Cementing Anglo-French relations in this Rudding Park June wedding

Rudding Park has seen many weddings, but there is a special and poignant sentiment in the air when the occasion marks the formal entwinement of a couple who have seen 11 years and three beautiful children together.

Laura is British. 11 years ago in a night-club, she bumped into the tall, dark, athletic figure of professional footballer, Tou. If he wasn’t imposing enough on sight, his French accent swung it. The Afro-Parisian hunk and the English rose fell in love. Their commitment endured and flourished, and has led them through over a decade of their lives together. During this time they have grown a magnificent family, and in 2018 they decided that the time was now right to seal the deal on paper.

Bridal prep was busy. Hats off to Laura for keeping her cool when two small girls are wanting the one thing they cannot have - mummy! Hair and make-up was a team affair, and meticulously executed by the super Evangeline (MUA) and Caroline (Hair) from Your Bridal Team. Somewhat confined to quarters due to unforecasted rain, there were a lot of bodies in a small space, but pretty things soon emerged as even more beautiful, in their capable hands.

The bridesmaids all wore soft rosy pink with which they were furnished by Walsall based bridal shop Jeneve Bridal.

Laura’s waist-hugging gown by Suzanne Neville was elegant and traditional, and provided by The Bridal Collection of Harrogate. A cathedral length veil framed her face and soft, wavy hair. Her shoes were from Dune and the wedding bands were both selected from Ernest Jones.

The Follifoot Suite looked stunning for the couple’s relaxed, civil ceremony, with giant floral displays filling the room with soft rose and cream colours. Hurricane lanterns burned softly all along the aisle and the couple’s eldest daughter Nevaeh scattered petals before mum walked in with her father, Steve. The bride’s bouquet was full and weighty, but beautifully crafted. All the flowers were created by the incredibly talented The Rarified. The whole of the proceedings were skilfully orchestrated by The Angels Events team, and, of course the wedding coordinators at Rudding.

I think I’m right in saying that this was the first official meeting for the two families from different continents. Little English is spoken by the groom’s relations, but love is gesture that crosses all boundaries.

Tou waited nervously whilst still managing to cut a handsome and suave figure in his custom tuxedo, crafted by tailors Crown to Cuff.

The best man was also the smallest, in 9 year old son Zayden. No dramas, just quietly dutiful all day long. Baby sister Amiyah took the occasion in her stride too and slept through it all.

There is no more picturesque estate to wander with a bride and groom for portraits than that of Rudding Park. We took a stroll, Tou gallantly helping his new wife with her ample skirt (and trying not to stomp his size 12s on her epic white veil).

A tremendous 5 course meal was followed by a short speeches from the bride’s dad, and an off-the-cuff tribute by the groom-who-claimed-he-was-rubbish-at-public-speaking’s Mike Drop.

This sparkly, edible beastie of a wedding cake was conceived and created by the epic brilliance of Poppy Pickering of Ilkley. I never did get a taste!

When the party commences, I usually take my leave. No-one needs theses moments on a public gallery. DJ Mark Green led the festivities, and the beautiful duo kicked things off in traditional style with a song that has been the backdrop to their enduring courtship.

My one regret? Next time, maybe insist on getting this many people into a group shot BEFORE the Prosecco runs out. #carnage #herdingcats

Contact me for more info on wedding photography, or check my other pages for more wedding photos!

Brand New Brothers

Meet Daniel. So new that he still carries that amazing post-natal 'fur' around his neck and shoulders. An absolute beaut.

And this is big bro Marcos. Equally awesome, but MUCH busier. They only met very recently, but I'm not sure Marcos has so far been still enough to fully make the new acquaintance just yet!

A tale of two halves, this shoot presented on the one hand the perfect subject in newborn D, quiet and still, contrasted on the other hand by a race around the house and garden pursuing lively M, and relying on fast shutter speeds to attempt to pin him down. 

To be fair, M has a right to be excited. He just became a Brother for goodness' sake, and the new guy is VERY cute.

The mission was to a) capture Daniel's newness, and b) to get some shots of the two brothers (together). That last word, small but vital, turned out to be the stone in my shoe. OK, so we managed to get one image of them both in the same room (ta da! below) which will henceforth act as evidence that they are actually related, but I left the shoot feeling that my task had only been  50% completed.

The one thing the boys have in common is the deepest, darkest of brown-black eyes. Impossible to discern where the pupils ended and the iris colour began, their beautiful big eyes and lashes drew my attention in a mesmeric way. 

Mum was relaxed and calm, clearly in deepest love with her new bundle, keeping him close and safe in her arms, stopping when required for on-demand feeds, between shots.

When shooting a newborn, this is how we work - slowly and calmly, letting mum and baby guide us. With the new family's comfort in mind, I always come to your home and maximise the available natural light where possible in order to bring out baby's best.

When the subject requires it and the weather allows, we also use the outdoor space. In this case, an active 3 year-old needed the space to be distracted and given the attention which, until recently all his, had so rudely been pulled from under his feet by his new sibling.

Strangely, not all dads want to get in on the act. The camera sets them scarpering to the four winds, making tea or taking important calls, or just keeping a low profile so mum can take centre stage, but thankfully, in this case, dad was on hand to share the love.

