Happy New Year!

I finished my 2015 weddings on New Years Eve, so hence why this post is a bit later as I wanted everyone to be included.

2015 was special for me because it was the year I finally (I probably should have done it sooner!) went full time as a wedding photographer. It was always a big leap to give up a marketing career I’d put so much in to, but 9 months on I can definitely say it was the right decision and I’m absolutely loving it. It’s full on, there’s never a quiet moment and every wedding takes a lot out of you but it’s still the best job I think someone can have because of the nature of what we do. Witnessing love, happy moments and a big group of people having a great time is a real honour and so I will always be thankful for doing what I do.

People always say “don’t you get bored of going to loads of weddings?” and l always have the same answer – “no, because every one is different.” Although weddings broadly follow the same pattern for the day, every wedding is full of different people and it’s the people that make a wedding. I’ve met so so many awesome folk in the last 12 months and I have made many new friends. I love that my couples last year got that I don’t want to be “the photographer”, I want to be Jonny and being Jonny means a better time for me and ultimately better photos for you. If you just see your photographer as a supplier you’ll never get the moments in the same way. The times people call me “Jonny” from the moment I walk in on the day of the wedding I know the day is immediately more personal, that I’m more connected and it’s that close relationship that is so important to me and enables me to get the intimate viewpoint on a wedding day I crave.

2015 saw me travel in all directions – Liverpool, Norfolk, Staffordshire and Bristol to name a few – plus two amazing destination weddings in Slovenia and France. I wouldn’t want it any other way. It’s the adventure of every wedding that keeps me on my toes and excited for every one. In the months ahead I’ll be going to York, Ibiza, Cornwall, Wales and Santorini. Travelling is a privilege and one I really enjoy.

I got to photograph my first Indian and Jewish weddings, saw a new bridesemaids record set (11!), heard many many beautiful vows, listened to amazing speeches, ate a lot of buffet food (and sweets) and took over 120,000 photos in the process. It was a lot of fun and a lot of great memories for sure!

A huge thank to all my couples. You were all awesome!

And finally here are my 2015 prizes:

• Best wedding photographer feeding – Langley Abbey / Amy & Mike of Brastad’s (What can I say – 2 desserts and the title was yours!)
• Most unexpected weather – Sarah & Kieran (It was early April and it felt like mid-summer. The weather a week before was awful so I think I said ‘wow how lovely is this’ about 100 times during the day!)
• Best first dance – Sophie & Mike with “You’ve Got The Love.” (This was a dance floor orgy of happiness of every guest hugging. There was a lot of love!)
• Fav wedding buddy – Liron Erel of Liron Erel Photography. (This man came all the way from Israel to make my trip to Slovenia even more better!)
• Best sunset – Paula & Mat (absolutely EPIC red sky!)
• Most epic journey – Chichester to Liverpool overnight from Jonny & Emma’s wedding to Seth & Prachi’s the next day
• Most photos taken – Edward & Alexis (between Igor and myself we took almost 8k over 13 hours!)
• Best wedding cake – Katie & Leigh (this was a really hard one but had to be their Alice In Wonderland cake!)
• Most scary moment – Laura & Ollie’s ‘everyone shot’ (standing on the wobbliest ladder ever with 150 people close to witnessing your downfall…)

Finally a special mention to these guys who all 2nd shot with me last year. I don’t often have a 2nd but when I do I always love having them with me. A big thanks Igor Demba , Maja Tsolo, Colin Ross and Lily Bungay!

Anyway here are my favourites from over 35,000 photos!

Enjoy!