Last Friday, after talking to a packed out room at the SWPP Convention about how to run a successful portrait business, I dashed over to the Dorchester for Mark Niemierko’s Best of British Weddings Tea Party. The event was being held in honour of Darcy Miller, editor of Martha Stewart Weddings in the US.

It was just what the doctor ordered after a long week of presentation writing and delivering, as well as extending our studio into another space. Although Mark called it a “Tea Party”, I was greeted by hunky Abercrombie & Fitch-style models dressed in period drama livery and serving champagne and canapés. Okay, I couldn’t resist having my photo taken with them (photo credit: Jeremy Enness).

It was great to catch up with many of my wedding industry friends. I talked Italian wedding magazines with David Fielden’s personal assistant; hiring in a company to cater your home dinner party with the PR team from Temperley; how long it would take to get a hair appointment with Ian Carmichael, the Queen’s own hairdresser; and babies with Phillipa Lepley and Stephanie Allin. By the time I hailed a cab to take me home, I was merrily tipsy.

Oh, and I met Darcy Miller on the lift on the way up to the Dorchester Penthouse suite before she got completely swamped in the scrum of networking. I gave her a gift of one of our limited edition Boggio photo books. She said I don’t really sound American anymore. Yes, I seem to have acquired Madonna accent, “citizen of the world” thing over the last 14 years.

Thank you to Mark and his team for a wonderful party and thank you to the Dorchester, just for being classy.

NIEMIERKO AFTERNOON TEA FOR DARCY MILLER, EDITORIAL DIRECTOR OF MARTHA STEWART WEDDINGS from Niemierko on Vimeo.

The third annual Boggies are here! This has been a great year, mostly due to the birth of my supercalifragilistic daughter. I also started my mummy blog, www.icarriedawatermelon.co.uk, where I talk about the thrills of motherhood and share images that I’ve taken of Baby. This girl is going to have a bigger portfolio than Kate Moss by the time she’s one year old.

On the business side, I haven’t been sitting around twiddling my thumbs. I won Entrepreneur of the Year for the second year running at the Merton Business Awards. BritMums, the fabulous mummy blogging website, asked me to be the Photographer in Residence giving advice to their membership on the topic of photography and to speak at their BritMums Live Conference in 2012, alongside Ruby Wax. And, of course, I’ve continued writing my column for Photo Professional magazine, which is going from strength to strength and has just had a superb re-design. To finish off the year, I shot the infamous holiday card of international wedding planning superstar, Mark Niemierko.

On top of all this, I’ve been followed for 7 months for a documentary called Becoming Mum that you’ll hopefully be able to see in the New Year. Please note: I do not look attractive in about 95% of the footage.

I haven’t shot as many weddings as usual in 2011, due to the fact that I gave birth and have been spending my time singing songs from The Sound of Music to my baby. However, here is a selection of Boggies for your end of the year delectation. Enjoy!

Best Groom Impersonation of Robbie Williams

This wedding, shot on a cold but sunny day at the beginning of December, was at the gorgeous Stoke Place. The groom was quite happy when I said to him, “Has anyone ever told you that you look a little bit like Robbie Williams?” I mean, am I wrong?! He’s also rocking the flat cap look, methinks.
The bride didn’t have a looky-likey, but was absolutely gorgeous (hair and make-up by dream team Severin Hubert and Lina Cameron). I have no doubt that you’ll be seeing this wedding in a magazine next year, as Lisa, the bride, is also a talented wedding planner and her details exuded class.

I could also give this wedding an award for Best Entertainment, as they enjoyed a raucous song and dance show by X-Factor’s Kitty. Already on the wedding circuit, she was definitely entertaining and the guests loved her.

Best Prop Purchase

These were the red balloons that just kept giving. We purchased them for a teen fashion shoot. They were still alive a couple days later, so I brought them to a wedding.

Then I had another wedding 4 days later and they were still floating strong, so I brought them to that.

I killed them afterwards, but they’ll live on forever in these photographs. Amen.

Best Use of Car Windows

Do I really need to say more?

Best Kitsch Group Shot

I seem to have earned myself the title of “Queen of the Kitsch Group Shot”, so I wouldn’t want to deprive the Boggies of a prime example. This wedding, shot at the ANdAZ hotel near Liverpool Street, was a lot of fun. The bride, aside from being a ringer for Joan from Mad Men (see image from pre-wedding shoot below), put loads of thought into her wedding details, hand-making most of them. I also love the colourful bridesmaid dresses. I don’t want to say too much, as this wedding will be featured on Rock My Wedding early in 2012.

