If you’re looking for Oxford Wedding inspiration, look no further! This Cherwell Boathouse wedding begins with Rosie got ready with her girls at The Old Bank Hotel before she wanders over to The Bodlian Library to marry her man James.  They dance under The Bridge of Sighs, Rosie swishing her elegant Temperley Paulette dress and James all dapper in his dark blue suit and pink tie from Reiss Brown.  They then punt their way over to the Cherwell Boathouse to be showered in confetti, before dinning outside on the river bank with all their guests.  Absolutely bliss ..read more

Well, what a year 2020 has been for us all.  Philippa James Photography HQ has seen weddings delayed, adjusted, postponed and in some cases cancelled.  I’ve managed to still photograph a handful of beautiful intimate weddings in Oxford, and I’ve also been spending much of my time developing my photography practice through exhibiting my personal project 100 WOMEN OF OXFORD at Tap Social Movement during Oxfordshire Art Weeks and at The North Wall Art Centre for Photo Oxford Festival 2020.  I had my very first piece of art commissioned by The Old Fire Station and I’ve applied for ..read more

From 4th July 2020, small intimate wedding ceremonies and civil partnerships are now allowed to take place in the UK.  30 people are able to be present during the ceremony – this includes the couple and their suppliers (for example their photographer, their officiant, and their two witnesses.)  But only very small receptions will be allowed to take place.  This is part of the day that is after the ceremony, the food, the fun, and the dancing… the part of the day can currently only involve either two households or six people from different households. So, if you haven’t post ..read more

I met Amy from Amy Meadows Events (Queen Oxford wedding planner, and planner of all events) about a year ago, and she is one of those people who you meet in life that you’re never going to let go… She’s organised, like super organised, has a black book full of contacts, she’s a listener and everything you’d want as a partner in crime… she planned my exhibition (100 women of Oxford) Amy was also suppose to be getting married this year, and sadly, like so many other couples, had to make the decision to postpone their day they’d spent a year planning due to COVID-19.  I met up with her ..read more

Before COVID-19 I caught up with Sarah (in actual person) from Sarah + Maude; an Oxfordshire wedding supplier who designs fine letterpress stationary, to find out more. Why are invites so important? The easy answer is that your wedding invitations let your lovely guests know all of the essential information they need to celebrate with you on your big day – the who, where and when. But there’s so much more to invites than just the details. Your wedding invitations will usually be the very first part of your wedding that your guests will see and offer a little glimpse of wha ..read more

OMG, are you ready for this super cute intimate outdoor Oxfordshire wedding? This wedding was a scene from a film, I’m sure of it. Nathanael and Rachel really are something out of a novel.  They met in a youth hostel in Switzerland and then chased each other around the world to be together.  This intimate back garden wedding was set in Oxfordshire where Rachel wore her grandmother’s vintage wedding dress and Nathanael wrote a song that made everyone cry their eyes out (me included). “Out of everything that happened on our wedding day, by far the be ..read more

How to celebrate your COVID-19 wedding day, or what would have been your wedding day, at home?  This blog post is a continuation from my last post The Coronavirus and Your Wedding.  I’ve spoken to many couples who have had to sadly postpone their wedding.  Obviously there are bigger things going on right now, but so many are feeling a bit blue and disheartened so I though I’d share some simple, low key ideas on what you could do on what would have been your wedding day in 2020. GET DRESSED UP If your wedding date was planned for sooner rather than later and you have your outfits ..read more

The Coronavirus and your wedding… Bloody hell, planning a wedding can be stressful under normal circumstances, let alone with all the uncertainty we are now faced with.  I mean, no one could have predicted your wedding plans being interrupted by a global epidemic. If your wedding is sooner rather than later you obviously may have to postpone it to another date depending on government guidelines.  I’m happy to move dates for my clients, so please do check with your wedding venue and each of your suppliers what their policy is on this and the coronavirus and your wedding And on that note, keep ..read more

Every wedding I photograph has flowers, some mega styled, others smaller rustic.  Choosing your style, flowers, budget can be a bit of a minefield and so I caught up with the lovely Oxford florist sisters; Flowers by Kirsty, to find out their top ten tips, and what questions they get asked by brides and grooms. 1. WHAT IS THE AVERAGE SPEND FOR WEDDING FLOWERS? One thing we always get asked is ‘what’s the average spend for wedding flowers’. This is like the million dollar question as there really isn’t one! There are so many different factors when thinking about your flowers and of course a wed ..read more

Your wedding day is probably the biggest party you’ve ever hosted, even if your wedding is small, you are the ones hosting it and you want your guests to have the best experience. Wedding entertainment can be so much fun and it’s also an opportunity to show off your personalities.  What ever your interests, there’ll be something out there that you could share as entertainment on your wedding day. Here are thirty five wedding entertainment ideas that I’ve seen at weddings… 1. FORTUNE TELLER I must admit, this wedding has been the only wedding I’ve seen a fortune teller… but my goodness, it was ..read more