December 2017
The last wedding of 2017 eneded buitifully. Photographing Lorrains& Laurances ceremony at St Davids Cardiff then their reception at Caer LLan, which remains a wonderfull venue in all seasons. Laurance serves our country. Thank you for the work you do to keep us all safe. I hope your travels always bring you home to your loving family.
November 2017
-8 This morning on the farm. Waters were frozen over, hammer was needed to breack through 2inch thick ice. After the animals have been fed I took my camera to the top of our hay paddoc to catch the sun rising over the Welsh hills. Feeling blessed to live were I live.
October 2016
This was one of those photographically wow weddings. I was fully expecting a small personnel wedding for Nicky & Bobby at 'The Tintern Railway' with tea and cake. While it was that, Nicky had booked time at Tintern Abbey and with a little help from the sun god and the stunningly dressed couple I was able to capture some stunning photos at the Abbey then even more so back at the Station. This wedding is defiantly one for the portfolio! Thank you both for a lovely day. x
September 2016
The Summer rush is ending, Sophie & Jeff got hitched just before the schools went back. They had a lovely blessing at their home where a marquee and all the trimmings were brought in. A wonderful union of two families. Thank you for letting me be apart of you’re wedding day and for letting me partaking in the best hog roast of my year!
August 2016
Well it’s been a while since I’ve posted on this page but there’s a reason for this. This summer has been fully booked with one wonderful wedding after another. Last Saturday I was blessed to be able to photograph the lovely Bev & Ivans wedding at the wonderful venue of Huntstile Organic farm. Whom ever prayed to the weather gods that day deserves a drink, because it was beautiful hot sun all day! Congrats to the wonderful couple and thank you to all the friends and family and Huntstile for making me feel so welcome.
July 2016
With the heat of July its been a busy month. The fantastic Welsh couple Laura & Alex stood out with their wedding at The Ty Mawr in the outskirts of Cardiff. They've made a barn their own with a beautiful color scheme flowing throughout.. Thank you for your hospitality and generosity, have fun on your travels and marred life.
June 2016
Weddings are happening thick and fast but on the first day of this month I've been invited to photograph the second wedding of the most sweetest couple Jillian & Wayne, in Cardiff’s Jury's Inn. It was a simple declaration of their love for each other with their nearest and dearest mid week. A wonderful example that weddings don't always have to be events which can sometimes take a life upon their own. Simple elegant and full of love.
May 2016
The weather gods we're with Charlotte & Tom on their wedding day at the fantastic venue 'Caer LLan' . It drizzled in the morning but wonderful sunshine throughout the rest of the day A truly epic day with such young fresh faced guests. Caer LLan hosted all the guests all weekend with stunning views and gardens over looking the Monmouthshire hills. Thank you for letting me be apart of your day!
April 2016
Spring is in the air and I was fortunate enough to be invited along to be a second photographer at Ryan & Kayn’s Wedding. I covered the handsome men getting ready with family and friends at Llansantffraed Court Hotel. They were whisked away in a stylish car to get hitched at Monmouth Saint Mary’s church. Another beautiful sunny day was had by all!
March 2016
Spring is defiantly hear with us on the farm. It’s been a busy month for us with lambs being born and 4 Pygmy goat kids. Dobby gave birth to triplets (which was a big surprise to all) in the hedge, with us watching on the side lines. She's all rested now and happy with x2 girls Lemon &Ginger and a boy Blackberry. Melinda quietly gave birth in the morning to a little boy Chi. Everyone’s enjoying their milkshakes and the fine weather after the mild winter.
February 2016
Allot of the time when we host gatherings, our friends sit out on the lawn drinking their drinks of choice with their sunglasses on saying how lucky we are and how relaxing it must be to live on a smallholding. While I would never change my situation in a million years theirs allot of sweat and bruised fingers in the month of February. Fences have be made or mended ready for the spring to keep all those pesky animals where they're supposed to be. Winter is actually a busy time for farmers. They will be mending or building because you don't have time in Summer because your hay making and raising new borns!
January 2016
Well its 2016 and January is already almost over. Its been a while since I posted on Facebook. Time seems to fly by during these long wet dark winter days, however the days are getting longer now, snow drops are budding, spring is round the corner.
I’ve been fortunate to be apart of several lovely winter weddings.
Here’s a few from New years Eve at Parkfields Country House near Ross-on-Wye. Yvette & Dave invited me to their hand fasting celebration for a few hours with their nearest and dearest.
