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Family photo shoots: Doorstep edition!

I was gutted when the coronavirus came along and postponed most of my weddings for 2020 – gutted for the brides and grooms, but also because it’s what I do and I love it so much.

However, I wasn’t going to let it stop me from doing projects on the side. My lego wedding was very popular on social media and even got some local newspaper coverage, but I wanted to do something more, and actually continue to photograph people and families.

This is where I created doorstep photo shoots. I advertised the opportunity on my Facebook page and asked if anyone would be interested in paying to have a family photo shoot in their front garden! This enabled me to get some great photos while still social distancing. In my post, I said that some of the money would go to the Heart Foundation charity and that anyone within 20 minutes of my home, Sealand in North Wales, should get in touch to take part.

Since then, I’ve been inundated with requests from families wanting to have a mini photo shoot on their doorstep. It’s kept me busy and I’ve really enjoyed continuing my passion of photography while I can’t photograph weddings. I also like to think it’s something fun for the family to do as well, during the boredom of lockdown.

 

My first family was Jo, Paul and Eva. They were due to move house any day at the time, and so wanted some final family photos of their time there!

Family photo shoot on the doorstep - Jo, Paul and Eva

 

Eva on the doorstep pulling her tongue out

 

From there, it escalated and I got to shoot so many different families.

 

Family outside their North Wales home for doorstep photo shoot

 

Family of 4 outside of their North Wales home

 

Little oy sitting amongst the flowers outside in Wales

 

This family hadn’t seen each other since lockdown and measured out a 2 metre difference so they could all see each other!

 

Family standing 2 metres apart during lockdown

 

This next family I’ve known for some time. When their first born, Grace, came into the world, they booked me to do a newborn photo shoot. Then, a year later, I did their pre wedding photo shoot followed by their wedding a few weeks later!

They now have their son, Ewan, and wanted me to take some doorstep photos. This family have supported me so much and it was fab to get some pictures of them together.

 

Collage of family doorstep photos

 

I’ve even documented lockdown birthdays from the doorstep!

 

Lockdown birthday with a bouncy castle

 

I’m still doing doorstep shoots so if you fancy one with your family and you’re based in North Wales, get in touch! It’s £30 and £5 goes to the Heart Foundation charity.

 

The Lego wedding of Mr and Mrs Roberts!

With weddings being cancelled or postponed, lockdown life has been a little quiet. However, I’ve taken this time to have some fun, be a little bit creative and this Lego wedding was the end result!

I’m not able to shoot real people, at least for the next few weeks, but that’s where I got the idea to create a Lego wedding that I could photograph with the help of my hubby and kids. I didn’t want my social media channels to go stale because I wasn’t shooting weddings. To keep Facebook a positive place, I uploaded a video of the wedding and it had so many shares. I’m so glad that people enjoyed watching it as much as my family and I had fun making it.

The wedding involved a bride complete with white dress and red bouquet and a groom complete with top hat. It’s a small outdoor wedding but (I’m sure, in the Lego world) a beautiful one.

 

Lego wedding - bride and groom get married in an outdoor ceremony

 

After the wedding ceremony, the groom takes off his top hat to reveal a shock of long black hair! The couple exit the ceremony, where their guests cover them in confetti. I had my two boys throw the confetti while I took the pictures!

It was tough to get a photo of the groom throwing his hat around – I had Ollie (9) and Lewis (5) throw it, while I tried to get the perfect picture. Shooting Lego is almost harder than shooting real people as they’re so small and fiddly.

We put them in a glass of champagne (complete with a strawberry) and we even did a sunset photo shoot which I would aim to do at any weddings I photograph anyway. Then the wedding day finished with a first dance and a boogie on the dance floor.

 

Lego wedding couple sitting in a glass of prosecco

 

Lego bride and groom at sunset

 

It took us a long time to perfect this wedding but I’m so glad we persevered. Not only was it great to spend time together as a family, but it was nice to do something a bit different that we could all get involved in.

It even got picked up by Deeside news and the Leader! To view the full video, you can watch it on my homepage.

 

The Lego Honeymoon

The wedding was such a success that we endeavoured to make a Part 2 – the honeymoon!

