Hayley & Chris: A Dunham Massey Pre-Wedding Shoot (and why they are SO important!)
Congratulations! You're engaged! So let's fast forward to having booked your dream wedding venue, on the ideal date and you've been in touch and I'm available and we've had our Skype date and we're super excited that we are a good fit. For me, I'm ticking boxes on my super nerdy organisational chart above my desk and I get to one of my favourite points in the booking: the pre-wedding shoot. Because I usually will have only met you via Skype at this point, this is a fabulous opportunity for us to meet in person, have a drink and go for a walk together, taking away some of that pre-wedding anxiety about having your photos taken on the day because you realise that I'm not so scary after all. I've talked before about the whole 'I hate having my photo taken' thing (it's real and I feel your pain!) and one of my pieces of advice is to have that pre-wedding shoot. In such an informal, no-pressure environment we can have a proper chat and laugh about your wedding day and (hopefully!) you come away a little bit more comfortable with the idea.
Recently, I booked the wonderful Hayley & Chris in for their April wedding at the stunning Thornton Manor on the Wirral. As it is one of my earliest weddings for 2017, I was eager to get them booked in for their pre-wedding shoot and take advantage of the stunning colours of the changing trees. We met in early October at one of my very favourite places, Dunham Massey in Altrincham and, after a cup of tea and a chat, spent the next hour or so wandering the grounds, talking about all of their plans for the day and shooting some beautiful images set against the awesome scenery.
Hayley & Chris, like many of my couples, were nervous about taking part in a photo shoot and didn't want their wedding photos to look too staged, they just want me to capture the fun and details of their beautifully planned wedding. I wasn't sure how comfortable they would be with some of the 'smushier' ideas I threw at them but my goodness, these two really are so in love and clearly meant for each other that aside from the odd awkward giggle, they just ran with it. I literally could have shot them all afternoon and was so inspired by their relaxed ease with each other that I ended up offering hardly any direction! It was a dreamy autumn afternoon with a slight nip to the air and once again, I was reminded how lucky I am to meet such wonderful people and capture a small part of their love story. It's a responsibility I will never take lightly, one I'm so honoured to have.
Here is a glimpse of what I saw that day, I hope you enjoy!
