Winner: Creative Wedding Photographer of the Year Award

I’m delighted to share some very exciting news…

Last week I attended The Welsh Wedding Awards 2022, hosted by Creative Oceanic at Portland House in Cardiff.

I was thrilled to be nominated in the category of Creative Wedding Photographer of the Year… and I’m even more thrilled to say that I won! I am over the moon at being awarded this accolade: it’s such a prestigious award and means the absolute world to me. Two years ago I was the runner up in this same category, so to be the winner in 2022 is a huge achievement and I couldn’t be more pleased and proud.

I absolutely love being a wedding photographer in North Wales: I get to meet fabulous couples and shoot in beautiful venues, so I feel lucky every time I go to work! And for my work to be recognised in this way really is the icing on the cake.

I know it’s such a cliche to say that “it’s an honour just to be nominated”, but when it comes to The Welsh Wedding Awards that statement couldn’t be more true, because nominations come from past couples voting for you. Therefore, achieving a nomination shows that my past couples are delighted with the work I did for them, and made the effort to vote for me to win an award as a result. As a wedding photographer you really can’t ask for more than that.

The final decision on the winner is then judged by an expert panel, and out of 6 other photographers in my category I was delighted to be the one to take home the award.

I would also like to give a mention to my lovely friend Cassie from Cassie M Bridal. Cassie is a super-talented bridal hair and make up artist for North Wales and Cheshire. We originally booked to go to the awards ceremony together but sadly Cassie couldn’t make it at the last minute due to illness. I’m so pleased to say that Cassie also won in her category, Freelance Wedding Hair & Makeup Specialist of the Year. I had the honour of collecting Cassie’s award on her behalf, and want to say a huge congratulations on a very much deserved win!

A bit more about the Welsh Wedding Awards

The Welsh Wedding Awards recognises exceptional wedding suppliers that go above and beyond to ensure the uniqueness of every wedding. The Awards provided a platform to showcase those who promote excellence in the industry, inspire others by their achievements and add the fairy-tale sparkle to any wedding.

A Spokesperson for The Welsh Wedding Awards 2022 said: “The winners represent the industry’s gold standard that work tirelessly to meet the demands of the couples and their guests.

“The Awards showcase some of the best wedding specialists that operate in the industry, whose excellence and commitment brought them to the forefront of the industry. These champions are tried and tested specialists that know how to create a stress-free wedding experience, keeping the romance in the air. We would like to congratulate all finalists and winners for their amazing achievements.”

The event was a brilliant night, with over 150 wedding specialists in attendance. And of course, winning the award for Creative Wedding Photographer of the Year really did make it a night to remember for me!

A little note from me…

I want to say a huge thank you to all my lovely couples who took the time and effort to nominate me for this award: it means the world to me to know that you’re happy with my work, and went out of your way to put me forward for an award. Making brides and grooms happy is the reason we do this job, so it’s wonderful to know I’ve achieved that. Here’s to many more happy couples, beautiful photos, and (hopefully) more awards too!

March 28, 2022

Blog, Real Weddings

A beautiful Nunsmere Hall wedding

Following the excellent news that we should be back to some kind of normality from June onwards, I thought I’d share a beautiful wedding that was shot last October at Nunsmere Hall. The wedding of Holly and Katie managed to go ahead after being postponed from May 2020. During the times during lockdown, I’ve mainly kept myself busy doing family photoshoots, which I’ve adored. But I have to say, I was so excited to shoot another wedding, as they’re my passion.

The Wedding of Holly and Katie

Holly and Katie had already postponed their May wedding date, but come October, they’d decided that they wanted to try and go ahead with their small ceremony before the National lockdown kicked in in November. And I’m so glad they did! Despite the small numbers (just 13 guests), the wedding was truly beautiful and they were both so happy.

Holly got ready at Nunsmere Hall, booking both a hair and makeup artist for the occasion, along with her mum, her two bridesmaids and Katie’s niece, who made the most adorable flower girl!

The ceremony room was adorned beautifully, with blossom trees, LOVE letters and gorgeous pink chair covers. The chairs were all spaced out so that the 13 guests weren’t sitting too close to each other.

I love taking photos of the groom or bride as the bride walks down the aisle and I captured this shot of Katie as Holly entered the room.

