Happy New Year – Feeling Brave!

Posted on 05/01/2012 • Posted in Life Behind The Lens

My lovely readers, may I take this moment to wish you all a VERY Happy New Year!

I am officially in a state of shock over how time is flying, especially as now that every day that passes brings me closer and closer to meeting the little bundle I have been carrying for the last 8 months! There has been plenty of work going on but I will willingly admit that I was not prepared for how much we would need to do in preparation for a baby! As such, we’ve had to take a well earned pause with the photography just to try and get ourselves organised! My hope is that now that we are nearing D-Day and there is little more I can do other than wait (!!) I can spend a leisurely amount of time getting some final photographic work done before the arrival of said tiny person. The plan is to get our new website up and running ASAP though again, this has taken longer than expected due to my bumpage. Once baby arrives, we shall be breaking for a couple of months to enjoy the highlights/traumas of new parenthood before undertaking our first wedding of the year in March…..then the ball will start rolling again as we have plenty of Pre-Wedding Shoots and Weddings already lined up!

We will, of course, still be taking bookings and responding to emails etc so please do not hesitate to get in touch if you are interested in us doing some photography for you.

In the meantime, I have decided to be brave and show you a few images that the Mr. took of my bump…this took a great deal of courage…there is a reason I lurk behind the camera after all! It seemed like a small step to take bearing in mind that I have a lot more “being brave” to do over the next month or so! The images were shot late in later afternoon light with me hiding behind a piece of voile material…you’ll have to trust that it made me feel a little more ‘covered’.

Thank you for your continued support and special thanks to those of you that have spread news of “The Cole Portfolio”. We can’t believe how lucky we have been and we owe it all to you guys.

I’ll be back soon…dependant on baby’s arrival! Until then…

Sam & Craig – Manor Farm Country Park

Posted on 16/11/2011 • Posted in Pre-Wedding Photography

Who would have thought that about 10 years after first meeting on a bus to College, I would be photographing Craig, with his beautiful fiancee Sam, in the run up to their Wedding next year. I was absolutely delighted when these guys got in touch about their Wedding, not only are they marrying at the stunningly beautiful Warbook House in Eversley, Hampshire next June but from the moment we met, we knew that these two were our kind of people.

The few days preceding our photo-shoot had left us a little unnerved, rains and winds battered the countryside and the overnight thunderstorm hadn’t left us feeling too confident about how the day was going to pan out. It was with great relief that on the day in question, there wasn’t a raindrop in sight! We met at Manor Farm Country Park, the grounds were boggy and there was a definite risk of slipping on the mass of leaves underfoot but these two were absolute professionals and just got on with it. I take my hat off to Sam for looking so effortlessly glamorous whilst dodging so many muddy puddles – this girl clearly has style!

We did our usual “thing” of strolling, chatting, laughing and stopping every now and then to capture images along the way. Not many Brides & Groom’s-to-be have ever had cameras waved in their direction before and it can seem a little overwhelming – this is why we always do one of our complimentary shoots before the big day. Having an idea of what is to come makes the whole thing far less intimidating when the Wedding Day arrives. The hope is, of course, that it won’t be in the least bit initimidating, after all, we think we are two of the least scary photographers EVER! 😀 Finding Sam and Craig both still smiling at the end of the shoot (always a good sign!) we bundled to a local pub for a drink and chat about the plans for their day…the perfect end to a beautiful, autumnal, shoot of two gorgeous people!

Sam and Craig – you are wonderful together and we absolutely cannot wait to have the very great pleasure of photographing your beautiful day next year.

P.s. Sam – I want your boots!!!! x

Kylie & Matt – St Matthews Church, Otterbourne

Posted on 12/11/2011 • Posted in Wedding Photography

I can’t think of a single negative thing to say about Kylie and Matt – not that I’d wish to! Certainly, as far as I can see, they are the picture of perfect happiness!

During the last of the summer haze in October, Kylie and Matt were joined not only by their gorgeous sons but by their nearest and dearest as they wed at St Matthews Church in Otterbourne. The service was both uplifting and moving (I had to run from my hiding place with a tissue to ensure Kylie’s mascara didn’t run!) and the celebrations were enthusiastic. Kylie and Matt had both specified that they wanted a day that centred around their friends and children having fun and they certainly pulled it off!

When so much thought has been put into the detail of a Wedding, I am in my element. From the beautifully decorated gingerbread men (they even made ones with our names on them! to the bird cages and butterflies, the attention to detail was so touching; Kylie and Matt had thought of everything. There were so many beautiful moments throughout the day and I genuinely feel that after 10 years of being together, this union is a perfect one – we really couldn’t be any happier for them.

Thank you, both, for inviting us to share your special day (and partake in your Wedding Breakfast – really, the food was was utterly delicious!) we loved taking your pictures, we loved being part of such a joyous day and we are truly delighted to have found a new friendship with you.

We wish you all the best for a wonderful lifetime together with your utterly yummy sons!

Coming soon – Engagement, Wedding & MAYBE some Maternity Images….

