Megan and Simon- The Ashes

Megan and Simon,  A really lovely couple who were relaxed and seemed game for most things.
Megan is a primary school teacher and Simon is a photographer

Photographing another photographers wedding should seem like a daunting task, but as they had seen our work and loved it we were really comfortable with them. We had met with the couple a few times before the wedding, and got a good idea about what sort of thing they would be looking for.


We met Megan at the hotel they would be staying in, for the getting ready shots with her mum and bridesmaids. Everyone was really lovely and friendly. They had a really warm family vibe about the whole wedding. 
Her mum brought all the flowers up from Devon and she was also doing Megan's hair.

Megan and Simon had hired a coach to take all their guests up the Venue where they were getting married and having their reception. 


Their reception venue was the beautiful 'The Ashes' in Staffordshire 
http://www.theashes-venue.co.uk/

The drive up was stunning, the only down side to the whole day was that it did not stop raining once.

Despite the horrible weather nothing could take the smiles off everybodies faces. The staff at 'The Ashes' were ready with Umbrellas, the driver of the car and we had our double umbrella that you can see in the photo's so no one was getting soaked.

The whole look of the day was a vintage shabby country feel which really worked well with the venue and the setting. Megan's flowers were almost wild garden looking which matched in beautifully with the deep cream of her dress and the purple of the Bridesmaids. 

At the Venue they have a separate room where the couple took their vows, which almost had a chapel like feel to it. Megan and Simon had decorated them with Shabby Hearts and reserved labels which looked fab. To keep in line with a family orientated wedding Simon's Auntie married them, so they were really relaxed through the service.

 

The wedding coordinator let us up through the back and onto the balcony to take the above shot and the whole group photo as it was pouring down no one really wanted ti venture outside. We did manage to get Megan and Simon out on their own for a private portrait shoot with the umbrellas. They were a lot of fun to work with and realised if they wanted the pictures they were going to have to go for it. They were the perfect couple to work with as they were willing and realised if they didn't go for it they would loose out on those photos forever. Maybe because Simon is a photographer he has a good understanding that you can not help the weather!

So there is a fairly pregnant me running around with umbrellas, reflectors and holding bouquets. All in a good days work. Not sure i would manage it this month as i am about to pop!!!

 As you can see from the pictures even though it rained all day the gorgeousness of the setting is still evident, if not adding a slightly different kind of beauty to the backdrop to your sunny day.

I think as long as couple come to expect rain ( it is England after all) and just take the umbrella you can get some wonderful pictures that are a bit different from everyone else. I mean there is nothing you can do to control the weather so you either go for it and have some fun, or you will end up stressing about it.

 

Just managing to capture the geese crossing the road!

Their wedding was overall a fun filled day with family at the heart of it. Their cake was made by a family friend and they left a basket of flip flops for tired feet at the end of the day. Little touches that really go to make the day special for each other but for your guests as well.

Due to the rain we did end up staying a while longer to capture a few group shots but were then also contending with the dark, but just for the boys we managed to take a few more pictures.

 This has become one of my favourite weddings, with its vintage shabby country feel to it, but not in an overdone way that has become very fashionable at the moment. It was how i would fancy my wedding to be now if we did it all again. The couple being so amenable always helps and were a joy to spend their wedding day with.

Overall a gorgeous couple and wedding and hopefully our pictures do that justice!!

Christmas has been and gone!!!

Slack Slack Slack!!

What can i say this has possible been the busiest Christmas in as many years. And Blogging has been put on the back burner- I will put it down to baby brain while i can!!!

Felicitations was open for the big light turn on in Frodsham

A good couple of thousand turned up in Frodsham so you could not move for bodies. I am pretty sure at least a thousand of them were our friends and family congregating in the shop and on the street outside.

We have had a very busy family Christmas with my father in law also arriving with his family from the Philippians, which meant a 3 way family Christmas day. I have swore down never again. I dont know if it was because i am heavily pregnant it was so tiring or will it be worse with a toddler and a baby next year??!!!

With the baby being due in 5-8 weeks we are going to be putting Felicitations down to appointment only soon, as i am sure i will be getting too wide to even get through the door! If you do need an appointment we will be happy to open for you- unless it is D-Day!!

Our perfect wedding town!

We recently took part in a Frodsham wedding supplier collaboration as there are quiet a few of us based on the high street in this small town and decided that we would all try and help and support one another. We are all putting ourselves out there during a bloody awful recession and instead of all bricking it quietly by ourselves sat away in our little shops we decided to come together.
We all complement one another services pretty well, there is us 'Felicitations' by Mark Reeves Photography, Rachael at 'Wedding Belles Boutique' with a lovely dress shop, the 'Devonshire Bakery'  with outstanding cakes, 'Manuela's' florist, 'The Old Hall Hotel' perfect venue for an intimate wedding, 'Les Harris' jewelers, Vintage crockery, Vicky with Wedding make-up and many more.
Having all this in one town does make it the perfect town to visit when planning a wedding in Cheshire. With this said we held a wedding fayre at 'the old Hall Hotel' with a great turn out form the high street and local suppliers.
We had a good turn out and to be honest one of the more satisfying aspects was meeting so many other like minded businesses and people all in the same boat.  All ready to help each other out and recommend each business.
I often get the feeling that working in the wedding industry people are afraid to turn to each other for help, frightened that we are all touting for the same business. We are not always going to book every wedding that comes our way and we are not always going to be to everyone's taste, but that is what is so great about this business is that there is plenty of choice and we all need to support one another who are along for the ride. There will always be those in business who think that it is ok to bad mouth another company to get the work themselves but i think that will only come back and bite you in the bum! And for everyone putting you down there can be three people in your corner fighting for you. It only tends to be people who are jealous of your work and are less sure of themselves!
xxx

My Best Friend is getting Married!!