Best Ceremony Lighting

I love it when the couple actually have light on them during the ceremony. One of my pet hates is celebrants who tell you that you can’t use flash during the ceremony and then they stand in the good light, leaving the couple in darkness. Not so at this lovely Jewish wedding. In fact, I think I fell in love with the Rabbi a little bit because he told us that we could use flash, go anywhere we wanted, and even ask him to move if we needed to (actually, I think it looks better with him in the way ;o). And this is just a nice picture of the couple.

Best Pre-Wedding Shoot in a Cemetery

I was over the moon when this couple hired me to do their Goth pre-wedding and wedding photography, especially when they told me they wanted to do the engagement shoot in Abney Cemetery. It’s a Victorian cemetery with the most amazing gravestones and statues. I couldn’t believe it when I actually found a stone cross with just “R.I.P.” written on it. I’m really looking forward to their wedding next year. I can already feel my creative juices boiling just thinking about it.

Best Use of a Dim Sum Restaurant

My favourite part of this photo is the guy sitting at the table behind them, who looks completely unimpressed by the bride and groom.

Most Likely to Be Used in a Perfume Ad

I don’t know why, but this picture just makes me think of a perfume ad. Is it the glowing bride? The pastel bouquet? The yellow shrubbery? Who knows, but I’ve left room for copy on the right.

Best Shoot with RMW while 32 Weeks Pregnant

Just before I headed off on maternity leave, I teamed up with the lovely folks at wedding blog Rock My Wedding for a shoot that looked at upcoming wedding trends. I was 32-weeks pregnant at the time, but that didn’t stop me from climbing up a ladder to get the bride on records shot above. You can view more images on these links:
Dolly Rock
Dolly Pop Part 1
Dolly Pop Part 2
Dolly Daydream
Dolly Shoot Video

Best Superhero-themed Wedding

I’m so glad this was my first wedding back on the job this year. It took place at Nonsuch Mansion (same location as the RMW shoot above). In fact, the bride and groom were on the cover of Your London Wedding in December. For the pre-wedding shoot, we wandered around Notting Hill with our bag of superhero props. On the wedding day, I especially loved the cake topper, which the bride had made in the States.

And I have to say, it’s my favourite ring shot of the year. Go, Captain America!

As many know, we also run a training school for professional photographers at Julia Boggio High. We just had an amazing write-up in Photo Pro magazine with one of our past delegates on our Photographic Entrepreneur course stating: “I truly believe that Julia’s course has been the difference in making my business the success it is today and will be in the future.”

The only problem is, they put the wrong link at the end of the article. So for those of you coming to this website, who are looking for our training website, it’s www.juliaboggiohigh.com. Only two spaces left on our March Photographic Entrepreneur, so get in there fast! Next one is scheduled for October.

Welcome to the second annual Boggies, where I give fun and made-up awards to some of my favourite weddings from 2010.

What a year it’s been! In 2010, I’ve had 10 magazine covers for various publications, including Photo Pro (for which I am a regular columnist), You & Your Wedding, the SWPP 50^th anniversary issue and the BIPP. We also won Entrepreneur of the Year with the Merton Business Awards and were highly commended for Best Business. And at the MPA awards, we were given the You & Your Wedding Bride’s Choice award – which definitely made me feel all warm and glowy inside. On TV, we’ve been filmed for a new series on Wedding TV (due out in April), been featured as a case study by Reuters, been interviewed by the BBC, taken part in a new series on ITV, and Lawrence Llewellyn Bowen even flounced in for a quick interview for House Gift. A photographer friend of mine said it’s been the Year of the Boggio and I can’t disagree.

So without further adieu, here’s a bit of fun for the end of what has been an amazing year. Here’s to an even better 2011!

Wedding with the least light

Most photographers think winter weddings are a real pain in the backside. And I’ll tell you why: no light! Obviously, if there is natural light, this makes things a lot easier. This wedding last March started at 5:00pm, which meant we had zero light. Zilch. Zippo.

Excellent! A challenge!

Running a photography studio as well as shooting weddings means that we’re used to creating light and thus we specialise in winter weddings. Armed with my off-camera flashes, video light, umbrellas and light stands, I set about having a bit of photographic fun.

