Welcome to The Cornwall Journal

Hi, I'm Lucie.

Wedding photographer. Mum of three. Renovating an old Cornish cottage. Currently discovering that planning my own wedding is significantly harder than photographing everyone's else's.

Funny how life comes full circle.

If you've found your way here, I thought I'd start at the beginning.

Almost ten years ago, I graduated from university with a baby. Not exactly the plan I'd imagined, but life has a funny way of rewriting your story when you least expect it.

That little girl changed absolutely everything.

Becoming a mum gave me a drive I'd never experienced before. Suddenly, it wasn't just about me anymore. I wanted to build something. I wanted a career I was proud of. Most importantly, I wanted my daughter to grow up knowing that your circumstances don't define what you're capable of.

So, I started a photography business.

It was called Ellie & Me Photography, because back then, it wasn't just my dream, it was ours.

Looking back, my first wedding was... well, lets just say it's safely buried in the archives. It was for a friend, and although I'm incredibly grateful they trusted me, I now completely understand why couples invest in experienced photographers.

If anyone ever tells you their mate has a camera and will photograph your wedding... from someone who's been the mate... maybe don't.

The truth is, becoming a professional wedding photographer isn't about owning a nice camera. It's about experience. It's about hundreds of weddings, learning to adapt when timelines fall apart, staying calm when it rains, finding light in impossible places, and quietly fixing problems before anyone even notices them.

Those thing only come with time,

One of my favourite memories from the early days had nothing to do with holding a camera.

Not long after having my eldest daughter, I took a job behind the bar at a beautiful wedding venue near Bicester. I wanted to understand weddings from every angle. Looking back, working late nights while navigating postnatal depression probably wasn't my greatest life decision, and thankfully it didn't last very long.

But that job gave me something I'll never forget.

I watched a wedding photographer work.

She was calm, creative and completely in her element. She seemed to float through the day unnoticed, somehow capturing every meaningful moment without ever becoming part of it.

I remember thinking, one day, that'll be me.

Years later, it was.

I've since photographed countless weddings at that very venue, and every single time I walk through those doors, I think about the girl behind the bar who dared to believe she could do it too.

I'm really proud of her.

She has absolutely no idea what she was doing... but she believed anyway.

Fast forward almost ten years and life has changed again.

We're now a family of five, with two little ones under two keeping us firmly on our toes, and somehow we've found ourselves renovating an old cottage in one of the most beautiful parts of the country.

Cornwall.

People keep asking why we moved.

The honest answer?

Because life is too short not to.

Leaving Oxfordshire was one of the hardest decisions i've ever made. I'd spent nearly a decade building a business I love, working with incredible couples and wonderful families who trusted me with some of the biggest moments of their lives.

Then, just as our mortgage was approved, my partner lost his job.

Perfect timing.

Most sensible people probably would've called the whole thing off.

We didn't.

We packed our lives into boxes, crossed our fingers and hoped we'd figure it out.

And somehow.. we did.

New jobs appeared. Our little cottage instantly felt like home. Our children gained the kind of childhood we'd always dreamed of for them, beaches, muddy walks, sea air and endless adventures.

Not every leap works out.

But sometimes it does.

Starting a business again in a completely new place has been both exciting and incredibly humbling. Weddings are built on trust, and trust takes time. Relationships take time. Word of mouth takes time.

Some days it feels strangely familiar.

Like I'm right back where I started.

Only this time, I know exactly what I'm capable of.

I've already had the privilege of meeting some wonderful families, photographing beautiful memories across Cornwall, and slowly building something that feels really special.

For the first time in my career, I think I've found my own voice as a photographer. Not because my work is perfect, it never will be, but because it finally feels like me. I capture life as it unfolds, and life isn't perfect but that doesn't mean we should document all the moments, for our future selves and our children.

This journal is where I'll share all of it.

The weddings. The venues. The renovation. The behind the scenes moments. The reality of building a business from scratch again. And, perhaps most terrifying of all, planning my own wedding.

Turns out every bride who's ever told me wedding planning is stressful was absolutely right.

So, whether you're here because you're getting married, looking for a photographer, thinking about taking a leap of your own, or you've simply stumbled across this little corner of the internet...

Welcome.

I'm so glad you're here.

Let's se where this next chapter takes us.