On Easter Sunday we did what we usually do - wake up, have a cuppa in bed and hand out all the prezzies before sending the kids on a little Easter egg hunt around the house.  We all happily filled our faces all morning and started the day feeling very chilled out.  And half in a chocolate coma!
That all changed about 1 o' clock when the littlest monkey decided to jump down the bottom few stairs.  This is a pretty normal thing for him to do (as with most kids), this time though, instead of chuckling away feeling proud of himself, there were tears...

On Tuesday we loaded up the car with enough luggage for 3 weeks rather than 4 days and headed for Wales.  Half an hour later, after going back home the third time for things we'd forgot, we set off again.  6 and half hours and 4 toilet stops later, we arrived.

The land of Myths and Dragons. 
And hard to read road signs.

We had booked a little garden apartment in the little seaside village of Tresaith in Cardigan Bay on the Ceredigion Heritage Coastline.  Legend says (well, wikipedia) that a King of Ireland set his 7 troublesome daughters adrift in a boat and the currents of the Irish sea led them to beach on the coastline where they all fell in love and settled down with the locals.  The name Tresaith means the Town of Seven. 

I don't know if any of that is true, but I know we had fun.  Even with our little toe rag in a sling!

Wales is beautiful. 

We spent our days travelling around the area.  We looked at castles, stone circles, burial chambers, lighthouses, abandoned buildings, wildlife and the gorgeous mountains of Snowdonia.  We ate chips looking at the sea and walked down piers.  We ate pizza at the coolest, most hipster outdoor restaurant ever.  We skimmed stones in lakes and tromped across beaches.
And every evening we went down to our local beach where a waterfall fell over the cliffs onto the sand and we stayed there until the sun went down.  On our last night we had clear skies, so we got to watch the stars appear too.

It was perfect. 

Some snaps from our trip.

We booked our apartment through Airbnb.  For some money off your first trip, click HERE.

A few weeks ago, I had the awesome privilege of popping up into the Dales to shoot the super-cool wedding of Emma & Chris.
The entire day was held at the beautiful Yorebridge House Boutique Hotel.

The day started with some nice, chilled out Bridal prep, complete with plenty of sarky comments and proper Yorkshire etiquette of Prosecco out of teacups!  Goes without saying that we had a good laugh. 
Chris was in a room more or less next door, so it was cool to be able to pop round and get some Groom prep too. 

We had a videographer on the day too, the very quiet and professional Simon from Wedding Films by Simon Manning, so we spent the prep time leapfrogging each other to keep it flowing

Before we knew it, it was time for the main event!

Chris and the rest of the guests were waiting patiently, with the gentle guitar tunes from Steven Heath Music filling the room. 
Chris looked like the cat that got the cream as Emma made her way down the aisle, looking beautiful in her awesome tea length wedding dress.

The vows were soon said, kisses were soon kissed and smiles were everywhere!

We made our way out into the sunshine and pretty soon everyone was stood alongside the collection of hawks and owls from the North Yorkshire Moors Birds of Prey.
We snapped a few photos and then made our way down to the river for everyone to get their wellies on and have a bit of fun.  Everyone was pretty worried about falling in, but we hid it well! 

After that it was back to the house for food and speeches before I dragged the happy couple out once again for some more photos as the sun was setting.  We even got a little visit from the horses over the road that wanted to get in on the action!

Time flew on, cake cutting time was here, and pretty soon Emma and Chris wowed all the guests with their awesome first dance that they'd been practising. 

The practise had paid off - it was ace!

Thanks for having me guys - your day was awesome!

Here are a few snaps from their day.

We had some roses in the house that were ready for the bin, so thought I'd take some snaps and make a little project out of 'em.
I grabbed my little Fuji X70 and a Godox TT600 flash, stuck 'em on the kitchen table with a black blanket for a backdrop (I couldn't be bothered to set up the studio backdrop) and clicked away.

I love the intricate patterns of rose petals.  There's something satisfying in the way they spiral out - probably why people have been getting them tattooed for nearly a hundred years.
Roses are also pretty symbolic - with supposed meanings ranging from love and hope, to immortality, strength and death.  There's even a numerology association tied to the budding petals. 

I like to thing of a rose as a bit of stubborn beauty.  It still manages to look good even as it withers and dies.  Standing defiant to the very end.  And even after death, those thorns are still there to get you...