Tuesday, 31 January 2012

Jo & Gus got married- Kingscote Barn, Gloucestershire

Well...we're on our last day of January already...where does the time go to???? So anyway I thought this would be the perfect day to share the wedding of Jo & Gus with you as they were my first wedding of 2012. 

On the 7th January...when you would imagine it would be cold, damp & a little bit grey it was actually the complete opposite! The sun shone...it was fairly warm.. a really beautiful day for a really beautiful wedding. 

The day began at Kingscote Barn, Gloucestershire where  I found the very talented Chris from Fordham Hair Design already at work & totally un-phased by having 5 different hairstyles to do...the man is a legend!  Jo's hair was inspired by Downton Abbey & suited her perfectly. 









The Groom & Groomsmen were also at Kingscote Barn getting ready in the lovely cottage there. I'd like to give a massive thanks to my second shooter for the day Lucy Stendall for grabbing some fantastic images of them. 



The ceremony took place at Kingscote Church...possibly the smallest, cutest church I have ever had the pleasure to be in. 


















Then it was back to Kingscote Barn for some formal photos before the stunning food prepared by Strawberry Field Catering. I highly recommend them & make to sure you ask to the the cake made out of a tower of cheese!!!!












One of the very clever Bridemaids also made this totally stunning sweetie table...by far the best I've ever seen!



The evening came to a close with the speeches followed by my first ever Ceilidh Band...what a great way to get everyone up dancing!!!!








So....what a great start to the year! 

To see more of my work & information on wedding packages take a look at my website:
 www.samantha-j.co.uk
01384 350644/07772 720507

Tuesday, 24 January 2012

Matt & Sarah - Engagement Shoot - Baggaridge Country Park

OK...so anyone that knows me knows what an unbelievable chatterbox I am so it may not surprise you to know that when I first met Sarah & Matt at their home to discuss their wedding day..I ended up there for 4 hours!!!!

The chit chat was fuelled by the fact we have a few mutual friends & a HUGE love of music...by the end of the evening I'd been invited along to one of Matt's charity gigs where he was performing his Robbie Williams tribute show alongside his brother who does a mean Michael Buble (of who I am a massive fan!!!!!!!!!)

So you can imagine that when we met just after Christmas for their engagement shoot...it was par for the course that we would be there a while..we were...we got lost!!!

So here are a few of their photos from what was a really enjoyable day....and I so can't wait till their wedding in April!








Thursday, 22 December 2011

Matt & Emily - Engagement Shoot {Himley Hall, Dudley}

Now...some of you who have followed me on this roller coaster that has been 2011 will remember the wedding of Hollie & Ashley back in June..well...a couple of pieces of news...

Best Man Matt & Chief Bridesmaid Emily are also getting hitched & guess who has the honour of photographing their big day....YAY!!!! Second bit of news is that the lovely Hollie is expecting baby number 2 very close to the wedding day...Eeeeeeeek!!!!

So...last week I headed off to Himley Hall with Matt & Emily (& their dog Ruby) for their engagement shoot. I think you'll agree that they make the loveliest couple & I can't wait till their wedding day in March.

   

Wednesday, 21 December 2011

When the sun went down in London Town - London Photoshoot - Part 2

Ok..so following on from my last blog post...as the sun set over London myself & the lovely Zoe from Photos by Zoe  decided it was time to hit the town! Zoe had travelled 7 hours all the way from Scotland..including 3.5 hours standing on the train so we were determined to make the most of it! Despite the aching tootsies from the long day & lots of walking we headed to the bright lights of Covent Garden...& I'm soooooooooo glad we did!!







There was also the most awesome street entertainer..absolutely brilliant & such a nice guy.



Monday, 12 December 2011

Winter arrives as Battersea Park...



So..as you know..I love to try out new ideas...push the boundaries & come up with new creative inspiration.  I also love to meet up with fellow photographers to share knowledge & chat with like-minded people so when I was invited to take part in a Narnia themed photoshoot in Battersea Park,  London I booked my train ticket faster than you can say "Aslan!!!"


The day was organised by the lovely Claudia Carter & Gary Lashmar & was sponsored by Aspire Photography Training . It was a fantastic day...unfortunately we didn't get any snow which would have made the theme even more realistic but the models look very much the "Ice Queens".  The lady responsible for styling the girls was the talented Julia Plant & the dresses were very kindly supplied by Luella's Boudoir


The models for the day were Lexie Lambert, Hayley Buckingham, Helena Willcocks, Natasha Rozhdestvensky &  Flora M-Dutton & I really take my hat off to them...it was FREEZING & they were all amazingly brave!












After the photoshoot we all headed off to Beaufort House, Chelsea  for some totally inspirational talks by some fabulous speakers. 

Catherine Connor - Aspire Photography Training
Julia WestPhotographer and Art Director at a leading bridal magazine, WEDDING
Melissa Love - Creative Design Expert
Gary Lashmar - Wedding Photographer

Oh...we might not have gotten snow...so I had to add my own...just for fun!! 




A massive thank you to everyone who made the day so fantastic & to all the lovely fellow photographers I met.  

Next on the blog I'll show you part 2...what I got up to AFTER the photoshoot on the streets of London Town!!!