The gorgeous Katie and Simon got married in November at the stunning venue called Secret Garden., Kent. The weather was picture perfect deep blue skies, gentle sunshine and just the right amount of cloud. I have been obsessing over this wedding for ages - Katies style had me written all over it. It was hard not to “borrow” the dress and Dr Martens haha.

What I adore about this wedding is Katie use to teach my children at primary school, she was also a bridesmaids to another wedding I photographed who was also a teacher who taught my children as well. You can find the wedding here Emma & Jack

On the day itself I was chatting away to her parents completely forgetting that these guys have seen me very very drunk as a plus 1 to another wedding many years ago and the bride from that wedding was also a guest and remembered me, I actually got on the dance floor with a young man and we did a strictly come dancing style dance where I ended up flashing my knickers to everyone - I got a standing ovation for it though 💁

I cannot believe I forgot about how I basically entertained the guests with my dancing or didn’t make the connection who Katies parents were 😂, we had a giggle over it.

Back to the wedding it was full retro, with dinosaur cake made by the amazing Cake Witch her cakes literally fill the room with the most inviting delicious smell and taste divine! Then there is that dress literally a unicorns dream, my candy floss sparkly bride! The Secret Garden in Kent is so pretty and whimsical it really is a photographers delight as a Kent wedding photographers I get excited when I find out the venue booked is here. With its wild flower meadows, quirky green house, cobbled pavements and sparkly lights everywhere - heaven.

I asked Katie and Simon a few questions so I’ll let them finish the blog post off. If you love the pictures then leave the couple some love in the comments!

How did you both meet?
I joined the Dungeons and Dragons group that Simon was already in and he used to walk me to the train station afterwards.

How did you know they were the one?
It was at a Cure concert in Hyde Park, I’d last seen them when I was 15 with my first boyfriend and I remember looking at Simon and thinking ‘and now I’m seeing them with my last boyfriend’.

Can you tell me how you proposed?
It was Christmas day and I had a shocking hangover and was in my pajamas. Simon got home from work and after we’d open our presents I was on the sofa stuffing my face with cheese when he handed me a card with a lot of very romantic sentiments and ‘PS Close your eyes’ at the end.

What made you guys choose your wedding venue?
The sausage rolls. We both decided quite early on that food would be one of the most important elements and The Secret Garden do the most amazing homemade sausage rolls.

What was your inspiration behind your wedding theme/day?
There wasn’t any! We just picked a lots of different things that we loved, everything from Portal to Jurassic Park to my love of giant neon puns and threw them together then hoped for the best.

What was your first song and why?
The Book of Love by Peter Gabriel. We realised we didn’t actually have ‘a song’ so in the name of democracy we made playlist where we both added songs we loved and picked from there.

If you could give any couples getting married one tip what would it be?
Don’t read too many articles about what you ‘must’ do and when. It will stress you out and on the day you won’t even notice the placecards you spent hours looking for.

What tips would you give to couples to keep that spark alive?
Whenever possible don’t take life too seriously.

Wedding Suppliers
Hair stylist: Christopher Wise
Website: @chris_snips
Make up artist: Jessica Hawkins
Website: https://www.jessicahawkinsmakeup.com/
Brides Dress: WardrobeByDulcinea
Website: https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/WardrobeByDulcinea
Bridesmaids dresses: Willow and Pearl
Website: https://willowandpearl.co.uk/
Brides Shoes: Dr Martens
Website: https://www.drmartens.com/
Suits: Next
Website: www.next.co.uk
Florist and Venue Decoration: Anemone Blue
Website: https://www.anemoneblue.co.uk/
Cake: The Cake Witch
Website: https://thecakewitch.co.uk/
Band/DJ: Fred Clark and Iain Baker
Website: https://www.fredclark.co.uk/
https://www.iainbakerweddingdj.co.uk/

Over Christmas I was fortunate to document two weddings at Winters Barn. Liz & Tim’s wedding being the last wedding of 2018. Full of Christmas sparkle and joy the whole day was simply a big ball of fun! I love this couple and Liz has been basically my rock before and after her wedding day, she has become what feels like - correction a good friend and I plan to have her and Tim permanently in my life!

The day was a typical crisp winter wedding but to make it even more awesome Liz & Tim had reindeers at their wedding, I never realised how big they was and trust me the saying never work with children and animals applied heavily here these reindeers did not want to have their picture taken unless moss was involved but fortunately I got some super cute shots!

We spent the whole day laughing, full of innuendo’s and I even sung rocky horror show to my gorgeous couple… thats just how I roll. My voice however questionable.

