Beyond the Beige

This episode we rewind the clock and talk all about our own wedding eight years ago! The planning process, the budget, the DIY, and the rather long list of things that didn’t quite go to plan.We also get into what we'd change now (which is almost everything), where to put your money when the budget is tight, why your second song matters more than your first dance, and why we cancelled our own videographer a month after we started filming weddings ourselves.And if you only take one thing away from this episode, let it be that if you want a confetti tunnel, someone does actually have to bring the confetti...

So this one's a bit different... our most-requested guest onto the mic - our daughter, Felicity.Whilst we usually do real life and real business, this time it's just real life - jokes that don't quite land, wedding memories told from a three-year-old's-eye view, and the two of us getting genuinely soppy answering what we love most about her.It's rogue, it's raw, but it'll definitely make you laugh.

This week is a proper end of summer catch up, the honest version.Abs opens up about the lack of control she's feeling right now, saying yes to too much, the build up of burn out, and how she actually ended up passing out, leading to Luke having to cancel a shoot.We get into some contention about who's actually getting more work done right now, and who's not pulling their weight, the wedding season backlog starting to make the pinch, and some honest concerns as we formally start home education next month.And if you only take one thing away from this episode, let it be that patting the mattress doesn't settle the baby…

So this is our first ever guest episode! Ollie and Nix Baines came round, and we attempted to record the whole thing with four kids loose in the studio. The fact you're listening to this right now is a success in itself!We spend this episode diving into the past of their business, how Nix is the entire reason Ollie is a wedding photographer, how she taught him everything he knows and why she then walked away from it all…We discuss the the shared struggles of balancing work life and family, their impending move from London to the coast and how we actually know each otherAnd if you take one thing away from this episode, let it be that Frinton was Beach of the Year 2013. Ollie will not be letting that one go.

So this is the story of By Abigail Scarfe, how it started and how it very nearly ended!It began in a spare bedroom with a grey carpet, a beanbag off Argos, and a lot of free shoots. We talk in detail about the years that followed, doing it properly from day one, the importance of newborn safety, and how Abigail ended up in the studio of her dreams after only two years.Abigail opens up about how instrumental the business was in her postpartum recovery, only to then almost have to accept it was over.This is an honest conversation not just about the fundamentals of the business, but the emotional journey of the woman behind it, and it's one you don't want to miss.

So this is the story of where it all began, how Abigail & Luke Films came to be!It isn't a tidy story. We go right back to the start, a borrowed camera, a business name we'd rather forget, weddings for £140, and learning what it meant to actually format a memory card. We talk in detail about the years that followed, and how it all played out when it was finally time to take the leap and go full time, even if financially it wasn't the most sensible decision...We open up about how it was having our first child during our first full time year, and what nine years in actually looks like from the inside, as well as what the future may hold for the business.We also catch up about the past week, discuss the podcast launch, and Luke's opinions on birthday cake!

So we're doing this then.People have been telling us to make a podcast for years, and we've been saying yes, one day, when things calm down a bit. Things have not calmed down. We recorded this in a heatwave, in Abigail's studio, with a baby who woke up the second we pressed record.This one's mostly about who we are - the businesses, the kids, the beige, the name. But the part that actually matters is the question we ask each other, which is just: how are you? Not how's work. How are you.Turns out neither of us finds that easy to answer.This is the first of a three part introduction to us. Next week, it's about the brand that started it all - Abigail & Luke.