The bride had told me beforehand that she was buying some angel wings on eBay as a prop. I love it when couples get involved with sourcing fun things for the “couple shoot” section of their wedding photography. This image, lit with two off-camera Speedlights, has a painterly, annunciation-style beauty to it.

They also had a Venetian mask theme on the day. In this dancing image, the groom is wearing a replica of the mask worn by Tom Cruise in Eyes Wide Shut.

Best group shot

I loved this wedding, which I did with wedding planner Zoe Lingard. There are so many awards I could have given to this one, including “Best use of a pashmina” (all the men were wearing them like cravats).

For this group shot, I had come up with the idea of a “Kissing Booth” style image, with the bridal party lining up for kisses with the groom. And no, the best man isn’t vomiting; he’s spraying breath freshener into his mouth.

Jo and Luke got hitched in a Humanist ceremony at One Marylebone, one of my fave London venues and this was featured earlier this year in the 25^th anniversary issue of You & Your Wedding.

Best confection

Candy rooms have become a big trend in weddings this year, but only Wes and Lucy actually sent off to America to have their faces printed onto M&Ms.

Between that and their magnificent Choccywoccydoodah cake, they really had this award in the bag.

Also, I think this is the only wedding I’ve ever shot where the bride and groom went clubbing after their wedding venue closed. Yes, the bride was still in her dress.

Most ribbon at a wedding

The DIY Bride of the Year has to be Caroline. From the invitations to every last detail, she personally handcrafted a candy-striped theme. I can only imagine how much time she spent with her glue gun and the number of paper cuts she must have received throughout the process.

One of her clever ideas was to have ribbons on each of the tables to mimic the stripe theme. And I suspect that if we put all the ribbon end-to-end, it would cover more ground than the London Tube network.

You’ll be able to see more from this wedding in Cosmo Bride and you can see some images from their pre-wedding shoot here.

Best happy coincidence at a wedding

One of the things I remember most vividly from Chris and Anthea’s wedding is cruising around The City in the 50’s Cadillac they had hired, on our way to the reception at Andaz. With the warm breeze blowing through the open windows, it was one of those moments where I was happy to be alive (Literally. I was in the front seat and there was no seat belt). On a detour through Hoxton, we drove near a huge wall of graffiti that read “SCARY”. Perfect! The C and the A were right next to each other! What were the chances? Sometimes, we wedding photographers have to say thanks to the god of happy coincidences.

Bride most likely to end up in the pool

If you’ve been to the Haymarket Hotel, you already know how gorgeous it is. One of its most original features is the underground poolroom, where many a swanky celebrity party has been held (you can see it in the beginning of “How to Lose Friends and Alienate People” with Simon Pegg). Knowing David and Natasha and the venue they had chosen, I knew their wedding would be glamorous. And they didn’t disappoint. They even had an A-list celeb as a guest.

Fast forward to the end of the wedding. The party moved down to the poolroom. The fancy dress box and the lead singer of the band, who seemed to be channelling Prince, were causing much hilarity. The bride had changed out of her beautiful gown from Teokath and was wearing equally breath-taking evening dress for the party. Unfortunately, I wasn’t at the wedding at the point where her father threw her into the pool, so I don’t have a picture of it. But I hear it was really funny.

Wedding most likely to cover one in goose poo

I remember when Sim & Paul booked me to shoot their wedding. It’s most notable for a few reasons: 1) they booked 2.5 years in advance, 2) they booked while they were sitting on a beach in Asia and 3) when they finally came into the studio to meet me, Paul is the only person to spill tea all over my sample albums. (No harm done, amazingly!). So I knew this would be a great wedding.

They held a Humanist ceremony at the Vale Fisheries, a location that meant a lot to the groom. It was a stunning location and they had really fun details, including “Yay!” signs instead of confetti for the guests. However, there was one unexpected side effect of having a wedding next to a fishing lake: the goose poo! It was everywhere and one had to keep on one’s toes to avoid it. Apparently on the day before the wedding, when the bride took her young pageboy to see the lake, he declared very seriously: “No, this just won’t do for a wedding.”

Actually, it was one of the most laid-back and fun weddings of the year for me. It’s also the wedding that I submitted for the You &Your Wedding Bride’s Choice award. You’ll be able to read more about it in the magazine in 2011.