While I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to seeing guests in masks, the ceremony was still beautiful and personal. Both brides walk back up the aisle following the ceremony with huge smiles on their faces.

Following on from the ceremony, it was time for some fun wedding photos and these two were all up for smoke bombs!

Smoke bombs are so much fun and really make for some beautiful, colourful photographs, particularly when you have such gorgeous scenery behind you, as Nunsmere does.

The stunning sunset allowed us to get some gorgeous low-light photos too, with a beautiful orange glow. This is why I love autumn weddings so much. The orangery in the trees combined with the sun peeking through makes for a gorgeous photo.

After photos, the couple were able to have a small wedding breakfast, complete with speeches, where the blossom trees were reused and helped to set a gorgeous backdrop.

And finally, the evening was finished off with some stunning fireworks. I love this shot of Holly wearing Katie’s jacket, hugging as they watch the lights!

I hope these photos make you as excited as I am for June, when large weddings can be held again and we can all laugh, drink and be merry!

March 3, 2021

Blog, Real Weddings

A Small Last-Minute Lockdown Wedding

Every wedding is beautiful, no matter the style, setting or number of guests. But COVID has certainly made getting married harder. This doesn’t mean your wedding can’t be absolutely stunning and the perfect day you always imagined. In fact, Amy and Chris had their beautiful day….that was organised in just 4 days!

The Wedding of Amy and Chris

Amy and Chris were originally supposed to get married in April 2020, however this had to be postponed. They had no plans for when their wedding would be when it was postponed, but I’m sure as many people thought, that they assumed this would all blow over in a few months. Well, it gets to September and rather than the virus disappearing, it was coming back with a vengeance.

As restrictions were becoming tighter, it became clear to Amy and Chris that if they didn’t get married soon, it could be another few months or even longer before they could get married. So they took the plunge and decided to get married with 4 DAYS’ NOTICE as they could still do so with up to 30 people in attendance.

So they began replanning their small wedding on Wednesday 23rd September and on Sunday 27th September, they tied the knot!

Getting ready

Amy got ready at home and had a hairdresser to help out with the hair styling, but they decided they could all do their own makeup for the day. As you can see from the images, the girls had a blast getting ready and all gathered around mirrors in the conservatory.

I absolutely love the above photo of the bridesmaids having their dresses down up in a sort of train while Amy has final fixes done to her hair.

Luckily, as they were due to get married in April, Amy had already sorted details like her dress, so there was no panic shopping before the day!

Once everyone was dressed and ready to go, we had some time to get some fun shots outside. Amy was so chilled and, as you can see from the below photo, was having so much fun!

The couple had managed to organise a vintage car for the day, and it picked up Amy and her entourage and whisked them off to the local church. The weather was perfect and meant that the car could have the roof down.

St Stephen’s Parish Church, Hightown, Liverpool

The wedding was set at St Stephen’s Church, a small but beautiful building that was the perfect place to get married for Amy and Chris. Guests could space out within the church while all getting an excellent view of the ceremony (one of the perks of a small wedding). The couple wore masks to start with which they were allowed to take off during the ceremony.

This couple were as happy as any other I’ve seen, despite the quick organising and the reduced numbers. I adore the confetti shot above which seems to light the couple up in the sunshine.

The Reception

Their reception was held next door at the village hall, the perfect setting for a small number of people.

The couple had some beautiful flower arrangements that just lit up the village hall. As you can see from the photo above, they’re surrounded by stunning bouquets. The speeches were hilarious and had Amy and Chris in stitches.

We did some beautiful, spaced-out couple photos as the sun was beginning to get lower.

The beauty of this location on the outskirts of Liverpool, near Formby, was its proximity to the beach. At sunset, we headed down there and the photographs came out absolutely beautiful! We couldn’t have planned such a beautiful photograph if we tried, and it shows that whether you plan a wedding in 4 days or 4 years, the day will be perfect.

The cake was simple but beautiful, adorned with fresh flowers. Amy said that Amazon Prime was a lifesaver when planning a wedding in 4 days and that lots of her little extras came from here.

I hope this wedding day doesn’t put people off having a small wedding, and encourages you to do it anyway despite coronavirus. A virus cannot and will not destroy love and weddings will continue for years, centuries to come!

November 1, 2020

Blog Archives