vote for Pedro..

Woop! We've been nominated for Best Wedding Photographer by the lovely peeps at Perfect Wedding Magazine!! (busts some sweet ass moves)

So.. yeah.. this bit sucks balls but would you guys mind if we said.. if you had a spare sec could you vote for us?
http://www.planyourperfectwedding.com/wedding-competitions/perfect-wedding-awards-2013

I bloody hate asking.. like REALLY HATE asking.. but this time I really want to win.  Because of Pete.  That boy gets nowhere near the amount of recognition he deserves for what he does for our little business and if we win I'm gonna bloody hang it round his neck and make up a song and sing it to him.  You see some peeps still think that this gig is mainly just me.. I'm guessing the 'Emma Case Photography' bit doesn't really clear it up much.. but this couldn't be more wrong.  This gig is US.. Emma and Pete... equally. We both shoot.. and I was about to say.. we both email but actually Pete talks to our couples, he invoices, he organises getting to weddings.. schedules.. tax.. invoices.. actually.. sometimes I wonder what I actually do!?!?  One thing I do know is that I couldn't have done any of it without him. He is bloody incredible to work with.  On a wedding day he has my back and makes my job the easiest thing in the world.  In the office he organises shit.  Like everything.  Oh and at home he's also the cook and I reckon the washing up gets done maybe 60 Pete 40 me.  I'm telling you.. this guy is amazing.  He is also THE friendliest guy you'll ever meet.. he hugs everyone and means it every single time and he makes all our couples feel like we've known them for years.  He also doesn't give a shit about all the bullshit.. only has time for the good stuff and cares deeply about giving every single one of our couples the best experience ever.

But because people associate the business with me (again, yep the name'll do it) Pete sometimes gets overlooked.. but he deserves so much more... I just wish 'We are the Smyths' had a better ring to it.. ;)

So I just wanna put it out there..

He's awesome.

..and fit.

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.

two years..

Two years ago today we got married.. on one hand it only feels like yesterday and on the other it feels like a lifetime ago.. I remember everything.. our first look.. Pete forgetting the rings.. laughing and crying through the ceremony, chugging along the water on our canal boat, the sunshine pouring through the windows, decorating the hall before everyone arrived, the nerves pretending it was my Birthday party, the screams when we walked in in our wedding outfits, the tears.. all the smiling faces.. the sweaty dancing and the love... so much love literally thrown at us from everyone..

I still can't seem to say the word 'husband' without giggling first and then feeling this enormous sense of pride. Every time I look at him I actually cannot believe how lucky I am. I simply adore the guy.  A week before the wedding Pete finished at his old job and this little business became officially 'ours'.. and that's what it is.. this business is 'us'... it's not me... it's not my business.. we are a complete team and over the past 2 years we've looked after our couples together... we've road tripped every weekend together..we've shot weddings together.. we've planned workshops together.. we've moved to an office space together.. we've made decisions together and I wouldn't want it any other way.

I adore sharing this huge, exciting and incredible adventure with this crazy guy.  He gives the best hugs.. he loves to dance.. he sometimes laughs so hard he sounds like Mutley.. he burps ALL the time.. and sometimes forgets that they're loud and that he is in a public place.. he's a bloody amazing cook.. he totally brings the party, he has an incredible set of pipes, he has me crying laughing, he can chat to anyone, his eyes are the most beautiful blue and he supports me in every single thing I do.

Pete I would marry you over and over again.. you are the absolute nuts.


Emma & Pete from cine8 on Vimeo.

life lately..

We've had a pretty lovely February.. we've finally come to the end of the epic 'paint all the things' house makeover. It's taken us about 6 weeks to paint everything, get a new kitchen floor.. new carpet.. have a HUGE clear out and get pictures up on the walls.  There is still a few 'little' jobs to finish but it finally feels like home and that feeling is absolutely incredible..

Feb also gave us a bit of time to just chill..we hung out at home..bought some new clothes (I'm kinda feeling the aztec thing this year), ate well, went to hot yoga, played with some new cameras, shot quite a bit of personal stuff and my second article (about branding this time) appeared in Photo Pro Magazine.. yey!

We then had the pleasure of heading down to Brighton for a few days for a shoot involving some friggin' awesome shoes.. (which I'll be talking about very soon).. we were there for just 3 days and had the most incredible luck of being graced with sunshine for the whole trip.  We both really needed it and came back refreshed and so, so happy..

Life is, once again going to start getting a lot more hectic from now on as wedding season is about to kick in. I am determined more than ever for this year to be filled with good times in and out of work.. I want to keep exercising, eating well, taking the normal amount of days off a week and making more memories for us.. I'm really looking forward to the year ahead..

us...

I love him.... I love him with all my heart.
Today we've been together 7 years....
Seven years ago today... I found Pete on Myspace.. yep.. Myspace.

