I had a great pleasure of photographing this joint surprise 60th birhtday party at Denbies Wine Estate, Dorking. It was a wonderful occasion with family and friends arriving from near and far to join Alan and Lesley celebrate their birthday.

Alan and Lesley’s son and lovely daughter-in-law, who are the owners of the first vegan pizzeria in the UK, Purezza, have organised this amazing celebration for them. And what a surprise it was! They had no idea where they were going or who was waiting for them. Have a look at their expressions when they entered the room - pure surprise and joy! The guests were treated to Denbies’ wines and a tour of the winery. It was really interesting to find out the history of the estate and geat to have the opportunity to photograph the guests appreciate the big canisters where wine is kept, enjoy the wine testing session in the moody Denbies cellar and having a good time afterwards!

As a family and event photographer, it is such a privilage to do a great variety of jobs, from quiet small family shoots to birthday parties to big family gatherings like this one! Photographing joyous occasions is definitely one of the perks of my job. I really enjoyed capturing Lesley and Alan’s family and friends on this very special occasion, and I hope they’ll look back on the photos in years to come.

If you are organising a special event, or a large family gathering and thinking of hiring a photographer to capture your day, please drop me an email - I would love to hear from you!