My first christening of the year last Saturday at the church of St Nicholas Hedsor in Buckinghamshire. A 'baptism by fire' with all kinds of weather and light to keep me on my toes, but with so many moving and happy memories to capture in pictures for the family.

St Nicolas Hedsor Church, at the top of steep Hedsor Hill, dates from the early 12th Century and is a beautiful example of a perfectly positioned English country church commanding wonderful views over the gentle Buckinghamshire countryside.

I arrived early and headed up the hill where I was treated to a red kite swirling around in search of a morning snack. Apparently, red kites are as common in this part of Buckinghamshire as foxes are where I live in Teddington.

Christening photography often offers a family the chance to capture some portraits and relaxed family photographs as well as the story of the christening, and that is exactly what we did for Claire and Kirk, starting off at Claire’s parents home as they got ready with me taking pictures naturally in the background and then coming together for some group photographs with the immediate family.

Here are some of my favourite images from the story of Flossie’s special Christening day, and for a bit of fun, I’ve added some words here as I might imagine it from Flossie’s perspective!

Some fun and games with my mummy and daddy and I’m quite happy to be photographed by this stranger with her camera. She needed to be fast as I’m eight months-old now and I’m practising my crawling - everywhere:

There’s three of us now you know…

Out into the garden for more exploring and some pictures with grandpa and grandma. I like to grab things… especially grandpa’s glasses and tie:

Time for my snack which I was happy to share with Lottie and my Uncle David. He’s a rugby player and quite a lot bigger than me but not too scary!

Time to get me into my christening gown. It was quite a palava but I look very cute. They plonked me on the sofa and a lady with a camera took a few quick pictures of me before I had to get on with my crawling practice…

At the church, I met up with my other grandparents and family on my Daddy’s side who had come all the way from America, just for me:

I was a little curious as to what was inside that big tub thing, and I tried to get in. When the lady wet my head, I was a little bit surprised but I didn’t cry and then everyone clapped afterwards and I felt proud!

I enjoyed chewing and scrunching up the order of service and then they gave me a special candle. I liked that flame and the flickering light. The best bit was after that when everyone sang my favourite song: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star:

We all went back to grandma’s house and there were lots of people adoring me and I took the glasses off as many heads of people as possible and grandma danced me around the kitchen. I had a Peter Rabbit cake - I love Peter Rabbit - and I ate the icing bit and then grandma gave me my bottle and I had a snooze while everyone else stood around being jolly and drinking stuff with bubbles in it.

Everyone was there who I love and who loves me, and I’ll always have these pictures to remind me of how special it was.

Where in the UK and when was this Christening? Hedsor, Bourne End, Buckinghamshire

Where was the ceremony? St Nicholas Church, Hedsor, Buckinghamshire

Where was the reception? Mother’s family home

Photography: Family & Christening

If you are planning a Christening, Baptism, First Holy Communion, landmark birthday, anniversary or another special family occasion, I would love to hear from you. Head over to Special Occasions to see more imagery and info or get in touch for an initial chat.