If you are expecting your second, first or fifth baby and would like some help capturing those early moments, please get in touch. It is my honour to work with families at such an amazing and emotional time in their lives, and I will always do my utmost to do yours justice.

Contact Helen 07957627217 eyesomephooto@gmail.com

Happy under the weather

When you wake up on the morning of a long-awaited wedding and, no matter how many times you check the forecast begging it to be wrong, it still says....

....it's stressful. 

Someone is entrusting the memories of the most important day in their life (so far at least) to you and your camera. They came to you because you promised romance and soft sunshine, beautiful natural light portraits and backlit kisses, but how can you achieve a decent ambience on a grey and soggy April day?

Flowers by Kate Mell

Opportunism is the watchword. The moments BETWEEN downpours, outdoor light in preference to the indoor yellowish shadows, natural light in lieu of flash. Getting the dress outside and the bride close to a window. And umbrellas. In this case, transparent.

It is possible to have fun with photos when situations don't conform the norm, and since I'm no magician, there is only one possible option when it comes to rain, and that is to do the very best I possibly can with the raw materials I am given.

Thankfully for me, a pretty face is a pretty face in any weather, and Charlotte's looked glorious. Her super-slim figure was emphasised by her lace-bodied open-backed gown, with her dark brown hair swept up and back in a semi-formal knot. 

Whilst I was busy dishing out my wise advice to the bride: "It's only rain and it won't spoil your day", I realised that I should probably take a spoonful of my own medicine, stop stressing about those things we cannot change and just get on with it.

The sky may have been lacking blue, but the wetness did subside for us temporarily, long enough to take a stroll, capture some him 'n' her portraits and ruin the bride's and her maid of honour's LK Bennetts (but that's another story).

When the damp gets too much, I always prefer to use handy trees as shelter, or a cool doorway, over and above a dash back inside a dark venue, so a nearby leafy church lane provided us with some dry respite for a few minutes.

So, whilst mud and frizz were destined to be more of a part of Simon & Charlotte's amazing day than backlight and romantic sunsets, the location (The Crown Inn, Roecliffe) and situation offered quirk and a good deal of atmosphere of a different kind. And besides, they were bloody happy!

Still feel pretty bad about those shoes, though....Ah well, they'll always have the memories.

Not me, just my baby.

It would be a bloody miracle for a woman who is two to three weeks postpartum to feel at her best, so the idea of having your photograph taken with your beloved newborn can be unthinkable.

For the most part, in my experience, new mummies try to slide into the background, away from the camera, repeating a well-worn "not me, just my baby" mantra.

But no, say I. Your baby is not the only beauty here. Whilst, when you initially booked your photography session your primary aim may have been to capture the tininess of your new arrival's fingers and toes, I can tell you with great certainty that you will never look back and regret the presence of yourself in these images. 

The brand new bond which you are forming in the early days of your relationship are irreplaceable. Not only is your cooing and nuzzling making your baby's brain grow, but it is a reminder that only a few days previously you were infact, one. You were physically and emotionally tied, and now that you are two, it is the intense chemistry of your love which provides the magic for my camera.

No photographer worth their salt will ask you to do anything that you are not comfortable with, and the beauty of photographing baby in your own home is that you can both feel relaxed and stick to your normal routine of feeds and sleep.

So, please don't be worried about how you will look. You are magnificent because you just created the miracle of life. Throw a muslin over your shoulder, cuddle, and let the camera do the rest. 

For newborn photo sessions, book well in advance, as the first two sleepy weeks of baby's life are the most effective time to shoot! eyesomephoto@gmail.com

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A Golden Celebration

Ann & David have just passed a glorious milestone. 50 years of marriage is not to be sniffed at. 1966 may have been a swinging time, but it was also an era when men and women committed to each other at an early age and chose not to waver. 

Their joint anniversary gift from their son and daughter was (lucky for me!) a family photo shoot, which we stealthily combined with a pleasant stroll in the country. The whole family, granddaughters included, came along for the ride, in an attempt to create some memories for the next 50 years of the family line to cherish.

It happens to be the middle of autumn, when the trees are bang in their prime, and my reluctant models took advantage of the leafy excess, going temporarily AWOL in a mischievous attempt to evade my lens. I.m so glad that the whole family was involved in this shoot. The presence of the girls made their grandparents (not naturally comfortable in front of the camera) relax in to our walk, and the results show.

A golden anniversary is not a common event. Maybe there is a combination of reasons for this. Do couples lack the tenacity to see out the rough times these days, divorce being a common and easily obtained outcome? In the 50s and 60s the only way to escape your parents' home was to get married, and since cohabitation was not an option, perhaps this created a 'forever' mindset? Escaping your parents to marry invariably meant that you were probably only maybe 21 or 22 back then, which differs to the average age of 28 at which couples are marrying right now (I know, I looked it up!) Marrying at 21 certainly gives you a better shot at reaching a 50th anniversary than marrying later in life?

Shooting these young lovelies, it's impossible to avoid thinking about what lies ahead for the youngest generation with their not-yet formed relationships. How will life and marriage have changed in the next 50 years? Will it still be the institution we know and cherish? I do hope so. They deserve it.

If you want more family photo shoot inspiration, try here. Look out for more autumn shots to follow too!

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