I only went and won it?! At The Wedding Industry Awards 2024 I won Wedding Photographer of the Year for the South East and then won Highly Commended at the UK finals too!! I honestly couldn’t believe it when my name was announced. I was shocked, I ran up to collect my trophy and gave the host Damian a chest bump on stage!

I wouldn’t have won these awards if it wasn’t for the amazing Brides and Grooms that I’ve photographed over the past year. I’m so grateful that they’ve trusted me to document their weddings as they’ve happened and also for voting for me in The Wedding Industry Awards awards process. I’ve got runner up the past two years so after getting so close a couple of times I thought this win might never happen but I guess this shows the power of perseverance and keeping on going for something you believe in and want. I also think that me picking up Best Wedding Photographer proves that you don’t need to reinvent yourself or alter your style to try and succeed in your industry. I’ve never changed my documentary, hands off approach. I’ve always tried to improve myself and my work but I’ve never chased trends. Editorial photography has become really popular over the last couple of years. I’ve known many great documentary photographers trying to pursue this editorial style to try and stay current. I genuinely believe that moments captured in an authentic way will mean so much more when Brides and Grooms look back on their images in 10 years time rather than remembering their Photographer getting them to spray Champagne for 20 minutes or make blurry pictures of them walking into the distance. Trends come and go but real, authentic story telling will never go out of fashion!

The first images below show me collecting my award and being interviewed at the South East finals and then scroll down for the National final images too. Thanks Matt Rock & Colin Lavery for taking them.