Totally inspired

“While the beginning of a journey together certainly deserves celebration, as the journey continues, each additional step is an achievement worth celebrating – just as much, if not more.”
- Beloved, The Dream

I briefly wrote about my thoughts on Beloved after watching Jesh de Rox’s preview talk a couple of weeks ago. Since then I have signed up for the web seminar series, and earlier this week, watched the first session.

Totally inspired doesn’t do justice to how I feel about the concept of Beloved, and I am so excited about finding a direction for our business which not only compliments what we currently do, but also helps us evolve. I love shooting weddings, and I hope that we get to continue shooting weddings for a long, long time. But it is neither weddings nor photography which drives our business, and although we enjoy both immensely, I always felt something bigger propelling us…

Rewind 3 years.

I don’t know if you’ve had moments or periods like this, when the bitter taste of dissatisfaction lingers, and you become slightly desperate to try and find a way to get rid of it? I have; and I spent hours (actually years) foraging on the World Wide Web looking for the answer(s). Yet I always ended up at the same point: “follow your passion.” Problem was I couldn’t work out what my passion was. I thought it had to be something concrete, like painting or drawing, or a calling to save the World or heal sick puppies (actual puppies, not the band.)  I had neither.  All I really wanted was to work for myself and hang out with Cam.

All I really wanted was to work for myself and hang out with Cam.
Can I call that a passion?
Hell yeah.

Cam is my passion, and luckily for me, I am his.
All we want to do is work for ourselves and hang out with each other.
I found my passion when I found Cam.

Fast forward to…
Today.

So it’s true what they say, follow your passion, and the rest will follow.  Without really planning it as such, we now find ourselves building a business around this very concept. We get to spend our our time, together, capturing others on one of the most important and memorable days of their lives; when they choose to hang out with the one they love forever. How cool is that? Very.

Yet I still felt there was a missing ingredient…

Beloved helped me see what it was, because the wedding is actually just the beginning of the story. For me, our wedding day will always be one of the happiest days of my life. A dream come true. However, what’s sometimes taken for granted is, I am lucky enough to be living the dream every day (I have been for the last 10 years, and I hope to for at least another 60 more!)   Beloved is an ongoing way to celebrate that; by not only inviting, but creating a space for couples to remember the utter magic they have, just by having each other.   It makes me giddy to think about capturing this deeper connection (not to mention hopefully seeing some of our married couples again too!) and although it’s going to take us a little while to find our own groove within the concept of Beloved, I hope you will share this journey with me. I have a really strong feeling it’s going to be a good one.

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Lucy Stendall - I love the pictures of Cam’s parents you’ve used to illustrate this piece and I look forward to seeing/hearing more about your Beloved project x

Jenny - These beach pictures are really beautiful.

And if I could find a job where I hung out with my man all day I’d quit my job and jump to it in a millisecond!

xXx

Benedict & Helen: Cambridge pre-wedding shoot

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Benedict and Helen were our first confirmed booking for 2011, so they’ve held a special place in our hearts from the outset, and I was super keen to finally meet them and put faces to the names. It’s quite funny actually, as there is no geographical limit to the area we cover, often times couples book us before we’ve had a chance to meet in person; so this first meeting is a little like going on a blind date. In fact Cam and I actually got to Cambridge a little earlier in the day, and as we wandered around the city (which is stunning by the way,) we kept pointing out couples to each other and going, “it could be them” or “do you think it’s them?”

When it finally came time to meet up, thankfully Benedict and Helen found us. Oh my, what do I say about these two gorgeous people? Well yes, there’s that to begin with! We just fell in love with the style they had, the old school GI vibe about Benedict which just contrasted so beautifully with the demure style of Helen. Love, love, love!

Over coffee they shared a few details about their big day which literally made me squeel with delight, and as we meandered through the city we found a few quiet spots where Helen and Benedict could sneak a kiss or two (and we could catch a glimpse of the love between them). In between ‘kiss-stops’ they shared some of their story with us, confirming that good-old-fashioned romance is alive and well.

