Christmas Weddings

I've been thinking about what I'd like to say about Christmas and the thought came to me that I'd really just like to skip it. Make like everyone is too busy this time of year, no one will read this post and I won't have to be witty about a holiday that I'm not so keen on anyway. Bah humbug, right? Ok. I admit it. I'm a halloween baby, so Christmas is an after thought to me!

So then I got to wondering, what positive things can I say about this holiday that everyone seems to cherish so much? I needed to think about what Christmas means to me, 'cuz I don't have the same take as other people, I think. So what did I do? I cleaned the house. And joy of joy, my husband just picked up a mop and cleaned right along with me! "Ha" I thought. Now THAT'S what my Christmas is about.

Love.

And it really comes in all kinds of packages. This morning I was remembering some of my favorite teachers. You know the ones. The ones that made a difference. One of those for me was Mr. Hunt at Upton Junior High, St. Joseph, Michigan. He was my english teacher. I remember he hollered at me one day because I was scribbling away in a note book when I was supposed to be listening to some boring lecture on grammar. I was a bit embarrassed, not at being hollered at in front of the whole class, but for my excuse for not listening. (Actually, I've always been a good multi-tasker and in fact WAS listening!) So when Mr. Hunt asked me what was so important that I should be writing away instead of listening, I, uh, told the truth. I told him I was copying a poem I really liked from a book. He paused, probably a bit stunned, then smiled from ear to ear! "Carry on, Ms. Stone. Carry on." And so I did.

I'll never forget Mr. Hunt. He gave me a love for literature, for poetry, for language. Later, I had a lit teacher called Mr. Driscoll at Interlochen Arts Academy, Michigan, where I went to High School. I think most of the girls at school were head over heels for him. I guess I might have been a little bit too, but I found a boy that year that was my own age. That made more sense to me than some silly crush on a teacher who seemed happily married anyway. Mr. Driscoll, did, however, keep the fire in my heart for literature alive. Like Mr. Hunt, I'd like to thank them for that.

So what's all this got to do with Christmas? Well, when I think of these people who made such a difference in my life, I think of how great I've got it. I figure I got it so great because these people shared a passion with me. They shared their love of literature. And it made a difference. It made a difference to ME. It made me a better person and it made me want to do something similar for others.

Christmas is, if nothing else, a time to be grateful for loved ones- past and present- and celebrate the love we have to share. As far as photography goes, some can look at it like- UGH! I don't want to work over the holidays and the light is so, well, not there much! Personally, I choose to look at like this: Heck, I think it's a great time of year to share love. That makes it a great time of year to get married. It also means you may not need to spend so much on flowers because most venues decorate for the holidays anyway! Bonus!

So here's a couple of my favorite Christmas wedding images. I've got a great one coming up too. I'm so excited because we're going to have loads of those "bonus" decorations in Dunster Village, Somerset, UK. It's a medieval village. It's gonna be so cool. But mostly it's gonna be cool because the couple are in love. They're excited and their happy. So whether I believe in Santa or not, even if I'm not over the moon about the day itself, I do embrace the spirit. And I'm open for a Christmas wedding 2011!

Essex Baby Bump Photography

This post is a long time coming and apologies to those who waited so long! See, I'm an American in England. Of course, England doesn't celebrate Thanksgiving- I mean, why would they? Although this American holiday is lost on a few Brits, I think many WOULD  like to have a similar holiday. But I digress so quickly. This is all leading up to my excuse as to why it took so long to blog this Baby Bump session. According to my excellent record keeping, I shot this the second week in October. So really, I have no excuses! There, now on to the shoot.

Cory is another American in England. Only she's now in Scotland and soon to go back to America. I met her when a coworker of my husband's brought her out to England for a week. She was young and very pretty, so naturally, I didn't really like her much at first. Hehe. Just kidding! We were at a mutual friend's house and Robert and I were outside chatting. I asked him about this girl he brought over and what was the scoop. Yeh, I know. Sounds like his mom, right? But being the perfect gentleman that he is, he voiced his opinions on the subject in a diplomatic way. I was like, whatever. YOU SHOULD MARRY HER! I mean, she wasn't going back to America to just hang out and wait. I guess he gave that advice some thought, 'cuz he married her. That was great for me, 'cuz I got a new friend with the deal. She's a great friend and I have been privileged to document many special moments in their lives. The most recent, of course, being Cory's first pregnancy. And WOW! it's a doozy. I never seen a 5'3" women with such a protrusion!

Cory, her husband Robert, Lily the Wonder Dog and little Miss Amelia are moving back to the good 'ole USA in January. They will be much missed. Here's a taste of what a Baby Bump photo session can bring. (And yes, I always get permission before sharing images.)

Faith Stone Photography can make collages like this into beautiful Essex Baby Bump wall art as framed prints, canvases or acrylics. Contact us for details.

Peak at our latest Wedding Guest Book

Here's a peak at our latest guest book design, an Asuka Book, 7x7" 20 page hard covered coffee table book. It's a lovely keepsake and goes perfectly with a wedding album of the same style. These books are offered exclusively through Faith Stone Photography and are one of our many unique books on offer. We will even design them with your own images if you like! 

Essex Engagement Portraits

Playing catch up here and about to show you a couple I photographed back in July 2010. Lucina found me at wedding fair and took me up on a limited time offer of a deeply discounted engagement photo session here in Burnham-On-Crouch, Essex. First we did some lovely Mother-Daughter pics, then Daniel came along and we went for a wee walk down to the waterfront and park. Burnham is a great place for location portraiture because there's such a great variety of places to choose from. This couple doesn't have a date picked yet, but I know I'd be honored should they choose me to document their wedding day!

