Loren & Wayne decided to have their prewedding shoot at Rushden Hall Park because it is somewhere they regularly go to walk their much loved dogs Fraggle & Bug.  Rushden Park is so beautiful during Autumn that Wayne & Loren had even considered it as a wedding venue option although their heart eventually rested on another spectacular venue, Brampton Grange.

I  first met Wayne & Loren at their home earlier in the year and was introduced to their dogs then.  These canine friends are so important to this couple that they have decided their dogs will be coming with them on their wedding day too.

Our pre-wedding shoot took place on a super chilly morning.  By early November, Autumn has often peaked and the trees start to lose their leaves however with all the great weather in the lead up to their shoot, Rushden Hall Park was still a mix of fabulous oranges and reds with berries out too.

Loren and Wayne have not long moved into their new home so they had been out the night before to discover the night life in their new local area.  Still fresh faced the following morning, Loren and Wayne showed me around all the best parts of the park.  I’d definitely like to come back here again for another shoot.  What a gem!

With a nip in the air we went to grab a hot drink to go over all the final details of their wedding plans and I was off back home to get planning.  I’ve been to see Wayne and Loren’s wedding venue this week and I can’t wait to go back soon for the main event.  xx

Annette & Richard have known each other since they were little.  Their families are friends so they would run into each other from time to time when everyone got together for celebrations.  They dated for a while as teenagers but decided to go back to being friends while they went off and did all the usual growing up stuff teenagers do.  And good friends they remained for a few years before realising once again, that what they felt for one another was more than just friendship.  Richard decided to take a chance and ask Annette out for a date.

The date of their wedding day will be 6 years to the day since they went on that date and they have never looked back.  With a lovely home, a dog and a bright and happy 20 month old daughter, this couple are in a really good place.

Annette wanted to do their pre-wedding shoot in a little meadow in Bromham which is near to their home.  Richard and Annette often take their little family on walks through this pretty meadow which is currently budding with early signs of Autumn already.

Annette and Richard had been to see a few wedding venues but kept coming back the The Barns Hotel for their wedding celebrations. They are going for an Autumy feel with lots of rustic and wicker styling which will sit perfectly with the setting at the Barns Hotel.

Happy wedding planning guys, and I will see you very soon xx

Jenny & Mike both live in London these days but will be having their wedding in Milton Keynes.  In order to pick a good date in the diary for their pre-wedding shoot we decided to co-ordinate with at date when Jenny and Mike would be visiting the church to speak to the vicar in the morning and then going for Jenny’s wedding dress fitting in the afternoon. It was all planned to precision but I was woken in the early hours to the sounds of rain throwing itself against my bedroom windows.  Booo 😦

Desperate to meet up we stuck with the plan so we could go over all Jenny & Mikes plans and make any additional notes needed for their big day.  As it turned out, they got held up with the vicar which actually worked out well for us because by the time we got together, the rain had stopped and by the time I’d packed away all the paperwork and notes the sun was actually out!  We nipped out along the river in Haversham and got snapping!  I like to take my time on a shoot to allow the couple to get use to it gently and in a relaxed way, but this one turned out to be a mini micro shoot because 15 minutes in, down came the rain again and we had to run for cover.  I think Jenny and Mike were so lovely to throw everything in to such an adhoc session and they didn’t even complain when they got soaked!  I think their fun and cheerful nature comes across in their images and we ended up with a lovely collection of shots.

This clever couple have designed their own website to tell their guests everything they could possibly need to know about their gorgeous autumnal wedding.  There is even a cute little timeline of their journey and how their paths very briefly crossed twice before and how they FINALLY became an item 6 years ago.

My favourite snippet from their timeline taken from their website: “Jen and her housemates  hold a fancy dress birthday party. Matt brings Mike along. Fuelled by White Lightning, they have a moment in the kitchen, but someone (Clare) walks in and the moment ends.  They don’t see each other again for years. Until…”  …Well we all know how that story turned out.  I will see you both very soon for the next chapter in your wonderful lives xx ❤ xx

Sam & James booked their wedding photography coverage with me back in 2014 and they have been busy ever since with their big plans for their day.

These two have such fabulous style and were really fun to shoot.  They were both so comfortable in front of the camera and slotted together very naturally into each others arms whenever we paused in a spot.  James is a keen photographer and I hear Sam is a dab hand with the macro lens too so with a little bit of pressure on me (haha!) we went for a stroll to capture some images.  James & Sam opted for Campbell Park for their pre-wedding shoot as it is a special place they both love to go and I knew that with the lovely Summer evenings we’ve been having, the light would be fantastic.

When getting to know a couple I usually ask them to describe the vibe they are going for with their wedding or if there is a particular theme they’ve chosen.  Well, I can tell you I was not expecting them to share they were planning a dinosaurs and unicorn themed wedding that’s for sure!  James has been spending his evenings bonding with colourful glitter sprays to help create the final effect and I have visions of him turning up for work in the mornings with a little sparkle himself.

I cannot think of 2 things more enchanting and magical fun than dinosaurs and unicorns and I just cannot wait to see the end result.  Even my own children are excitedly waiting to see this one!

I met up with Matt and Mandy for their pre wedding shoot in April. We discussed locations and Mandy suggested a we find a little village somewhere to capture some shots. This was a lovely opportunity for me to work a bit closer to home and explore some of the space on my own turf.

We had been enjoying a blissful run of several sunny days in a row so you can imagine our disappointment, when on the day of our meet, we woke to some rather noisy rain showers. Arrggh!! Totally unwelcome and completely contradictory to the weather report I was looking at. However, Mandy was hopeful that we would get our shoot and we agreed to stick with plan A and keep everything crossed.

Mandy was right! I watched the ground dry out and throughout the shoot, the sun come out. What started with Mandy and Matt wrapped up in coats, later became shirt weather. In fact even later in the afternoon when I got home it became Pimms in the garden weather, but that’s another story 😉

Matt and Mandy have been together for quite a few years and have achieved a lot in their relationship already, most preciously, 2 beautiful daughters who I am looking forward to capturing on their wedding day. Between the two of them, they have a rather large family who I’m sure will be looking forward to witnessing them finally tying the knot.

One of my favourite aspects of capturing a wedding where the couple have shared many years together already is that often, many of the guests will have met before. There are shared family members, mutual friends, people that would have probably been on both the bride and the grooms invite list, couples that may even have got together because of them. That’s a lot of unity and support around one couple and a many memories shared.

Matt and Mandy are getting married in Newport Pagnell in just a few weeks time and the couple shoot enabled me to hear more of their wedding plans and get a feel for their day. I shall be going to check out their venue next week so I can get some more ideas. Very exciting! Good Luck Mandy and Matt, see you soon xx