When I conceived of my Enchanted Forest Fairy photo shoots way back in 2012, I was stuck in traffic on the way to East Grinstead.  If you’d like some historical context, I was going to Blockbusters to rent a DVD (*gasps at the problems of life before Netflix*).

Anyway, as I sat cursing for not having the common sense not to have gone the back way, my mind wandered to this idea of creating a fairy photo shoot that I’d been kicking around for six months or so.  A few other people were doing the travelling road show one but I didn’t love it – the photos were great but it was just a photo shoot for the kids and my inner child really wanted them to feel like they were being fairies that just happened to be having their photos taken if you see what I mean.  Anyway, I came up with the concept of the magic beans and the Enchanted Forest literally grew from there.

There was a whole diary that documented the long and taxing process that we went through to follow the directions of the visiting fairy (the founding fairy’s name is Aranyani) to create the Forest.  They are quite hard taskmasters and there were some slips along the way that displeased them greatly but we got there in the end.  You can read the full diary at the button below but you can get the gist if you just watch the slideshow at the top of the page.

In the original Forest, there were shop bought costumes and wings but by the second time around, I knew that these really didn’t fit with the completely unique experience that I wanted to create and so these had gone to be replaced by my handmade dresses, wings, wands and other accessories so I could say that there truly isn’t another experience like it in the world.  And actually, it changes in its incarnation as it’s never quite the same so when you bring your little fairy to visit, they are going to have a magical unique experience that can’t ever be repeated!

So there you go.  Not all fairy photo shoots have an origin story.  But mine does and I love it.

With the Forest only being created twice a year in my studio in Sussex, the sessions are limited in number and usually sell out.

So if you want to be sure to get the session time and date you want, you can choose to become a Forest VIP.  This will give you access to the Forest booking calendar a full day before it is released to the public via a Special Invitation email.  Just fill in the form below to be added to the list.  Due to the delays in holding the Spring Forest, there are still two sessions left this year – one in September and one in November (that will be in the snowy Forest) so there’s lots of chances to share the magic with your little fairy in 2020.