Couple most likely to put me on a Trivial Pursuit card

I love coming up with ideas. When I meet brides and grooms at my studio and they start telling me about their fledgling wedding plans, we invariably spend half the time brainstorming ideas. That’s just the way I roll.

Chris and Mel were no different. We were talking about something fun they could do on their tables to act as an icebreaker for guests and I mentioned that, at my wedding, we did Trivial Pursuit-style cards, with questions about James, me, guests and a few other categories. They loved it! And they even went a step further making the cards a bit like a game of Cranium, with Play-doh on the table for sculpting words on the cards (like Pictionary with clay). On our table, we even had a “who can make the best dolphin” competition. But I digress.

I was so chuffed when I realised I was a question on the card. The wedding happened to be on my birthday and the question was “Who’s birthday is today?” So lots of guests kept coming up to me to wish me a happy birthday. That, combined with the excellent food at The Kensington Roof Gardens, made it a day to remember! (Also wins “Best exotic birds at wedding”.)

Best confetti

I love a good confetti shot. It’s always depressing when a venue says no to confetti; however, I like to think of it as a challenge to think of something else. Rob and Marilyn had a great idea: instead of confetti, they handed out model airplane kits to all the guests.

In addition, they hired loads of lawn games for the guests to play while we were doing photos.

Rob could also pick up the “Best Moustache” award.

Best facial expressions

The thing I love about Asian weddings is that you will never go to two that are exactly the same. Each one has a unique mix of events, depending on religion and family tradition.

At this wedding at Blenheim Palace, I loved the all the games that the bride and groom had to play during the ceremony, including “Pass the baby”, “Eat this! It’s yummy!” and “Find your wedding ring in the bowl of pink stuff” (please note these are my names, not theirs ;o)

The last one got particularly heated, with the groom scoring 2 out of 3, much to the bride’s chagrin. But competitiveness aside, all was well in the end, as Ketan and Avi started their wedded life staring off into the sunset of a brilliant day.

Best wigs

I’ve never seen a group of men get so excited by wigs.

At Henry and Melissa’s wedding at The Walled Garden, the groom had gone out and purchased a whole assortment of wigs for his group of merry men. Those wigs continued to crop up throughout the rest of the day, with the big Elvis quiff being the popular choice. And here’s one of the bride, because she looked really pretty, too, and not a wig in sight.

Most creative pre-wedding shoot

I love doing pre-wedding shoots, especially when the couple wants to do something a bit different. This year, most creative definitely has to go to Emma and Michael, who actually phoned up Virgin to see if we could shoot in their rig (which has been used in all sorts of films, like James Bond).

With Michael living in New York and Emma in London, Virgin Atlantic acted as their “love bus”, shuttling them back and forth across the ocean. I brought in an assortment of studio lighting and even brought the red curtains to hang between first class and economy.

Emma played the role of Saucy Stewardess to perfection while Michael played the Passionate Passenger (perhaps I read too many romance novels as a teenager).

I also have to mention this wonderful shoot with Jo and Luke who won Best Group Shot above. It was vintage; it was fun.

Groom most likely to lose his ring in a snowball fight at the wedding

Last, but certainly not least, this is the wedding I shot most recently in Essex in the middle of the big pre-Christmas snow dump. The sudden onslaught of snow meant not only that none of the evening guests could make it, but also that members of the band were struggling to arrive. As we all waited for the drummer, an impromptu snowball fight started, with even the bride wading in. And yes, as the name of the award implies, the groom’s shiny new wedding ring came flying off his finger along with the snowball. And it was never found, but at least I have a lovely picture of it.

This was an amazing wedding that you will no doubt be seeing in a magazine this year; the details were superb. However, as the bride and groom are still on honeymoon and I have a strict rule about the bride and groom being the first to see their images, I can’t share any more here. However, I can show you this image from their pre-wedding shoot. They had a travel theme at the wedding and wanted to extend this into their engagement shoot. So they dressed up like tourists. My friend Doug from New York happened to be visiting at the time, so I decided to use him in one of the shots as a flasher. He was simply thrilled when I forced him into my raincoat and pulled down his trousers in the middle of Southbank. I, quite literally, was laughing so hard that I wet my pants.

And with that, I think it’s time to draw the 2010 Boggies to a close, especially as it’s starting to read more like War and Peace. I’m sure you have preparations to make for a swanky New Year’s Eve celebration, so please don’t let me keep you any further. Here’s to a wonderful 2011!

