Exciting Times!

This week has been so exciting for me so I just had to share it with you! For months now I have been working toward a new branding, website and blog. Along with this I have had new brochures printed to reflect the brand which have arrived this week and look gorgeous! The new logo is finished and the Website and blog are due to go live Friday just in time for this weekends huge EDP wedding Show at Norfolk Showground. If you are going please pop along and introduce yourself I am stand 100 (easy to remember!) and will have a fantastic competition exclusively for exhibition goers! In the mean time I thought I would share a sneak peek of my new logo with you, Love to know your thoughts!

EDP show details:

Saturday 10-4pm

Sunday 10-4pm

At the NORFOLK SHOW GROUND near Norwich

Katherine Ashdown Photography stand 100

Sneak Peek.... Sarah & Mark...

On a cold February evening I met this gorgeous couple Sarah and Mark for their Engagement Shoot in Norwich. They decided they would like to have their Engagement Shoot done at night around the gorgeous Cathedral and Riverside. This proved to be a bit of a first for me as although I have shot at the Cathedral plenty of times I have never had a night time shoot there! They have a gorgeous Engagement story, and in fact getting together story which I will look forward to sharing with you when I post the rest of their shoot but for now here is there gorgeous Sneak Peek....

Thanks for your muscles Mark helping me carry the equipment and thanks for braving the cold Sarah it was such a great shoot! Look forward to seeing you both soon x

Tell Me Your Story.....

Happy Valentines! I hope all you lovely couples out there spoilt each other and showed your love; I hope all my 2011 Bride and Grooms are thinking about their next Valentines - their first one as husband and wife and that all my 2010 Bride and Grooms are celebrating in a big way!

I am a sucker for a bit of romance, maybe that is why I love my job so much! More than the gestures and gifts though I LOVE to hear a good story! I am always the girl crying at the weepy films in the corner of the cinema, a sad book can effect me for days and my boyfriend is always astounded at my sheer unfloudering ability to cry at a 30 second TV advert (the John Lewis ones are the best!)

So with that in mind I have decided to launch an Awesome Valentines Offer and because I have such a big heart (sucker for a love story) this is not a competition but is in fact open to any Engaged couple who just has a darn good story to share!

Whether a 'getting together' a 'we got through this together' or a 'how we got engaged' story I would love to hear it! Once your story has been sent in you will then qualify for a FREE Engagement Shoot worth £75! (maximum of 10 shoots given away so first come first serve!)

Entrants must be engaged; must be able to either get to Norfolk OR live in Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridge or Lincolnshire; be happy for their shoot and story to be published; have sent me their story via email by 14.3.11 giving you 1 month today - enquiries@katherineashdown.co.uk.

Once your shoot has taken place should you then decide to book your wedding photography you will receive a FREE framed sign board or guest book worth £275!

Whether funny, soppy, sad, happy or plain romantic I can't wait to hear how you feel in love x

XXX Happy Valentines XXX

Gemma and Simon - Valentines Sneak Peek...

Gemma and Simon's wedding is coming up in April so we choose a rather windy afternoon yesterday to do their Engagement Shoot! Gemma suggested that we meet at their venue, the beautiful Hunters Hall in Norfolk a venue I had not yet visited. It did not disappoint and we spent the morning exploring the gorgeous barns, orchard and courtyards getting some lovely ideas for their wedding day and some beautiful shots of the two of them. I have chosen this shot for their sneak peek as I love Gemma's windswept hair and Simon cuddling up to her almost to keep her warm! Gemma also has the most amazing green eyes which just look so stunning in this shot I had to share it with you. They are a really fun couple so we had some lovely laughing images but, being Valentines I thought I would share a more romantic shot that just oozes intensity and their love for each other...

I hope you like it guys and and I am super excited for your April wedding! x

Photographer Tweetup... Sneak Peek

Yesterday I visited fabulous London Town to meet lots of new photographer friends, shoot together and have a drink or two! There were over 20 of us attend and it was so much fun! One of the lovely Photographers had arranged two beautiful models and between them and shooting each other we all simply had a play, experimented, shared ideas and tried new things. Below is one of my favorite shots from the shoot but there will be lots more to come soon!

