{SNEAK PEEK} ENGAGEMENT: Marlotte & David, Hever Castle, Kent

Very happy to show my first sneak peek of 2012, the new wedding season is go! Todays is a sneak peek from a my first engagement shoot of the year.

I really do have to give all credit to Marlotte and David for being total troopers during their engagement shoot session. We met last saturday at the completely stunning Hever Castle, and it was cold! It was actually a very good excuse for them to cuddle up and have lots of hugs to keep themselves warm while the wind whipped around us.

Here is a little sneak peek from the day.

 

 

 

 

It really was a lot colder than these two make it seem, but we were lucky enough to get a brief appearance by the sun!

The full shoot will be posted soon

Fiona x

Posted in • Lifestyle, • Portraits, • Pre wedding shoots | Tagged , , , , |

FAVOURITE PEOPLE: Fairy nuff Flowers

Today I have the very great pleasure of adding the wonderful Fairy Nuff Flowers to my Favourite People page. I have been lucky enough to work with Steph on a couple of shoots and have always been wowed by her creativity and passion. She really must be the hardest working florist in London…she never stops and never seems to lose the love for what she does. If that were not enough she is the most lovely, funny and kind person. A real pleasure to be around and work with. Before I start sounding like a stalker I will pass over to Steph to explain a little about how she became the florist we know and love!

I have always loved flowers. Flowers and sport. Obviously. So for five lovely years, I worked for BBC Sport Online. But when the news came that they were moving our department to Manchester, I knew the time was right to try my hand at my other passion.

I had always admired Jane Packer, and her whole philosophy behind flowers, so I decided that that is where I wanted to learn more about pretty petals and the business behind it. After studying at her flower school I fell more in love with everything floral, and in 2005 fairy nuff flowers was born.

We opened our doors to the people of Shepperton, selling vintage French Furniture and mirrors, along with gorgeous gifts, cards, and of course beautiful flowers and plants. I loved our five years there, but my passion always lay in weddings. I knew this is what I wanted to concentrate on, and that’s what I now do.

We have been lucky enough to have played part in hundreds and hundreds of wonderful weddings all over the country in some staggering venues, and have also appeared on numerous wedding blogs and in magazines, including Wedding Flowers, You & Your Wedding, Wedding Magazine and Perfect Wedding.

I absolutely love my job, it’s my passion, and playing a part in so many people’s wonderful wedding days is heavenly.

Phone – 07717 437 737

Web - www.fairynuff-flowers.co.uk

Email - steph@fairynuff-flowers.co.uk

Twitter – @fairynuffflower

The photos featured here are all from a styled shoot I did with Steph last year.
The full feature of this shoot will be on the blog soon.

All the details for Fairy Nuff Flowers are on my ‘favourite people’ page, so you can check them out whenever you want.

Fiona x

Posted in • Favourite people, • Featured on the blog | Tagged , , , |

FEATURED: Lottie & Jakes wedding on Plans & Presents blog

Alison from Plans and Presents is a fabulous wedding and events planner based in Scotland, who also happens to run a lovely blog that features weddings from all over the UK.

It was a pleasure to send her Lottie & Jakes wedding and Im chuffed to bits that shes featuring their special day today. I will be doing my own post about their wedding very soon so keep an eye out for that. In the meantime you can see some of the loveliness from their wedding day on Plans & Presents blog.

 

 

Posted in • Featured on the blog, • Press, • Weddings | Tagged , , , , , , |

WEDDING: Yvonne & Dan, Frasers of Coldharbour, Ashford, Kent

I thought I would bring a little sunny warmth to your day today. If you have snow, ice and are shivering with 5 layers on hopefully this will remind you of slightly warmer times.

It was an astonishingly hot day in early july when I arrived to photography Yvonne and Dans wedding. Frasers is a working farm nestled in the heart of the Kent countryside, so a gorgeous setting for a summer wedding.

While Yvonne got ready in the fabulous room in the converted Oasthouse she was totally oblivious to the fact her husband to be was getting waiting for her dressed in his full army dress uniform. A surprise he had told me about at our venue visit catch up, and one he knew would blow Yvonne away. Which it did! As she walked down the aisle and caught a sight of Dan tears sprang into her eyes. You can’t really blame her, he does look rather dashing in his uniform!

