Best of 2023 wedding photography

Best of 2023 Documentary Wedding Photography

Where to start with 2023! Well I'm usually writing this saying just how very busy I've been, but this year has been the first where I didn't set myself a big strew of very ambitious business goals. It felt scary to scale back slightly, but hear me out. Hot off the back of a WILDLY busy 2021, and 2022, winning one of Rangefinder's coveted spaces on their Rising Star list and being named top 10 worldwide for This is Reportage, as well as shooting over 40+ weddings in the UK and destination, I was exhausted. I had decided about halfway through 2022 that 2023 would be quieter for me, so that I could maintain my passion for the job I love long term and not burn out it would have to be! I wanted to catch my breath and focus on improving my work-life balance, and going forward I aimed to dedicate more of myself and my time to each couple that entrusted me with their memories. 

I also wanted to create a little space in my life to access my business in non photography areas; this included a total visual rebrand at the start of the year! I really need to write a whole separate blog post about it as there's so much to shout about, what joy it was to delve into my couples minds and figure out what was making us feel so connected to me! All so that I could start to make myself more instantly visible to the future couples that would benefit the most from my personality, unique approach and slightly unconventional photographic style. After all that hard work I'm so pleased to say that as of writing this post my business feels in much better alignment and that the balance I sought for this year was achieved. I guess I did have a goal, although less lofty and grand than usual. (Big thank you to my past couples, Abi & Mike, Victoria & Rob, Emma and Alan, and future couple, Elodie and Brian, for speaking with my rebrand team. Your discussions were invaluable insight and appreciated beyond measure)

Another 2023 factor for me was planning around my wedding this year because all that festering excitement and time planning is wild; it's distracting as heck, and that s*h!t takes time, energy, and passion. Even though we were eloping, I still wanted to make sure I was not cut short on time for us to be together around the date, and I wanted my very last wedding of the year to be my own—what an amazing, joyful, incredible feeling it was. We took the British Pullman from London to elope in Bath, then back to London for an evening of Karaoke in the Borough Market Bao Restaurant. This needs its blog post at some point, too - I'll be back with a link. Photograph below of our happy wedding faces boarding the train!

This year's weddings have been so wonderfully varied; I've been all over the UK, from Edinburgh to Kent, with plenty in my main stomping ground of the Lake District; I've captured so many joyful moments that I know people will revisit time and time just to feel that moment of awe! I've felt creative; I've been on boat rides and inside Landrovers up hillsides; I've been to Private Estates, Farms, Barns, Castles, and your very own back gardens! One thing I always love about my job is the pure variation. 

As always, I think these end-of-year recaps sound a little like Me, Me, Me. But that's the nature of being so personally entwined with your business! As I've said in previous years, I wouldn't even have a blog post to write without my amazing couples. So, on that note, I'd love to extend a HUGE thank you to all the people who make my business possible by simply being in love and getting me to capture the joy of your wedding! Every single one of you, past and future. Thank you for all the support, laughter, cheerleading, and trust! Not to mention the hot wedding dinners and the drinks. Thank you for it all. 

Below are a few of my favourite moments from 2023. As with every year, at every wedding, I've grown, learned, and become even more passionate about what I do. I can't wait to take the lessons I've learnt forward into my weddings for 2024!

Enjoy,



CHELSEA X