One of the first wedding celebrations hosted by Happy Valley, Norfolk and boy was it a stunner. The couple exchanged vows under a willow tree on an island surrounded by a lake and their friends & family. Amazing food, kids tipis, bridal prep in a tree house, flower crowns and of course fantastic guests, I have so much to share with you but for now here are 10 of my favourites….
One lucky couple will win a full day’s wedding photography coverage by Norfolk based professional wedding photographer Alison Armstrong in this exciting give away.
Couples should email their entries to enquiries@alisonarmstrongphotography.com and should include their names, email address, telephone number, wedding date, venue and their reasons for wanting to win/ a little about them as a couple.
The competition is open to any couples for weddings across the UK and will open boxing day 2018. The closing date will be 14th February 2019 and the winning couple will be chosen and notified within 3 days.
Terms & conditions
Good luck everybody! Please spread the word, I would love this prize go to a really deserving couple.
First wedding of the season and it was a wet one, yet Dean and Rachel are two of the warmest and most loving people you could meet. Rachel is a good friend of mine, we met 12 years ago and it has been amazing watching her grow into one of the kindest, most hardworking and inspiring women I know. When I was training for my first marathon and a 20 mile run was on the plan – she was the one crazy enough to get up at 5am and run with me.
Groom Dean is an ultra marathoner and triathlete, recently taking part in the UK’s toughest and most brutal ultra marathon; the Spine Race.
Celebrations took place in a marquee at the brides parents’ gorgeous home, this gave a calm, friendly feel to the whole day. A delicious hog roast was served to guests following the emotional ceremony followed by a rather yummy 99 ice cream!
This adventure seeking couple were always going to be a delight to photograph and were never going to let a few drops of rain ruin the party.
Special thanks to my assistant Richard from RJM Photography, who assisted me as I had my baby son 4 weeks earlier! Here are their fab 5 of the day …..
My clients and I often discuss the items that helped us during our pregnancy and with a view to helping you mum’s to be here are my top 10 must have pregnancy essentials.
I couldn’t make my peace with this initially. A strange long sausage of cushion that I considered hitting my partner with rather than snuggling up with however, in the latter stages of pregnancy when sleeping on my side was the only viable option it is was a godsend and I looked forward to going to bed again.
Useful for exercise, more comfy than a chair in the later stages of pregnancy and useful to assist in getting baby in the correct position for birth. Also fantastic when baby is born for getting to sleep.
Stock your ipod with calming and relaxing music and take some time to relax each day. I highly recommend Stephen Halpern’s Comfort Zones, available on iTunes & amazon.
A must in the quest to prevent or minimise stretch marks.
You will spend hours pouring over all the possibilities….prepare for the game of ‘veto’ with your partner over your favourite names.
Hands down this was the the best pregnancy book I read. Full of practical and useful tips, the author tells it like it really is – warts and all. Available for kindle and in hardback.
Well if you have to cut out wine, pate & soft cheese’s, chocolate is non-negotiable in my book.
I highly recommend the Orange Grove for hypnobirthing courses. These classes are focused on natural, relaxed and calm births using a mixture of breathing and relaxation techniques. More than this they explained the science behind birth such as the chemicals and hormones released and how to use these to help the birthing process go more smoothly. Pregnancy Yoga can be another good option for mum’s to be who wish to focus on breathing and relaxation techniques.
Bargains galore at the National Childbirth Trust’s nearly new sales. The items found here are really good condition, second hand items and you can kit yourself out relatively cheaply. Even if you did not attend NCT classes, I would recommend joining simply to enable you to get priority access (let in first) at the sales to grab the bargains if you plan to go to the sales more than once a year.
Even if you have a good support network behind you, it really helps to have mummy friends who are due or had babies around a similar time to you. I lost count of the times my hypnobirthing group met up and could completely empathise when one of their babies wasn’t sleeping through the night, was teething or not eating etc. It is these amazing individuals that will keep you sane in the first year.
So what are you top pregnancy must have items? Any good tips I can share with my clients – drop me a line at alisonarmstrongphotography@gmail.com or reach out on facebook – Alison Armstrong Baby Photography.
(click on the links below to take you directly to my recommendation)
* Bio oil
* NCT nearly new sale