Jo & Andy

I've been looking forward to this post for a little while!  Jo & Andy had their beautiful wedding just over a month ago.  The ceremony was in a quaint village church and the reception in the opulent surroundings of Carr Hall Castle.  I first met Jo, Andy & Annabel around this time last year, and over the past 12 months, they have become friends.  I love Jo & Andy's story.  You can read a little more about how they met in a pre-wedding blog post here.

Jo and Andy tried to keep their wedding as local as possible and it was great to see other Hebden suppliers involved in the day.  Fantastic creations from Hat Therapy, Yorkshire Soap,  Fleur De Lys  and a personalised heart from the Heart Gallery.

I will let the pictures tell the story of the day.....

The castle had beautiful light streaming through the windows.  A little pep talk to the bridesmaids...

Claudette from Fleur De Lys arrived with these amazing bouquets and dressed the table for the meal later..

And then it was time to wake up Annabel who had been sleeping soundly in her fairytale castle room in the tower! 

Just time for a slice of toast.  I love the holding of the toothbrush in the other hand, ready to go!

 The castle grounds make the perfect backdrop..

And then a few shots with Jo's Mum, Betty, before we left for the church..

Andy appeared to be very calm.  He told us afterwards how nervous he felt until he saw Jo walking towards him in the church...

The guests started arriving down the country lane, and Annabel kept a close look out for the wedding car...

And then back to their castle for the reception and a time to catch up with friends and family...

 The table looked amazing and they even had their own personalised heart... 

The soap cake looked delicious!

And then time to take some shots with just Jo and Andy in that beautiful castle light...

And then outside for a few in the amazing grounds...

It was a beautiful day for a beautiful couple.  Congratulations Jo & Andy, and here's wishing you and Annabel a very bright and happy future together x

The Journey Continues

So, my new website has been up and running for a couple of weeks now.  I've had some great feedback and lovely comments from you all about the new look, thank you.  This is something that has been a long time in the planning!  It was about this time last year that I had a bit of a eureka moment.  I'd just had a revamp of my Zebra Photography website.  But, after a few weeks, a little niggle began.  I just wasn't sure about my company name anymore.  Something had changed in my photography and I was no longer sure if Zebra Photography reflected my new direction.  I knew if I was going to change it, it needed to be over the next few months.

I was heavily influenced by black and white photography when I was setting up my business in 2008, and I was mainly taking black and white images myself - hence the zebra was born:

Last year, I noticed that quite a few of my clients were referring to me as 'Sarah from Zebra' as if it was a bigger company than just me.  I didn't want to give people the impression that it was a larger company as I like to offer families and couples a personal approach.  So, after a little bit of pondering, I decided that as it is me running the business, it should be my own name!

After this massive decision, all the parts of the jigsaw then seemed to fit into place.  I had a strong sense of how everything should look.  All my work is outdoors and I knew this was going to be a key factor in the new image.  I spoke with my fab web designer Catherine Byrne about a new look website and a sparkly new logo. 

We had a few goes with peacock feathers:

 and then with a bird on a branch: 

but then we stripped it down to the swirly branches and leaves and I knew that was right for me:

 

This then naturally led to the feel of the website.  Catherine and I discussed all the little details that would help to bring the site alive, including her own lovely illustrations.  As well as a sense of the outdoors,  I wanted to give the website a 'brown paper packages tied up with string' feel, as I knew this was how my work was going to be packaged in the future - so the background has that lovely mottled brown effect and a little label at the top of the homepage.

Around this time, I met up with Fiona from Happy4pr and we had a series of one to one business mentoring sessions.  This helped to focus me, and reassured me I was heading in the right direction with my re-brand!  She's an incredibly insightful person and has a great eye when it comes to creative businesses.

Then, I came up with my 'photography for life' slogan as I felt it reflected my passion to document people's lives through my images.

To the last hurdle - my new promotional material.  After meeting Jacqui from Print For The Love Of Wood earlier this year, I knew she was definitely the right person for the job!  There will be a separate blog post soon about my trip out to her letterpress workshop - I felt like a kid in a sweetshop!  Each of my business cards have been individually printed.  It was an amazing process to watch.  I've also had tags created for my new packaging and CD cases for my wedding discs.  In true photographer style, I thought I'd have a little shoot with my new products and took the box of letterpress treats down to Hardcastle Crags early one morning:

I feel so much happier.  The journey continues and a new chapter begins!

Louisa & Richard

I've been wanting to post a few more images of this lovely intimate wedding I photographed a few weeks ago.  I met Louie & Rick and their two children, Drew & Madeleine, just a few weeks before the wedding.  We discussed their plans for the day.  Due to a shared passion for golf, they were going to hold their reception at Todmorden Golf Club.  I told them a little bit about my foray into the sport, but when a handicap of 6 was discussed by Louie & Rick, I thought I'd stick to talking about the photographs!

On the morning, I went to Louisa's parents' house to take the preparation shots.  All was calm.....

There were quite a few cuddles before I left for the Registry Office....

Then a quick trip down the road to take a few shots before Louisa arrived....

 There were a few tears shared in the ceremony....

And then back out into the sunshine before heading to the Golf Club.

And the first peep at the rather wonderful cake made by Rachel at Truly Scrumptious!

 There was just enough time for a run around on the putting green!

 A few family shots...

 
 And a couple of shots with the cake before everyone sat down for the wedding breakfast....

Here's wishing Louie, Rick, Drew & Madeleine a very bright and happy future together!