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OLIVIA BRABBS PHOTOGRAPHY BLOG

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Rock My Wedding

I'm so thrilled to be featured as a recommended wedding photographer on the Love/Lust list for the newly launched Rock My Wedding Blog... The blog creator is the very gorgeous Charlotte who was inspired to bring a bit of State side glam to the UK wedding industry drawing on her own experiences of being a bride to be.... Already, the site is a fantastic source of inspiration for brides looking to bring that extra bit of cool sparkle to their day. Wedding stuffiness and cheese is strictly off limits...

New addiction.... knitting!

I've been meaning to get some new craft skills under my belt for sometime so I was really thrilled to have the opportunity to do a learn to knit workshop at the very lovely Baa Ram Ewe in Headingley this week. The owner Verity was a complete star and has got me well on the way with the basics. I'm starting out on a very fetching chunky (very chunky!!) scarf - but already have my eye on my next project - funky arm warmers / gloves.

Verity stocks an amazing range of wool focusing on Yorkshire yarns and British breeds which is so cool. So rather than buying a new pair of gloves from the high street that are made in goodness knows where it's so great to have control over the source of your material and get the feel good factor of creating something yourself... Yep - I'm a knitting convert...

National Wedding Show NEC

I'm heading down to the midlands tomorrow for a busy weekend at the National Wedding Show. I'm not exhibiting myself but helping out my buddy Dee Grismond from Cherrygorgeous who will be showing her gorgeous eco-chic wedding stationery. The show runs from Fri - Sun so it's going to be a long weekend but Dee has reassured me that her stand is positioned next to the bar so no doubt the odd G&T will keep our energy levels up!

If you are planning to visit the show do come and say hi to me and Dee! It would be lovely to see you there....

Lovely testimonial from Pete & Claire's York Wedding

I received a gorgeous card of thanks this morning from Pete & Claire. I covered their wedding in May in York at The Merchant Taylor’s Hall.

“We wanted to thank you so much for taking our wedding photos – and for the stunning album you produced. We have not stopped looking at it ever since we receive it! Like every couple, choosing a wedding photographer was one of the biggest, and most important, decisions we made when it came to planning the wedding – after all – it’s one of the few physical memories we have. But I’m so pleased to say that we couldn’t have wished for anyone better! The fact you took so much time and put so much effort into getting to know us and our tastes, and into including the whole family on both sides, meant we got excatly what we had hoped for – photos that tell the story of the best day of our lives that we’ll treasure forever! By the end of the day you’d put everyone so at ease that it felt like you were one of our guests! You really have an amazing talent and we’ll be giving you a call hopefully one day in the future for a family portrait! Thanks again Pete & Claire”

Such lovely words – thanks guys!

Pete and Claire’s wedding created one of my favourite confetti shots of all time – you can look back into the May archives to view some of their images.

UK Weddings Show - Harrogate highlights...

Just thought I'd share a few photos from the weekend as well as a quick introduction to some of my new wedding buddies that I met... (apologies that images aren't up to usual standard - quick flash shots on my little sister's compact! - hopefully they give you the gist though!)

As well as exhibiting my photography we also took the opportunity to showcase "The Vintage China Cupboard". This is a business I run with my Mum and was born out a collection of stunning vintage china that was used for my wedding last September. We simply couldn't bear to part with it all and both still enjoy a healthy obsession with shopping for china so decided to offer our lovely wares for hire for other couples to enjoy. The vintage garden party look is just so cool....


A massive thank you to my trusty helpers - my fab little sister Cordelia and the very lovely Dee Grismond. Dee is the brains behind "Cherry Gorgeous" an eco-chic stationery company. I'm due to return the favour next weekend as I'll be helping Dee on her stand at the National Wedding Show down at the NEC. If anyone is planning to visit do come and say hi!!


We were very privileged to be positioned opposite the very cute Bilbo the owl! Bilbo is very clever and has set up in business offering a ring bearing service! Love it! He will swoop down the aisle bearing the all important rings and land on (the gloved) hand of groom or best man.. He drew a pretty good crowd! You can find out more about Bilbo and his services here..

We really do feel that we had the coolest corner in the show for as well as hanging out with Bilbo we all got to enjoy the chilled but very funky tunes of The Bedroom Orchestra. Tristan serenaded us all day long - apologies if the 3 of us looked slightly insane bopping away on our stand...!

