It’s that time of the year again, a time when I look back through my year and share with you all my highlights of what I’ve been up to. 2013 has been one hell of a ride, I have photographed weddings all over Kent, shot along side some amazingly talented people and even photographed some destination weddings. So let’s start off with my first job of the year…an engagement shoot in Paris!

Paris is somewhere I have always wanted to shoot, it’s pretty much hard to take a bad photo in Paris and I traveled over there at the beginning of the year to shoot Elle & Emmanuel

Speaking of amazing places to shoot, I have been to some amazing wedding venues this year. From High Rocks, Eastwell Manor, Salamons to Venice, Iceland and Paphos. I have worked with some beautiful venues this year.

It never ceases to amaze me, how much effort Brides and Grooms put into the details of their wedding day. To recreate their vision of what they want for their wedding day is by no means an easy task…very well done chaps!

There were a lot of VW Camper vans this year…..and I mean a lot.

My absolute favorite, if pretty nuts, wedding dress lady provided the dresses for quite a few of my weddings this year. Jen Sutton of Country Brides of Faversham has become a real friend, and always gives me a heads up about what my brides are going to be wearing. If you’re reading this and still undecided about what dress to go for, Jen will surely point you in the right direction! Here is a selection of dresses from this year. Speaking of awesome wedding vendors…I have worked with some amazing people this year including…

Kirsty Airey who smile confuses cameras and makes the image blurry…. – http://www.Photographybykirsty.co.uk

Dilip Hirani the human light meter – http://www.dkh-photography.com/

The legendary Martin Hobby, who agreed to sit in the rain for me, just so I could video him for a project I was working on… www.awesomeweddingphotography.co.uk

Not forgetting my fellow short photographer Kari Bellamy…who is so awesome she even knocks videographers over with her skills… http://www.karibellamy.com

and former owner of the most awesome mustache ever….James Grist

Rain….Oh tempestuous sky, how you have plagued me with horrendous weather this year! Be it gale force winds, torrential downpours or just all round crappy weather this years brides have kicked the weathers ass and let me take them out for some fun in the rain

One of the moments that stuck out this year was Emily & Nicks Wedding. Being a very talented musician, Nick composed, played and sung his new wife a song on their wedding day. Well played Nick, well played.

I went to Iceland this year and shot these two awesome Canadians…

…and then went to Venice to shoot these two…

Flowers….so many many flowers. The florists this year have truly outdone themselves.

SHOOOOEEEESSSSS! My ongoing love affair with shoes has carried on. Whether it’s perching them on the roof of hotels, or having them chill out in a hotel in Paphos, they are still one of my favourite details to shoot.

There were some crazy shapes thrown on the dance floor this year….and even whilst jumping over fires!

I began my rebrand this year too. I had the idea of creating a video all about me for a while, and couldnt decide on how to make it. In the end, I decided to animate one….with rubbish drawings…and this was the result

The lines of my personal life and my wedding photographer life sometimes cross over. When my wife and I first got together, we went on a course at a local church. It was there that I met an amazing lady and her family. We became friends, and soon after when her daughter Heidi was looking for a wedding photographer I was asked if I was free. Cindy had lost her husband not long ago, and the wedding was truly an emotional affair. Speeches which talk about lost loved ones always get to me, and this wedding was no exception. Even more so due to the fact I knew the family quite well. This year, after defying her doctors prognosis for 7 years, she joined her husband and her soul mate Eddie in Heaven. She was an absolutely amazing woman with an amazing family and circle of friends. A real inspiration and someone loved by all that met her. Have you ever seen a mum as proud as this beautiful strong woman? Cindy, you will truly be missed by all.

Having gone through all my weddings this year to write this post, I was going to show some of my favourite images…but honestly, there are so so many. I can’t even begin to express how awesome my couples and this year have been…. from the Crazy Families

…to the happy couples…

…the stunning scenery…

…needless to say 2013 has been absolutely fantastic. I feel I have grown as a photographer, I’ve developed a style and a signature look. I’ve learned a lot of lessons, including making sure to balance my work and home life. Working in the wedding industry can be a lonely old game at times, and all the amazing people I have worked with this year have made it all worth while. To my amazing clients this year, and all your friends and families I just want to say thank you. Thank you for choosing me to capture your big day, thank you for putting your trust in a complete stranger and sharing one of the most important days of your life with me. To all the wedding vendors I have worked with, I salute you! You have all become family to me and I have the utmost respect for you all. To my dearest wife Catherine, I thank you. I thank you for pushing me when I need pushing, for keeping me grounded, for supporting me on this emotional journey; for being my rock, my friend, my soul mate you and our family are my world and I could never do what I do without the help and support of you and all of our family.

So here’s to 2013, you rocked! And you know what…so did I! With 2014 on it’s way, I am more determined than ever to rock the hell out of my weddings! Ill see you all next year.

 

Much love,

 

James