Laura and Greg got married in Shifnal, in the middle of the gorgeous Shropshire countryside, a few weeks ago. They both live in New Zealand so we only got to meet a few days before the wedding for their engagement shoot in Chorlton, but as soon as I met them I knew we’d have a great time together. Laura’s infectious and beautiful grin can’t help but make you smile yourself and Greg’s dry sense of humour makes it happen all the time!

I was particularly looking forward to this wedding too because they had decided to do a ‘First Look’ and I’d never shot one before. It’s not really so common in the UK (sticklers for tradition, most Brits seem to really balk at the idea!) but is an increasingly popular idea in America, Australia and New Zealand. Instead of seeing each other for the first time in the wedding ceremony, the couple arrange to meet privately before the ceremony, so it’s much more intimate. I think it’s a really special way of doing it and seeing Greg’s face when he was waiting for and finally saw Laura was absolutely priceless. I also loved the whole lead up to it – the involvement of their friends (driving them to the secret spot, phoning each other to find out where they were), the excitement and anticipation. We also managed to get a few lovely shots in a field before the ceremony, freeing up much more time for them both to relax later.

The reception was held at the lovely Haughton Hall, and Laura and Greg had set up a beautiful Moroccan-inspired marquee in the garden – full of colourful cushions, lamps, rugs and wall hangings it was a really beautiful, special and relaxing space. Just outside the marquee were loads of garden games – swingball, frisbees, space hoppers and croquet, so the whole reception had a wonderful easy and fun atmosphere, with friends and family able to just lounge around, relax and play.

Indoors, Laura and Greg had put together so many beautiful details – they are both really passionate about nature and had incorporated this into their decorations  - petals, the family tree (both the table plan and the photo tree), the wish tree with beautiful paper hangings and origami, corn table centres and mother of pearl shells. For favours they had put masquerade masks out for everyone to wear – I thought this was a brilliant idea and the guests loved it.

Another wonderful day at work with a lovely couple. Here are some of my favourites…