I would like to just say a huge thank you to Matt for making it happen, Shan for bringing the models, the beautiful Anastasiya, Caroline and Diana for being gorgeous and doing such an awesome job of modeling for 20 demanding photographers!

Victoria and Adam... Engagement Shoot Sneak Peek

This morning I had a great Engagement Shoot in the gorgeous city of Norwich at one of my favorite locations, Norwich Cathedral. The sky was grey and it was rather blustery as I met Victoria and Adam outside the huge Cathedral doors but they were both excited (if a touch nervous!) and I could see they were going to be great fun to shoot! They had a particularly special reason to choose Norwich Cathedral; whilst on holiday last March Adam proposed, outside a rather snowy but beautiful, Prague Cathedral (could you get much more of a romantic location?!) I wanted to mirror this amazing memory for them in their Engagement Shoot and although I couldn't arrange the snow (I did try!) I think the beauty of the amazing cloisters does a fairly good job of it in this shot!

Thank you for being such great sports guys and getting a little windswept and hungry (Victoria!) I look forward to showing you the rest in a couple of weeks x

A little help and advice...

This week has been a little crazy for me. For the last few weeks I have been working on some great blog posts with some lovely, talented and very inspirational wedding bloggers and all three seem to have come together and been posted this week! I love having my shoots featured, be it Engagement, Weddings or Lifestyle but sometimes it is nice to dip your toe on a slightly different pond. I was asked by two wedding blogs to look at written posts to help all you Bride and Grooms out there with some simple, honest, wedding photography advice. So armed with a 10 year old English A Level and spell check, I wracked my brains and between me and the bloggers decided on two topics... 'How to choose a Wedding Photographer' and 'How to get the best from your Wedding Photographer'. It was important to me that the posts were as un-bias as possible, which made writing them harder than I thought! Simple, honest advice not about spending a fortune or indeed booking 'me' but a few good tips on what to look for in the daunting world of photographers and what you can do to help create the magic on your day. So Monday saw my lovely Bride and Groom, Louise and Chris' Engagement Shoot, featured on the gorgeous Boho Bride; Tuesday saw 'How to Choose a Wedding Photographer' on the beautiful Times Two Hearts Blog; with Wednesday and Thursday 'How the get the best from your Photographer' featured in 2 parts on the rather inspirational, Wedding Inspiration Blog. To check them out see click on the links in the post and I hope they prove useful and maybe even a little interesting!

Oh and to go with this post another Sneak Peek from my Rock the Frock on Sunday Shhhhhh!

How to Choose your Wedding Photographer...

Today I have had the immense pleasure of being featured on the gorgeous 'Times Two Hearts' Blog. It is actually a written feature about how to choose your wedding photographer a task that can seem very daunting to bride and grooms and something that should be thought very carefully about. There is a lot to look for and a lot of questions to ask as well as the simple fact that you need to trust your photographer with this huge task. If you are currently looking for a photographer for your wedding hopefully this will help, click on this LINK to read more.

Boho Bride... Beautiful Beach Shoot...

I am thrilled to say that today one of my Engagement Shoots from last summer has been featured on the Beautiful Boho Bride Blog! I am thrilled it was featured as it was very much one of my favorite shoots from last year. Sunshine, beach, gorgeous couple and ice cream... what more could you ask for?! Follow the LINK to have a peek! Thank you to the lovely Louise and Chris for being fab and happy to be featured... this is one wedding I am looking forward to! To see their post from last year click HERE.

Janine Rocking her Frock!

Today I had the huge pleasure of shooting the beautiful Janine in a Rock the Frock extravaganza! Janine is actually a fellow photographer whom I met on a photography course and although lives over an hour away upon chatting last week we realised that she was planning a trip to Norfolk at the weekend! So this morning (although a little bit grey and threatening rain) we set off to a location I had been longing to shoot at for ever! Both chatting photography and bouncing ideas off each other we had a ball and although Janine was getting a wee bit cold toward the end I could have shot her all day! Believe it or not Janine got married 7 years ago and has since had no less than 4, yes 4, children! I can't believe she even fits in her dress never mind still looks so damn hot in it! Here she is at one of the grungier locations we choose working it!

