Life, the universe and everything
I’ve procrastinated on this post for way too long. It was an odd year, kicking off with lockdowns, homeschooling, postponements, volunteering at my local vaccine centres and gradually moving into weddings going ahead but whatever-you-do-don’t-stand-up-with-a-drink and suddenly in summer the restrictions for weddings were lifted taking suppliers and couples alike by surprise. Dave and I finally got hitched, but it didn’t look anything like it was going to before the pandemic hit - number one I was crippled financially but the year before knocking out most of my work and number two it seemed such a risk as we would only know a month before if it could go ahead. We settled instead for a covid-proof plan of Islington Town Hall, knowing that we could invite the essential people in the event of restrictions. We didn’t make a plan for a reception until a few days before and booked a room above a pub a little walk down the road from there so people could come if they felt comfortable to. No big confetti canon first dance moment I’d thought about for months, instead we kicked off the pub’s karaoke with a hastily chosen gender-flipped Grease Megamix. There was a quiz happening downstairs and the bar in there was quiet in there so at one point in the night we nipped in, forgetting we were in our wedding clothes - one of the most enduring memories I have on the day the sound of Billy Idol’s White Wedding suddenly kicking onto the stereo and the room erupting into applause. Surreal, unplannable and joyous.
work
One of the weirder things I ended up doing last year was virtual shoots. It kept me going creatively in the first few months and I really loved doing it - I’ve included some of my favourite images in amongst the rest of my work below. It still blows my mind what can be done from miles away (I had shoots all over the world from Derby to Singapore to Germany to Australia!) using someone’s phone, a hair tie-up and a can of beans. See if you can spot the virtual shots as you scroll through.
The weddings I did shoot were wonderful and varied. Scottish beachside elopements, great big garden parties… one weekend I had consecutive weddings in Bath, Derbyshire and Devon - the kind of scheduling that happens when couples postpone and you don’t want to let them down. I covered weddings for other photographers and other photographers covered weddings for me as we ducked and dived our way through the perils of track and trace and regular testing. I’ve always been grateful to be part of an amazing community of talented colleagues but never more-so than last year. In September I was utterly delighted to be named one of Professional Photo Magazine’s top 50 UK wedding photographers for 2021 - I’m so grateful to be included. Heck, I’m grateful that I’m just able to do the job I love again.
So without further waffle from me let’s dive right on into the photos, here’s what my work looked like in 2021… 3…2…1… GO!
So thank you to all my fellow photographers for being awesome and somehow getting through the weirdest year we’ve had since… well… the last one. To my wonderful family Dave, Willow, May, Violet and my brilliant mum you’re all awesome and I’m so grateful for you and all the support and love you’ve given me through the tough and uncertain times. To all my couples who manage to pull off having their days whether they looked completely different from what they originally planned or not - congratulations and thank you so much for trusting me to capture your wedding. To those who had to postpone to this year: trust me, when we finally get there it’s going to be so good and I can’t wait.