To enhance their beautiful Kent countryside wedding they had the most stunning flowers that looked perfect in the open sided marquee. Mix in some pimms, lots of laughter and everything was in place to make a truly memorable day.

Thank you, Yvonne and Dan, for letting me be a part of your wonderful day. You are a beautiful and lovely couple

Fiona x

Posted in • Featured on the blog, • Weddings | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , |

FAVOURITE PEOPLE: Ana Ospina Make-up Artist

 

Today I am really happy to be able to feature the fabulous make-up artist, Ana Ospina. In one of those weird moments that happen I first bumped in to Ana at possibly the most chaotic wedding fair possible. It was badly organised and a bit of a farce. Many of us were giving up hope that we might even see a bride & groom! To take my mind of the disappointment I wandered and had a chat to other suppliers, one of those was Ana. We nattered for a bit, swapped cards and then amazingly a few weeks later we met again at a twitter meet up. I kept hearing great things about her make-up, and it was obvious she had a real talent. Needless to say I was very excited when I got the chance to get her involved in a styled shoot I was working on, and I wasnt disappointed! Have a read below about the lady herself..

I come from a TV and fashion make-up background having trained at the London College of Fashion 20 years ago now (OMG!!) and diving head first into the whirlwind World that is the fashion industry and the crazy world of live TV. Since those early days of instability as a freelancer I have always worked part-time in department stores for the most prestigious make-up artist brands such as Laura Mercier, Becca, Bobbi Brown and Shu Uemura which have given me technical skills training and also kept me updated with current make-up trends and given me a vast knowledge of products, of which only the best are used in my kit. I now also specialise in airbrush make-up for HD TV & bridal work having been trained by Temptu as part of the make-up team for Dancing on Ice and have used those skills on shows such as Comic Relief does Fame Academy and Live at the Apollo… 

Since having my youngest child I am now fully focused on the bridal side of my business as it allows me to have a work life balance and yet keep my creative side going. Never would I have imagined that weddings would be such an enjoyable part of what I do. It is becoming more and more technical and therefore creatively challenging, with the savvy brides knowing that airbrush make-up is the way forward if they want flawless looking skin. I love that no two brides are the same, and creating a customized make-up look for their wedding day is extremely satisfiying. I have a calming presence on a wedding day. Experience has taught me that getting the look perfect within time constraints is totally do-able and doesn’t faze me in the slightest. Even when there is a roomful of people buzzing around getting ready! The buzz of a wedding morning is not unlike the buzz of working at a fashion show….

Nothing can beat the moment when a bride catches the first glimpse of herself in the mirror, when hair and make-up is complete and the dress is on. There is that little intake of breath when they see themselves for the first time and a smile creeps upon their lips as if to say, I am a princess, even if just for today. You just know they feel beautiful.

Website: www.anaospinamakeup.co.uk

Contact no: 07919 410974

Email: ana@anaospinamakeup.co.uk

All the details for Ana Ospina Makeup are on my ‘favourite people’ page. The fabulous shoot that I did with Ana will be featured just as soon as I can but we have exciting plans for those images so might have to be a little bit patient!

fiona x

Posted in • Favourite people, • Featured on the blog, • Weddings | Tagged , , , , , |

FAVOURITE PEOPLE: Sugar

The first time I met Andrea was on a shoot in the Spring of 2011, she was recommended and came on board providing a brilliantly designed mini wedding cake (a photo of this is shown below). While I was totally impressed by her cake design, the thing that really blew me away that day was tasting the mini cupcakes she had made for the team…just because it was a nice thing to do. This was not only the most wonderful gesture, as a shoot team is always in need of some yummy treats during the course of the day, but I can honestly say they were the most amazingly tasty cakes. I instantly became a fan of Andrea and her company, and will very happily recommended her. Just try one of her cakes and you will be won over too!

Here is a little more from Andrea herself…

After careers as an Actuary (look it up, it’s scary!) and  Primary School Teacher (still scary!), Andrea Freeman turned to her lifetime love of baking and set up Sugar in 2010. It was a big step as I knew nothing about running my own business, but after making a couple of wedding cakes for friends, I realised that this was a fulfilling way to use my love of design.

