We are half way through January 2024 and I have finally put together my favourite images from 2023 to show off. Lot’s of photographers don’t like to do this anymore but I still really enjoy it. The wedding season can be really intense for me and sometimes I don’t get to pause and take in my own work so as well as this being the obvious marketing ploy, it’s also an opportunity to reflect and be pleased with myself.

This year will be my 14th year of photographing weddings which seems crazy but also feels like a massive achievement to have a thriving business in such a competitive market and of course that’s all down to my couples. I will forever be grateful to everyone I have worked with over the years for trusting me and bringing them into their worlds.

The last 12 months I found myself reconnecting with my work again. After the pandemic it was overwhelming with all the postponements and it felt like just trying to survive while being extremely burnt out so last year was my first normal year back and the slower pace helped me feel the joy of this work properly again.

It also gave me some room to be myself again and navigate my recent Autism diagnosis. I properly got to settle into Folkestone and find community. I started a new therapeutic journey through somatic therapy, finally came out as non-binary and queer AND I have started retraining as a somatic therapist and trauma informed yoga teacher. 2023 was actually a lot personally but in all the best yet challenging ways.

Don’t panic, weddings aren’t going anywhere. I think I have just started to become aware as I approach 40 that my body probably isn’t going to cope as well with long days and heavy equipment when I get over the 50/60 mark and I absolutely love what I am learning. I have always had a big curious mind and I am fascinated by us humans.

Which is actually why I enjoy weddings. They are a deeply human experience and that massively influences my photography. Connection is our deepest need and it’s profoundly beautiful that we experience this through life. Photographing it is nothing but joy.

And that’s why in this blog post you won’t find endless pretty couple photos or any detail shots, they get done obviously but they aren’t my favourites because they could have been taken at any wedding.

I don’t photograph weddings because of the wedding, I photograph weddings because of human connection. It’s those moments of connection that I capture which can sometimes be small and quiet, sometimes gone in a flash, it’s those moments that make my heart beat fuller.

I stayed relatively local in my stomping ground of London in 2023. Several of my weddings were at Islington & Marylebone Town Hall. I think my furthest trip afield was the Cotswolds. I used to love travelling all over the place but I think me, like many of us are starting to lean into a gentler pace of life. This year I do have a trip to Liverpool for a fantastic wedding but again I will also be mostly South East. Which means I can be back the following morning for a sea swim :)

For reason unknown to conscious thought I also haven’t included any portrait format images despite the fact I shoot a lot in portrait. I wonder what that is about?

I also got back to my roots in the last 12months and started shooting film again. I made a decision that I wouldn’t offer it at weddings for now as I am really enjoying nature and landscape through that medium. Perhaps I will share some of those images here one day. Although I still have a huge pile of personal work to sort through and edit.

I think that’s enough of my rambling. Above you will find all of my favourite 2023 wedding photos on a slideshow or you can keep scrolling to enjoy them a bit slower. Enjoy.