18th October 2013 | Posted in photography by emmajo
My friend married her love this summer and the photographs are beautiful. Roz asked Hannah Wilkinson to capture her and Paul’s day and I just had to share them and find out a little more about Hannah and her work.
Tells us a little about yourself…
My name is Hannah Wilkinson, I live in Suffolk with my fiancee Ross. We live just down the road from the Copella Farm which makes the most amazing Cloudy Apple Juice. I have a First Class BA (Hons) degree in Fashion Promotion & Imaging. I love to photograph ‘real’ people to capture individual personalities and unique relationships.
How did your career in photography begin?When I was 14, I went to see an exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery in London. I can still remember the photographs that were displayed so vividly, and I still pinpoint that exhibition as my earliest inspiration to get in to image-making. The exhibition was called ‘Portraits’, and it was the first ever museum exhibition of the work of Fashion Photographer, Mario Testino. I remember being so fascinated at his clear ability to capture the real personalities and relationships of his famous and frequently photographed subjects – particularly his beautiful photographs of Diana, Princess of Wales. From that day on, I can’t remember ever wanting to go in to any other vocation.
I studied Photography at A-Level, where I learnt a great deal about the history of the camera and was introduced to the work of many great image-makers such as Man Ray and Cecil Beaton. I also had great fun learning the technical processes of developing my own film and experimenting in the dark room. From Sixth Form College I went on to gain a Diploma in Foundation Studies in Art & Design from Colchester Institute, after which I moved to Epsom to study BA (Hons) Fashion Promotion & Imaging at the University for the Creative Arts. It was here that I started to really develop my own style and I had so much fun photographing a variety of subjects – from professional models and fashion designers, to members of the public and my own peers. For my final project (which lasted approx. 9 months) I worked with a fellow student (we took on the roles of Photographer and Stylist) to create a book titled ‘The Absence of Logic’. The book was filled with imagery from our own shoots. All of the photographs were shot using film, and all of our subjects were ‘real’ people – we did not want to use models, we wanted to capture real feelings and genuine relationships.
I would describe my style as natural, real, relaxed and honest. I adore the work of photographers such as Cecil Beaton, Eve Arnold, Corinne Day and Mario Testino. Beautiful cinematography, picturesque locations and eclectic interiors also inspire me and give me ideas.
Do you have a favourite part of the wedding to photograph?The Bridal Preparation and Groom’s Party arriving at the wedding venue are two of my favourite parts of the day to photograph, as the excitement for the day ahead just builds up right in front of you which is such a pleasure to see and be a part of. I also love photographing the couple just after the ceremony, as there is such a feeling of ‘Ahhh, we’ve done it!!’, which, again, is such an unforgettable time and so exciting to capture. There is so much work and preparation that goes in to a wedding, so I also feel that it is also very important to document all of the little details and finishing touches that go in to making a day so unique.
What packages/services do you offer couples?I currently offer two different packages for wedding photography that include:- a coverage fee, a USB with a licence to print for friends and family, and a canvas wrap print with an image of the bride/groom’s choice. I also offer each of these services individually at a range of prices, so that couples can tailor their own package depending on their unique requirements.
Thank you Hannah.
If you would like to see more examples of Hannah’s work pop over to her website www.hannahwilkinsonphotography.4ormat.com.
Tagged with Hannah Wilkinson, wedding photography
quiet people have the loudest minds
7th June 2013 | Posted in quote by emmajo
Tagged with quote, Silhouettes, stephen hawking
20th April 2013 | Posted in print by emmajo
Tagged with heidelberg, Letterpress, Wedding Invitations
16th February 2013 | Posted in gossip by emmajo
Best Wedding Stationer – Emma Jo
To celebrate a month since winning Best Wedding Stationery at The Wedding Industry Awards 2013 I thought it would be nice to share just some of the lovely things my couples said as part of the ‘general comments’ section of the voting process.
“Emma Jo was a joy to deal with as I wanted something a little different for our wedding. The whole process was pain free with outstanding results. You know your wedding stationer is the right one when all the guests are talking about your invites. An absolute pleasure to deal with!”
“The invites are fantastic. Beautiful quality and very creative.”
“We wanted a ticket invitation and Emma Jo produced exactly what we were looking for, the result was fabulous and our guests thought it was very original, sophisticate and elegant! And it was so easy to communicate with Emma, as she was always available.”
“Outstanding innovative designs of the highest quality. All the guest were very impressed with the stationery. Emma was also incredibly patient with my design requirements and interpreted my vision perfectly, truly outstanding.”
“I was really extremely satisfied with Emma’s work. The booklets that I wanted made weren’t a very standard order, as I wanted them to have lots of information for the guests going to my wedding abroad. Emma understood my idea straight away and her feedback was quick and the end product perfect for me”
“I was so happy and blown away at how beautiful my wedding invitations were, I had so many wonderful comments from guests about our vintage inspired letterpress design. The order process was effortless and took a minimal amount of time. Emma matched my colour scheme of oyster pink perfectly.”
“Emma has been a fantastic wedding stationer. She offered a first class service and was a delight to order from.”