January 2015
It's a new year and the days are getting longer, Spring is on the horizon but winter is with us for a while yet. January is a time for newly engaged couples to plan their forthcoming weddings. For now, life on the farm continues quietly, Welsh Valentine's day has been and gone and life is starting up again. Our winter larders are keeping us well fed. The Sweet Peas are just poking their green shoots above ground and snowdrops are blooming.
November & December 2014
The wonderful autumn colours came closely followed by winter on the farm. 2014 finished on a high note for me with the lovely couple Rhys and Sarah letting me photograph their gorgeous wedding. Now a short rest bite over christmas before 2015. If you or anyone you know is getting married next year get in touch! I love a good wedding!
September & October 2014
Life on the farm has been at its busiest with summer harvests and the start of autumn bringing its hot colours and warm flavours. Weddings have been flowing thick and fast with lots of happy couples tying the knot.
The Castle Hotel in the historic city of Hereford was a wonderful setting for Lilly & John’s wedding.
Becky & Richard wanted a intimate party and their nearest and dearest as they celebrated at the Pavilion Cricket Club in Bristol.
An epic tea party was brought to life by all who attended for Anna & Dave Wedding in the idyllic village of Crowcombe in Somerset.
July & August 2014
Late summer is a busy time as always on the farm. We are making chutney and pickle with our leftover runner beans and tomatoes and the hedges are brimming with blackberries and sloes.
A working family farm in Pembrokeshire provided the beautiful setting for Meg & Damian's July wedding. A vintage style tea party reception was held in their barn which they converted and decorated themselves, amazing!
In early August, Delia & David celebrated their marriage at The Chase Hotel in historic Ross-on-Wye. Origami birds provided a stylish theme to their special day.
We are looking forward to Lily & John’s wedding next Saturday at the Castle hotel in Hereford.
June 2014
It’s been an amazing hot June on the farm and we’ve been making hay and elderflower champagne.
Matthew’s wedding photography summer season is in full swing. Here is a taste of the wonderful weddings of three lovely couples all taken in the beautiful counties of Somerset and Devon.
First of the summer were Jennie & Chris who celebrated their wedding in glorious sunshine in the amazing setting of The Longhouse, Bruton. With its eco-design and flower-rich gardens, it provides the perfect setting for an outdoor ceremony with family and friends.
On the weekend of the summer solstice, Amy & Martin had a uniquely beautiful blessing at Huntstile Organic Farm. A tractor took guests to a stone circle high above the farm for the ceremony with panoramic views of the hills and sea beyond.
Just over the border in Devon, Emma & David celebrated their marriage in the elegant surroundings of Kentisbere. The historic parish church provided a serene and intimate setting for their special day.
We are looking forward to Meg & Damian’s wedding this weekend on their working Pembrokeshire family farm. We have been advised to pack our wellies – it’s going to be great!
May 2014
This month has been full of new life on the farm. Our first Soay lamb was born on a wet Easter Sunday afternoon tucked away in one of our railway carriages, a beautiful ewe lamb with a deep chocolate woolly coat already forming to keep her dry from the elements. All of the mothers had their lambs without needing our help and the couple of births we witnessed were magical. Soay lambs really come out ready to face the world. One ewe had twins and in less than 10 minutes they were both able to stand and after an hour or so the mother would be able to move them away from predators. Since this was our first lambing season, we have been very lucky to have seven healthy lambs including two sets of twins and five ewes. This is a wonderful boost to expanding our flock for next year. They are the perfect breed for our farm since they are hardy enough to cope with Welsh winters and need little shelter while also being friendly and easy to handle.
The goat kids who were born in April have been growing rapidly and enjoying entertaining our visitors. Blackie, the kid we helped to feed in her first few weeks, has become rather human focused and loves having our full attention. It has been wonderful to see them becoming more of a herd and playing together. Favourite games are jumping off the old millstone, chasing each other round the pear tree, and saying hello to the cows next door.
We have had some success with hatching our eggs. Two out of the three goslings survived and they have joined the main flock outside. Sadly, our first ducklings were eaten by a crow. It is difficult to find a balance allowing the ducks freedom to forage and enjoy life while keeping the ducklings safe. We have a second mother duck on a nest and more eggs in the incubator so we hopefully learn from our mistakes and keep the second family in a moveable run. This means they can be outside and on fresh grass but will be protected from attack from the air.
All the fruit and vegetables seem much earlier than last year by at least two weeks so we have been working hard to keep up with their demands. The tomatoes and cucumbers are in their final positions and are growing well. Our first broad beans and spinach are almost ready to eat and the courgette and squash plants are settling in for the summer. It looks like it is going to be a good year for strawberries, raspberries and tayberries and maybe even some cherries. The foxgloves and lupins are providing plenty of early nectar for the bumblebees so we have lots of pollinators close at hand.