I also made a new friend with wheels... I fell in love with Sweet Pea - a beautiful 1966 Volkswagen Samba Type 2 Deluxe 21 window Microbus - what a fab way to travel in style on your wedding day. Cool company name too - Dub Tails...

Great to catch up with Joanna from Twisted Willow Floristry too - her stand looked absolutely gorgeous.

Once again a huge thank you to all the couples and their friends and family who popped by to say hi. It's been so lovely to hear from lots of you already and I'm looking forward to welcoming you to the studio in Rawdon for a more detailed chat over a coffee and a few choccie biscuits!

Ride the Wave....

Tickets are now on sale to join in what is set to be one of the biggest climate demonstrations to date in London. Organised to coincide with the Copenhagen Climate talks - it's aim is to send a message to our world leaders that a FAB agreement is required - one that is - Fair - Ambitious - Binding. The date is 5th December and a special train has been chartered to take 500 supporters down to London for the day from Bradford, Leeds & Doncaster - there are tons of great activities planned for the journey and it is being organised as a family friendly event so little people are very welcome. Tickets are just £30 return or £20 with concessions. I have my ticket booked and I really hope lots of you out there feel you could join me...

Tickets are available HERE - and the site also gives loads of info about the organisers and the key issues behind the Copenhagen talks.

Wow - what a weekend!

Just a quick note to say what a fab weekend I've had the UK Weddings Show in Harrogate. A big thanks to all the couples and their friends and families who came to have a chat - I'll be in touch in the next couple of days with lots more info for you...

I'll also post again very soon with some of my show highlights - there was some really cool suppliers exhibiting who I'm really keen to showcase to you.... More soon x

Alison's & Rob beautiful rainy day in Harrogate

Such an amazing day! Alison and Rob's day increased my love of rainy weddings ten fold... Stunning moody light which complements my documentary eye perfectly!

After getting ready at the Yorkshire Hotel in Harrogate we drove over to Alison & Rob's village church in North Rigton before coming back to Harrogate (chauffered by a fab vintage bus!) to the Sun Pavilions. You couldn't get a more perfect venue for a rainy day - the outside terrace is covered so you can still get lots of fab natural light shots without worrying about soggy guests! The main reception room is flooded with natural light - and don't get me started on that roof - love it!










The table decorations were so cute - beautiful mis-match vintage china with each cup and saucer acting as name places too. Each table was named after an Elvis track.




To view more wedding images please do visit my online portfolio. If like me you loved Alison & Rob's vintage table theme please do check out The Vintage China Cupboard which is a North Yorkshire china & prop hire service.

Final Countdown to the UK Weddings Show in Harrogate

I'm a busy bee this week getting everything ready for my stand at the UK Weddings Show in Harrogate this weekend... It's been great to hear that lots of couples I've recently met will be visiting with their friends and family to get lots of planning ideas.

Complementary tickets are available through the show website....

Do come and say hi if you're planning to visit...

Introducing George...

It was lovely to meet George last week for a really fun baby portrait session. George was an absolute star and was full of smiles and fab expressions...




Rather than the often time pressured experience of visiting a photography studio I like to visit clients at home so that everything is really relaxed. This is so important for tiny people as it means we can work around feeding / changing and just take time out when needed! There are lots more examples of my baby portrait work on my website - do get in touch for further info.

As a little warning and I'm so sorry to mention the "C" word - but sessions over the next few weeks are quickly getting booked up so do get in touch as early as possible to avoid disappointment. Photography is such a unique and personal present - and rather than many of the quick fix throw away gifts that are starting to appear in our high streets - is something that will be treasured for years to come...

Katie & Mike's wedding at Rudding Park, Harrogate

Another beautiful day at Rudding Park in Harrogate. Had loads of fun hanging out with the girls getting ready before travelling on a fab vintage coach provided by Yesteryear Cars with the bridesmaids and family to the church.






An example of the beautiful flowers created by Carol & Jenny at The Mulberry Tree in Yeadon.



Best synchronised dancefloor skid I've ever witnessed - good work boys!



If you'd like to find out more about my wedding photography services please visit my website...

Donna & Neil - Ripley Castle, Harrogate

The celebration at Ripley Castle was the 2nd part of Donna & Neil's wedding following their official marriage in New Zealand. They held a glamorous black tie dinner at Ripley Castle with all the wedding trimmings for their friends and family in the UK.








A raffle was held after dinner to raise funds for The Spinal Injuries Association. The raffle was lots of fun and raised £700 for an amazing charity.