Earlier year I was at the wonderful SUMMIT photography conference and workshops in Liverpool, and received a congratulatory text from a college that I had been shortlisted for Wedding Photographer of the Year in the highly competitive East Midlands region of the 2017 Wedding Industry Awards. TWIA happens every year and is the benchmark for quality in our profession, it’s really the award that every photographer wants to have on their shelf! To me it’s so valuable because the winners are decided not just by a judging panel of industry experts, but by the previous years clients who vote and leave detailed reviews. Once shortlisted the judges decide the winner based on the client comments and a portfolio of images.
The awards was a posh do held in Nottinghamshire, and I knew some very deserving winners in other categories (looking at you Pink Cake Box!) but I was home on the sofa periodically checking my twitter feed. I honestly never expected to place, there were about 20 shortlisted and they are all phenomenally talented. When a congratulatory notification popped up the news that I had been Highly Commended for the Best Wedding Photographer in the East Midlands, I was so surprised and joyful and had a cheeky gin and tonic to celebrate!
Once the awards are over, the voter’s comments are released and I get to have a peek at what my clients said. I’ve included some below and it’s wonderful to read them, it makes me so happy at the end of a year of really hard work to know I’ve made people happy by doing what I love most. My couples are all incredible to let me in to capture their most important day and then be so generous with their time and kind words.
So thank-you, all of you lovely people who took time from your day to vote and leave your comments, you guys rock!
“Kate was warm, friendly and reassuring. One glimpse at our photographs and short film would explain why we are so in love with the images from our day. Kate showcased the mood and happiness in a natural and unobtrusive way; I can honestly say we were unaware of her presence once the ceremony began. There is one shot of my total happiness – me dancing on the dance floor and thinking how magical the day was – and Kate caught it. It’s must see. I’ve recommended her to friends and will continue to!”
“We were so impressed with our friends wedding photos that Kate took we just had to book her for our own wedding. We feel kate has the ability to really understand the uniqueness of every couple, and the result is fantastic photos that showcase the personalities of the bride and groom. Kate made us feel so at ease and was truly dedicated to get the best photos possible of our special day. We couldn’t have asked for more.”
“Kate did an absolutely amazing job photographing our wedding in August. She captured our day fantastically and really went above and beyond. She made everyone feel at ease and so many people have complimented us on the wonderful photos. She also did an engagement shoot for us earlier in the year as well and she was happy to embrace our cat theme!! She had loads of amazing ideas and was so fun to be around – we couldn’t have asked for a nicer or more talented person to photograph our day!”
“Kate was recommended to us by a friend and I have to say we are delighted with our whole experience. From the first meeting, Kate was easy to get on with, focussed on our needs, had wise words of advice regarding our day and gave us an immediate great first impression. There was sufficient contact before our day to cover off details. And on the day Kate blended in incredibly well taking some amazing shots that were a wonderful surprise when we saw our photo shoot online. Highly recommended!!!!!!”
“It was lovely having Kate take our Wedding Photographs. We only had a small wedding 12 in total including us but it was a very special and relaxed family day. Kate made us laugh even more (especially as we had requested the bubble machine) which one of our guests used and had difficulty getting it back from him!!”
“Kate captured our wedding day perfectly. We were quite specific on the type of images we wanted and she orchestrated it brilliantly. From our first meeting with her she knew what we wanted, but wasn’t shy with putting her own ideas & knowledge forward. On the wedding say itself she integrated herself with the guests and everyone commented on how competent & talented she is. You only need to see our wedding pictures to understand why we are so happy and why we chose to vote for Kate.”
“Kate was incredibly friendly, informative and flexible. She catered for all our needs ensuring that the photos were conducted in an efficient manner. Most importantly she was able to engage with everyone at the wedding, making everyone feel relaxed and comfortable when being photographed. The photos were top quality and presented in an easy to use format online. We would definitely recommend Kate to everyone.”
“Kate put us both at ease immediately, she was very personable and talked through options but never pushed any opinions. She asked all the right questions about the sort of things we liked and didn’t like and gave interesting options that we were able to discuss in private later. On the day Kate was amazing, she managed to blend into the background and organise our friends and family at the same time! The pictures were absolutely stunning and the couple shots looked natural not posed.”
“Kate has a great documentary style and captured some beautiful expressions of people at our wedding. We ended up with a stunning set of photos covering everything from getting ready the morning to the first dance and Kate also set up a Photobooth with a lot of props to choose from. We uploaded the photo booth pictures to Facebook at a high resolution which you don’t usually get at wedding photo booths and have since seen that a lot of people made prints of them.”
“As soon as we spoke to kate we knew her knowledge and expertise were exactly what we were looking for to capture all of our special moments during the day. She made us feel so relaxed and comfortable it felt like one less thing to worry about as we had the confidence to let Kate do her thing! The photographs came back stunning and we were so pleased! Thanks Kate!
“Kate went above and beyond our expectations. She did so much research of the area and venue that we captured shots we didn’t think possible. The finished shots told the story and the magic of the day! I would highly reccomend her to anyone who wants great quality, and a a brilliant personality to put everyone at ease.”
“Kate was amazing, very communicative beforehand and really keen to understand what we wanted. Despite TERRIBLE traffic up the M6 she scouted locations the night before and was totally game for taking us up a mountain in what felt like gale force winds! She was friendly, discrete, warm, firm when needed (we had 150 guests) and obviously cared that we got the photos we wanted. She adapted when unexpected things happened and got some amazing shots we will treasure forever.”