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Roll on July!! Thanks Benedict and Helen, see you there…

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Dominique - These are lovely, they look so happy. I love the wide shot of the river. I have an engagement shoot there this summer; maybe I should get my couple on a boat!

Andrea Ellison Photography - I just love the attention you give to your images even after you have taken them …the PP is fab ….. LOVE <3

More invitations!

I have to say, I LOVE getting mail, and getting creative invites like the ones that have popped through our letter box recently, truly makes my day!

Today, I wanted to share Claire & Adam‘s invite with you which I have to say is totally “them” and tells their story in… 101 fonts. We’ve only had the opportunity to hang out with these guys for a couple of hours so far, but even in that short time, we can hear Adam’s voice come through the words, and I can recall Claire telling me snippets of this story. This is going to be one fun wedding!

card by BigMan Designs

Adam and Claire met in Bristol.
At University… no not the clever one.
Love blossomed one rainy night under an umbrella.

A: Orate duck?
C: You Whaaat?

Adam dithered. Claire was suspicious of northerners but eventually agreed to go on a date:
It worked… kind of. Claire took her flatmate with her.

But things went well = less dithering, less suspicion.

She began to like his weird friends and bad (very bad) dancing at Steam Rock nightclub.
He learned to love frozen vegetables with Chicken Tonight and Eddie Izzard’s back catalogue.

Due to differing levels of studiousness, Claire finished Uni first.
Long distance relationship – sucks.

Bristol to London (via First Great Western)

Adam eventually found campus and graduated –
Catch 22: where will the couple reunite?

Stoke (no jobs, no prospects) vs London (jobs but no oatcakes)

Adam decided to leave his beloved Stoke for a peerage at the House of Lords with Baroness Little.

The time soon came to – live in a shoe box, purchase crockery, become Margo & Jerry

Another 5 years passed sharing soggy trips to Glastonbury and exposing limited DIY ability (Help Mr Little, help!)

After a decade together, a question kept popping up: When will you guys get married?
A: Nah, I don’t know, ummmm….

[Lightbulb moment]

Cue long convoluted tale about a free work trip to Paris;
before an actual trip to Brent Cross to catch the Easybus to Luton (romantic trip to Berlin did follow!)

Pop the question. Yes the answer.
APPLAUSE
Now delighted th big day is here…

And WE get to capture it.
Sheesh, we’re lucky.

Thanks guys for the invite and letting us share the story.
Can’t wait to see you again in all your finery.

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Sas & Ash: London pre-wedding shoot

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I adore Sas. Truly. Madly. Deeply. If you want to lose yourself in some intelligent banter, you should go and check out her blog where she writes with wit and insight like no one I know. So when she asked us to photograph Ash and her big day, it was the biggest compliment. Ever.

Together, Sas and Ash are the most easy going and relaxed people you will meet. It’s almost as if they are cast from the same mould. They actually share a history (in time and places) before they eventually met properly; maybe that’s why there’s a certain sense of knowing between them.

We love you guys, and Ash, special thanks to you for being such an amazing sport and totally indulging us with the shoot (these PJs in bed with the Sunday morning papers will always be some of our favourite shots)

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There’s a lot of love between these guys, and I love these kisses…

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So when Sas emailed me after looking at the online gallery and said, “Somehow you see us as I see us, and you manage to capture the essence of our relationship in these beautiful images” it completely made my day, and then, when she blogged about it here; it made my weekend!

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We are so lucky to call these two wonderful people, friends.

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Sas' Magical Mystery Tour - [...] Penny has some more photos on her blog :) Nomenclature: muriel,the paramour | 9 Bantering Wittily Share [...]

sas - you are the first couple we have invited into our bedroom with a camera ;)
we love you both very much xxx

ps: please advise Cam that the purchase of the bbq is imminent!

Michael - AMAZING!

lisa field-elliot - fantastic. i love these so much. xoxoox