A round up of 2020 the year of small weddings -

The year of small weddings.

2020..well what can I say! It has been a year that no one saw coming and a year that we were not prepared for. A year of worry, fear and general anxiety and in amongst all of this a year of joy, hope and new beginnings. It has been a really difficult year for the wedding industry, for couples and suppliers and where possible 2020 has been the year for micro, intimate and small weddings.

As 2020 draws to close I wanted to look back over some of the weddings I have had the honour and joy to photograph. I have found this year, as with most of the world, very challenging and at times scary. Scary for my family and friend in-amongst all the uncertainty and worrying times for my business. A business, I have created, that I have loved, nurtured and worked my butt off for and a business I am very proud of. As with all of us in the industry (and of course most other industries) to see a year’s worth of work disappearing was hard enough but speaking to my couples whose weddings were planned for this year was soul-destroying. I love what I do, I love working with amazing couples and their families, capturing their love and joy. The highlights of my year have been, these small weddings that I have been able to photography. As I have said to all of my couples, is that if there is one thing we need to do this year is to celebrate our LOVE!

Before the world changed!

Back at the beginning of February, I photographed Juliett and Simon’s wedding at Horsted Place. I love this photograph of Juliett, she looks stunning and it captures just that moment of nerves. As a bride we all feel that moment, I downed a bottle of rescue remedy just before I walked down the aisle!

February saw me at the lovely Buxted Park Hotel twice, Firstly with Aime and David, who got married in the church in Buxted Park, just a short walk from the hotel. Even with a grey flat February day, nothing was going to stop these two from having a wonderful day!!!

My second February wedding at Buxted Park was with Lisa and Rich. Again a rather winter wedding day but full of fun and laughter and I loved the way they decorated the Ballroom, with trees as their centrepiece. It looked so magical!

And then the world changed!

Well we all know the story, it was a difficult time, to say the least! For me ensuring my couples had my support was my mission for several months! Come the 4th July the first small weddings were allowed again and I had a call from Ed’s mum, who was a couple that had had to postpone their wedding from the spring to 2021 but wanted to get married in the meantime! So as a wedding gift from Ed’s parents I was honoured to be there to photograph their small wedding ceremony on the 4th July!! It was the most amazing day, very emotional and it felt like we were celebrating something so incredible fundamental!! LOVE!! Reminding me of how love was not cancelled!!

July also saw another couple who had already moved their big day to 2021 have a small wedding ceremony at my local Church in Danehill. Laura and Tom’s wedding day was the perfect summers day! With beautiful flowers from the uber-talented Emma at Tigers to Lillies.

Ladies in Red!!

This year has been the year of the red dress for me!! First with Catherine and Mark in August at the gorgeous Alexander House Hotel, I love Catherine’s dress it is a stunning Vera Wang… what more do I need to say!!

Then December saw my second red wedding dress, Jasmine and Andrew were meant to get married in April and have moved their big day to next year but wanted to get married this year. I love this image at Kew Gardens in the beautiful installation called The Hive.

I love a small wedding at Upwaltham Barns!!

I am normally at Upwaltham Barns a lot in a year but I have only been there twice this year. For a venue that is used to much bigger weddings, Upwaltham is the most amazing place for a small wedding, so intimate and cosy! Here is a couple of shots from Jack and Liz’s wedding.

The second wedding at Upwaltham was with Clare and Mark, on a wintery November day. This wonderful couple had had a real journey to get to their wedding day, having moved from the spring and then hoping for 30 guests and finally only having 15. As will many couples it was a hard journey to take but the day was so worth the heartache!! With very emotional speeches and a windswept walk into the fields.

A hundred-acre wood small wedding.

September’s highlight for me was Jackie and Wills wedding, in the heart of Ashdown Forest, famous for Winnie the Pooh. With their small wedding ceremony was at the gorgeous Duddleswell church in the heart of the Forest. A moment I love on any wedding day is the groom waiting for his bride at the top of the aisle. Will’s facial expressions were fantastic!!

Small winter weddings at the close of the year.

In December, I have had the honour of photographing 7 small weddings, with couples wanting to end the year on a high and to celebrate their love, in some cases just the 2 of them! To give you a sneaky peak at a couple of them!! Firstly, Cathrine and Jeremony’s beautiful Christmas wedding at Alexander House Hotel.

My last wedding of the year was Ajit and Sarah’s small wedding at the stunning Hever Castle. I love a Christmas wedding, when you add Hever Castle’s Christmas lights and already wonderful day, it was the perfect end to my year!

Even though it has been a difficult year in so many ways it has also been a year of such joy. Being able to capture such precious moments in amongst such hard times has been very emotional and confirms to me LOVE has not been cancelled and how much we need to cherish and celebrate those we love most. I hope with all my heart that 2021 will be an easier year but if anything 2020 has taught me is together we can get through most anything!!!

Happy New Year to you all xx