This is the only wedding where I received a gift during speeches which I won’t lie made me well up massively got a big old bottle of gin - yum and some stressticles!

Liz you looked absolutely stunning and definitely a gaga lookalike and Tim worked that top hat and epic beard! Love you guys and I hope you like your sneak peek.

Carla x

Hair and Make up by Occasional and Make up by Marina

Venue Winters Barn

Dj Harry Kilb

Emma and Jack booked me last year just before Christmas - fortunately I was available and  especially after Emma told me about her wedding I was really excited and pleased I was free for her day! Emma use to be my daughters school teacher when she lived in Kent. Emma's friend who also taught my daughter recommended me to Emma, I am so glad she did! The wedding was pretty cool arriving in style on a vintage green bus, whilst the groom arrived in style on a red double decker bus. We had prosecco, amazing old school tunes which filled the bus with laughter and cheer as we attempted to sing in tune ha! Heres what Emma and Jack have to say about their awesome day!!

How did you both meet? We met at a party hosted by Chris, Jack's brother and one of my best friends. Our paths had never crossed until then.

Jack can you tell me how you proposed to Emma? Emma has always said that she never wanted to be proposed to as she felt that it was important for a couple to decide together whether they were ready to get married or not, not just the man. So we both woke up one Saturday morning and decided that it was something we wanted to do, then we went from there. Not particularly romantic, but suited us both perfectly.

What made you guys choose your wedding venue? We chose Asia House in the heart of Westminster as it is in the heart of our favourite city and Emma's birthplace. We loved the idea of getting married in the centre of London and then giving our family and friends a little tour of our favourite landmarks (whilst drinking bubbly) on some vintage London buses. For the reception we chose The Balham Bowls Club in Balham, just up the road from Emma's parents home in Clapham. It is a really laid back, quirky venue where the staff were so friendly, flexible and helpful. We wanted our wedding to be relaxed and fun for everyone above anything else and we felt that The Balham Bowls Club ticked all of the boxes for us.

What was your inspiration behind your wedding theme? We had quite a mish-mash of themes. We wanted to include some of our favourite things but in a way that meant the wedding was enjoyable for all of our family and friends. Music is very important to us and we carefully selected music from a range of decades (with the help of our friend Jan) which provoked a feeling of nostalgia. We decorated the room at The Balham Bowls Club with plenty of candles, but for us, the room really had it's own unique character which we didn't want to change.

Our seating plan was a 1939 version of the London Underground map which was a nod to our beloved London, as well as the buses. The tables were named after some of our favourite bands and singers so we used our 45'' records of the artists to mark the tables. The menus were printed on the back of Ladybird book front cover post cards, which we carefully matched to our guests, to much delight (and dismay!). Gin bottles acted as vases for the flowers and the favours were a mixed cd which included some of the tunes played at the wedding.

So all in all, a real eclectic mix! 

What was your first song and why? Our first song was a medley. We started off with a slow dance to La Mer by Charles Trenet as we really love it. Then it cut into The Twist by Chubby Checker (a nod to the sixties). At this point the best men/women and bridesmaids came on and joined in the routine. The medley included:

Misirlou by Dick Dale ( a great tune, a great dance move)

Wuthering Heights by Kate Bush (Emma's favourite song of all time)

Riverdance ( a nod to our Irish family)

Twist and Shout by The Beatles (one of Jack's favourites)

If you could give any couples getting married one tip what would it be? Don't worry or stress about the little things-they really, really don't matter. Above all, enjoy every minute!

Wedding Suppliers

Photographer: Carla Guest Photography

Hair stylist: Lipstick and Curls, Goshka Topolska

Website: www.lipstickandcurls.net

Make up artist: Lipstick and Curls, Goshka Topolska

Website: www.lipstickandcurls.net

Brides Dress: Candy Anthony

Website: candyanthony.com

Bridesmaids dresses: Coast

Website: www.coast-stores.com

Brides Shoes: Vivienne Westwood and Melissa

Website: www.nonnon.co.uk

Grooms Shoes: Marks and Spencer

Website: www.marksandspencer.com

Suits: Burtons

Website: www.burton.co.uk

Florist and Venue Decoration: The Flower Sanctuary Balham (plus a bit a DIY!)

