Julia and You

Cathy and Sean’s Gosfield Hall wedding photography – Essex

julia west — Tue, 21 May 2013 06:00:48 +0000

This weekend Ian and I were at the first of our May weddings at the breathtaking Gosfield Hall, we are there again next weekend too! I couldn’t wait to share this sneek peek. Cathy and Sean are clearly perfect for each other and it was lovely to share their day with the rest of their wonderful family. Their two children Natasha and Kevin were a big part of the day, it was so touching when Natasha walked her dad down the aisle as his best women and Kevin gave away his mum. All their friends and family had such lovely things to say about them during their toasts, one who put so aptly you never stop smiling in their company. Until I edit the rest here are a couple of their day…

Laura and Dan’s engagement shoot, Frensham Ponds Surrey

julia west — Wed, 15 May 2013 06:00:47 +0000

Last week I went to the beach in Surrey… yes Surrey! Laura and Dan suggested Frensham Ponds for their engagement shoot and I must admit I didn’t know anything about it nor did I know it had a beach by the “pond” which is actually a beautiful Lake. It was EPIC for a photoshoot, a beach, a forest, long reeds every country scene you can imagine in one spot. Made even more epic by the fact that Laura, Dan and I had a really good laugh together, I can’t wait for their wedding at Bury Court Barn later this year!

Alison and Lee’s London engagement photography shoot

julia west — Tue, 14 May 2013 06:00:39 +0000

Last week I headed into London to meet up with Alison and Lee and we had an EPIC day! I met Alison and Lee at Polly and Jon’s wedding last year, so I was super excited when they got in touch after the wedding to say they had got engaged and wanted me to capture their wedding too. Then they told me it was going to be at Crazy Bear and I practically begged them to let me shoot it (I love Crazy Bear in London and their venue in Oxfordshire is equally cool – its design heaven). We decided as they met in London it would be the perfect setting for a fun engagement shoot of some of the sights! Looking forward to their June wedding – not long now!

Usman and Kelly’s wedding at Crondon Park Golf Club, Essex

julia west — Thu, 09 May 2013 13:06:00 +0000

This weekend we were very lucky to get some sunshine at last, and just in time for Usman and Kelly’s gorgeous wedding on Monday. Kelly started the day at home, surrounded by her gorgeous younger cousins who were her bridesmaids and her lovely family before heading off to Crondon Park in a stunning car organised as a surprise by Usman. They had already had a weekend of wedding celebrations before their Crondon Park civil ceremony and have more to come, I was very honoured to share their day with them and can’t wait to show them the rest of their collection once they are done

Thanks to Hannah for assisting me too! xx

Kathryn and Theo’s jewish wedding at Rectory Farm Cambridge

julia west — Wed, 01 May 2013 11:29:43 +0000

This weekend Ian and I had the honour of photographing Kathryn and Theo’s gorgeous wedding at Rectory Farm in Cambridgeshire. It was special for lots of reasons, it was the first Jewish wedding I had photographed in nearly 8 years, and they decided to have a first look before the ceremony (very popular in the US but less so here) which was such a beautifully touching and emotional moment and I was pretty stoked to share with them.

But there was one thing that seemed even more special, it was a really wedding of sisterly love. From Theo’s beautiful sisters who were part of the bridesmaid clan, to her mums special bond with her own sister and Kathryn’s aunt to of course her own gorgeous sisters who all walked down the aisle with her. I loved her older sister Kira’s speech, which felt special to me as I have two sisters myself. And of course one of my sister is a Katie (as Kathryn often calls herself) and Kathryns younger sister is called Julia. As the beautiful Julia said to me as we were about to leave it is “Kismet” a jewish word for fate or destiny, and I like to think its fate I get to share the day with all my lovely brides. I will share more of the beautiful bridesmaids at a later date but for now here is a sneak peek of Kathryn and Theo, at their first look and stealing a kiss after the ceremony… (the ceremony was outside so it was a little chilly but Kathryns coat complimented her dress beautifully)

Kate and Marcus’ wedding photography at Spains Hall, Essex

julia west — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 06:00:09 +0000

What better way to brighten up a monday morning than with a gorgeous wedding! Hannah and I headed to Finchingfield in Essex two weeks ago for Kate and Marcus’ Spains Hall wedding. It’s fair to say the sun didnt shine all day but thankfully it did come out for a while in the evening and we made the most of it! But a little bit of rain was never going to put a dampner on their gorgeous blossom filled affair.

When they had booked me 18 months before their big day, I was already excited about their country wedding plans! From the plans to walk around the tea houses and village green in Finchingfield (which sadly didnt happen because of the rain) to the blossom in the church and barn at Spains Hall.

All in all it was a wonderful wedding, all their family and friends made us feel like good friends, not like work at all. I loved being part of their day and I hope I get to see them again soon!

Miranda and Max’s hertfordshire engagement photography

julia west — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 05:00:27 +0000

I met Miranda and Max in Harpenden for their engagement shoot, it was lovely to meet them at last and to have a wander around my old home town (I lived in Harpenden for years but haven’t been back since I moved to Essex). Miranda grew up in Harpenden so she thought a wander down the Nickey line would be the perfect setting for their engagement photography shoot. She told me how she spend many a day riding her bike along the old tracks and school trips to look at the remnants of the old train line. So I suggested they brought their bikes with them for the shoot too! We had a fun afternoon (especially laughed their fonejacker poses!) and cant wait for their wedding at South Farm in July!

Kate and Marcus spring wedding photography at Spains Hall Essex

julia west — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 05:00:42 +0000

Kate and Marcus’ wedding day arrived at last this weekend. On the last few days as I counted down to their big day, I checked the weather as I always do and prayed that the thunderstorms forecasted wouldn’t come to Essex, and whilst we did get some rain the thunder stayed away (yeah!) and we even managed some sunshine later on. I knew when I first met them both their Spains Hall wedding would be relaxed and fun, and of course they are both gorgeous (inside and out) so I couldnt wait to share this sneak peek… Congratulations from me and Hannah again and I hope the rest of your party was just as fun as the whole day!

Cathy and Sean’s engagement photography at Leigh on Seas Essex

julia west — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 11:32:08 +0000

When Cathy and Sean suggested we did their engagement at Leigh on Sea in the Easter Holidays (so Cathy’s son Kevin was able to join us) I imagined a beautiful walk along the shore with ice creams, what I hadn’t imagined was hailstones and snow, but as we know Easter had very wintery weather, so much so that we headed over to Hadleigh Castle to avoid the shore wind. But I’m pretty sure no weather would put a dampener on Cathy’s mood, she was all smiles for the whole shoot despite the cold, and clearly they are both very excited about their May wedding… but we’ve ordered sunshine for that day!

Matt and Nikki’s 1920s wedding photography at The Swan Hampshire

julia west — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 12:23:09 +0000

Ian and I were at Matt and Nikki’s wedding two weeks ago on Easter Saturday. On a typical Easter I’d be expecting spring sunshine, but of course instead we had snow! But Matt and Nikki had planned their 1920′s wedding as an indoor affair so a bit of snow wasnt going to bother them! Just as well with the stunning 1920s dresses (not exactly known for keeping you warm). As this is my first wedding of the season, I couldnt wait to share some of it, so Im sharing super fast! I cant wait to show Matt and Nikki the full collection…