Pre wedding photos with a twist!

Pre wedding photos with a BIG surprise at Shugbourgh, Staffordshire.

Back in the Summer I got a text from Ben – who I had met when his sister Beci got married last year at Keele hall in Staffordshire.

His text read ‘I was wondering if I could book some pre wedding/engagement/proposal (as I haven’t yet even though the wedding is all booked haha (her Dad is making the ring)) photos.’ Needless to say I was a bit intrigued and excited by the whole thing!

After we had a chat on the phone Ben told me that he wanted some natural, relaxed photos taking of the two of them but during the shoot he was also going to propose to his bride to be, Tanisha!

We got a date booked in to do the photos and I went about finding a suitable place to do them. Ben had mentioned that he had really liked a specific photo on my website taken near some water, so I scouted for a location that had some.

Shughbourgh Estate is a rare survival of a complete estate which includes a working farm, walled gardens and masses of parkland. I regularly walk my dog there so on one visit I narrowed down some bits of the parkland that would work well for photos, as well as finding some little private spots for when Ben was going to pop the question!

What to do with the engagement ring?!

A couple of nights before we were due to do the photos, I met Ben on a pub car park (yes really!!) in Stafford. Even though their wedding was already planned (don’t ask), he wanted the actual proposal to be a surprise for Tanisha. Now an engagement ring in a box isn’t the easiest thing to try and hide, so Ben decided I would have to have it and bring it with me. (Not scary at all being given a bespoke engagement ring that has taken months of designing and making, to look after!!!!) We came up with a plan that on the day of the photos, I would put the ring in my camera bag, he would bring a bottle of water – that would also go in my bag and then at some point he would go into my bag for his drink and instead get out the ring.

Plan sorted.

Natural, unposed photos.

Apparently Tanisha nor Ben are ‘any good at photos’.

We met in the car park at Shughbourgh and had a chat on the way to the spots that I’d found. Tanisha told me how her Dad was making her ring and that she had got the wedding all organised within a week (full respect to this!!) She was now just waiting for the ring to be finished and Ben to actually ask her to be his wife. (Full respect also goes out to Tanisha for climbing over a locked metal gate in heeled boots!)

Whilst they were walking we stopped a few times to do some photos, I just asked them to focus on each other and pretend I wasn’t there.

Will you marry me?

I do take quite a lot of photos quite close up, to show off intimacy and feeling in the photos, but when I saw Ben going in my bag for his ‘drink’ I knew what was coming. I backed off a bit so that moment was just between the two of them.

Ben got a yes and Tanisha loved her ring!

Photo of a couple taken through leaves