I'm so Lucky

So the light is dimming earlier and winter is upon us. I actually love fall, but I have to admit, winter is not my favorite season. I'm from Colorado and there never seems to be a lack of light there. Although I've been in England for about 5 years now, I'm still not quite adjusted to the lack of light this time of year! Sometimes I even get down right bummed and home sick. I'm very lucky, though, because I have a wonderful golden retriever named Molson (he's Canadian, therefore the name) a mixed breed dog called Zuzu (her original name was Juju, but I misunderstood the lady at the rescue centre and just decided Zuzu sounded better. She seems to be ok with it too. The dog, not the lady at the rescue centre.) and Matilda, my 17 year old cat. I have to admit, though, and not playing favorites, but Matilda is my pride and joy. (Ok, maybe I am showing a little favoritism. But she's 17. And we've been hanging out for almost 16 of those. You get it, right?)

Now when I have a couple over for a consultation or a shoot, I try to keep the dogs out of the way. As lovely as they are, not everyone is a dog person. And if they show up in black, they won't leave without some golden hair all over their clothes! Matilda, on the other hand, is, well, a cat. There's really no telling a cat what to do, so I just don't bother much. When Samantha and Andrew came by for their consultation, Matilda wandered in. I immediately lost Samantha as she oohed and aahed at Matilda and just decided to go with it. I left the room to make some tea or something, where upon Matilda decided to release a hair ball not 100 yards from the lovely couple. Oh geez. I quickly cleaned it up and tried to make light of it. It didn't seem to throw the couple off too much and they booked me. Whew.....

Here's a composite of my favorites from the engagement session.

I actually think the above would make a lovely canvas or acrylic. Beautiful wall art is one of the many options I offer a couple. Albums, however, are my specialty. This couple is getting the most unique book in these parts, a guest book with their engagement images. If you'd like to have a look at the layout of these kinds of books, go here: http://www.faithstonephotography.com/SamAndrewGuestBook2/

If you join me on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Somerset-UK/Faith-Stone-Photography/62282506577?ref=ts) you'll find out about a great offer I have on right now so you can get your hands on one of these babies.

Samantha and Andrew are getting married in May 2011. I can't wait 'cuz this couple are so relaxed and easy to work with. I hope they find it dido with me. Seems so, as Samantha said they laughed all the way home after this shoot. That makes me feel awesome! If a couple goes away from an engagement session just a little more in love, just a little happier, and on top of it all, laughs on the way home, then I've done my job. The images, of course, need to look great too. That's not luck. But finding a couple like this makes me feel lucky. Lucky that I have a great feline and lucky I get to hang with great couples like this.

Friends Make Great Clients!

Wow. I recently got a little slack on keeping up with my blog. I feel like I let some people down. I mean, my last wedding was a dream job. They're friends first and became clients. It meant so much to me that they even considered me to document their wedding day. We went back and forth a bit to get the package just right, and it all worked out in the end. That's how it should be. Get the package YOU want.

Ross and Christy manage one of my favorite pubs in Watchet, Somerset. Here's the thing. There are quite a  few pubs in Watchet and it's hard to say which one is my favorite as we have friends that frequent any number of them. So I don't want to tell the world one pub is more favored over another because I really don't want to offend anyone. Pubs in Watchet, I think, are like moods. Sometimes I'm in the mood to go to the Anchor. Sometimes I'm in the mood to go to the London. But for the most part, The Star Inn was the easiest, closest to home, REALLY good ales and that warm comfy feeling one appreciates in a pub. Bonus is, Ross and Christy are great publicans! (And yes, Christy, your pepper sauce is still superior!!!)

Having said that, their wedding day did not disappoint. Ross made the cake and it was really clever. Christy's dress was amazing and her sister was THE most, so on top of it, helpful and excited person I've ever encountered at a wedding! She really made my job easy and big Kudos and thanks for that:)

The ceremony and reception were held at Raleghs Cross Inn, Exmoor, Somerset. Although I've done a wedding fair there and know the place, I'd never shot a wedding there. The team there were so great in helping me find my way around and organizing the day. Kudos to them!

Although we've relocated to Essex, I always love the opportunity to go back to Somerset to visit friends and shoot. It's outstandingly beautiful and there's never a shortage of shooting locations. This wedding, in particular, was a great event for all the reasons I stated, but also one more. This couple knows ALOT of people, as you can imagine. They kept their wedding a little more on the intimate side, though, and the reception grew in numbers. But it seemed to me that ALL the people there were genuinely happy and supportive of these two people getting hitched. It was gratifying, because I have a pretty good record of my couples still being together. I like that. It means they might have kids. It means they might call me to shoot their pregnancy, then their baby, then their family pics. But most of all, it makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside that THESE sort of people are the ones that choose me to shoot their wedding.  The kind of people who are genuine. The kind of people who value their bonds with others. The kind of people like Ross and Christy. Thanks guys, and hope you have a great Mexican honeymoon! Vayas Con Dios.

Another lovely Leather Craftsmen Album

I've blogged a couple of times about this couple, but the thing is, I just got their final album and I gotta blog it, well, because this is a bit of a run on sentence and for sure, it's a LEATHER CRAFTSMEN! So have a look-see, 'cuz it's DA BOMB!!

If you're a Leather Craftsmen fan, this is a 9x12 Vertical, 3500 Flush Series, Split edition with standard black pages. It's Top Grain Ivory Leather with Gold, Modern Imprinting and a 2.5x3.5 Inset Cover Image.