Sarah and Sam and the snow machine … their full wedding story at Hadlow Manor

In the downtime between Christmas and New Year, what better way to celebrate than to have a wedding! Sarah and Sam chose Hadlow Manor near Tonbridge for their entire day and I was delighted to be chosen to capture their day. As soon as I met Sarah and her family, I knew that this would be a wedding full of love and emotion … although Sam might rather have been fishing …

I met up with the boys who were struggling to solve the age old problem of … tying a cravat! I really should learn how to do it to help out as I’m so often asked!

The girls weren’t having any issues, helped with mince pies and champagne!

I absolutely love this image … Sarah, you looked so happy and confident and amazing!

The ceremony room, despite being December, was bathed with light and made my job very easy indeed …

And out into the “snow”, organised by Sarah’s sister and complete surprise for the bride!

We were so lucky to be able to have some photographs in the grounds despite the light fading. It’s also nice for the bride and groom to have some time alone … with me, of course!

Before it was time for me to leave, we had time for a few night portraits and then it was time for the bride and groom to rejoin their guests and dance late into the night …

Thank you both for having me along at your wedding and for making me feel so incredibly welcome. I also really enjoyed designing your album and hope that you will be taking another look or two on your anniversary. With much love to you both xx

Suppliers for Sarah and Sam were:

Bride’s dress was from Elizabeth King in Hildenborough
Boys’ suits from Moss Bros
Flower girl dress – Monsoon
Bridesmaids – Yours Truly, Maidstone
Bride’s fur shrug and tiara – Perfection, Maidstone
Flowers – Flowers For All Occasions
Make up – Helen Lee
Hair – Kelly Hussey

Social media portraits for the team at Hadlow Manor

Image is everything … people buy people and they like to know what you look like! If you are in business, it is very important, and highly recommended, to have a personal profile page accompanied by an image of you. I know, I know, so many people dislike having their photograph taken but I joined the team at Hadlow Manor recently as they appreciate just how important it is to have clear profile images.

You can find them here: www.hadlowmanor.co.uk/our-team and I’m delighted to be on their list of recommended recommended wedding suppliers. So now you know that, when you call to ask for a show round for your wedding or celebration at Hadlow Manor and speak to Una … you know what she looks like!

I love photographing weddings at Hadlow – the venue and grounds lend themselves to beautiful images and whether it is sunny or rainy, there is always somewhere to get beautiful photographs.

If you are planning a celebration at Hadlow Manor, whether it is a wedding, a christening or a birthday party, drop me a line sam@samanthajonesphotography.co.uk and tell me all about your plans!

Looking back on 2012 and looking forward to 2013 …

The end of one year and the start of the next is always a great time to sit and reflect on what’s in the past and what is to come. I’ve had the best year yet in my photography business and wanted to share with you images from all my 2012 weddings. A further blog post will cover family photoshoots and also bump to baby sessions.

My wedding year started in March, when I joined Julie and Peter for their celebrations.

May then saw me at Jo and Christian’s wedding at Hamlet’s Hotel … a bright, warm and fun day!

June was a busy month, with three wonderful weddings, first, Joanna and Tom in Lenham …

Followed by Jade and Callum and their Archbishop’s Palace wedding …

And hard on their heels was Emma and Mark’s wedding at St Edmund’s in Canterbury. Pink, stylish and fun!

I had a couple of weekends with “back to back” weddings, ie a Friday wedding followed by another wedding on Saturday. Tiring but inspiring!

Pamela and Daniel’s wedding at Hadlow Manor was such an example. The summer of 2012 was quite a tough one, weatherwise, but the sun shone for this couple … and they were the first of my four weddings at Hadlow Manor in 2012!

The following day saw the celebrations of Carolyn and Daniel who were married in Woodnesborough on a day that was alternately sunny, raining, sunny … you get the picture!

When I mentioned rain, I immediately thought of my next wedding at Lympne Castle with the lovely Frances and Phil – egg and spoon races, Bombay Sapphire Gin as wedding favours, cake made by the groom … gorgeous!

Rowhill Grange was the venue for Emma and Luke’s outside wedding which was delayed until the rain stopped. But it didn’t dampen their enjoyment of the whole day!

August was filled with weddings – six of them in total! Such an amazingly busy month with very individual and personal weddings. Such as that of Tasha and Nick who celebrated a windy outside wedding at the Blazing Donkey. As far as personal details go, this couple filled their day with them!

