Suffolk beach pre-wedding shoot - Gemma and Chris

A couple of weeks ago I headed down to the Suffolk coast to catch up with the very lovely Gemma and Chris. These guys met me at the super-cool Most Curious Wedding Fair down in London earlier this year. 

Not only was it great to hang out, getting to know one of my 2017 couples, it was also nice to visit a part of the UK I've never been to before (I honestly thought I'd been everywhere!) Aldeburgh is a really cute, and picturesque coastal town in Suffolk, and it definitely wont be the last time I visit here. 

 

Asylum / Trinity Buoy Wharf wedding photography - Cheryl and Alec

"Dear Ed,

Thank you for your fantastic work on our wedding day (and the engagement shoot too).

Your pictures are beautiful and you really captured the magic moments. As the photo on our Thank You card shows!

We loved having you as part of the day. Thank you Ed for doing a brilliant job. We love the photos.

Love, Cheryl and Alec"

Devon festival wedding photography - Nat and Pete

I hope you're sat in a comfy seat, because this is my BIGGEST blog post ever! 

A couple of months ago we headed down to Devon to shoot this amazing wedding.

Nat and Pete were the perfect couple. After seeing one of my weddings featured on a wedding blog they contacted me, and within a quick 10 minute phone call I was booked! Simple as that. They knew what they wanted, they liked what they saw on my website, and booked me straight away.

A few months passed and the couple saw that I was exhibiting at the Most Curious wedding show down in London, so they popped in to meet me in person. I love meeting my couples face-to-face before the wedding date. Even if its just for a catch up over a coffee. It breaks the ice, and makes it feel a lot less awkward when I turn up on your wedding day. Don't get me wrong, I'm not some sort of weirdo! Its just, well, if the first time you meet a photographer that's following you round all day, on one of the most surreal days of your life, is first thing in the morning as you're having your hair and make-up slapped on, well it may not be the most relaxing of meetings.

The whole day had a totally relaxed vibe, amazing scenery (the couple said their vows on the moors out the back of Nat's family home), and a whole bunch of guests that were up for having a great day... this wedding was fun-packed, emotional, and just totally awesome. Everyone treated myself, and my second shooter Kev like guests... which in turn helped us to blend in and get such relaxed and intimate photos. Cheers guys, we had a blast!

Brighton wedding photography - Niall and Dan

"Hi Ed, Wow they're amazing, we love them! Everybody we show loves your work. Thank you again."

Yep, as another mental summer comes to an end, its time for me to get a few blogs up on my website, and this one just HAD to go in.

Niall and Dan got married in Brighton, then headed out to Dans parents house in the countryside for a party afterwards. Garden games, a swimming pool, an ice cream van, they had the lot! Plus, boy oh boy was it a scorcher of a day. Easily the hottest day of the year for me to be shooting a wedding. 

It was only the second gay wedding I've shot (I'd love to shoot more), and I enjoyed every minute of it! The guys were so chilled out, let me just wander around snapping away, and doing my thing, while they spent time with their friends and family, having a great time, and enjoying the beautiful weather. They also really helped me to feel like I was one of the guests. Insisting that I sat with the rest of the guests during the meal, and making sure that I was also having a good time.

Its weddings like this that really make me smile all day, and realise this job doesn't always feel like a job (does that make sense?). 

Thanks Niall and Dan for booking me to photograph your amazing wedding day. It was the best!

Swallows Nest Barn wedding photography - Hannah and Adam

"Hi Ed, we've just finished looking through the pictures! We absolutely love them. Thanks again for them - they are amazing!"

Special thanks to the fantastic Kevin Fern for second shooting this wedding with me. Amazing shots as always mate.

Venue - Swallows Nest Barn

Jesse's Journey - a personal blog post

Last Friday night, just before midnight, we welcomed our son into the world.

Jesse John Godden was born at 11.33pm on the 5th August 2016.

Its been a long, and very emotional journey, but capturing these emotions and special moments along the way has somehow made the IVF process a little bit easier to get our heads around.

Every week I photograph people getting married. I tell the story of one of the biggest days of their lives. Well, this is the story of the biggest year of our lives.

There's a lot of images included here, but there is definitely many more photos that I decided to not include in the slideshow. And there were even more moments that I didn't even want to photograph.  

In a world where not many of us print our photos anymore, I hope one day Jesse will watch this slideshow and be moved by the story of how much Clare and I went through to have him. But most of all, to see just how much we love him.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Many thanks to the amazing staff at Nurture Fertility, and also the midwives and doctors at Nottingham City Hospital, and The Sanctuary.

Summer wedding at Patrick's Barn, West Sussex - Harriet and Stuart

"Ed was everything we could of wanted for our wedding photographer. He completely got the theme of our rustic farm day and he did everything to ensure it will be remembered for the rest of our lives. He made us feel fully relaxed and slipped into the background during the day as if he wasn’t even there. The only evidence was a personalised package delivered to our home with an incredible set of photos. He is the best and will give our family many memories to come." 

2016 - so far!

It can't be July? How are we in July already?! This year has flown by so fast for me (so far!)... and I've not had any time to blog any of my lovely weddings I've shot recently. Guess I'll have to do them all in the Autumn time. So, until then, here are a few of my favourite photos I've taken from some of the many pre-wedding shoots, and weddings I've shot at this year. I've met SO many lovely couples again this year, and can't wait to meet, and photograph the rest of my 2016 couples.

As you'll see from the first few snaps in this blog, I've also included a few personal photos. 2016 kicked off in style with one of my weddings not only featuring in the amazing Rock N Roll Bride magazine, but also appearing on the cover of the mag. How cool is that?! 

I also invested in some new kit at the beginning of the year, and am loving my current setup of keeping my camera bag lighter, and trying new things with new lenses.