“Emma Jo was amazing from the start quick contact, friendly and nothing was a problem. Would recommend with no hesitation and our family and friends have all commented on how great our wedding invites were!”
“Wonderful experience with Emma Jo Stationery. We didn’t give her very much time and she worked very hard to get our invites to us quickly. The designs were beautiful and unique and many of our guests commented on how original they were. This company deserves a prize!”
“I have given Emma Jo full marks as I think she deserves them, my invites were perfect. Emma Jo was easy to deal with, and ordering was very straightforward. Everyone who received our invites commented on how original and lovely they were. I have already recommended Emma Jo to others.”
“Emma Jo stationery is beautiful and it was exactly what we were looking for, we have had so many amazing comments from our guests about how special the invitations were. She was incredibly quick and efficient at responding to emails too which made a very stressful time much less difficult.”
“I love my wedding invitations much so I have a framed copy on my wall! I found the invites reflected mine and husband’s personality, many of our friends and family commented with the following “they’re very you”, and I couldn’t agree more. Emma Jo created the perfect invite with bespoke service.”
“The stationery was of a very high standard, highly original and beautifully packaged. We’ve had a lot of positive comments on it from our guests! We’re living in France this year and Emma couldn’t have been more helpful or professional. Would highly recommend to anyone and I am very fussy!”
“Great stationery, high quality, different and adaptable to our needs”
“Emma Jo Stationery created everything from our Save the Date Cards to the Menus and all elements have been beautiful and top quality. Emma herself has been fantastic, very helpful and amenable and we were extremely happy with the service we got and would recommend her to anyone who asks!”
“Could not fault her. Professional, efficient, creative and kind.”
“Unique and exactly what we were after. Everyone commented on how amazing it was!!”
“Good service and always getting back to me quick thank you so much”
“We gave Emma Jo a massive task by asking her to design and make our wedding invites in just 3 weeks-which fell over Christmas. Not only were the invites stylish, elegant and just plain gorgeous, Emma was delightful to deal with and made the whole process of designing an invite exceptionally easy.”
“I cannot recommend Emma enough, her stationery is amazing, I had an idea for my wedding stationery based on an old seaside postcard and Emma turned them into a beautiful reality, one of my favourite parts of planning my wedding has been working with Emma on the Stationery.”
“I rate Emma Jo’s stationery highly. The quality of the product is outstanding, the service was wonderful and the designs are unique. I was very proud to send my invitations – as I believe it set the right tone for our wedding. I had some specific ideas and Emma delivered those ideas perfectly”
“When it comes to quality design and printing Emma Jo is in a league of her own.”
“The comments we received from our guests on the quality, style and individuality of our wedding invitations. We saw Emma Jo’s work on a wedding blog and immediately fell in love with her style. Her efficiency, customer service and after care was second to none. I would recommend her in a heartbeat!”
“I contacted several suppliers before I chose Emma Jo but she stood out because of the quality of her printing, the beautiful style of the stationery and her ability to interpret my ideas fulfilled my requirements and more. The final stationery exceeded expectations and is a special part of our day.”
“The wedding stationery provided by Emma Jo was absolutely beautiful, from the design and layout to the quality of print and the lovely way in which it was packaged. Our guests all commented on how quirky and individual the designs were, we were delighted with them.”
It was a huge pleasure to work with everyone of my brides and grooms over the last year and I’m already enjoying designing for lots of newly engaged couples of 2013. So, thank you again for voting and helping me win Best Wedding Stationery in the UK!
I will be sharing my lovely couples ‘Why They Booked’ comments soon.
Emma x
Tagged with Best Wedding Stationer, Wedding Invitations, wedding stationery
4th February 2013 | Posted in moodboard by emmajo
From top to bottom
Beautiful oyster and coral centrepiece, see how to make it here! Oncewed // Pretty bridesmaid dress colour and flowers Style Me Pretty // Vintage seaside wedding in Scarborough Wedding Ideas lovely post on Love My Dress // Vintage bunting ticket invitation Emma Jo // Cute little antique ice cream cart via Sugar and Charm // Nautical bouquet Ruffled // Groom’s pin hole Ruffled // Amazing little favours – they’re sweets that look like pebbles! Martha Stewart // Mini bunting cake Very Jane
Follow our ‘ticket to the seaside’ board here.
Emma x
Tagged with Bunting, Nautical, Typography, Vintage Seaside Wedding, Wedding Invitations, Wedding Ticket Invitations
14th January 2013 | Posted in gossip by emmajo
I still don’t quite believe it but on Wednesday night it was announced that Emma Jo won the national award for ‘Best Stationer’ at the Wedding Industry Awards!!!
It feels funny to say that and I keep having to glance over at my beautiful award just to check I’m ok to say it. It’s a huge honour. I was so happy and proud to win the regional award for the East Midlands but to win the national award is the highest accolade. I’m so overjoyed I can barely describe how much it means to me and how I feel.
I was really looking forward to the night, held at the beautiful Bloomsbury Ballroom but I was really nervous and the stationery category was near the end which just added to my nerves. It all seemed to go really quickly once my category began, I remember thinking how talented the other designers are, I genuinely wasn’t expecting to win and when my name was announced I just remember Andy needing to give me a little, gentle nudge towards the stage. I was in complete shock!