Happy Half New Year! That’s right; half a year is already gone. It’s going to be Christmas soon, at this rate. My Half New Year resolution is to blog more, so here is a timely post about Wimbledon.

As you probably know, our studio is based in Wimbledon. For two weeks, every year, Wimbledon becomes the centre of the sporting universe (unless of course it’s a World Cup year). Tourists are everywhere and the true Wimbledonians try to avoid the centre of town like the plague. James and I are going to brave the crowds on Friday, when we’re going to queue for tickets. It’s our fifth wedding anniversary and we want to have a picnic on Murray Hill. Wish us luck.

Julia Boggio Studios has recently formed a partnership with our local David Lloyds. Being so close to Wimbledon, this David Lloyds has a strong tradition of tennis talent. People move to Wimbledon from all over the world to take advantage of the amazing coaches at our David Lloyds.

We have a number of exciting projects coming up with them. One of our first was photographing their tennis pros in action. Of course, while we were photographing them, James and I were propositioned for taking tennis lessons, so guess what our new hobby is? I’m happy to report that I am kicking James’ butt in the tennis stakes (then again, I played tennis when I was young and James has picked up a racket about 6 times, so perhaps I need to give him some time to ripen).

In honour of Wimbledon, here are just a few of the shots we’ve taken of some of the pros.

Last year I had the pleasure of photographing Dhafer L’Abidine (pronounced Thaffa), one of Tunisia’s best exports. You’ll have the pleasure of meeting him, too, in the much-awaited sequel event of the year, Sex & The City 2. We spoke with Dhafer to find out where he’s been, where he’s going, and why you should never park your car near his garden fence.

JB: What made you want to be an actor?

DL: I have always been interested in acting and films. After I stopped playing professional football I started looking for ways to become involved in film and TV productions. I started working as a trainee assistant director to learn about the business. My first acting jobs were in commercials and then in an Italian film filmed in Tunisia. After accumulating a few acting experiences, I wanted to learn more about acting so I decided to go to England to study.

In the beginning it was difficult since I spoke only a little English, so my first challenge was to learn the language. After that, I joined one of the leading drama schools in England, the Birmingham School of Speech and Drama, where I completed my acting studies.

JB: What was your first big break?

DL: Before leaving drama school, I auditioned for the Sky TV series ‘Dream Team’ and was offered a two-year contract playing the captain of the team, French footballer Marcel Sabatier.

JB: Do you find that being multi-lingual comes in handy with acting?

DL: Of course, it gives me more opportunities to work internationally and it also gives me the option to play characters from different nationalities. Beside working in England for the past eight years, I have been involved in Middle Eastern, North African and European productions using my Arabic and French.

JB: In your showreel you have a good mix of comedy and drama. Which do you prefer?

DL: Every project brings a new challenge and I enjoy the variety, which comes from alternating between comedy and drama.

JB: Do you have a favourite project you have worked on in England?

DL: I have a lot of affection for ‘Dream Team’ as it was my first show here and a fun cast. I really enjoyed working on ‘Spooks (MI5)’, ‘Wire in the Blood’, ‘The Whistleblowers’ and also being part of the BAFTA award-winning ‘Mark of Cain’.

JB: We’ve heard you called the Arabic Brad Pitt. How did this come about and would you say that is a fair comparison?

DL: For the past two years I have been involved in a TV series in Tunisia called ‘Maktoub’ which has a massive cult following. Comparisons to other actors are made which are flattering, but it’s not something I focus on.

JB: Has being a celebrity in Tunisia changed your life?

DL: The attention of the public shows that they appreciate my work, which gives me great satisfaction. However, I don’t choose to live a celebrity lifestyle and I enjoy having my private life.

JB: Do you get a lot of fan mail?

DL: I receive mail, which I try to reply to where possible. There are also a few Facebook fan sites, which have been set up by fans themselves, but I don’t use these to interact.

JB: You hosted “Prince of Poets” in Abu Dhabi. What is it?

DL: Poetry is highly respected in the Middle East and the Arabs are incredibly proud of their history and the classical Arabic language. ‘Prince of Poets’ is a TV reality show where contestants from all the Arab countries compete by delivering their own compositions on any chosen subject. I was invited to host the live show every Friday evening for ten weeks. The average audience was 20 million per show. It was a great experience and I enjoyed being part of such a successful and popular programme. I also enjoyed being in Abu Dhabi and I have some very good memories from my time there.