(images by the wonderful Featherlove)

I was living in Birmingham and only knew my flatmate... I was in between Acting jobs and saw that Pete lived in Brum and had pretty much the same taste in music... and he looked fit in his photo... so I sent him a message and he replied.  We got chatting and he gave me tips on where were the good places to go and we realised we'd been in the same pub on New Years Eve too but never saw each other!  We then exchanged numbers and Pete had played it cool saying if you fancy catching up some time then give us a text... great.... HUGE ball in my court.  So on that Thursday I knew he was in town and I text him (cue wandering around town for a few hours trying to keep busy waiting for a reply). He text back saying that he was meeting some mates and I was more than welcome to join them.. oh christ... have to walk in to a pub on my own, not 100% sure what he looks like and he's with his mates.. also I'd found something to fill some time that afternoon which was actually giving blood (sounds random but I'd tried to go the day before and it was closed) ...so passing out was another concern.

I walked in and stood at the bar, called my mate, saw him walk past (he didn't have his glasses on so wasn't sure it was me) and then plucked up the courage to go over... luckily his mates consisted of another couple so I sat down and we got chatting... we then went to another pub and chatted some more.. we then headed to a club (a pretty dead one) and chatted some more.. then Pete stopped chatting, stared at me for quite a long time (to the point where I actually asked if he was ok) and then he kissed me... all together now... 'Ahhhhhh'... we have been inseparable ever since.

Pete actually sent me a message (via Myspace) two days after we met and I feel the exact same way about the last seven years...

Pete, I wanted to tell you that I've had the best 7 years.
So much fun, so easy and natural..
Your girl xxx

..every day..

..is amazing with this guy by my side...

back to the 80's..

Pete's got a new band.. and they play weddings.. and for their shoot we borrowed a Bride and Groom and went back to the Eighties..

good times...

Image by Marianne Taylor at the Beloved Workshop

The past few months have been pretty intense.. what with the burglary back in March we started wedding season as if we'd been spun round and let go... but in the past few weeks it feels like everything has started to settle down.  We finally feel (after 3 years) like we're getting on top of things and that we're now driving the business rather than the business driving us.  Where I've seen this the most is with our work/life balance.

For the past few years I'll be honest my work/life balance sucked.  There was no balance. We were both working from home.. sitting in our pyjamas all day surrounded by washing up, most days not stepping out of the front door.. no fresh air, not much real human interaction and then we'd drive to weddings at the weekend, shoot, drive, pack, unpack (sometimes).. Sundays we'd work.. we'd meet couples, shoot, edit.  Through the week I'd start work at 11am and work through til midnight.. we'd eat crap constantly.. anything for convenience.. anything for a little reward for working so hard, we smoked, we occasionally socialised, crowbarring it in between the massive to do list and feeling guilty any time I wasn't sat in front of my computer replying to emails or editing.. we were loving the job but I stopped caring about me.. and that had to change.

Since the office move EVERYTHING has changed.  We get up and get dressed, we come to work, we see real people, we get out in the fresh air, we work normal hours, we're more productive, we now have our home back, I sit on the sofa of an evening and watch a DVD, I sit in my pyjamas on a Sunday when the rest of the world also sits in their pyjamas, we eat healthily, we quit smoking, we book little holidays in peak wedding season, we make time to socialise and spend time with each other, I don't reply to emails after hours, I make time for personal projects and the best thing by far is now we have bikes and we ride to work! Thirty minutes there and back every day that gives me the space to not look at Twitter/fb/emails.. to not only exercise but to really have some time for myself.. and see the world around me.  It might sound crazy but I've never felt so free as I do riding my bike.. it's the best thing I've ever done.. :)

So how's your work/life balance coming along?  What things would you like to change? Maybe writing them down might help to make them happen.. :)

vintage vacations..

Last week we shut our office door, packed our bags and drove down to Portsmouth to get the ferry across to the Isle of Wight.  We had three days.. three precious days in the middle of wedding season to kick back and relax and to have some 'us' time.

A few months ago we stumbled across the amazing Vintage Vacations based in the Isle of Wight.. a site dedicated to holidaying in amazing retro style.  We booked ourselves a gorgeous American Airstreamer for two nights and, along with Lee and Dawn, aka Shutterbox Films we enjoyed a few days of lazing around on the beach, sitting around the fire in deck chairs, eating alfresco, tucking in to hearty cooked breakfasts, staring out to sea and waving to boats on the ferry, a charity shop or two, a sambuca or two and lots and lots of laughing..

We all had such an amazing time.. it sounds weird but I felt totally free.. it's amazing what a bit of the outdoors and getting back to basics can do.. and as you can see from below I think we all really enjoyed having our cameras with us paired with the freedom to just shoot whatever we wanted.  I really recommend making time to just shoot for you.. without it being a job.. I think we all find the busier we get the less we take time for ourselves but it's vital for your creative soul.

Oh and while we're on the subject of recommendations... everyone should have a Vintage Vacation!  The site is amazing, the Airstreamers are incredible and there's quite a few other options of accommodation too including an old Scout Hall!  We will definitely be back.