Photos were taken, interviews were given and the party continued but the shock and surprise of it all didn’t sink in, and it still hasn’t really. Amazing.
It is the best start to 2013 and I would like to say thank you. To my lovely couples who have taken the time to vote for me and for all the kind things you have said, I wouldn’t be here without you. To the industry experts, my peers who I admire and are humbled by the lovely feedback I have received, it is an amazing endorsement. Without the support of my Mum, Dad and brother, Emma Jo wouldn’t even exist, thank you for everything. And to Andy for putting up with me! Your love, patience and encouragement, makes me grow, gives me confidence and has helped me get to this point and I couldn’t do this without you. This is our year!
After the awards Andy and I spent a couple of days in London, so I’ve only just had the chance to see the anonymous comments from my lovely couples who voted for me and it moved me so much that they brought tears to my eyes. The comments are so valuable to me as a business to help me grow and improve and to know all my hard work, late nights, prolonged periods of time in my pj’s and obsessing over the smallest details has all been worth it.
I think the best way to finish is with a few of those lovely comments…
“We wanted a ticket invitation and Emma Jo produced exactly what we were looking for, the result was fabulous and our guests thought it was very original, sophisticate and elegant! And it was so easy to communicate with Emma Jo, as she was always available.”
“I cannot recommend Emma enough, her stationery is amazing, I had an idea for my wedding stationery based on an old seaside postcard and Emma turned them into a beautiful reality, one of my favourite parts of planning my wedding has been working with Emma on the Stationery.”
“Emma offered something different at an affordable price. Emma was patient and guided us through the whole daunting process. I was thrilled with the finished product and the invites were the talk of the town!”
“Emma Jo was a joy to deal with as I wanted something a little different for our wedding. The whole process was pain free with outstanding results. You know your wedding stationer is the right one when all the guests are talking about your invites. An absolute pleasure to deal with!”
“I love my wedding invitations much so I have a framed copy on my wall! I found the invites reflected mine and husband’s personality, many of our friends and family commented with the following “they’re very you”.”
“When it comes to quality design and printing Emma Jo is in a league of her own.”
Emma x
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The Wedding Industry Awards 2013
7th January 2013 | Posted in gossip by emmajo
A few months ago I was really honoured to be nominated for the regional award ‘Best Wedding Stationery’ for East Midlands as part of The Wedding Industry Awards 2013.
The Wedding Industry Awards is the only independent awards within the industry that is solely voted by brides and grooms. The voting has been designed to be extremely fair and only generates quality votes from couples who have actually worked with that supplier which is brilliant for small, hard working little suppliers like Emma Jo. This was really important to me because a lot of awards out there are completely based on how many votes you can collect, quite often from family and friends and is more of a popularity contest than a true representation of the best products and services suppliers are providing. More importantly these awards inform couples of suppliers who have been highly recommended by previous couples which can really help in the planning stages.
The brides and grooms who I have been so lucky to work with in the last year were invited to vote for me, scoring me on seven categories including customer service and quality of my stationery. Because of the scores and comments I received (which I haven’t be able to see yet!) I went through to the judging stage. A panel of experts looked over all the entries that had received the highest scores from their couples and chose regional winners.
Emma Jo won!
I won the ‘Best Wedding Stationer’ in East Midlands!!
It’s way overdue but I want to thank all my couples who took the time to vote for me and give me such amazing scores that ultimately got me through. I am so pleased and proud to know that I am providing products and a service that my couples are so happy with. I am always trying to find ways to improve and push Emma Jo forward to meet my couples needs so it means a lot to know I’m heading in the right direction. Thank you.
I also had a lovely surprise to find I had also made the shortlist for the ‘Best Website’. The shortlisted websites are all different wedding suppliers sites, not just stationers and I was so chuffed to see my site included. These were nominated by the judging panel and there are some lovely sites on the list. I’ve had some bad and really stressful experiences with my website over the last few years so to be nominated at all is amazing and I couldn’t ask for more.
So, this coming Wednesday we’ll be heading down to London for the Wedding Industry 2013 Awards night! It’s being held at The Bloomsbury Ballroom, a lovely Art Deco venue. I am really excited but nervous too. As I won the regional award I was automatically put forward with the other regional, stationery winners to find the national winner. This is scary. The other stationers are brilliant. I had an interview with Damien Bailey (the awards founder) before Christmas to show him my work and I rambled on about stationery for a good while! Damien then took away some samples and the judges came together a week later to choose their winners. I would love to win. I would really love to win, but the competition is tough and I am so pleased to have won the regional award.
After the awards I get to finally see the scores and comments from my couples, I can’t wait to read them and share them with you.
Fingers crossed for Wednesday!
Emma x
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7th January 2013 | Posted in press by emmajo
Grab your copy of Wedding Ideas January issue for tons of tips and ideas, oh and to see some fab finds of course! Emma Jo’s ‘ A Proposal in Paris’ Bookmark, Save the Date got a lovely mention.
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