Number 1 UK Wedding Photographer // WPJA

I’m not a fan of ‘blowing my own trumpet’ so top speak so this is a little tricky to write, but I certainly feel its worth sharing with the world. When I started out as a wedding photographer back in 2009 (where has that time gone?!) I used to look up the WPJA (Wedding Photojournalists Association) as the pinnacle of documentary wedding photography. I remember when I first got accepted, probably back in 2011. I was so excited to be considered amongst such amazing photographers. Unlike other photographic associations, the WPJA has very strict standards of acceptance and it is a worldwide organisation. So to be accepted is an honour in itself.

Every year they have competitions to rank the photographers from each country. I was always terrible at entering these competitions and never actually got round to doing it. Maybe it was fear of rejection or someone else thinking my photographs weren’t good enough, whatever it was, I only decided to enter in 2017 when I was waiting for my Eurostar back from an amazing wedding in Paris. I was on a high from a fantastic weekend and thought ‘what the hell, lets give it a go’. I went through the photos I had on me and decided to enter as many as I could in the time I had before my train.

Roll on a couple of months and the winners are starting to be announced from each category. I couldn’t quite believe my luck when I found out I had placed in one of the categories. I think the first one I found out about was the 19th place in the Groom Portrait category. 19th place isn’t great, but when you consider how many entries there are in each category, its certainly nothing to be sniffed at.

As the weeks pass and the category winners are announced I was blown away to find out I had in fact placed FIRST in more than one category! I was so excited – it brought back all the memories of when I first got accepted into the WPJA all those years ago.

Number 1 UK Wedding Photographer

So once all the category winners had been announced I received an email to notify me that I was the Number 1 UK Wedding Photographer! I couldn’t quite believe it! I’m so grateful to the judges for choosing my photos but also to the amazing couples that trust me to do what I do. I make sure to approach every wedding with the excitement and respect I gave to those first few weddings I photographed back in 2009. It’s such a cliche but I love this job so much and I am eternally grateful to everyone who allows it to continue!

Check out the award winning photos below…