Choosing a wedding photographer was one of the most important tasks for us. Knowing that your wedding photographs are going to be one of few physical memories of your big day, you can see why it's important to choose the right photographer. For you.
I know a few couples that haven't been happy with their photographer's final product, which makes me sad. As someone who loves photography (looking more so than taking), I wasn't going to take any chances. I started with the usual Googling and searching supplier lists such as those on RMW. Nothing really captured my attention though.
After thinking I would never find the perfect photographer for us, we stumbled across VLA Photography at our venue's supplier open day. As soon as we met Jon and talked through our requirements, we were instantly excited. Seeing some of his photos helped as well, but we were just so taken with Jon's relaxed and friendly approach that we decided to book a consultation with him. Obviously, that went well and we booked with VLA.
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| Yippeee! |
Our wedding package included an engagement shoot, which we nearly missed out on. Time passed by so quickly whilst planning the wedding that we forgot about the engagement shoot until about six weeks before the big day. I think we ended up having theses photos taken only a few weeks before the wedding.
Jon likes to hold the engagement shoot at your venue, so off to Gate Street Barn we went. It was late October/early November so we had to take a chance with the weather. Second time round we got lucky.
Having the engagement shoot was the perfect opportunity to work with Jon and get to know his working style, and also get used to having our photograph taken. It's safe to say that neither Fraser nor I are shy, retiring types, but having your photograph taken by a professional feels different. I didn't want to be the 'un-photogenic one'. In all honesty, we found the whole experience really easy and Jon had some brilliant tricks to make us laugh, smile and look like we're completely head over heels for one another (which we are).
Jon has captured our spirit perfectly and the images completely reflect our entire relationship: FUN! No one makes me laugh as much as Fraser does, and we had some good giggles during our engagement shoot. We certainly didn't want sappy, romantic style photos; that's just not us.
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| Hilarious huh? |
Gate Street Barn was the perfect location - just look at that backdrop. So many autumnal colours and natural beauty.
We love these photos so much that we put together a wall display of our favourites in our bedroom. After all, there's not many photos that capture our relationship so well and that are so natural.
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| We can be romantic... |
I've only just realised that the engagement ring does not feature in any of the photographs. Am I sad about that? Absolutely not! The ring is just the material element of our commitment to one another. What's important is that we're together and we're ALWAYS happy - a ring won't do that for me but Fraser will!
I hope you've enjoyed looking through the photos. Massive credit to Jon Fraser of VLA Photography. We cannot recommend him enough. Really.
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| The end... |
Shones
xoxo
So, I should probably start from the beginning for my Wedding Wednesday series. The engagement. Let's go back to August 2013...
At that point Fraser and I had been together nearly five years and we knew we wanted to get married at some point but we had no firm thoughts on when. I'd begun to tease him a little about proposing, mainly due to the fact that everyone was getting married around us. We were attending three or four weddings a year at that point so marriage was not too far from our radar. My sister had been teasing Fraser quite a lot; in fact, one Christmas she'd written a gift tag pretending to be from Fraser saying "Will you marry me?" Bless him, he nearly had a heart attack!
I think like most men, Fraser didn't want to be pressurised into proposing and wanted to do it when the time was right for him and in his own way. Cue 9th August 2013.
He'd asked me to book the Friday off work and said that he wanted to take me on a surprise day out. His reasoning for this was that he'd been away with work quite a bit and planned to be away over the coming months. Fair enough. Did it cross my mind that he was going to propose? Initially yes, but his reason was so valid that I couldn't decide for certain. I did bombard him with lots of questions, number one being:
S - "Are you going to propose?"
F - "NO!" Of course he had a full response prepared to throw me off the scent, and he did just that. Good man.
S - "Do I need a passport?"
F - "NO!"
I think I was more disappointed that I wasn't going abroad than the fact I wasn't being proposed to. After many more questions, all I managed to get out of him was that I needed to pack an overnight bag, pack swimwear and some smart evening wear. My mind immediately went to 'spa day', to which I reassured myself further that Fraser was definitely not going to propose. That just wasn't his style, right?
9th August arrived and off we went in the car; still with no idea where we were heading. A3, M25, signs for Staines - Staines? - what the hell is in Staines?
Luckily we weren't heading for Staines, we were heading for the gorgeous Runnymede hotel, set on the banks of the River Thames, near Windsor. As soon as we drove up I knew Fraser was definitely not going to propose. It was all just so cliche and, dare I say it, predictable (pah, how wrong was I?). We checked in, went up to the room, dumped our bags and checked out what the hotel had to offer. Fraser did confess that he thought we were long overdue some quality 'Shaz' (Shona+Fraz) time, and he'd heard good things about the hotel, so took the plunge. Yes, the hotel had a spa, and it even had an outdoor swimming pool (amazing). The weather was beautiful that day too, so we headed straight outdoors and grabbed our sun loungers.
After we'd sunbathed, visited the sauna and steam room, we went back to the room and got ready for dinner. Still no proposal.
Dinner was absolutely delicious. I have no recollection of what we had; I just remember Fraser tipping the pepper pot over his main and the lid coming off - a mound of pepper landing on top of his dinner. I found that quite hilarious, the server was mortified but the chef did an excellent job of preparing a new dish within minutes. Now, I do remember dessert, because I LOVE trifle. Still no proposal though.
After dinner, we retired to the bar and had quite a number of drinks. Still no proposal. We both started to feel a little tipsy, so retired to the room. I went to the bathroom and unbeknown to me, this is when Fraser did his 'prep' (he put out the proposal card on the dresser). By the time I'd faffed around in the bathroom I was pretty tired. I laid on the bed feeling a little tipsy and tired, not noticing the card for at least 40 mins. On reflection, I do recall Fraser acting rather strangely during those 40 minutes - up and down like a yo-yo, waving his arms around whilst stood in front of the dresser. Nope, I didn't have a clue. FINALLY, I noticed...
S - "Is that a card? For me?"
F - "Yes, why don't you open it"
<opens card>
<sees message>
THE proposal! It caught me completely off guard.
S - "Are you serious?"
F - "Yeah, so how about it?"
S - "YES, YES, YES!"
<wipes tears from eyes>
What I loved about the proposal was that Fraser never actually said those four little words - will you marry me? - instead, he left it to that one image to do all the talking. He also combined two of my favourite things into his proposal - photography and a (greetings) card (I love cards more than presents). It was perfect! Truly perfect. I love the fact I have a physical memory and keepsake from the proposal, and not just a ring - although Fraser didn't have a ring for the proposal as I'd told him not to buy one. I'm not a big fan of jewellery and am rather fussy when I do wear it, so I wanted to personally try rings on and thought choosing it together would be much more fun than Fraser hoping he'd made a right choice alone.
Of course, we went ring shopping the next day and I made my choice quite quickly (see photo at top of page). I knew instantly it was right for me: simple, understated, practical yet different to some of the more traditional engagement rings out there.
After calling family and friends to announce the news, I knew what I had to do next...
Let the planning commence!
Shones
xoxo
