all change..

A few weeks ago we had our lovely friends The Starks come and visit us for a few days.  They are both photographers living in Canada and our friendship has been a pretty incredible one that saw us all meet before we were photographers.. and then has grown side by side in some weird and wonderful parallel journey..

The morning they were due to leave they asked if we would mind if they took some photos of us both in our house.  We'd all been talking about what our plans for the future were and both me and Pete had said that we were at a point where lots of things were about to change.  We've been in our little house for 7 years now but we think it's finally time to find a new.. bigger one.  One where we can work from and possibly start a family.

Jenn and Dave have given us something so incredibly special.  We constantly talk about the importance of giving photographs but for us these are so much more.  They show us how happy we are.. how much we've grown.. how far we've come and how excited we are about our future together. They show us in our home.. the home we started this little business.. the home where I got ready on our wedding day.. the home where Maximo was born in the bottom of the wardrobe.

We cannot say thank you enough to Jenn and Dave.. (even though they were super sneaky recording us talking).. we will treasure this gift forever...


emma & pete from Jenn & Dave Stark on Vimeo.

A different kind of sneak peek..

We are so very grateful to share these moments..



Song: 114 miles by the incredible Boat to Row

dance your ass off..

Ellie and Ed's dancing shots are getting blogged first because a) there are no rules b) if there were rules.. they're meant to be broken.

Not sure I've ever been so proud watching Pete and his band (The Rebel party Band) bring the party.  EVERYONE danced.. and everyone kept dancing.  Then to get an email after the wedding from Ellie's parents thanking them for making a good wedding.. a great wedding.. well say hello to one very proud wife.  Pete also took photos all day and their van broke down on the way home so he got home about 5am... he needed some sort of wedding vendor extraordinaire medal that day..

I'll be blogging the rest of Ellie and Ed's GORGEOUS wedding next week.. possibly in two parts as there is SO much goodness... :)

floral love..

sneak..

sneak..

home sweet home..

the Define School

The Define School is a wonderful online school for evolving photographers.  Their mission? To provide online courses for both professionals and hobbyists. A place for individual artists to flourish.. an online community where evolving photographers could go to connect, learn and grow.  There are a wonderful collection of talented instructors sharing their experiences of running successful businesses in the arts and they are all there to share their story.

But simply imparting information is not the goal.  Students are equipped with knowledge and then encouraged to use it to create their own path.. to achieve total authenticity. And by connecting with other artists, they in turn, learn more about themselves.

The Define School also has a journal with a regular feature called 'What I Have To Say..' I am hugely honoured to be a part of this amazing community and immensely enjoyed writing something that had no real agenda.. just.. simply.. something I wanted to say..

You can read the full article HERE I also recommend reading through the whole of the journal and signing up for some classes.. these are good people with lots of good stuff to say.. :)

NEW Welcome Home Workshop dates!!

So far we've had a total of six Welcome Home Workshops hosting two at our office in Brum and have travelled to Edinburgh, Bristol, London and across the water to Dublin.  We've had a total of 63 homies join us on this crazy adventure and it's been incredible to watch them all grow their own supportive community in the facebook group speaking and offering each other daily support and advice.  Back in April we also had our first Welcome Break.. a two day retreat where 33 of us spent a few days laughing, dancing, eating good food and simply getting back to what's important...

  

Welcome Home has become so much more than a workshop and we want others to have the opportunity to be involved in this growing family too.. :)

So what is the workshop about?

The Welcome Home Workshop will focus on developing your artistic voice, finding your niche market, understanding and developing your brand, valuing the client experience, managing expectations and staying inspired.

Within these topics I will also be covering...

- My artistic Style

- Attracting your ideal client

- Understanding your 'why'

- Marketing

- Shooting

- Post Processing

- Pricing

- Workflow

- Client relationships and experience

To have a little look at some of the workshops that have been before have a look HERE... and HERE!

On top of all that.. attending Welcome Home will also give you...

• Immediate access to the Facebook group
• An invitation to the amazing Welcome Break next April
• Exclusive opportunities for one to one mentoring sessions

We are SO excited to be opening two new dates so BOOK YOUR PLACE NOW!!!!!

TUESDAY 8TH OCTOBER 2013 - MANCHESTER

10am - 7pm

Venue - TBC

Price £400 (inc VAT)

Includes lunch

THURSDAY 10TH OCTOBER 2013 - LONDON

10am - 7pm

Venue - TBC

Price £400 (inc VAT)

Includes lunch

To book your place and find out more information about the workshops then click HERE

Martina Capodanno

Martina Capodanno

If you have any questions then feel free to ask away.. info@emmacasephotography.com

Soooooo... what ya waiting for??? We CANNOT WAIT to meet you all!!!!! :)

If you think that your city would make a good location for Welcome Home and you think there would be enough interest then please get in touch.  We're always open to ideas and if we have a group of peeps that want us to come to them then who are we to argue.. ;) 

love & marriage... 50 years and counting

Hey there,

Its Pete, i'm taking over the blog for a day. Don't worry it won't be me getting over excited about Queens of The Stone Age, or Led Zeppelin or sticks or anything about me at all really.