Also below you'll see a terrible shot of me looking like death! No, this wasn't shot after I snapped a 16 hour wedding, it was taken after I ran the Brighton Marathon back in April. I managed to raise nearly £500 for the British Heart Foundation... Thanks so much to everyone that sponsored me. I don't think I'll be running another one anytime soon.

But the best news of 2016 is definitely the news that we are expecting our first child in August. I don't do maternity shoots... but below is a photo of my wife Clare looking blooming marvellous. I can't wait to meet our little boy in a few weeks time.

So, until I get round to blogging more later in the year, hope you're having a great 2016... and enjoy the rest of the summer (if the sun bothers to come out!).

A summer pre-wedding shoot in the Lake District - Kayleigh and Bernie

Last week I headed up to the beautiful Lake District to meet up with Kayleigh and Bernie. This ridiculously attractive couple are getting hitched in Nottinghamshire next year, and chose the lakes for the backdrop to their pre-wedding shoot. 

It was such a fun shoot. The connection between these guys, combined with the awesome scenery, fantastic weather, and not to mention the photobombing cattle... definitely made this one of my favourite pre-wedding shoots. 

Look forward to catching up with you both for the big day next year!

A super-fun wedding at Lillibrooke Manor - Becca and Will

 

Sometimes very nice brides send me very nice thank you emails...

Sometimes they land in my inbox on a Monday morning...

Sometimes that makes me smile all week...

 

Morning Ed,

Where do I start....

We cannot thank you enough for our wonderful photos. They are incredible! We knew as soon as we got engaged that we wanted you to be our photographer, not only because I knew you from the Chronicle days, but because I have continued to follow your work. Your photos always put a smile on my face and are taken in a way that we knew we wanted for our own wedding.

We knew that our photos would be fab, but couldn't have imagined how brilliantly you would capture the emotion of our day -  peoples expressions, twinkles in eyes and all of the love and laughter we shared. We didn't want an off the peg wedding and you have helped us to show off all of our personal touches perfectly. To have so many as well was so unexpected - I squeaked with delight when I saw the number of images come up on the laptop, thank you! How lucky are we! We looked at them with one of our best men, his wife and my sister on Saturday evening. There was lots of laughter and a few tears as we went through them, sharing memories of our day together. I am now strategically arranging time to look at the photos with our other family members and friends, all on different days just so that I have an excuse to go through them all again and again.

You were a pleasure to have at our wedding. Everyone has said such lovely things about you and your photos and how they wished they'd known about you before their own weddings. You will be recommended far and wide, I'm certain!

If I ever have the money and if you ever decide you want to be my personal paparazzi and follow me around for all life occasions, let me know - haha.

Thanks so much again Ed.

All of the love and best wishes for you and your soon to be family of 3.

B & Will x

A lovely Spring wedding at Shustoke Farm Barns - Jade and Joe

Its always a mixture of emotions when I photograph my first wedding of the year, and this year was no different.  After a busy 2015, I'd decided to give myself an extra-long break over the winter period, so it was nearly 3 months since shooting my last wedding in December. Having a nice long break was bliss! And it also meant I was raring to go, and extra-enthusiastic about shooting again. 

The first couple of the year to face my camera was the lovely Jade and Joe, who got married at the beautiful Shustoke Farm Barns in Warwickshire. I met up with the couple last year for their pre-wedding shoot in Nottingham, so it was by no means the first time I'd met them. They even treated me an awesome burger meal at Annies Burger Shack in Nottingham, and I had the Elvis burger (a meaty feast, dripping in jam and peanut butter. I kid you not!)... but anyway, thats another story...

It was however the first time I'd ever shot at this particular venue. Some couples are really worried when they find out their photographer has never shot at their venue, let alone even visited it! But I actually love not seeing a wedding venue until the big day. I'm a photographer that works fast, and doesn't like to plan. I'd much rather photograph things naturally, as they're actually happening, rather than staging something up in a certain area, just because another photographer has taken a pretty photo in that area in the past! I'm here to photograph YOUR day, not someone else's. I want to see it through my eyes.

Jade and Joe were the perfect couple, totally chilled out, and happy for me to just wander around and snap their day as it happened. They didn't let the chilly weather, or the slight drizzle dampen their spirits, and were more than happy to head out for a few portraits while the guests dug in to the canapes. 

Thanks for letting me photograph your wedding day guys. I had loads of fun, and you both looked absolutely amazing! Joe, your vibrant tie was a top-class choice. And Jade, when you hopped out of the camper van wearing your black leather jacket, I've got to admit, in my head I was able to tick another photo off my wedding portfolio bucket list - 'Cool bride wearing a leather jacket' TICK!

Hair and Make-Up - Jenn Edwards Hair & Make-Up Team

A spring sunrise pre-wedding shoot in Dorset - Ali and Lucy

Last Thursday I headed off from Nottinghamshire on a 460 mile round-trip to Dorset. I left home at 10pm, arrived at 4am, had a couple of hours sleep in the car whilst parked up in a spooky, and very dark village lane, and set my alarm for 5.45am. Oh the glamour of being a wedding photographer!

The mileage and the lack of sleep was totally worth it though as my pre-wedding shoot with the super-lovely Lucy and Ali was awesome. We were blessed with a stunning sunrise, and some fantastic weather. 

Lucy and Ali, thanks for meeting up with me at stupid o'clock for your shoot. We definitely made the most of the beautiful light that morning, and I can't wait until I snap your wedding day at Swallows Nest Barn later this summer.

Special thanks to Nikon and Amateur Photographer Magazine. I'm currently doing a field test/review of the new Nikon D5 camera for the mag, and the majority of the images below were shot on this amazing DSLR.