Hello Blogger friends!

I recently launched a new page on my wedding photography website showing off my wedding bucket list. Basically, this is a list of weddings that I've never done and would ADORE to be part of! 

For those of you who don't know, i'm a self-employed wedding photographer based in Warrington (that's a town in the North West of England, UK). I've been photographing weddings for 2/3 years, so i'm still relatively new in the industry.

I've seen so many other amazing photographers have these lists and I always thought they were so daring. However, it wasn't until I sat back and actually thought about all the goals I wanted to achieve in my career and thought it be best to actually get a bucket list written out. After all, how am I supposed to get these kinds of bookings if i'm not being open about wanting to do them!?  

Here it is my wedding bucket list: 

• Harry Potter themed wedding (absolute dreaaaaaam)

Of course this will be an ever growing list, the more creative weddings I do the more this list will grow. But for now, apart from a couple (ie. the last two) they are really quite achievable! 

Let me know what you think! Anyone else got any amazing bucket lists for me to see? I love reading them! 

Also if anyone is interested in seeing my work, here's a link to my website ;) sorry for that shameless plug, haha.

Every Monday morning, Facebook is filled with people moaning and crying over having to start a brand new working week. I can't help but feel a little elated when I see these posts - especially when i've had a busy weekend photographing couples, families or weddings. 

I can happily say, I love Mondays! 

Mondays signify the end of a busy weekend and the start of a fantastic week of editing and promoting.
Mondays are the day that I realise my business is progressing and all the hard work i've put in is paying off.

Mondays are when I can actually feel proud of myself.  

Owning your own business and being self-employed can be so hard at times, especially over the more quieter months when you're basically spend all your free time promoting and trying to get bookings. Once those bookings come in and i'm super busy, it's such an amazing feeling. I love being busy with my business.

Most shoots take place over the weekend, which means the following week is me editing the photographs. (I try not to edit them straight away, I always find giving myself a day not looking at the photos on a screen really helps the editing stage go smoother. Don't ask why, it seems crazy logic but it works, haha.) 

This weekend I did an engagement photo shoot at Delamere Forest, Cheshire. The couple's wedding is in September and i'm currently running an engagement shoot offer, where if you pay for an hour engagement session you get that money off your wedding booking! I find these shoots really help the couple understand my way of working and basically get used to being in front of the camera. That way, when the big day comes, they know exactly how I work. I find this really helps people who aren't a massive fan of being photographed :) 

The shoot was AMAZING. I love this couple so much and now I can't WAIT until their big day in September. Here is one of my absolute favourites I took on Saturday. :)

All photographs in this blog post are mine and © Rachel Victoria Photography

I've mentioned it once or twice already during this blog, but I thought maybe it was time to go into a little more depth about what I do and why I LOVE it so much.

The hardest decision I think I have ever made was starting up my own business, from scratch, straight after graduating from university. I wasn't completely clueless when I made this choice, for the past couple of years I had been an assistant for a photographer, so I was learning so much. 

I had been doing portraits for family members for a few years, which was really fun. Weddings are a completely different ball game. The days a long, you barely get a break and there's a LOT of pressure to get it right - but I absolutely LOVE it. If you go back 2 years I never would have thought I had the confidence to ever do a wedding.

What is there not to enjoy about a wedding? You get to spend an entire day surrounded by happiness and love all day long. Especially the bride at home moments, which is the first glance you get into the day. Any nerves i'm feeling during this moment melt away once I see the bride and her girls all excited and getting ready. What reason do I possibly have to be nervous? 

I love capturing all the tiny little details during this time, like the bride's hands, makeup application and even toenail painting - as well as the dress and shoes. For me all these tiny details are kinda overlooked, but are still part of the day!

Each wedding is so different, even though the formalities are always the same. That's something I really enjoy, as every one is unique. That's also something I try to bring into my style of shooting. The way I shoot now is very candid and natural, trying to give the impression of somebody looking in on a very special moment instead of setting up moments. I feel that taking a step backwards from the day can create some really special, organic moments - it's hard to feel natural when someone is shoving a huge lens in your face all day.

Here's a little selection of a few of my favourite Newly Wed Portraits after the ceremony :)