In the world we live, work, socialise in.... the beautiful all encompassing world of weddings, we are surrounded by the dizzying excitement of the new, the new adventures, the lives ahead of us, the children, the houses, but most of all the new love, the enduring love, the simple heart bursting feeling that two people looked into each others eyes and thought... 'you know what, this person is the best thing that has ever happened to me, I want to wake up and look at you everyday'
After all the noise has died down, the dress is packed away, the flowers wilt, the makeup is wiped off, the shoes are put back in their box. Its just two people with a life of memories to create...

Just over 50 years ago, Diane Blizzard aged 17 from Birmingham was on a girly holiday with two friends, staying for 2 weeks in the English Riviera of Torquay, at the Orchard Park caravan site. They arrived on the Saturday afternoon, unpacked, cooked some dinner and looked forward to the holiday ahead, they asked the owner if there were any other young people on site, He replied, 'yes there's 3 Irish lads stopping' to which Diane said 'Oh we're not interested in Paddys'.....  

On the Sunday morning the girls decided to head for the beach, so went to the nearest bus stop. After waiting for 30 minutes, no buses had been by, then along came the 3 young lads from Belfast, one of them - Des Smyth aged 20 with his blue eyes and thick dark hair started chatting. Of course they had no idea what he was saying, his accent was really strong in them days. BUT, something, somewhere a little spark happened. My Mum tells me now, that she knew almost instantly that he was THE ONE. Whether it was the blue eyed twinkle, the thick dark hair or the charm. My Dad hasn't said much on the subject, he may be a little shy or just felt guilty that his first thought was 'She's a bit of alright!' Turns out the buses didn't run on Sundays, so that day they all walked to the beach and chatted and flirted... 

Diane and Des spent the rest of the holiday hanging out, going for dinner, laughing on the beach and really just falling in love. There was no agenda, they didn't care what they did, so long as they could be together thats all that mattered. At the end of the week, they went their separate ways, Diane to Birmingham, Des to Belfast. They couldn't stop thinking about each other, heartbroken, they pined to be together. They wrote to each other and after only one month, Des moved to Birmingham to begin the age old process known as 'courting' - (ask your parents) Essentially a vetting process by Dianes' family to see if he was ok. There was a lot of anti-Irish attitude in this country back then, so it wasn't an easy thing for him to do. He was a plumber by trade and at the time work was easy to come by especially in the construction industry, he lived in lodgings with fellow workers, at the time all guest houses had signs reading 'NO BLACKS, NO IRISH, NO DOGS' So it was a big chance this young lad from Belfast was taking, all for the sake of a girl.... equally, this sweet young Brummie girl was taking a gamble on a rough Irish boy she had only spent a week with. But you know what, they knew how real their feelings were for each other and they decided to make a go of it...

Last night, our whole family gathered for a massive party to celebrate my Mum and Dads Golden Wedding Anniversary! 50 years of marriage. In this very cynical, disposable and pretty selfish world, they are a shining beacon of love and commitment for life. I am so so proud of them both, the strength and determination they have shown in a pretty tough life together has been phenomenal, a solid team who are each others world. Maybe its a generational thing? but thats exactly the life I want, I hope we see our Golden Wedding Anniversary one day.

As any newly weds or newly engaged young couples start your journeys together wandering about your lives ahead, just remember Diane & Des, and maybe one day you'll make it to 50 years married.

Mum and Dad, we love you so so much.

xxxxxxx

sneak..

What a beautiful day for a boat ride on a lake.. oh, and of course.. a wedding.. :)

ellie and david {wedding}

Ellie and David.. a wedding fit to bursting with smiles and (so much) laughing and singing and bear hugs.. a wedding where both me and Pete stood amongst their family and friends and felt truly at home and so, so privileged to be a part of.  

We met Ellie and David a few weeks before for their Engagement Shoot (or practice shoot as Ellie called it).. and we all laughed.. A LOT.. which if you spend any time with David you know that this is pretty much standard.  I've never known someone to laugh so wonderfully and freely and to literally pick everyone up around him for the ride.  Together they are amazing and after 12 years as a couple I see such a team.. two people that support the other but at the same time encourage them to be the absolute best that they can be.

Putting this blog post together I said to Pete just how much this is us.  A wedding full of people.. full of emotion.. full of the important details.. but most importantly.. full hearts.