The honeymoon has ‘Mr and Mrs Roberts’ getting on a plane, sunning themselves on the beach, and going sailing in the sea. These shots have such a different vibe to those of the wedding. I love the bright colours in the honeymoon video. We used paper umbrellas to make it look like parasols on the beach, and I filled the sink with water for their boat ride complete with dolphins.

 

Lego bride and groom boarding the plane

 

Bride and groom on their honeymoon on the beach

 

lego bride and groom in a cocktail

 

At the wedding, the bride and groom chilled out in a glass of champagne. Here, they’re enjoying a relaxing time in a cocktail complete with sparkler! Again, you can view the full video on my homepage.

I hope you enjoy watching these fun videos as much as I love making them. And if you want to keep up to date with what I’m creating, don’t forget to follow my Facebook page!

 

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Wedding at the Tower in Mold, North Wales

North Wales has plenty of stunning wedding venues on offer and the countryside is what makes this location even more beautiful. Justine and Aaron chose to have their wedding at Tower in Mold in July 2019.

 

About Tower

Tower is a very unusual and beautiful venue that is perfect for weddings and other events. Located close to Chester, Tower is a Grade-I listed building nestled in its own parkland in Mold, North Wales. Despite being conveniently placed next to roads such as the A55 and the A494 for easy access, you still feel like you’re in the middle of the peaceful Welsh countryside. The building is hidden from the road and boasts stunning views of the grounds and the large pond. This makes the perfect backdrop for an outdoor wedding, just like the one of Justine and Aaron.

The property has been owned by the same family for 500 years so, if you want a venue with tonnes of history, this is the one for you. Tower was built to guard against any attacks from the English, but I’m sure anyone is most welcome in the venue today.

 

The Wedding of Justine and Aaron

Justine chose to get ready in one of the Tower’s many beautiful bedrooms. One of my favourite shots is this one, where we can see Justine looking at herself in the mirror the makeup artist is holding up. You can see the true character of the building, with it’s lead windows and beautiful shutters that fold into the wall.

 

Bride getting ready at Tower in North Wales

 

This building is also a dream to shoot in. The beautiful decor makes every photo look stunning, while I can get shots like the one below due to the way the rooms are laid out in the corridor. Bridal prep is one of my favourite aspects of the day, and these kinds of photos show why.

 

Bride getting ready and mum looking at her dress in the next room

 

Justine’s dress was a beautiful satin fit-to-flare dress from The Silk Loft that came right in at the waist and flowed out from above the knee to the floor, with an exceptional train to end.

 

Wedding dress from the Silk Loft hanging in the Tower

 

Bride walking down the aisle with her father

 

Justine and Aaron were praying for nice weather on the day of their wedding in July, as they’d planned a beautiful outdoor ceremony, complete with a flower arch to get married in front of and the beautiful pond as a backdrop. The rain is not always predictable but, despite being cloudy, it held off.

Justine wore minimal jewellery and kept her hairdo quite informal in a half up/down style. Her colour theme for the day was pastel pink and green, as you can see from her dad’s tie and pocket hanky and her flowers. The bridesmaids’ were pretty in pastel, as their dresses were a gorgeous pastel green/blue colour, almost like a light turquoise and these matched the groom’s tie and pocket hanky.

 

Bride and groom holding hands under a wedding arch

 

The rest of the groomsmen, like the father of the bride, wore pastel pink ties and light grey suits.

 

Groomsmen lined up in front of the pond at Tower

 

If we haven’t already determined this, Tower makes for an excellent photo backdrop. The opportunities here are almost endless, which is why it’s one of my favourite venues.

 

Bride and groom standing on a bridge over the pond at Tower, North Wales

 

Bride and groom walking at the front of Tower

 

Bride and groom in front of a stained glass window at Tower wedding venue

 

The cake matched the rest of Justine and Aaron’s colour scheme, incorporating both the pastel green and pinks from the rest of the day. The iced details on the flowers are unbelievable and it’s a simple but stunning design.

 

Wedding cake with pink flowers and green foliage icing

 

I love taking images of a venue throughout the day as it can change so much from morning to night. I snuck away from the wedding and captured these images of Tower at sunset, when the uplights and fairy lights are on and the pond is still. I just love the colour of that sky.

 

The Tower - venue in North Wales - at sunset

 

Please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you’re still looking for a North Wales wedding photographer to capture your big day.