Saturday the 7th of June saw me with Jacqui and Dave for their wedding...  these two were absolute troupers despite everything that went wrong before the wedding - from Jacqui ending up without a wedding dress 2 weeks before the wedding (long story and not mine to tell), to the florist shutting down, uncle falling ill to garter not going to arrive on time.... any other girl would be traumatized (i know i would be) but Jacqui had a back up plan and i must say she pulled it off to perfection and had fun doing it. So, here's a big salute to you girl... you deserve it.

Just a quick resource for brides... a few days ago, i came across the wedding chicks blog owned by Joycebella invites + amy squires photography. I love this blog because not only do they give inspiration and give suggestions on how to solve your wedding fashion and planning dilemmas (oh, decisions! decisions!), they also give away prizes. Their current 'chick giveaway'  are a choice of a pair of earrings from jewellery leasing company I'm over it.  Worth a browse if you're still going through your planning haze or just about to...

When Tania called me up in February, she wasn't sure she wanted a photographer as she was planning a really small do with just close friends and family; but then according to her, she kept coming back to the blog and having a quick nosey round the website and decided, 'what the heck? let's go for it!!'

So, i met up with both Tania and Janos at the Marylebone Registry office on Saturday and for their blessing  at St. Andrew's in Holborn on Sunday for a couple of hours.  I must confess that i found Marylebone a bit of a challenge as there was really not much i could use (it was also raining so going out after the ceremony was not an option) but then I  suppose it is what it is and it's my job as a photographer to make it happen. Tania and Janos were absolutely fantastic and let me drag them to little nooks around the room and kept asking me if i needed more time,  was the light okay? etc. 

anyway, here are a few of my efforts from the weekend... 

Last Saturday saw me with Sandra and Jerry at High Edser farm for their wedding.... the ceremony was held at the gorgeous friary in Chilworth and the reception in a marquee at the farm.. I really loved this wedding because of its simplicity.... everything was so simple, clean and fresh. Sandra's mother made  jars fig jam which were used as favors and of course there were kids ... i know having children at a wedding is not everyone's cup of tea but i think having the reception at the farm made it easy to have the kids around, and they had no trouble entertaining themselves or getting lost in some little corner somewhere....

Sandra forgot her bouquet at the farm and i thought something looked strange when she was walking down the aisle until a light bulb came on....no flowers!! but nobody actually noticed that she did not have them until it was pointed out at the reception..... anyway, here are a few images from the day....

View Slideshow HERE 

yep... calling on all you do-it-yourself ladies out there planning for you big day.... Matthew Mead Style is one of those places you want to check out for some cost saving inspiration. His website has so many stylish ideas that are so simple to follow... ideas from his summer site can be seen below:

Pick out your favorite sweet/candy, print out name tags on coloured paper of choice, cut paper into flags and pierce 2 holes using a pick, thread flags into the skewer and then put them in your candy of choice.

use giant cookies of choice, wrap them up in cellophane, print out guests' names on coloured paper of choice, tie name tags around cellophane wrapped cookies. Matthew suggests grouping them in baskets at the reception entrance with the table numbers on each basket.

recycle old tins and cans from soups etc and turn them into vases. cover each tin with paper of choice and personalise with couples' names and dates.

find a container that matches your wedding decor and style, fill it with sweets of your choice, add a customised label using your printer.

all images and ideas courtesy Matthew Mead Style

Quick bridal planning resource ....I came across Snippet & Ink a few weeks ago when doing some research and i fell in love with this site... it's like Style me pretty but with a very different and lovely twist... I love the way Kathryn goes into depth about each mood board; from the mood to the colour palette, ideas of the type of venues where you could make the ideas on the board shine, flowers etc.. 

I really love the budget friendly boards she had going on last week. There is a budget friendly board for every style; from casual dinner to champagne and dessert, garden brunch to cocktail and Hors D'oeuvre... it's almost like having a mini-wedding planner with insider tips. She not only gives you the mood boards and information of where to find the items, she also goes on to share with you how you can save and what to splurge on.... the only thing i regret is that most of you British brides may not be able to get your hands on the items mentioned as the retailers are based across the pond; never mind... where there is will, there is always a way right?

here are a few mood boards from her Snippet & ink:

images courtesy of Snippet & ink.

I met up with Ed and Chris in Bermondsey on Sunday for their pre-wedding session. We all under-estimated the weather... it was lovely, bright and warm but once the session started it rained and it was cooooold... but, we had a great session. Bermondsey was fantastic... we used the back streets; it was edgy with loads of colour and texture - just the kind of stuff i like.

Like my last pre-wedding session, i decided to keep things very simple... no complicated poses just great location, use of colour, texture and pattern; I find that this method works best for me and i get my best work, I suppose this is what they mean by 'finding my voice' because i absolutely love all the images from this session and i'm beginning to define my style of photography....

anyway, here are some images from the session... 

See slideshow HERE 

Just thought i'd share a quick resource for all you brides still planning or just starting out...

Style me pretty is a wedding blog for inspiration.... i've been following this since it started way back ... i love the wedding inspiration boards.  Seriously, ladies everything you need to know about wedding style from wedding colour combinations, to table settings, dresses, do-it-yourselves projects... it's all on there;  so go get inspired...

here are a few of my favorite wedding inspiration boards... (there's so much more over there... you could spend the whole day reading and not get bored....) 

images by www. Stylemepretty.com

Tara and John booked me for their wedding way back in 2006.... Tara was one if those brides that had everything planned down to a T.... (everyone teased her about her spreadsheets .... we were all so pleased it went according to said spreadsheets..everybody knew what they were supposed to be doing, when and how, so there was no excuse...:)

So, Saturday arrived and so did snow, rain, sunshine all wrapped up in bitingly cold winds... (boy, was it windy and cold!!!)... I must confess now that it's over, i did panic a bit ..no actually a lot!!! but then i got to the venue where the girls were getting ready and there was Tara, so calm and serene.... and she stayed that way the whole day.... the day went by pretty quickly...

thanks for sharing your day with me guys.....

just a quick resource I thought would be useful to brides .... The name kit by the name change company helps you change all your details with the endless number of organisations you are affiliated with without the drama.....

all you do is fill in some basic information about yourself like your new name and old name, select the organisations you need inform of the change... it will also tell you which organisations will require a letter from you showing your new and old signatures and will automatically create these personalised letters for you, all ready to print, sign and send.... so, Happy Name Change!!!