Well, this was a first! I’m not normally found mixing in celebrity circles but when my good friend and celebrity cake designer, Nicola Hall of Hall of Cakes, got in touch and asked me to join her to capture her setting up for this event, I jumped at the chance! Not only did this sound like lots of fun, but it also got me away from my house on a Sunday, when my boys want nothing more than to play their beloved computer games! And, as any of you who read my blog will know, I hate this!

The details of the shoot arrived and the event, which was to be a surprise for Billie, was being held at Sienna’s Restaurant over in Brentwood. Nicola picked me up and we transported her wonderful cake over to Essex and were soon stood in Sienna’s drinking coffee (thank you, great coffee it was too!!). Along with Nicola, there were two other companies there, also setting up for the event. They’d been there for quite some time and the sight that greeted us was absolutely stunning. A giant wall of balloons and beautiful fresh flowers, which must have been 8 foot tall, adorned half the restaurant, as you will see from my photos. The balloon wall was created by Charlotte of Bexley Confetti Balloons and the flowers, not only the ones in the wall here but also a stunning arrangement that decorated the cake table, were provided by Cupid Creative. Both these guys are based in Kent! 

It was lovely to meet everyone and we all worked as a team to get things set up. I had a great time capturing images of everyone hard at work. Soon the ITV2 cameras arrived and this was the bit I was most worried about. I have everything crossed that I won’t actually be in the background of any of the shots, as I have to be honest, I felt a bit like a fish out of water! The OK! photographers arrived and I was really interested to see some lighting kit I hadn’t seen before and I keep meaning to look it up on Google. Whilst I shoot in natural light, there are occasions in my clients’ home where I could do with a bit of help.

Within minutes, Billie, Sam, their mum and some of their other friends started to arrive. The girls were lovely and came over to meet everyone and thank them for all the effort they had gone to, and before long, Nicola and I were back in the car and on our way home.

I am looking forward to working with these guys again, if the opportunity arrises, but for now, here are some of the images of the day. If you have enjoyed reading this please do check out more of my blog posts here.