A gorgeous elopement photo session in the scenic wintery New Forest for two beautiful brides.

My best friend got married! Yay! It makes me so happy to see my bestie so happy!

She actually eloped to their local registry office with her lovely new wife a couple of weeks ago. That weekend, they travelled down to the New Forest for a mini-moon, got all dressed up in their beautiful wedding outfits again and were somehow persuaded by me to trek into the forest in the middle of winter!

We were, of course, in my favourite place in the whole world - Wilverley Inclosure - however, my usual spot was looking rather sparse and a little muddy on the ground, so we went a bit deeper into the inclosure to find a lovely spot with a bit of greenery in the background.

It was a Saturday morning, so the inclosure was quite busy. Lots of people passed us and they were so lovely. Everyone was saying congratulations, and we had lots of jokes about people putting their muddy dogs on leads. One couple who passed us as we were walking to our spot even circled back around so they could see how the shoot was going! A little nerve wracking perhaps for two brides who weren't particularly comfortable having their photos taken, but in the end, I think everyone being so lovely to them as they passed by may actually have helped with their nerves!

Honestly, every single couple i've ever photographed has said something along the lines of being nervous about having their photo taken, or not thinking they are photogenic, and EVERYONE always loves their photos in the end. I KNEW I would get some gorgeous photos and have a bit of a laugh along the way.

Charlee and I go back more than 20 years (oh, that makes me feel old!) to when we first became friends in year 7 at age 11. Over the years we've certainly got up to all sorts of mischief together. She's a terrible influence on me, and yet I can't mention her name to my parents without one of them going, 'oh, she's such a lovely girl'. I mean, she is... but still, the injustice of it! As a side note, my Dad was at the photo shoot too. He was our 'veil wafter', although you should substitute 'wafter' for a slightly ruder word! You know how much I love a veil floating gently in the breeze. Oh, the happiness it brings to me when a bride tells me she's wearing a veil!

There are three of us in our little friendship group, Louise being the third, who joined our friendship in year 8. At some point in our early 20s, we stopped being the sort of people who met up in bars for a night out and became the sort of people who met up in coffee shops for tea and cake. We used to buy rounds of tea. We're very cool, as you can tell! So, i'm always up for a cup of tea and a chat if you want to talk all things wedding!

I first met Bee at Louise's wedding. Charlee had told us to reign it in a bit because Bee was very shy and the three of us are a bit full on when you first meet us. Well, Bee proceeded to get outrageously inebriated and was the life and soul of the party. We immediately loved her! She is wonderfully down to earth and is such a lovely person. My best friend is a very lucky woman. In fact, they are both very lucky to have found each other.

It was such a privilege to be asked to take Charlee and Bee's photos. Indeed, it is a privilege to take any couples photos, as they are putting their complete trust in me to capture the emotions of their wedding in photos. It's easy to capture emotions that are already present though - happiness, laughter, fun and love were already present this day, all I did was click the button.

I know this is a much gushier (is that a word?) post than usual, but there we go. I love my best friend and i'm happy that she's happy.

Enjoy the photos!

Shout out to Ashleigh Hopkins Florist for the stunning bouquet!