JB: How do you think that a programme like this would go down in the UK?

DL: I don’t know how a poetry show would be received here in the UK, but the same format of show is very successful with the likes of ‘X Factor’ and ‘American Idol’ which use music rather than poetry.

JB: What do you love about living in the London?

DL: London is one of the most vibrant cities in the world and I love its cultural diversity and richness. For film, TV and theatre productions, London is the place to be.

JB: What’s next for Dhafer L’Abidine?

DL: I have just completed filming my role in a series for Sky TV in South Africa called ‘Strike Back’ and I’m currently filming on “Sex and City 2’ which takes me to New York and Morocco. I have a few projects due for release early next year.

Some fun facts about Dhafer

What makes you happy?  Being surrounded by the people I love and enjoying my work

What makes you upset? Injustice

Two words to describe your character? Perseverance & passion

Qualities you wish you had  Organization when it comes to tax returns! (it makes me anxious thinking about it)

What would you do if you weren’t an actor? Sportsman

What’s the worst job you’ve ever had? Collecting dirty glasses in a pub when I was a student

What would your dream job be? A film with action, comedy, romance, horror, sci-fi and of course a multi-million pay cheque!

Who would you most like to work with? The list is long, but I think Al Pacino would be a dream come true

Hidden Talent? Cooking

Something you’re not good at? Driving in England without taking someone’s wing mirror off

Something you did recently that you’re proud of? I managed to paint two things at the same time. Not only did I spray the garden fence a lovely deep brown colour, but I managed to spray the neighbour’s silver BMW the lovely brown colour at the same time. I only realized I had done so when they arrived at the front door to show me my handy work. Who says men can’t multi task?!

Check out Dhafer’s website.

(NOTE: Photographers in the US, please make sure to read my challenge to you at the end of this post.)

I am very proud to tell you a story about my old chemistry teacher, Sr Mary Beth Lloyd, a.k.a. the Running Nun. She was always one of my favourite teachers, even though I sucked at chemistry. She always used to tell me that I’d be sitting on the beach one day and suddenly I’d understand what she was talking about in chemistry class. That never happened, by the way. She also told me I should be a lawyer. Ahem.

Even when I was in high school, Sr Mary Beth was running. Trust me, there is nothing more amusing to high school students than seeing a nun running in full habit around campus. But the great thing about the Sisters of St Lucy Fillipini was that they were always fun and quirky. (I’m not even going to begin telling you the story of the sister who tried to explain the etymology of the F word to us in history class).

After hanging up her Bunsen burner and after a stint working at the Vatican, Sr Mary Beth dedicated herself to helping orphaned children around the world, especially AIDS orphans. She wrote a book called AIDS Orphans Rising, which talks about the daily lives of children whose parents have died, leaving them to fend for themselves. How do they survive? How do they live? There are presently over 25 million AIDS orphans in the world. Left to themselves, these children will grow up uneducated, angry and the perfect targets for radicalization.

So what’s she doing about it? Sixty-one year old Sr Mary Beth has teamed up with Lisa Smith-Batchen (49) to help her run 50 miles in 50 states to raise money to help AIDS orphans. Lisa used to be a track coach at our high school, but that’s the least of her achievements. According to ESPN, she was the first American to win the Marathon des Sables - a 6-day race in the Sahara Desert. She also won the Badwater Ultramarathon twice. She’s raised over $4 million for charity in her running career thus far.

They started running in New Jersey on Monday, April 19 and have already done New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. They’ll be tackling Pennsylvania tomorrow. You can view their running schedule here. That’s already 350 miles. It makes my knees ache just to think about it.

My Challenge to Photographers in the USA

Sr Mary Beth and Lisa need your help! They are encouraging people to come out and run with them, or even just to cheer them on. I want you to go a step further. I am asking you to do what you do best and PHOTOGRAPH them. Put the photographs on your blog along with details of how to donate. Get the word out there! This is an amazing cause and we as photographers can do something to help. Aside from donating, this is one way that I can help them out from my new home in the UK. Please send me your links and your stories and I’ll put them up on my blog and Facebook page.

Finally here is some footage of Sr Mary Beth and Lisa on Good Morning America.

Good luck!

On March 28, some of the top wedding suppliers in the UK put on the Absolutely Beautiful Wedding show at Claridges. This SOLD OUT event was brimming with newly affianced brides, their mothers and a groom or two, as well. (Yes, we saw them looking avidly at our Vintage Boudoir images :o)  We’re already looking forward to the next show - coming soon! Here are just a few images from the day. We will also be putting up a little film we made of the event in the near future. Enjoy!

