Happy Monday!

Hope everyone has had a good weekend.

Today we are sharing Stephen and Michelle’s lovely engagement shoot captured by Sarah London Photography. The location was the beautiful Blyth Beach in Northumberland, a place that holds many special memories for Stephen and Michelle. It’s also a great place for some gorgeous images – you can’t beat a backdrop of the sea, rocky beach and sand dunes. Just lovely.

Look out for the orange blanket that was made especially for the shoot by Michelle’s friend.

Enjoy…

How did you guys meet?

We met 11 years ago when we both worked in Asda. I was on the clothing department and Stephen Home & Leisure. Our paths often crossed in the warehouse and on the shop floor.

What was your first date like?

I got Stephen’s phone number from a colleague of ours and texted him to wish him a happy birthday (after dropping off a birthday card for him on the till where he was serving a customer and scuttling off home). We began texting each other, mainly about what we were watching on tv, and I said to Stephen that a gentleman would offer to take me to the cinema. Which he then did. We went to see Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.

Who proposed and how?

Stephen proposed on Whitesands Beach in St Brides Bay, St Davids, Wales. We were there for a camping holiday. At the beach he went into the water body boarding while I sat zipped up in my beach tent reading. He waited until the sun come out from the clouds then came out of the water waving a ‘diamond’ ring which he said he’d found in the water. I was really confused at first because I thought he had just found something in the sea but I soon realised what was happening. He’d asked the campsite to chill 2 mini bottles of champagne for us which he had hidden in his bag. We then headed into St Davids for a celebratory lunch and he took me to a hotel where he’d booked us the honeymoon suite with a bottle of champagne waiting. In the evening we went to my favourite restaurant (which we’d discovered on a previous holiday with friends).

When and where are you getting married?

We’re getting married in August 2014 at Kendal county chambers followed by a reception and evening celebrations at The Wild Boar near Windermere.

What do you both consider is an important element for your big day

The most important thing for us on our big day is to have everyone we care about there enjoying some good food and wine. We wanted a venue that is quite laid back and relaxed and The Wild Boar was such a good find. I knew when I saw it online that it would be perfect for us and was so pleased when we went to visit it a couple of weeks after our engagement and found that it was everything we’d hoped it would be!

Tell us a little about the engagement shoot and photographer you’ve chosen

Our wedding photographer Sarah London is a friend of a friend who has photographed several of our friend’s weddings. Initially we didn’t think getting her from Brighton to the Lake District was going to be feasible but we knew she was who we wanted so we’ve made it happen. Hopefully she’s looking forward to the wedding as much as we are. Our engagement shoot took place at the beach of our home town of Blyth. We’ve always wanted some good photos of the beach to decorate our living room with so we’re really pleased with the results and have plenty to choose from!

Big shout out to Sarah London Photography and Stephen and Michelle for sharing this gorgeous engagement shoot with us. The last image is just beautiful. It makes me want to don a pair of wellies and head to a beach for some atmospheric winter shots!

I do love a moody afternoon on a beach. There is something quite magical about it.

Big Love

Festival Brides xx