Tea with Hanna and Margot

These two little love bugs are at such a delightful age right now with all the make believe worlds they inhabit and reading together so their parents were keen to capture their special relationship. Big sister Hanna takes such good care of sweet little Margot, teaching her new things and helping her get dressed and the tea party is such a great way to freeze frame the day to day life of these sisters.

This is a shoot I think I will never forget for as long as I live. Not only because it was so deliciously adorable with the set up and the dresses, but more for what I did that day. First of all, as I left the house and was driving, I realised I didn't actually know where I was going which was a first. When I tried to ring, I realised, I did not have their phone number so left a desperate email saying I was driving around waiting for a direction to go! When at last I arrived, I emptied the car of all my mad props and we took the time to set up the dreamy scene for the girls to play. Finally, it was ready and I went back to the car to collect my cameras when I remembered, I had not put them in the car. This may sound utterly mad, for I had spent the morning charging batteries and packing my case carefully, but with Sacha Surprise shoots, there is so much that goes into my car, I can see how I forgot it. That said, it really was one of my worst nightmares come true - literally. I have anxiety dreams about showing up for a wedding without memory cards or with dead batteries. And here I was at an actual shoot where I had already arrived late as I didn't know where it was, and now I had to leave to go home to gather my equipment - it was an all time low for me in my career as a professional photographer. Why am I even admitting to this? I suppose to show that I am human, albeit an occasionally stupid one! Thank goodness, I was blessed with utterly lovely and understanding clients who took my foolishness in stride. In fact, when the girls' mum wrote to me about the shoot, she told me that her favourite part of the day was while I was away and Hanna kept helping her position everything for the shoot, all the while Margot was slowly taking it apart and playing with all the tea sets. It was a wonder the girls were not bored of the scene by the time I returned from home 20 minutes later. But thank my lucky stars, they themselves were stars and the pictures are beautiful - a lesson I won't be forgetting in a hurry.

  

When the girls started climbing tress in their gorgeous dresses, it just demonstrated the reality of their adventurous spirits which completely contrasted with their attire.

Love the different moods of the girls captured below in these portraits.

You may recognise this sweet little house from this shoot, but this lucky family inherited it when the others left the island.

The other best part of the day was when the girls started feeling tired of playing for me, they were rewarded for their patience with the chance to devour their gingerbread house. It was hilarious how the girls ate every single candy decoration off the outside and didn't touch the gingerbread.

Thank you Hanna and Margot for such a sweet shoot, and in particular for being so patient while I had to disappear to fetch the very equipment I needed for the shoot. Happy childhoods! xxx