April 2014
The farm has been bathed in glorious sunshine for the last few weeks and the woods and hills around us have sprung into life. Blackthorn, pear and cherry blossom have turned our hedges and orchard snow white and the vivid green of hawthorn and hazel, and the yellow buds of our mighty oaks, are bursting into leaf. On an evening walk along the woodland edge, with a full red moon rising above the goat field, we wandered through drifts of wood anemones, celandines and had our first glimpse of this year’s bluebells. In the meadows, pale yellow cowslips and purple milkmaids nod in the breeze and light up the grasses.
We have planted early potatoes, broad beans and mangetout in the vegetable patch with a close eye on the forecast and plenty of mouse protection. In the greenhouse my tomato, cucumber and runner bean seedlings are keeping snug. Wallflowers and tulips have succeeded the daffodils in tubs outside the house and fill the air with their perfumed scent.
In the morning and evening, the air is filled with bird song and frantic nesting activity. The woodpeckers are drumming in the woods and several blackbird nests have appeared in the newly renovated railway carriages and the wood shelter. The wild ducks on the big pond are secretly guarding their ten newly born ducklings. Grass snakes have ventured out to bathe in the sun’s rays and writhe in the grass of the hay field.
Our goat kids are now two weeks old and, despite a difficult start for the smallest one, Blackie, she is now thriving on her mother’s creamy milk. It has been wonderful to see our goat tribe grow and enjoy springing around their field together, exploring the hedge hollows and fallen branches. We now have two Muscovy ducks sitting on eggs and the first clutch is due to hatch in a couple of days. A goose is also sitting and two goslings were born yesterday from the eggs in the incubator. The sheep are yet to lamb but have grown heavy and seem to spend more time dozing in the sun than roaming far to graze. We are hoping for Easter lambs but they may still surprise us.
As the last of the winter wildness blows through the farm, spring plans are taking shape in more ways than one. Our Soay sheep have been moved to drier pasture in preparation for lambing next month and we are feeding the ewes extra rations. We are looking forward to having our first lambs on the farm and hoping that the deep March snowfalls of last Easter will not make a return. In one corner of the Soay field are two vintage railway carriages.These have been used by several generations of animals as shelter from the weather from the Black Mountains and carriages of similar age are a common sight tucked away in corners of fields and farms all over this part of Wales. We have recently started the epic task of saving our two from elder, brambles and further decay, in the hope of using them for years to come. So we have cleared the undergrowth, taken down the rotting beams and re-roofed them in shiny tin. When summer comes, we can paint and patch the sides and clean up the amazing bolts and braces that the railway workers welded on so many years ago.
In the greenhouse, green shoots are bringing us the promise of the new growing season. Sweet peas are always the first to germinate and are keeping snug under the propagator lids. We always grow Matucama, for their deep blooms of red and purple and heady scent, and Bright and Breezy, which are paler shades of pink and blue. Rachel weaves willow suports for them to climb up in the garden and they give us a constant supply of cut flowers throughout the summer. Alongside these seedlings, our first broad beans are also emerging with their deep green leaves above the soil. These are amongst the first vegetables that we can grow and by June they should be a tasty addition to a lunchtime salad. Our potatoes are chitting ready for planting next month, each tuber sending forth fat shoots ready for action.
Well, its another wet February day and I write this from the farm where, even in the rain, beauty can be found. Hellebores and snowdrops are showing the first signs that spring is not to far away. Daffodils are pushing up through the earth and catkins are lining the hedges. The sweet scent and vibrant yellow of witchhazel is a particular favourite in our family, and Rachel’s birthday bloom. It has an arresting fragrance, warmed in the low light typical of this time of year, and an intensity of colour that can lift the spirits on these damp mid-winter days. The humble willow and dogwood, plants with a thousand uses, will be cut next month, but for now they stand in their full glory in our hedges and round the pond, glowing in the evening and morning light from deep orange to sunset yellow and burnt amber
Our animals have also been feeling the first stirrings of spring, despite the rising water levels. As Valentine’s Day approaches, the Muscovy ducks have been pairing up and starting to lay their creamy, porcelain-like eggs in their assorted nests and coops.
Holding a smooth, cool duck egg in cupped hands for the first time is a revelation, and a reminder, that so often the most perfect things can be the most everyday experiences. Our youngest drake, a handsome lad in dazzling white feathers with black highlights, has been taking his young females out into the goat field to forage for food. They seem to delight in the wet grass and its hidden potential, frisking the clumps with their beaks for tasty morsels. So far he appears to be a perfect gentleman too, watching over his girls with a protective shake of his tail, and making sure each one returns home safely in the gathering dusk.
