Andrew Newson 29/12/2021 Andrew Newson 29/12/2021

Goodbye 2021!

A round up of my favourites from 2021

Not quite as bad as 2020 ,but not as good as we’d all hoped for..

However, I got to photograph a number of weddings this year, both solo and as a second shooter for the talented Simon Butler and Imogen Eve.

Here’s a selection of my favs. Thank you to all my couples for booking me!

Andrew Newson 16/12/2021 Andrew Newson 16/12/2021

Clare & Luke's Wedding at Chafford Park Estate, Tunbridge Wells

Clare and Luke’s wedding at Chafford Park Estate

The last day of July saw my first ever wedding at Chafford Park Estate (and also first of two weddings there).

Clare and Luke booked me in early 2019 for their New Year’s Eve wedding in 2020. Which of course didn't happen. It was rescheduled to July 2021 and it was worth the wait!

I met Claire, her parents and bridesmaids getting ready at The Royal Wells Hotel to capture a little bit of bridal prep before they headed off in a friend’s vintage VW camper to the venue - Chafford Park.

Chafford park has two beautiful barns available, Clare and Luke were having their wedding in the smaller one and the reception in the bigger barn.

The weather was a little bit of a mixed bag but it held off enough for Clare to make a dry entrance!

The ceremony was beautiful and joyful and went without a hitch!

After the ceremony it Clare and Luke went for a very short drive in Luke’s beloved and balloon filled, VW Golf Mark 1 before being covered in confetti (the couple not the car!)

The it was drinks, relaxing, chatting and a little bit of magic!

…interspersed with group photos….

…. and also whisking the bride and groom off for some portraits in the beautiful grounds of the estate, and with Luke’s car.

The delicious wedding breakfast was hosted in the bigger of the two barns after the speeches.

And then after the bouquet toss it was party time! An incredible live band called Shakedown and tunes from Mint DJs

Such a lovely day. Congratulations Mr & Mrs Bookham!

Here’s a list of Claire and Luke’s incredible suppliers:

Venue - Chafford Park Estate
Hair - HD Hair designs
Makeup - R.M.MUA and Rebecca Tolton MUA
Flowers - The Floral Workshop
Dress - Maggie Sottero (Alaina) purchased at Go Bridal
Bridesmaid dresses - Maya Dress - Next
Suits - Moss Bros hire
Cake - Jeys Heavenly Events
Venue styling - Hire Your Day
Catering - Leave it to us
Balloon Wall - Boutique Balloon Studio
DJ - Mint DJs
Band - Shakedown

Andrew Newson 14/12/2021 Andrew Newson 14/12/2021

Toni & Ben's wedding at Blackstock Country Estate, East Sussex

Toni and Ben’s wedding at Blackstock Country Estate

I stepped in to photograph Toni and Ben’s wedding very last minute, due to their booked photographer catching the dreaded C (and I had some big shoes to fill as their original photographer is amazing).

My first time at Blackstock Country Estate and what a delight! Toni looked just stunning as she walked down the aisle with her lovely son.

After drinks and greeting their guests, the newly weds and I went for a quick spin on the safari jeep to take some portraits by the lake (and the kids had a go too!)

The gorgeous barn was set up ready for speeches and the wedding breakfast (a very good BBQ!)

Cake cutting (delicious cake made by the groom’s sister), relaxing and another quick couple’s portrait session before the evening party kicked off.

And what a party! After the first dance as a surprise for the couple’s son, who is mad about Michael Jackson, they booked an MJ impersonator! (Rory Jackson from Briton’s Got Talent)

Congratulations Mr & Mrs R!

Toni & Ben’s Amazing Suppliers:

Hair - Emily at the Hairbarn Ringmer

Makeup - Slayed by Sophie

Flowers - Florist on the Farm

Dress - Fross Wedding Collections

Suits - Suit Supply

Venue - Blackstock Country Estate

DJ - East Sussex DJs

Michael Jackson! - Rory Jackson

Andrew Newson 09/12/2021 Andrew Newson 09/12/2021

Alice & Will's wedding at Hendall Manor Barns, Uckfield

Alice and Will’s wedding at Hendall Manor Barns

Alice and Will hoped restrictions would be lifted enough to go ahead with their wedding in April of this year as originally planned, but it was not to be so it was moved to August - and to a Monday (first for me).