Above: The event was sponsored by Wedding magazine, with editor Catherine Westwood and fashion editor Jenny Swire on hand to talk weddings.

Above: No, this isn’t just an over-eager bride. This is one of Sassi Holford’s gorgeous dresses on display.

Above: Kaz Fernando gives tips on perfect make-up application.

Above: Hayford & Rhodes provided flowers for the event and the Rhodes sisters gave demonstrations in modern flower arranging.

Above: Any self-respecting bride makes a bee-line for Luella’s Boudoir in Wimbledon Village. They offer everything from wedding planning services, to accessories, to bridal dresses and bridesmaid dresses. Go!

Above: A tip for the boys: you can NEVER go wrong with giving the gift of Magpie Vintage. Never. Check out their amazing cufflinks while you at it. I gave a pair to James for his birthday.

Above: The Utterly Sexy Cafe was on hand to talk cakes, catering and vintage china hire. They are catering our upcoming studio opening party. Yippee!

Above: Carrie Bradshaw would approve of anything from Emmy Shoes.

Above: And finally, you can always rely on the boys from Tenors Unlimited to put on a good show.

As you may be aware, I recently did a Vintage Boudoir shoot with Kat from Rock ‘n Roll Bride. Kat and I met last year, when she featured some of my wedding images on her blog. Since then she’s become a friend, as well as a fellow columnist for Photo Pro where she explores the best of blogs across the world.

It was a lot of fun coming up with the ideas for the shoot with Kat. I had one major thing I had to keep in mind when designing the different looks: Kat has brilliant pink hair. This meant either I had to choose backgrounds and outfits that didn’t clash or ones that deliberately clashed. For example, I shot the maid image on a lilac background because it goes nicely with her hair, but decided to shoot the cigarette girl on a red background, which was an intentional “candy clash” as it’s called.

Kat put the images up on her site in mid-January and we were thrilled with the results. The comments were great. Here is a selection of my faves:

“I’m dunking biscuit in my tea, and have just lost most of it whilst looking at these fabulous images.” – Az

“I did a vintage themed boudoir shoot with another photographer but your pics are out of this world!” – Becky Williams

“Spectacular! These are some of the best Boudoirs I’ve seen!” – Jacquelyn

“Yep, the BEST boudoir shots to date. The bar has been RISEN!” -Alison Kelly

You can read more about my shoot with Kat and the art of posing non-professional models in my regular column in Photo Pro magazine in May. In the meantime, here are the images. I hope you like them.

We have been invited to exhibit at the new and fabulous Absolutely Beautiful Weddings show on March 28, 2010 at Claridges. We are obviously thrilled and honoured, as this show redefines exclusive; only 12 of the top wedding suppliers in the UK have been invited. We’ll all be on hand to answer brides’ burning questions about their big day. Sponsored by Wedding magazine, editor Catherine Westwood and fashion editor Jenny Swire will also be available to chat about upcoming trends and to offer wedding planning advice.

This event is going to be different from other wedding shows, which can be overwhelming and impersonal. ABW is all about personal service and having the time to get the information you need to make the best choices for your wedding day. And Claridges offers the perfect location for ABW: luxurious, but not imposing (and if you get a chance, have a hot chocolate while you are there. It is to DIE for!

Other exhibitors include Emmy Shoes, Sassi Holford, Luella’s Boudoir, Tenors Unlimited, The Utterly Sexy Café, Magpie Vintage, Hayford & Rhodes florists, Edwina Ibbotson Millinery (who has no website, but has made hats for Madonna), Chartula stationers, Nicki MacFarlane Bridesmaids, and Kaz Fernando make-up artist. We are definitely in good company!

Also in attendance will be Annabel Beeforth from Love My Dress, a new and exciting blog about all things vintage and wedding. She is currently running a competition to win 2 complimentary tickets to the event. However, if you aren’t lucky enough to win them, you can buy them at www.absolutelybeautifulweddings.co.uk. Tickets are £15 and each ticketholder will walk away with a scrumptious goody bag worth £50. You can make your appointment for either the morning session or the afternoon session and walk around chatting to exhibitors with a soothing glass of bubbly. The perfect way to spend a Sunday, if you ask me!