05/2017 • Posted in Pre-Wedding Photography

So the last week hasn’t been so great for me, it seems that every bug imaginable made it’s way through my front door and had me pinned to my bed whining for sympathy. Fortunately, thanks to my ridiculously awesome Doctor for the antibiotics and my super-duper clients for being incredibly understanding, I’m back at my desk today and feeling SO much better! With a Wedding on the cards for this coming weekend and lots of image reveal sessions to get back in the diary, I’m itching to get back up to speed and can’t wait for this evenings pre-wedding session on the seafront!

On the subject of pre-wedding sessions, I thought you might like to take a peek at this one. Allow me to introduce you to Isabelle and Dominic, great fun to be around, enthusiastic and utterly gorgeous! We met for their Pre-Wedding Photography at Kew Gardens last month with a view to capturing some beautiful images of them amongst the backdrop of amazing floral colours and a spot of fine weather. I arrived in London that morning excited but feeling a teensy-teensy bit irked by the skies and the chill in the air…though, thankfully, by the time I caught up with Isabelle and Dom, the sun was pouring out everything it had.

After stopping for a coffee and catch up, we headed out for a stroll through the grounds…now, I always like to start with the ‘simple stuff’ like holding hands, walking and chatting but I caught sight of a hidden away blossom tree and could tell that these two would be up for being thrown in at the deep end!! Within minutes they were laughing and chatting amongst the flowers whilst I circled around them getting excited at how gorgeous they looked between the branches. Needless to say, I spent the remainder of the session squeaking with excitement as these guys cuddled up amongst the Bluebells and shared a moment or two in the Kew Gardens Rainforest habitat. Perfection.

I’m so excited for their Wedding at Orchardleigh in Somerset in July, it’s going to be utterly breathtaking!

Enjoy!

Hampshire Wedding Photographer, Engagement Photography: Jo & Craig, Titchfield Haven

Posted on 05/05/2017 • Posted in Pre-Wedding Photography

Oh the promises I make to write blogs!! Then the days run away and the hours do some kind of weird time-shifting thing and before I know it the week has gone!! How does that happen?

I had hoped to get this blog online a week or so ago so, Craig and Jo, I apologise that this has come this late in the day but WHOO HOOOOOO you’re getting married tomorrow!!!!

I met these guys on a pretty yucky, wintry, evening when the darkness had crept in early and the drizzle was VERY unwelcome…I recall getting out of the car, loading my arms with wedding albums and skipping to their front door as quickly as I could….and boy was I glad to get inside; not just because it was wet and my arms were threatening to drop off with the weight of all I was carrying but they welcomed me like friends and you can’t beat that. A short while later we were drinking tea and chatting about Craig’s sort-of likeness to Michael Buble (yes, there is a definite similarity!) and Jo was showing me her wedding Pinterest board which I fell in love with instantly. I love chatting about Wedding Photography but I like it even more when we stray onto other subjects and I just really felt like these guys were right up my street… I left with a definite ‘please pick me!!’ feeling.

Here we are, many months later and honestly, I’m excited to popping point with how beautiful their day is going to be and I absolutely cannot wait to witness them becoming husband and wife.

Here are a few images from their Pre-Wedding session last month on the sea front at Titchfield.

Enjoy!

‘You have the best job!’ (And why it didn’t feel like it…)

Posted on 26/04/2017 • Posted in Uncategorized

I hear this a lot….and you’re right, I do. I have the pleasure of documenting both the animation of a side-splitting laugh and the way a hair is briefly swept from someones eyes, the way one child wrinkles her nose and another frowns; I love the little moments and find joy in capturing memories and preserving them for all of time…but a year or so ago the joy of my work had lost it’s magic, just a tiny bit.

My journey to become the Photographer I am today has been nothing short of remarkable. Not only have I learnt a whole lot about being a business owner, about how to truly value my time and other peoples but I’ve travelled the country, photographed amazing people and have made friends for life….but even so, a couple of years ago I felt disheartened and wrong footed…something had to change.

It all started when I asked a previous client how she’d displayed the images from her family session the year before; she eyed me guiltily and, rather timidly, admitted that they were yet to be printed. When I asked why, she said they had no idea how to feature them in their home. “Can I help you with that?” I asked.

This lead me to chat with other clients and over and over again I heard the same thing ‘We love our pictures and we had big plans…but we’ve not got round to doing anything with them’ or ‘we wanted them framed but didn’t know where to start’. At first I felt sad that the images we’d worked so hard to create together were wasting away on a USB, I felt frustrated and downright depressed but, more than that, I felt disappointed and annoyed at myself; I felt I’d let my clients down. I allowed myself 48 hours to wallow in self-pity before I picked myself up and decided something had to change.

At the beginning of last year I shook up my whole business, I realised that the images that my clients and I had created together were worth more than a quick like on Facebook or a profile picture on a phone (although those are lovely too, of course!) I began helping to customise sessions, I visited my clients at home and we talked about how they want to cherish their memories; how they want their children to look back on their special family days. They told me that they wanted to fill their homes with the faces of the people they loved so that they could be enjoyed every day, they wanted albums to pore over and simple moments framed on the mantlepiece…they wanted something that would last.

It was time to change up all I’d know….so, I took to designing artwork using each individuals home as the canvas; every design was different and every family unique. I presented my designs to each family after their session and helped them to personalise it exactly for them…and once created, I (Ok, my chap and I!) would deliver and install the Artwork without them having to lift a finger.

Now clients come to me for something unique, for something that fits both their lifestyle and their home and they know, with absolute certainty, that their most cherished moments will fill their most cherished spaces.

I have the BEST job. A job that is both enjoyable and fulfilling….and the best bit? My clients are super happy too.