Thanks for being up for quite literally ANYTHING Janine I had such a fantastic time x

Anna & Richard... Sneak Peek

Today saw my 2nd Engagement Shoot of the year and it was another fantastic one! I met the gorgeous Anna and Richard at beautiful Norwich Cathedral mid afternoon with a grey overcast sky looking like the heavens might open! We started in the grounds of the Cathedral (in anticipation of the rain) and got some beautiful shots under the cloisters (yes Richard I remembered what they were called!) This couple were so much fun and up for anything which I love about them including sitting pretty much anywhere and lying on the cold stone floor (sorry Anna!) There were so many potential Sneak Peeks to choose from but I have decided to tease them (and you) with this one. I love the slightly mischievous look on Anna's face and how Richard is kissing her head they just look so in love!

The sun did come out and we have some gorgeous golden lit shots as the sun was going down but they are for a later post!

Thank you for being such great sports guys and I look forward to showing you the rest in a couple of weeks. x

Feeling the love....

It is almost that time of year again, the time to show your boyfriend/girlfriend/fiance just how much you love them! You did flowers and chocolates last year, a meal the year before and perhaps the theatre when you first got together... so what this year?

How about a gorgeous Photo Shoot of the two of you, natural, fun and just being you at a location of your choice? I am offering a special Valentines price for all you loved up guys and girls which will arrive in the form of a beautiful voucher ready to give to your other half on valentines day and valid for 6 months.

Just choose one of the following options...

Shoot Only £50

Shoot and 10x8 inch mounted print Print £100

Shoot and 10x8 inch framed print £150 (A frame choices)

Shoot and gorgeous graphic album of all your favorite images £275

then....

Just drop me an email or give me a call to order: enquiries@katherineashdown.co.uk, 01760 722196/07870335738.

Featured on Whimsical Wonderland Weddings!

Today I am thrilled to announce that one of my gorgeous September bride and Grooms has been featured on Whimsical Wonderland Weddings the beautiful bridal blog! It was a stunning 60's inspired wedding with some amazing vintage ideas and details at the beautiful St Giles House Hotel in Norwich. Would love to hear your thoughts on this one! Please click the links to have a peek PART 1/ PART 2

Sneak Peek... Winter Sunshine

Yesterday afternoon saw my first shoot of 2011! This lovely couple decided to have their shoot at the gorgeous Eaton Park in Norwich somewhere that they had regularly used as a meeting and date location when they first met! Caroline was super nervous but soon got in to it and we got some lovely romantic shots of the two of them in the gorgeous low winter sunshine. This was one of my favorite shots so I thought to celebrate the sunshine I would make this their sneak peek. Rikki is a keen and talented photographer himself so I hope this is up to his standards.

Thanks for making my first 2011 shoot so much fun guys and I look forward to seeing you soon.

50 Faves to make you smile...

Looking back through 2010 I cannot believe what an amazing year I had! In fact it went by so quickly I got to September and still couldn't believe we had gone past March! It has been emotional, as they say, but also fun, busy, exhausting and enlightening! I learnt so much my brain was overflowing and I came out of the year with a new address book full of clients who had become friends and an array of new clients booked in for 2011.

I said my thank yous in my last post so this is really to show what 2010 looked like for me... through my favorite photographs. I have decided to call this my 50 faves, some are in there because I am so proud of the beauty my camera has captured, some are included because I am always in awe of the love my gorgeous clients share and some are in there because they are just down right fun!

I hope you like my selection, there were hundreds more I could have put in as 50 doesn't even cover the number of shoots I did but these are the images that make me smile every time I look at them... and I hope you will too...

A huge thank you to all my brides, grooms, and little people for being so much fun and making it so easy to take beautiful images of - I hope to see you all in 2011! x