Our morning with Abi & Miles started out on the walls of York and ended in some big-screen drama. We were given exclusive use of one of the cinema theatres at City Screen in York – and I have to say, these kinds of shoots make you pinch yourself that this is the cool job you get to do every day. Making shadow puppets on the big screen – without being run out by security? BONUS!

Their wedding is coming up very shortly and we are really looking forward to another fun time in York!

I admit it – I am a potential dog-napper.

Keep your pooches away from me  – especially adorable ones like Pippa!

Aside from the fact that our crazy cats would string me up like a pinata if we got a puppy,  we are gone far too often to have a dog and this has made me seriously dog-broody. I am like the crazy doggie auntie who has to visit all of my friend’s dogs just to get it out of my system. I even randomly contemplate what kind of dog I would get and what I would name it – should I ever be allowed to get a dog – which will never happen.

So you can imagine how much I love it when clients suggest bringing their dog along with them on their engagement shoot. We had such a fun afternoon wandering around the Boxhill Summit with Pippa and her owners, Michelle and George who are getting married in a few short months. It was a lovely, warm afternoon with gorgeous low red sunlight and a stunning view of the countryside below.

I can’t wait for Michelle & George’s wedding – where Pippa will be playing a starring role!

Daisy & Leigh are SO. FREEKING. CUTE. in this cinema stylee engagement shoot at the Hyde Park Picture House in Leeds. We had a fun afternoon romp through the empty cinema and even got to have a peek at the projection room. I just love it when couples are committed to having a great time during their session and really throw themselves into the theme!

Their wedding is just a few short weeks away and I am super excited!

Back in January we met Carole & Anika who were coming all the way over from Germany to get hitched in England. We had a great  walk around Karesborough and chatted all about their plans for their wedding- and I got super excited to be a part of their special day!It is always really great when someone is having a small wedding to know that you were specially selected to join in. It is like being in a VIP club.

And I have to say – Carole and Anika’s wedding was just as fantastic as I thought it would be -it was such a relaxed and fun day filled with all of Carole & Anika’s closest friends and family.

We even had a special treat! Carole had always wanted a snowy wedding – but had opted for an April ceremony – so she was super excited when we got a few minutes of afternoon flurries!

Take a little peek at Carole and Anika’s big Day!

If there is one thing cuter than an engagement shoot with adorable kids – it is adorable kids playing with FLUFFY BABY KITTEHS!

We had a lovely afternoon stroll through the woodlands with Gemma & Chris and their gorgeous little girls on a rare warm and sunny day this spring. Then, we went back to their cozy house and had a play with their cuddly little bengal kittens. I may have tried putting one both in my pocket to take  home with me.

Certainly they wouldn’t have missed them. I mean – kittens are hard work – I was doing them a favour…..

I cannot wait for Gemma & Chris’s wedding this summer – it is going to be ridiculously fun!

Katie and Paul were our second in a weekend of unexpectedly snowy weddings and they were so fantastic! There were snow drifts and gale force winds out on the moors and nothing was going to stop Katie and Paul’s big day from being utterly fantastic. They were married at a gorgeous little church in Bingley and then partied the night away at one of my very favourite venues of all time – Rudding Park.  From pipers to an amazing chandelier cake – their day was so lovely from top to bottom!

Take a peek at a few photos of their big day.

PS – Katie has the most STUNNING eyes!

One of my favourite parts of being a wedding photographer is capturing the unexpected.  Who could have expected when they planned an early spring wedding that winter would go on for another 3 weeks?

But, as Crig and Leanne show – it is all about your attitutde. If you embrace the unexpected and just ‘go with it’ – the day will be fantastic – no matter how much snow covers the ground.

I have to say – they had the best bridesmaids and groomsmen …like ever. Do you see them standing out in the snow? Not even a single complaint. Now THAT is how to be a good friend!

Okay, let me apologise in advance for the number of photos I am posting. It is too many. I know this. WAAAYYY too many. Your page is probably still loading as you read this.

But I HAD to. You see… somewhere between taking pictures of the cutest farm animals of all time (and a very grumpy boar and a prehistoric goose) – I needed to fit an entire engagement shoot.

And what a shoot it was! Amy and Steve are the raddest people – and I am not just saying this because I plan on stealing Amy’s hoodie.

It was a grey and rainy day at Temple Newsam Farm – which was fine by us because we had the whole place to ourselves. Well, us and the chickens and the pigs and the BABY LAMBIES!

Okay – enough already. Go look at this fabulous shoot.

I absolutely cannot wait for Amy and Steve’s wedding this summer.

Oh my goodness. The Smalls! The Smalls! The Smalls!

Who on earth are The Smalls?

They are the gorgeous children of Mummy Blogger,  fellow female Jay[e] and  Photogress Jay Mountford.

After countless hours of chatting about the state of photography (we Jay[e]s do like to wax lyrical) we discussed the state of family photography. From babies in flower pots to white backdrops – we have seen it all. But what we had not seen nearly enough of – was good family documentary photography.

Sure, it is important to have some of the ‘staged’ photos of your family – huddled in a group – and being ‘family-ish’.

But equally important – if not more important – is documenting the soul of your family. The essence of who you are in one (so brief!) snapshot in time. As a mother of a son who just turned 12 – I know how quickly they go from baby in your arms, to tantruming toddler, to cheerful school child to stroppy teenager. I wish I could have bottled away just one little piece of each of these moments – put them in a little jar to open up later and have that little brief moment back – relive it again and again. That is the importance of family documentary photography. Your chance to get that one little moment in time and preserve it in a bottle forever.

So about a week ago, I headed out to Birmingham to spend a day with Jay’s boys – documenting The Smalls.

Things I learned from The Smalls:

1) Gary (The upside-down faced bear) tells porkies. All the time. And teaches Noah bad habits when his mother isn’t looking.

2) Lego firemen can only save burning lego people if you can find the fire shaped lego piece and there are enough people in the building to create a sense of peril.

3) Dads read books better than mummies. (Ooops! This was said in the strictest of confidence!)

4) Being a brother is really cool. Sometimes. Other times it is not. Mostly when he wants to play with your stuff.

5) The rice can literally take FOREVER to show up. But if you have big brown eyes,  Mum will keep slipping you bits of your favourite chicken until you don’t care about the rice anyway.

6) Scooters are best ridden REALLY. FAST. That way if you fall off – you leave a hole in the pavement.

Thanks Isaac and Noah for letting me spend one day in your life.

One of the things I love about Sheffiled is that it isn’t afraid to go bold with colour. Yellow buildings – multi coloured buildings – turquoise buildings. Instead of mixing in newer buildings in tan and grey, hoping they will blend into the background – Sheffiled plunks them down in bright colours and crazy cool architectural features. So I was super excited when Gina and Chris suggested that we do their engagement shoot at the University of Sheffield where they went to Uni together. We had a wander for a few hours around the university and even took some photos outside the Henderson’s Relish Factory. I have to say, I kinda didn’t want to leave – standing outside smelled soooo gooood.

Enjoy having a peek at a few of the photos – I can’t wait for their wedding in a few month’s time!