Helen Lisk Photography

A wedding at The Tithe Barn, Symondsbury: Katy & Steven

I have so many beautiful weddings to catch up with on the blog. I have just received the most wonderful set of Fine Art Wedding Albums for Katy and Steven, and it prompted me to put this blog post together to look back at their wedding day. It took place at the Tithe Barn at Symondsbury in Dorset, which was absolutely brand spanking new at the time of their wedding - well, they were wedding number two, so I think that still counts! With the iconic Colmers Hill in the background, pretty gardens and tons of light and space inside, the Tithe Barn is a gorgeous wedding venue and it was lovely to photograph a wedding there.

I absolutely loved Katy and Steven's day and the way they decorated the barn. The anchor motif, taken from Katy's tattoo, ran throughout everything, from the stationery and signposts to the wonderful bespoke light on the wall. The table places were beautifully cross stitched by Katy, bearing the names of their favourite metal and punk bands, which was just a fantastic juxtaposition, especially with the most exquisite floral arrangements around them as well. It was a wonderful day and I couldn't be more excited about delivering the albums! Also, massive congratulations to Katy and Steven, as their baby son was born a few weeks ago - just fantastic news. Here is a look back at their wedding day last summer...

When Emily booked me to photograph their family, she said that above everything else, she wanted to capture their family as it actually is - "a memory of how we are today: happy, grumpy, sad, excited, loving". The session was all about letting their family spend time together in the way that they normally do, and me photographing all of that for them. Which is exactly what we did - stomping through the forest, exploring the terrain, searching for the Gruffalo and firing imaginary arrows through the trees... with lots of smiles, a few tears and a little grumpiness, an injured hand and a get-better kiss from Mummy, some tired, cold shivers, a nice warm hot chocolate and lots and lots of laughter and cuddles! These images together create a really wonderful portrait of their family and I loved the opportunity to capture it for them. Special memories of these precious times, before little legs grow taller, tears no longer need wiping away and hand holding is stoutly refused!! Here are a few images from their session...

A family having fun in the woods together

Well, 2014, what can I say..?! Having spent the past couple of days preparing this blog post, I am left feeling totally overwhelmed and more than a little humbled by all the incredible wedding days I have been invited to be a part of. I have worked with so many absolutely amazing people, photographed weddings in a range of locations, including woodlands, beaches, tipis and gardens, as well as some truly stunning churches. It never fails to amaze me how emotional the journey is with each wedding day. I watch each couple preparing for their ceremony, feel the anticipation, see the parents' emotions, the excitement rising, all leading to this incredible moment of joining together in the ceremony. I love the final meeting of each couple, the first look at each other, the solemnity of the vows. I love the sense of release afterwards, the smiles, the stolen glances in church, the kisses and the confetti. It is then wonderful to join with the celebrations through the rest of the day, to listen to the speeches and see the tears and laughter, to watch each couple surrounded by all the people that they love most, and to capture this amazing time for them. It gives me such immense pleasure to photograph all this and to create a set of images that help them to remember the feelings of their wedding day for ever more.

As always, my 'shortlist' was massively too long, so I have had to leave out many of the beautiful photographs that I would have liked to include. This selection is probably still a little lengthy, but I really didn't want to leave out any more - let the page load for a moment and come back and enjoy it all. A huge, heartfelt thank you to every couple who has invited me to photograph their day for them this year - you have all been absolutely extraordinary and I am only here, doing this, because you put your faith in me and trust me to record this most special of times for you. Thank you also to all the brilliant suppliers I have worked with, all helping to make these wedding days so magical for everyone involved. Thank you all - have a wonderful Christmas and New Year. This was 2014:

I really love winter weddings, with that beautiful, soft light and everyone wrapped up warmly inside with fires roaring - I think there is something so romantic about them and I really can't wait for Milly and Duncan's wedding day at the beginning of January! If we have weather like we had for their engagement shoot in Bristol then I will be particularly delighted. Here are a few of my favourite images from our stroll through beautiful Clifton. We started at the bench where they got engaged, and walked up to watch the sun setting over the Clifton Suspension Bridge - it was truly glorious.