Having never visited Leamington Spa (the closest I’d got was going to the classic MG sportscar show in Coventry) when Abbie and Matt visited my new studio and booked me for their wedding at Tuddenham Mill, they asked if their pre-wedding shoot could take place in the Georgian city where they live…I said yes, why not? What a fantastic place - I was bowled over by the beautiful architecture and open spaces and with the autumnal colours, we were on to a winner!

Abbie and Matt are, quite frankly, totally mad and I was laughing so much at times it was hard to hold the camera - especially when we came to do the leapfrog shots! I’m so looking forwad to their wedding in December, not least because they’ve booked the photobooth too, which will be hilarious to witness, I’m sure! Here are some of the best images from our day out in Royal Leamington Spa…

Ashley and Ray celebrate their civil partnership in January at the prestigious Mayfair Hotel in Piccadilly, London. In the meantime a couple of weekends ago,I met up with them in their hometown of Southend-on-Sea to get some rockin’ pre-wedding images. They had some locations in mind and also brought along some props - including an accordian, a mandolin, a ukelele and….a painting. You’ll understand when you see the photos!

After loads of shots on the beach, we made our way to their local pub, where I did some off-camera flash shots, which, with the decor of the pub and what the girls were wearing, makes the resulting images look almost Victorian! Love it!

The past few weeks have been a flurry of client meetings in my new studio space (of which, more in a week or so), album designing and pre-wedding shoots so I have been mighty busy, even at the tail end of the year! I apologise for the gaps in blogging but here’s a great one - Steph, Paul and I met up again on on chilly Sunday a couple of weeks ago in central London and had a really fun time. They get married this Friday and I can’t wait!

I have just shot two wonderfully enjoyable pre-wedding sessions over the weekend and I’ll be blogging those in the next few days too, so keep your eyes peeled.

Just a quick note - everybody tells me two things when we meet to do the pre-wedding shoot. 1. They’re not photogenic in any way. 2. They hate having their photos taken. If I had a pound for every time I’d heard these statements, I’d be living somewhere very warm, sitting by a pool and sipping an exotic drink with an umbrella in it. After the shoot, WITHOUT EXCEPTION - ALL my couples tell me they’ve thoroughly enjoyed the experience and can’t wait for the wedding portrait session! So please, if you’re looking forward to your session with some trepidation, just relax and let me do the hard work - you’ll LOVE it! Steph and Paul did…and here are some of their images.

Phew! I have so much to blog that I have a bit of a back log now - here’s the pre-wedding session I shot of Helen and James a few weeks ago in sunny Bristol. It was nice to do a shoot somewhere I haven’t been in a few years and to have some different backdrops to those I usually use. Helen and James actually get married tomorrow at Offley Place near Hitchin so there’s just time to squeeze this in before their big day!

Tanya and James are having an English/Indian wedding at the end of July at a beautiful venue in Teddington called The Landmark Arts Centre, which was originally a huge church. We met a couple of weeks ago to get some great images of the two of them together and for me to do a venue recce at the same time. I loved the dress Tanya was wearing - it was so colourful and elegant and she’s a natural in front of the camera. The shoot itself took place at Teddington Lock and the surrounding areas but come the day of the wedding I’m thinking of taking them a little further afield for their portrait shots - they’ve set aside TWO HOURS for me to capture them together - before the wedding ceremony - heaven! Thanks guys, you’re really spoiling me and I can’t wait….

Shelley and Kevin were originally going to have their session in Cambridge but the weather forecast a couple of days before was saying rain - I rang them and suggested Hertford - a place nearby but which also has undercover areas if the need arose. So, the day of the shoot came and predictibly, it was a scorching hot sun and a clear blue sky! Nevertheless, Shelley and Kevin absolutely loved their shoot and having both lived in Hertford some time ago, they weren’t expecting to find as many nooks and crannies as we did. The first place we shot at was the County Hall, with its beautiful arches and natural light, followed by a stroll into town utilising a derelict car dealership, a subway and a bicycle park for locations, among other things!

We stopped halfway in a hidden gem of a tea room and had an old-fashioned pot of tea between us with tea leaves and everything - marvellous! Here are some of their images….

Claire and James wanted to have their photographs taken in the historic university city of Cambridge, so last Saturday I boarded a train and enjoyed a relaxing journey through the countryside. One thing I’ve never done whilst shooting in Cambridge is gone punting on the river Cam - but Claire and James were more than up for it - James taking the helm with steering us along. And it was so worth it - the images in the punt are beautiful! If you’re a couple whose wedding i’m shooting this year, why not think of doing something a little adventurous too? It’s great fun and makes for some really brilliant images!

Here are a selection of Claire and James’ images - they’ve already chosen the faves for their disk but tell me they had a very difficult job to narrow them down - and that’s what I like to hear!

Last Thursday I had the great pleasure of spending a day at the seaside shooting pre-wedding images for Petra and Ian, who tie the knot later this year. I haven’t been to Brighton in a while so it was nice to see the place again - on one of the hottest days of the year so far! Starting at the seafront on Madeira Drive, we walked along the lines of the electric railway, past the quirky shops under the arches (spotting and posing the couple with a VW split-screen camper van in the process), onto the pier and finally into the winding streets of the town itself.

Petra was quite nervous to begin with but warmed up nicely as the shoot went on. Petra - when you read this - you had nothing to be nervous about, you look stunning in your images and I hope you love them!

A few weeks ago, I and my husband were walking a 12 mile route (for fun, you understand…..) and it happened to take us through the glorious village of Much Hadham - a few miles fom our home. As we walked along the High Street, which is very characterful, I made a mental note to remember it would be perfect for a summery pre-wedding shoot. Cue Hayley and Roberto - a couple whose wedding I will be shooting in August - who rang a few days later to arrange their pre-wedding session. I suggested Much Hadham - they loved the sound of it and a few evenings ago we met up and I got shooting!

Although Roberto was born in England, his family are Italian. This means he will be supporting England and Italy in the World Cup. Booo!