SILVER LININGS
October 11, 2020
Jade and Ayden’s ‘Would Have Been Wedding Day’ Celebration
Upwaltham Barns - West Sussex
The phrase ‘Would have been Wedding Day’ has certainly taken an upward trend this year due to the current pandemic we are enduring. We have totally admired how all our wedding couples have remained so positive through these times and adapted to the guidelines imposed, rearranging dates and making new plans, each in their own way.
One of our couples, Jade and Ayden, were due to tie the knot on the 22nd of August at the gorgeous Upwaltham Barns until restrictions were put in place causing them to rearrange until Spring 2021. When chatting to them earlier in the summer about their adjusted plans we suggested that they could create something special from the change.
They loved our idea of celebrating their original date and fully embraced seeing it as a day to remember rather than a day to forget. Here at KHP we feel there's always room for more celebration in life!
Jade and Ayden were yet to have their engagement shoot so we suggested we arrange this on their ‘Would have been Wedding Day’. They were over the moon when the lovely Nicola & Tim at Upwaltham Barns said they could use their venue grounds for the afternoon. Amazing! The couple set about arranging a series of events based around the shoot.
All this in itself was enough for the KHP team to get excited but when we received the email from Jade revealing that she had a second wedding dress to mark the occasion we did a little ‘whoop’ in our swivel chairs! And why not treat herself to a bit of glamour, well deserved!
We’ve been very fortunate to get back capturing portraits for our clients after the initial lockdown period. From engagement, family or newborn we’ve loved them all, and to finally be back behind the lens at a wedding venue was just so awesome.
We were totally feeling the wedding vibes once again; sharing excitement for the day and what’s to come with the bride and groom, catching up with the lovely venue staff, planning unforgettable shots not to mention climbing that iconic hill and discovering what nature was gifting us; a classic British summer’s day, grass swaying in the breeze and a wondrously atmospheric sky. Ah how we’ve missed ‘The Hill’! We can assure any of you who have chosen Upwaltham Barns as your venue that it’s as stunning as ever and all there waiting for you and your special day to come.
We were so excited about the classic Upwaltham Barns hill shot that we just had to start the shoot there – it’s undoubtedly the shot of dreams for every couple that have booked this venue. The bonus for Jade and Ayden is that they will have this shot twice and the double bonus is that their wedding day image will have it’s own unique look and meaning as the change of season lends it’s different hues, tones and lighting. It will be lovely for them to look back on two variations of this shot in the same location both full of the love they share for each other… silver linings!
Once we were at the top of the hill we relished working with a mixture of looks and poses in this one shoot. We loved how Jade and Ayden cleverly took the opportunity to create a wedding feel without giving anything away about the styles they’ve chosen for the wedding day itself – we love Jade’s elegant evening-gown-like dress! This shoot gave them the opportunity to be bold and brave wearing something that they might not have the chance to on their wedding day, but still features as part of their wedding story.
We’ve called their style ‘Trelegant’ – (yup that’s right…trendy AND elegant) and they’ve absolutely rocked it!
The couple embraced the whole day as a celebration and made a real event of it. Jade even took the opportunity to have her hair and make-up done by her very talented friend Lucie Oliver (www.lucieoliver.co.uk) who did a fantastic job of setting her look for the day – as did this funky leather jacket that teems so well with her gorgeous dress – such a good look!
As much as we loved the jacket we couldn’t miss capturing the stunning plunging cut of the back of Jade’s show stopping dress! Ayden delivered on sharpness and a casual style perfect for the feel of this location.
Jade and Ayden’s adorable son was on hand to enjoy the day with his devoted parents and it was so nice to capture the three of them together and get to know him before the big day. We look forward to seeing how he will have changed between now and then, just a few months can see little ones grow so much. It was equally a delight to meet Jade’s parents who were there to join in with the adventures of the day and support their daughter and soon to be son-in-law.
After the shoot we wished them well, knowing that they would be enjoying the rest of the day having dinner and cocktails with Jade’s Maid of Honour and Ayden’s Best Man.
To Jade and Ayden, it was truly special to share your ‘Would have been Wedding Day’. We are so glad you embraced this and have positive memories to look back on. Thank you for the kind words that you shared for other couples in a similar situation (see below readers!). We hope you love looking back at your images of this day and we can’t wait to share your special day with you next year.
The moral of the story is that whatever curve balls we might face in the coming months, with creativity we can and will find a way to celebrate and capture the love that two people share with one another.
Kelly x
A.B.I.P.P - A.M.P.A
Here are Jade and Ayden’s kind words they shared on social media and with us after the shoot…
“Kelly is yet to photograph our wedding. But before you assume I shouldn’t be writing a recommendation as it seems a bit premature, I needed to share our thoughts and opinions.
I was due to get married in August 2020, but COVID had other plans. Luckily, Kelly was available on our new date (thank god)! It was one of the worst times I’d ever experienced and I was so low. Kelly suggested we still got together and she’d take some special photos for our pre wedding shoot, but on the original wedding day. At the time, I was dreading it all. I felt like COVID would be rubbing my face in it like “look what should have been”, but it didn’t. I started to look forward to the date. We first made the conscious effort to replace “should of” to “would of” which helped... I even bought a new wedding dress (thank you ASOS bride!).
Once it was over, I was finally able to move on from the whole thing. I set a new countdown on my phone and added the new date to my calendar. We can now look back on the date with happy bittersweet memories and that was all down to Kelly’s love, support and encouragement. We wouldn’t have these beautiful photos to look back on either!
Now roll on April 2021. I’m so grateful to Kelly and Jade. I’ll definitely be writing another recommendation next year. But until then, this will have to do!
Any new brides and grooms looking for a photographer? I swear to you, hands down - you won’t find a better one than the one we have here.”