2020… Yeah about that! I thought rather than looking back over 2020 as let’s be honest, who wants to open that can of worms up again; I’m instead going to look forward into 2021 and maybe cover off a few of the positives that shone through the year.

None of us saw that coming right? First of all, the resilience of couples postponing twice and even three times, you are amazing! Prioritising my availability and looking out for my business is just incredible and I can’t thank you enough! It’s been emotional for us all and I can’t wait to be at your wedding documenting all the amazing parties and celebrations harder than ever before!

Since I started my wedding photography business back in September 2014, In all honesty I haven’t stopped in 5 years. I can count on one hand the number of breaks I gave myself in that time. I’m an over worker it’s fair to say. I’m passionate about being a wedding photographer and I want to always do the absolute best putting each of the couples I get to document first. So, in some funny way, 2020 was a blessing in disguise, a well needed pause to rethink, to find time to relax and to enjoy ‘life’, re-establishing a very healthy work life balance which can easily be forgotten about by us all!

Wedding Photography Version 2020

I was incredibly fortunate to photograph 5 weddings this year, each one ever more poignant and important that before. Ok, they looked very different but it reiterated the true meaning of a wedding; It isn’t about all the extra’s and the hours of stress worrying over something as small as wedding favours etc, but instead, it’s about family. Even more so it’s about 2 families brought together by the boundless love of 2 individuals for each other. That’s what weddings are all about and I somewhat feel the core value of that has somewhat been lost a little in the last decade.

With restrictions in place, couples had to dramatically reduce their guest numbers to maximum of 30 of their closest people. Although at first it was devastating to cull the numbers back so drastically, there was more time to actually appreciate the presence of those who could attend. These weddings were each stunning, they were more personal and meaningful. There were joy and they were happiness. The relief after the first half of the year being so disastrous not knowing what was what and whether their wedding could go ahead. But the relentlessness and positivity shone through and for that I’m also grateful, because it gave me a bit of purpose in such a vacant year and it too instilled positivity in me to keep at it! So thank you to each of you who remained positive and pushed on through!

Looking forward to 2021

I am maintaining very positive vibes and thanks to the vaccine news, weddings will be back for sure! Lots of couples regaining confidence too and I just can’t wait to get back into it. I will likely photograph more weddings that I’ll ever do in a year which is partially thanks to most of 2020 postponements but where’s the fun if there isn’t a challenge?

So I start the year with my new found deeper level of respect and appreciation for weddings and the way I now view relationships with others. The pandemic really has taught me to look at the world so differently and realise my difference in perspective in my role as a photographer is now ever more important. But also having refreshed my batteries, learned lots of new skills and having had a big ol’clear out of the hard drives and equipment!

As I come to thinking of what to say and begin writing this I find myself reminiscing alot. Appreciating the journey that I’ve been on in the last year and with that finding myself as a much better, more centred and complete version of myself. I wouldn’t have reached this point now if it wasn’t for the pandemic! So I do have 2020 to thank for a lot. With that being said, I’m busting to crack open 2021 with lots of weddings… with receptions and a dance floor again. So in the words of Delia Smith… “Let’s be having you!” And a huge thank you every one of you who supported my business in engaging with posts on my social media, booked me for a photo session and recommending me to your friends which is vital for my survival.

Here’s a short slideshow of some of my favourite wedding photography moments in 2020