Best Wedding Photographer in the UK at The Wedding Industry Awards 2018

Happy New Year! Well this is VERY exciting!

I found out this week that I’ve been named “UK Wedding Photographer of the Year” for a SECOND time, picking up the grand prize from The Wedding Industry Awards at a glitzy awards ceremony on Wednesday night. The Wedding Industry Awards are really the definitive awards for the whole wedding industry in the UK – not just photography but across all wedding suppliers – and I made no secret when I won the same award two years ago that it felt like the biggest achievement of my career at that point. Like winning the Premier League!

So to win this incredibly prestigious award for a SECOND TIME feels really mind-blowing, and is a total vindication of what I put into this weird and wonderful job, as this award isn’t just based on the images I make but also on my couples reviews of their experience of working with me and how they personally feel about their wedding photos. I really work hard at all areas of my business so to win an award which takes all of that into consideration is a very, very cool feeling. So a massive thank you to the judges for deciding to give me this award again!

But an even more massive thank you to the 400 couples who I’ve worked with since 2009 and who’ve so far booked me to be your photographer in 2018 and 2019. This one is dedicated to you guys! When I randomly decided to be a wedding photographer all those years ago I always had aspirations to be the best possible photographer I could be – and I want to be the best I can be so you can have the absolute greatest memories from your weddings. If you voted for me this year then thank you, but really this is thanks to all 400 of you inviting me into your lives and letting me do what I love year in year out. You all rule, and this award is for you… but I’ll keep the trophy 😉

This is my fifth award in total from The Wedding Industry Awards:

North West Wedding Photographer of the Year 2016
UK Wedding Photographer of the Year 2016
North West Highly Commended Wedding Photographer of the Year 2017
North West Wedding Photographer of the Year 2018
UK Wedding Photographer of the Year 2018

And it’s with this latest award that I’m announcing my retirement from The Wedding Industry Awards! I’m really incredibly proud of all five wins and will treasure the trophies, certificates and amazing feedback from my couples. But entering this award and agonising over the results takes up more of my mental energy than you could ever imagine and I’ve decided to spend that valuable energy elsewhere – in making better photos, and making sure my couples have the best possible experience working with me, and also in helping other wedding photographers achieve their own goals (contact me for my 2018 mentoring options).

I’m really looking forward to another busy year of travelling the UK being part of so many amazing weddings already, as well as a few trips overseas for destination weddings. It’s promising to be another exciting year and I’m excited to see the photos that creates – which I’ll of course be sharing with you here on my blog, and on instagram and facebook!