My Best Friend is getting Married!!!

And I could not be happier for her!! Jenny has been a friend of mine since we were about 9 years old and we are photographing her wedding!


Jenny and Julian are getting married in Anglesey at her grandmas local church and then they are having Tee Pees in their friends Field! It is a 3 day event and we are there for the duration.

It is a real family/friends affair with loads of people pitching in to help, either be it ironing table cloths, pitching tents or hanging bunting.

We are taking it in turns to watch Ruffie, photograph the goings on and helping out too! It also happened to be the same weekend as the famous Royal wedding of Prince William and Kate. They just pipped them to the post and got married the day before- that also meant we all got to watch the royal wedding. All the men came in and pretended to laugh at all us girls but i think they secretly wanted to watch it too!!

It is a beautiful spot, and the Tee Pees ( by PapaKata ) just nestle in the landscape. They look fairly small next to the the wind turbines but actually they were huge!!!

As they were not having a venue they had bought in their own caterers who needed their own tent pitching too! They hired in all the ovens and catering facilities which is a whole job in itself! As they were being savvy with their money ( not needlessley wasting it ) they found a lot of things were cheaper to buy then actually hire. Granted they now own enough fairy lights to rival Blackpool!!

On the day of the wedding Jen stayed with her family in some cottages down the road to get ready ( Menai holiday Cottages ) The cottages were lovely, airy and had a hot tub! What better way to spend your last day as a single lady!!


Getting ready for a wedding whilst camping is not my favourite way i have to admit!  Although the showers are great for when camping, i could not quite get rid of the damp camping feeling! nor did i feel that my legs were really properly shaved!!! What can i say i must be more high maintenance that i thought.

One of Jules's many surprise pressies has got her crying!

 

The Church where they got married was Jens Grans family church so it had a lot of sentimentality, and was also the prettiest little church around. We then left the to meet Jules at the Church. I must have looked an absolute delight, as i had the camera bag on, Ruffie in the carrier and a camera! 

The best man and Jules waiting for the gorgeous Jen to arrive!!

Beacause we know the pair of them so well we can capture real emotion in the pictures. They were like giddy school children all day which makes for some very fun pictures like above!
We always try and take the couple off for some pictures after the wedding so we can focus on some really lovely portraits of the bride and groom without guests disturbing us and them. So off we went to the beach by the church for half and hour. We always gind it gives the couples a bit of time to reflect on the fact that they are now married before they get swept up in the rest of the day.

Big into Salsa the pair strike a pose!

The ever romantic Julian needed this moment capturing!

Picking pictures of this wedding for the blog has been a chore in itself as there are so many of them, This is just a smattering of my favourites but it could go on forever.
I often find it quiet hard to photograph a friends wedding as you are torn by wanting to enjoy the day but to keep working and get the best pictures for them, I hope we struck a decent balance for them?! I also hope they had the wedding they dreamed of, i know they put a lot of hard work into it.

The weekend ( long one thanks to William and Kate) was fab, only blighted by my trip to Bangor Hospital for antibiotics due to awful tonsillitis :-(

Julian being the extrovert that he is (only kidding Jules) decided to do a series of surprises for Jenny in the run up to the wedding, some successful some not so much. But Jules being Jules decided to take his own stance on the boudoir photography and that of course had to include us! a few weeks before the wedding Jules comes round with a series of props and eye liner to recreate a homage to a John Paul Gaultier advert for Jenny. Below is a copy of the real add and then our handy work on Jules which involved me using eye liner on Jules's half naked body!! I think we deserved a bloody medal for the work we did!!!

Our Masterpiece!!

 And on that note i am going to end this blog with this wonderful image fresh in your minds! i think we have found ourselves a new market as male boudoir photographers!

Bye for now xxxx

I've been a pondering

Being surrounded by weddings almost all of the time it often gets me wondering if I was todo it all again would I do it any differently?
The honest answer would have to be yes! And no! Being a few years older I am a little more sure of myself and think I would be more confident to just do what I wanted rather than what was expected or to feel the pressure of others, whether they meant it or not.
Daft things for example was I reply really wanted a cathedral length veil with a lace scolloped edge, but my mum and the lovely people in the shop said it would distract from the detail in the back of the dress. It may well have done but non the less it is something i have always wished i had changed.
But in the grand scheme of things, i married my best friend and get to spend the rest of my life with him (give him a big head!)and weather i would change the colour of the favours or the type of dessert we had is by the by and not a detail most people really remember.
I have to admit being around a lot of weddings i do often find they all have a similar look and feel of them but that is also because that is what has been tried and tested over the years and seems to work.
I do however find it refreshing when a couple manager to stamp a piece of themselves onto their day, and is something i look forward to seeing and capturing in every wedding and their photography.

xxx