And the weather was hotting up for Lydia and Peter’s wedding in Whitstable and then at Provender House near Faversham. With a beautiful wedding cake made by Peter’s sister, and whole host of bridesmaids and some dashingly handsome groomsmen, the ingredients were all there for an amazing day!

I returned to Hadlow Manor just a few days later for Julie and Noel – oh the giggling! This image makes me smile every time!

Another hot day in August saw me luckily by the seaside for the Dover wedding of Jakki and Colin. A very unusually styled wedding dress and a love poem … gorgeous!

Another two weddings followed in quick succession … and my first wedding at Quex House for the fabulous Charly and Mark – another lucky couple who managed to dodge the rain!

And a trip to the south coast of Kent for Sarah and Ray’s Sandwich Guildhall wedding with a super set of wedding guests and lots of post-wedding dancing in the sunshine – their wedding day was super hot!

Another four weddings followed in September … starting with teachers Rosie and David and their very large wedding celebrations in Chilham and Faversham. The couple had decided on a sharing wedding breakfast and the choice was amazing!

Teresa and Ray were another of my Hadlow Manor wedding couples on a beautiful and very warm September Saturday!

Another new venue for me, the wonderful Newlands Chapel and the fantastic Kily and Ed. Oh Kily, you took everyone’s breath away when you walked into the chapel … and you looked … gorge!

I also joined Hilary and David for their celebrations at Mount Ephraim – a beautiful wedding venue on a gorgeous late September day.

And my wedding season stretched into October and my last wedding at Hadlow Manor was that of Carole and Peter. Fabulous, fun, relaxed and very entertaining … and the widest of smiles too!

The weather was changing … and for my last wedding of the year, it was 6 degrees and gale force winds. It was great to see out my year for a Faversham wedding and Heather and Andy’s wedding at the Parish Church was windy, cold and full of emotion. And the memories of getting “the” sunset shot will stay with me for ever!

So, that was my year in weddings. I love hearing from all my couples and sometimes even with good news of additions to their families. I’m so looking forward to 2013 and meeting lots of new brides and grooms and creating the most amazing memories. Happy New Year!

If you are interested in discussing your own wedding photography requirements, do email me sam@samanthajonesphotography.co.uk and you can find out more about the current packages on offer by clicking here.

Bridal portraits at {Hadlow Manor} by Samantha Jones Photography

I attended the Wedding Experience wedding fair at Hadlow Manor yesterday and heard about so many different wedding plans! I just thought that I would put up a quick blog post which includes some shots which I took earlier on this year for Hadlow Manor’s wedding brochure. As a wedding photographer, we always look for light … whether it is natural or from a chandelier and I am delighted that Hadlow Manor has lots of lovely light!

Of course, I don’t just photograph weddings at Hadlow Manor … I’ll be emailing out to all of the lovely brides who took the time to stop and chat. I’d love to hear more about your plans and, of course, to photograph lots of your gorgeous weddings!

{Engagement photoshoot} with Sue and Peter at Hadlow Manor

It was damp, dreary and overcast. Not the nicest of days for a photoshoot but Sue and Peter could only make one specific day. I met them whilst they were making their final menu choices for their wedding day and we chatted through a few final details.

And then … we took some pictures!

Sue and Peter had come back from temperatures around 32 degrees. On the day of the shoot it was more like 6 degrees and felt much colder! However, they braved the weather …

and as their wedding is in December, I guess it prepared us all for what might come!

After deciding to bounce my flash on the floor (thank goodness that Nikon make their products well!), we had time for a few “bench” shots …

I interact a lot with my clients. However, I don’t quite recall what I said to cause such a reaction!

By this time, it was getting seriously chilly so we decided to repair to Sue’s parents house for a warming cup of tea. Sue did admit that she really hadn’t been looking forward to the photography side of their wedding day but luckily, after our shoot together, she is now quite happy about it! Another good reason to offer engagement photoshoots.

So, see you both again in December … a nice, bright, clear and sunny day would be just perfect!

And remember, no misbehaving by the church:

If you are looking for a wedding photographer but are concerned or nervous about having your picture taken, do check out my website www.samanthajonesphotography.co.uk or book a photoshoot with me. Drop me a line if you want to chat further: sam@samanthajonesphotography.co.uk.