A busy weekend...

It has been a busy weekend for us with wedding photography. Samantha was in London, near Harrow, for the first day of an asian wedding whilst I was in Shropshire covering a wedding. And on Sunday, I was in Heathrow at the second day of the asian wedding whilst Samantha was covering a wedding in Nottinghamshire. Our weekends are not normally this busy - but the spring bank holiday is popular for weddings.

The wedding I did on Saturday (Lucy and Peter) in Shropshire was extra special because I had photographed the wedding for one of their bridesmaids, Lizzie, in 2006 and I also met the parents of one of our brides for next year. Lizzie has been very busy recommending our services because this year we are covering 3 weddings for people she knows! Lizzie and her husband Ben are a lovely couple and it was such a delight to meet them again. Lucy contacted me last year and her original date was already booked - so she changed her date to one that we could make!

The wedding from yesterday for me was the evening reception for Ash and Geeta. It was a fantastic evening and was held at the Sheraton Hotel in Heathrow. It is quite normal to have a large reception for asian weddings - and whilst this was not overly large by asian standards - only 300 guests - it was still quite large. The overriding sense though is a joyous celebration in style.

It was a late night last night, as I finished around 12:30am this morning and decided to stay over on route rather than drive all the way back to Newark. So today has been a steady day of rest!

Oh, and we have a new dog staying with us - Daisy, a british bulldog - she is a lovely dog but very lively and very strong!

Some pictures of Lizzie and Ben - who were married in July 2006:-

Asian Fashion Shoot

Well today was very different. We did a fashion shoot for an Asian bridal shop, Milans Collection, based in Leicester. The girls and their clothes looked out of this world - so much colour and so much style, wow. We did the shoot again at Duddington Manor. It was a lot of hard work but the weather was great and we got some lovely photographs. Here are a few of the pictures:-

Hexgreave Hall

Some of you will know that we have recently opened a new studio at Hexgreave Hall Estate. This is a country estate, situated between Newark and Mansfield, and is ideally located for us. The grounds are simply wonderful - with a herd of deer within easy sight, and lovely walks through woodland. The main house is equally nice and provides us with a really nice setting to meet and greet our clients. We will also be using the studio and the grounds for portrait photography. Here are a few pics:-


Hexgreave Hall Estate is located on the A617 from Newark to Mansfield Road.


This is one of the views just by the main house, a lovely walk amongst woodland.


This is the main hall. It has been completely refurbished and the estate has been converted for mixed office and residential use.


This is the view directly in front of the main house and the view from our studio window. They are too small to see in this picture, but there is a herd of deer there too!


And this is our studio - we hope you like it!

Engagement Pictures

Along with our new and growing portrait businesses we also offer engagement shoots for wedding couples. These are really great fun! People can be apprehensive about being photographed but find the actual experience is much more enjoyable - so this is a good way of a dry run before the big day, to feel more relaxed about photographs and makes for some really nice pictures too.

There is something special about couples when they are engaged. You can tell from the pictures - there is a certain playful chemistry and it is great to capture. This also helps to build a stronger relationship with us ahead of the wedding day and makes for much better wedding photographs. Here are a few pictures from recent shoots:-


This is Naomi and Chris, who are getting married in June.


This is Ash and Geeta, who are getting married next weekend. We took these pictures at the Sheraton Hotel, Heathrow.


This is Claire and Gareth, who were married last weekend.


This is Rita and Dan, who were married last Thursday.

Fashion Shoot at Duddington Manor

If you have read our blog before then you will know about Duddington Manor , which is owned by Nuala Forsey, a friend of ours. The manor is available for short-term lets and is a stunning location for special occasions, with some 9 bedrooms. When it is not being used for lets then Nuala is happy for us to use it for photography - how cool is that! We did a fashion shoot the other week in conjunction with Lincolnshire Pride (look out for the feature in the next issue). We did the shoot to promote our new portrait offers - purelifestyle and purewoman (more to come on those elsewhere) - and it is also great to try different things and have more time to get the shots we know can be created.

It was hard work for all but a great day - we had four photographers, 2 models and 12 changes of clothing (6 per model) to shoot and a constant supply of refreshments to keep us all going. We started about 11am and we finished up getting home for tea about 8pm. Here are a few of the pictures of Georgia, one of our models. The clothes were supplied by Sheila Tiller of Market Place, Long Sutton (call 01406 363433 for more information).


Here we are shooting, Sam with the camera, Rob & Emily (our two assistant photographers) helping with lighting and Rob the editor from Lincolnshire Pride holding a reflector. I bet you never knew how much work could go into a single picture.


And here is the finished result.


And outside....

We are...PureLifestyle

PureLifestyle is the name we have created for our brand new lifestyle photography business. This runs alongside our wedding photography business.

Many people ask me "so what is lifestyle photography?", with a puzzled look. Well it is all about natural photography that brings out the best from people - it is about capturing special moments. I have always liked photographs that capture the personality and life about someone, photographs that remind you of someone and their character - lifestyle photography is about this. You can see more at our lifestyle page.

We have an introductory offer for bookings during May and June, so if you are thinking this is a good idea then contact us using the contact form (simply put lifestyle photography) or ring Janet on 01636 677975 or email

Here are a few photos to give you a feel:-

Catching up...

We had a few technical issues with our blog, which meant we have not been able to post for some time. Thankfully these are all fixed now. It has been such a busy time that we barely know where to start with what we have been up to - there is just so, so much to add! Here is a very quick guide:-

We have...

...opened a new country-based studio at Hexgreave Hall. This is a wonderful location and an ideal setting for photography.

...been busy setting up two new types of photography for our clients, purelifestyle and purewoman. Whilst these are based around portraits they are very different from the more typical portrait photography business.

...been doing several fashion shoots at Duddington Manor, which is a great location just outside Stamford - and the pictures have been stunning too. These will be featured in Lincolnshire Pride magazine, so look out for the features.

...introduced engagement shoots for all our new wedding bookings. These have proved a real hit.

...taken on two assistant photographers, Robs and Emily, to be part of our team.

...introduced an album design service for all our wedding clients, in the form of Ness, who is a professional graphic designer and now designs all of our album layouts.

...some 40 weddings booked this year, covering English, Asian & Chinese ceremonies and covering locations as far as Welshpool, London and as local as Nottinghamshire!

We will try and update you on all these and more in the coming weeks.
Glen