Posted on 07/11/2011 • Posted in Life Behind The Lens, Maternity Shoots, Pre-Wedding Photography

My poor, dear, neglected blog!! How time has flown!!!! (Excuse the amount of exclamations but I’m a girl who loves punctuation and makes no excuse for it…besides, I’m GENUINELY horrified about how time is flying!)

Allow me to assure you that we have still been working away in the background but with my tummy ever expanding (we’ve never “officially” announced it on here but are expecting our first child in February!) we have found that there is far more to do in preparation for a little one than we ever anticipated would be the case. Combined with all the day to day stuff, blogs have been seriously lacking of late!

However, we are very excited to say that images of the lovely Sam & Craig’s engagement shoot at Manor Farm will be online within the next week or so (their hands are featured above!) AND we’ll be posting images from Kylie & Matt’s October Wedding as soon as possible after they have seen them (later this week!) I’m also considering letting my man train the lens on me for a few bump shots….but we’ll wait and see whether I’m ACTUALLY brave enough to step in front of the camera.

It is also worth noting that The Cole Portfolio has seen it’s first year anniversary fly by! We have been so blessed with the support from our friends and followers – I never truly believed that we could be so lucky as to make our dream come true but it seems that we are on the way! We have lots of lovely Weddings lined up for 2012 and a few even for 2013, this makes me one VERY smily girl!

We would like to take the opportunity to say a MASSIVE thank you so everyone that has believed in us, booked us and recommended us along the way. We couldn’t have done it without you!

THANK YOU

Olivia & Alex – St Barnabas Church, Bishops Waltham & Marriott Meon Valley Country Club, Bishops Waltham.

Posted on 06/10/2011 • Posted in Wedding Photography

Friday 16th September dawned beautiful, sunny and warm. Olivia was radiant – from first thing. Even without her hair and makeup done. With all the stresses of preparing a wedding behind her, she looked fit to pop with excitement and I couldn’t have been happier for her.

I remember, so clearly, the morning of my wedding; the nervous excitement, the anticipation and the sheer scale of all that planning coming to fruition – watching her was the nearest I’d been to stepping back into those shoes. Whenever I watch a bride get ready, I feel butterflies; both for her and for myself. I know exactly how much this day means to her and I want to capture it as beautifully as I can. This day was different, I wasn’t the “official” photographer, my Step-Dad, Ric , was in the chair but Olivia and Alex’s prep shots were down to us….along with our respective roles of being a Bridesmaid, Aunt, Uncle, Reader, Childminder and Chauffeur!!!! I didn’t have time to dilly-dally with butterflies, I had a lot to do! Did this destract in any way? Not a chance. I’ll admit there was a moment where I wondered if I would make it into my dress on time and may, briefly, have succommbed to a momentary panic but seeing Olivia stunningly made up with her beautiful son on one hip and hoover in the other hand vaccuming her way around the kitchen only an hour before she was due at the Church brought me back to reality – if she was handling it all with that much ease, so could I.

It was a magical day, Livvy married Alex at St Barnabas Church in Swanmore and the celebrations were continued at the Marriott Meon Valley Country Club in Bishops Waltham. The reception was stunning, the sight of loved ones drinking and laughing against the backdrop of a sun drenched golf course was wonderful, it couldn’t have been more perfect.

I would be lying if I said I didn’t shed a tear, or several, throughout the day. Seeing my little sister “grown up” was a bit of a shock. I had thought I was prepared but clearly, I wasn’t. I kept re-running images of her playing in the garden with the dog aged 6, starting secondary school aged 11, going to her prom aged 16 – to see her stood at the altar of the church holding her husbands’ hand with the sound of her son gurgling nearby I was overcome. All day I watched her laugh, saw her radiate happiness and my eyes would start to leak again, I couldn’t help but look away before I ruined my makeup.

I’ll stop wittering on. Take a look at a few of the pics we did manage to capture during the whirlwind day….enoy!

Liv, Alex and Max, we wish you all the happiness in the world from now to eternity – you are such beautiful people and we shall treasure the memory of your magical day forever. x

Lizzie & Lewis – Victoria Country Park, Southampton

Posted on 03/10/2011 • Posted in Pre-Wedding Photography

I love to watch the interaction between the couples we photograph, they way people naturally fall in step with one another, hold hands and mimic each others body language. With these guys, I loved how they casually joked about public displays of affection but were, themselves, naturally loving towards one another. It was in the subtle way Lizzie would put her hand on Lewis’ knee and giggle as she tucked her hair behind her ear and in the loving looks that Lewis gave Lizzie when she was busy laughing at something stupid I had said. The fact that Lizzie openly admits that she ‘zones out’ when Lewis talks about his work and still can’t get her head around half of the stuff he has tried to teach her, she looks at him in adoration and the feelings are quite clearly mutual.

Having got engaged at Victoria Country Park, Lizzie suggested we head there to do their pre-wedding photo shoot and that was just fine by me! The beautiful open space and sea front make such a wonderful backdrop and I quickly realised that these two would be a dream to photograph – strolling, chatting and snapping away in the afternoon sunshine, I was in my element.

These guys will be marrying at St. John’s Church, Hedge End and will be enjoying a reception at Steeple Court Manor in August of next year and I, for one, cannot wait!

Thank you, both, for such a lovely afternoon. Happy planning!