I knew I was in for a treat when, upon arrival at the picturesque Hendall Manor Barns, I was greeted by an absolutely gorgeous and very colourful floral display and an amazing and slightly quirky wedding cake. Oh and a Fuji Instax camera for the guests to take pictures of themselves for the guest book - such a great idea!

Alice’s bridesmaids all looked stunning in their different colour dresses, as did Alice who also wore a beautiful crown of flowers.

Instead of confetti the new Mrs & Mr had bubbles. (Top tip if you’re thinking abut doing this - get a couple of bubble guns for maximum bubbles!) And then drinks, canopies and congratulations on the lawn of Hendall.

I took the newly weds off for some portraits in the beautiful grounds of Hendall.

Before rounding up the guests for some group photos

Then back inside the barn for a delicious dinner, speeches and to admire the beautiful stationery created by the bride’s sister Nancy.

After the wedding breakfast, it was time to take advantage of the lovely warm evening, fun with the Instax camera and a bit of a rest before the evening party started.

And then first dance and party time!

It was time for me to leave them to it but when I left there was a beautiful evening sky so I had to grab them for a few more portraits.

Thank you for booking me! It was an honour to be a part of your day.

Alice & Will’s incredible suppliers were:

Venue - Hendall Manor Barns
Hair and Makeup - Leigh Goodson
Dress - JJs House
Bridesmaid dresses - tfnc London and ASOS
Suits - Moss Bros
Flowers - Flowers By Design
Venue styling - Hire Your Day
Catering - MDFood4Thought
Cake - Kelly Mileham
Videographer - A Single Shot Production
DJ - Disco fever

Andrew Newson 22/06/2021 Andrew Newson 22/06/2021

Downsview Vineyard Styled Wedding Shoot

A styled wedding shoot I organised at Downsview Vineyard, Crowborough.

We happened to find Downsview Vineyard by accident on a walk at the end of last year. Even though it’s only a couple of miles from our house we were not aware of it - nor their amazing wines. Anyway we went back to purchase a bottle as a Christmas present (and ended up trying and then buying a lot more than one bottle!) and got talking to one of the owners about their business and mine. After hearing about their plans to set up a glamping area and also hoping to hold weddings I had the idea of arranging a styled shoot at the vineyard.

I soon had a number of other suppliers who agreed to be involved and my vague idea of a ‘boho/English countryside’ themed shoot was evolved by the talented Julie of Crystal Amore Events into a more unique idea of ‘fruit and foliage’.

We also wanted to have a bit of an eco friendly vibe as the vineyard is off grid (solar powered) so with that in mind I looked to mainly use suppliers who were local and/or planet friendly.

The dress was borrowed from Brides Dress Revisited (just love the name!) who are specialist in second hand wedding dresses. Using Julie’s faux flowers and foliage and Gemma’s (Vintage Gems) vintage crockery and props meant that we didn't buy new. Bryony who supplied the jewellery (Bryony Bespoke) uses recycled gold and silver and eco friendly packaging.

Make up artist Louise Large (Louise Make Up) is also from Crowborough, the veil was made by Anne-Marie (Bespoke Veils) in Uckfield and the cake from Val (Soverign Cakes) in Eastbourne, so our carbon footprint in regards to travel was very low!

The bespoke embroidered jacket was from Sewn By Me and the fruit themed stationery was created by Lisa from Kardelicious who both sent their items in.

Our bride for the day was Chloe Thomas, a very experienced model from Tunbridge Wells.

On shoot day the weather was set to rain from 2pm, which it did, which it meant that we had to set up, shoot and take down very quickly! However we managed it and I feel the scene we created were beautiful!