Website: www.flowersanctuary.co.uk

Cake: June Bridges (Jack's nan)

Band/DJ: Imagine the Beatles

Website: www.imaginethebeatles.co.uk

Car/Transport Hirer: The London Bus Company

Website: www.thelondonbuscompany.co.uk

Wedding Venue: Asia House followed by The Balham Bowls Club

Website: asiahouse.org      balhambowlsclub.com

Sally and Julian had what I call the most intimate weddings I have ever documented I have photographed many weddings in Kent but this one for me nailed it. We started off at The Marine Hotel, whitstable, Kent for bridal prep, Sally had her best friend do her hair, make up and even did her gorgeous bouquet. Even thought here was only two people getting ready at the hotel it did not stop the laughter and giggles. Sally was so excited and you could really see it, her eyes lit up and sparkled whenever she spoke about her wedding day. She had two pairs of shoes for the day, my kinda girl! Sparkly gold shoes right up my street! But to sill the deal she had these amazing irregular choice bride and groom shoes - epic!

Her lovely father was equally over the moon, he absolutely adored his daughter and treated her to an awesome wedding transport in the shape of a yellow VW camper van sporting black and white chequered flooring! We managed to get a few sneaky shots by Tankerton slopes before heading off to the tiniest church I have ever photographed a wedding at - it could only fit 50 guests if you are friendly (vicars words)plus their dog. So I spent most of the wedding shooting from the back with limited moving around but it actually worked out ok for me and managed to get some lovely shots of the gorgeous couple during the ceremony. We had a confetti shot which I love doing but this one was extra special as the vicar told the guest it was ok, they instantly thought they could throw straight away and launched the dry petals at Julian and Sally inside the church made everyone giggle and since handing over there USB & Box Sally and Julian both commented on who was the culprit that started the mass confetti launching was! We had lots of laughs and it was wonderful to hear them reminisce about their day after receiving their images. Reception was held at Sally & Julian's house with paella being cooked as we walked in! 

The day was lovely, full of intimate moments especially when we went off for some private shots down at hampton pier. Stunning couple full of colour and love. These two made me feel so warm and fuzzy I had such a buzz and feel very privileged to have been asked to capture their day.

Carla x

Connie and Reece had a super cool wedding, A festival vibe wedding if you will. Bell tents, muddy field, wellies, bunting, ducks and rain it was gorgeous. Even though we didn't have the weather on our side all week it did not dampen anyones spirits.

Connie had her dress made by her very talented father, on the day itself he was in his workshop sewing away making adjustments to the bridesmaid dresses he also created. Connie is a stunning woman naturally but in her wedding dress I was simply blown away by how striking she looked. 

The reception was held at her Dad's place and Connie spent a week away from Reece dressing and organising the marquee and field. You could see on the wedding day as she walked down the aisle both of them were so eager to see each other, Reece kept turning around as he waited for her to walked up the aisle and on meeting him Connie gave him the biggest smooch! The whole day was spent with giggles, love and lots of cuddles. Add some funky music and hilarious speeches and you have yourself a fab wedding.

I loved capturing their day and really did not want to leave. Congratulations guys and thank you so much for your lovely words, I am happy to help and chip in where I can at weddings so it was nice to feel appreciated. :0)

I had the lovely job of photographing these two love birds down on the beach on the the sunniest day and it was perfect. They brought along their little boy Luca and their gorgeous staffy Maisy. Luca was my assistant and he took some very cute pictures of his Mummy and Daddy. The tones in yesterdays session were simply gorgeous and I am a sucker for pinks and blues so it was my idea of stunning!!

I actually feel really honoured to be this couples wedding photographer. They are so excited about me capturing their special and I am too. It's lovely to see a couple who have been together for such a long time and still be completely smitten!!

Heres a few sneaky peeks from the shoot.

Last Saturday I had the wonderful job of capturing this awesome couples engagement shoot. They travelled all the way from Hampshire to spend a few hours with me. It was a mother woodland adventure and another freezing day but so worth it. They brought along their gorgeous daughter Ava who is 7 months and I had my little assistant in the shape of  my 11 year old son. Ava adored Indie and was full of cute smiles for him. After our exploration in the woods we decided to drive to my mother in law to be which was only round the corner to finish up the shoot with some different shots, whilst little lady sat indoors with her Nanny by the fire. These two were awesome and their DIY wedding sounds amazing with a hint of harry potter as a theme - I get to go to Hampshire to capture it. I love their story of how they met at Reading festival!! 

Their images consist of some classic and alternative styles and I really adore the mixture. I did a bit of experimenting using a technique I have learned via Sam Hurd - an american photographer called prisming using a prism in front of the lens I love the double exposure style effect its has without being a double exposure.