Elmore Court

From the Latin: Familia

I am gonna be honest, I am a bit of a nosey parker. I love seeing how people live. I also quite like people watching. So being a photographer is really quite awesome. On wedding days, I get to visit homes in the morning and then I spend the rest of the day looking at people through my camera! It's the best.

When I visit a bride's home, it is always so wonderful when I get to witness a family who love each other and actively show it. It breathes life in to me. Hannah's family love each other with a passion. They laugh and cry together and they pour out encouragement over one another and their close friends. They champion each other and the atmosphere in the house is one of unity and total security. For them, what I saw is probably all just normal. For others with their families, it's just a dream. Family is not something we can choose. We can't choose how we are treated, how much we are loved and how secure we are made to feel. But what we can choose, is how we act and react and how we make our family feel. We can choose how we treat them and we can model how to love, even when it isn't returned.

Hannah and Karl's wedding was so incredibly beautiful. They got married at Mariners Church in Gloucester - the church Hannah's mum and dad run and the reception took place at Elmore Court. A big shout out has to go to Wedding Creations who styled the venue so very beautifully. Hannah's incredible gown was made by Caroline Castigliano and Charlotte Balbier Lace. Her stunning flowers were created by Bijoux Floral and her bridesmaids dresses were from ASOS.

The whole wedding was such a treat for us. In the evening, we got to bop to the music of The Deloreans - one of our all time favourite wedding bands and we ate delicious stone baked pizza and doughnuts!

I am sure Hannah and Karl are bringing the best of their families in to this union. From the minute we met them, they soaked us up in to their world of genuine warmth and in to a beautiful sense of familiarity. They have modelled through every text, email and meeting, kindness, what it is to be interested in others, generosity and love. This is how we should treat each other, right? Family comes from the Latin, Familia, like familiar! Whether family to us means our relations or our friends, there should be that beautiful sense of familiarity and warmth. And it's our responsibility to create and invest in it.