Nearly two years on, work is nearly finished on providing me with a dedicated kitchen for my business which is another exciting step forward on the path to world cake domination! Sugar can provide cakes, cupcakes, cookies, cakepops and dessert tables for your wedding or event, with the emphasis always on flavour and bespoke design – hence the slogan “Beautiful Cakes for Eating!”  Too many cakes look beautiful, but when cut are dry and uninteresting.

As we are a small company, we provide a very personal service to our Brides and Grooms and leave them feeling that nothing is too much trouble.  Tasting and Design meetings can be at my base in Kingston-upon-Thames (I find that people love to see where I work), at the clients’ home (useful if they work long hours) or even at the venue.  I often end up advising couples on other styling aspects of their wedding, and now have a host of other suppliers for photography, flowers and make-up that I can recommend.

In 2011 we supplied cakes at some amazing venues such as The Bingham (Richmond), Pembroke Lodge (Richmond Park), Northbrook Park, The Elvetham, Hampton Court and several central London venues.  2012 is looking just as exciting, with some fab collaborations to look forward to….

Website: www.cakebysugar.com

Contact no: 07854 200750

Email: andrea@cakebysugar.com

As usual all the details for Sugar are on my ‘favourite people’ page

Posted in • Favourite people, • Featured on the blog, • Weddings | Tagged , , , , , , , |

FAVOURITE PEOPLE: Biebuyck Music London

A little while back I decided to get rid of my links page on the website, mainly because I dont think people really looked at it and I wanted to be able to properly recommend the wonderful suppliers that I come across. I think its much more beneficial all round if I can really explain why I think someone is worth shouting about rather than just posting a link…and so my ‘favourite people‘ page was born. I am going to be featuring some fabulous people on the blog and all their details will be available to view on the ‘favourite people’ page, but you will also get to find out a bit more about them with these posts.

Im really excited to start these features with a fabulous lady who runs a great agency providing musicians for weddings and events. I was lucky enough to photograph her launch party back in november (which I will be featuring soon) and got to hear some of the amazingly talented people she represents. For now, over to Sophie of Biebuyck Music London

“Every dark cloud has a silver lining. For Sophie Biebuyck, Director of Biebuyck Music London that silver lining came in the form of launching her own business.

As a professional singer Sophie performed all over the world to people from all walks of life, from Royalty through to Prisoners. In March 2011 Sophie’s singing career was to be suddenly cut short. She was struck down with a severe ear infection which damaged her hearing to such an extent that she became hearing aid dependent and unable to perform. This was a truly devastating turn of events as all she had ever known was the performing industry. 

Never one to sit still for too long Sophie set her mind to where her career would now lie. After several months of research and preparation Biebuyck Music London was born. A London based Music Agency providing Superior Musicians for Superior Events creating a one stop shop for clients to come for advice and all their live music entertainment needs. Aiming to treat her clients to exceptional customer service and exquisite music and to treat her musicians with the respect they deserve – something sadly often lacking in this industry.

Sophie had already built up a huge address book of artists from her years of training and performing but still needed a few more to have a full portfolio to offer clients. Determined not to become a run of the mill agent sitting at a desk listening to demos Sophie interviews and watches every single act in a live performance. This ensures that every musician has the same approach and attention to detail as the company. Always wanting the freshest and finest talent available Biebuyck Music London continues to audition regularly searching for the creme de la creme of the industry.

Sophie’s knowledge and contact base means that she is able to provide almost any type of musician performing any type of music. We have had Classical String Quartets playing Lady Gaga through to Liszt at a single event – we have a team of arrangers on hand to arrange any special requests and love nothing more than a new challenge. With Pop Bands to Steel Bands we can ensure the perfect atmosphere for any event.”

I cannot recommend Sophie and her company enough, she truly cares about offering a wonderful experience and has some brilliant people on her books.

Her details are

Website: www.bmlondon.com
Contact no: 0207 692 0798
Email: admin@bmlondon.com

All her details are now on my favourite people page so you can check out whenever you want

thanks
fiona x

Posted in • Favourite people, • Featured on the blog, • Weddings | Tagged , , , , , , |