Last week I joined Jo & Nigel at the very lovely Arley Hall & Gardens near Northwich in Cheshire for their pre-wedding catch up and practice photoshoot.
It was a beautiful sunny day and the drive over was quite delightful. Â I’ve shot here before and heading this way into Cheshire, the villages and landscape are stunning!
Arley Hall itself is a grand country home, still lived in by Viscount Ashbrook and his family, and the surrounding gardens bring in visitors by their droves
After a quick coffee and a catch up with Jo & Nigel about their plans for their wedding next week, we headed out into the grounds for a round of practice portraits!
These are always a great opportunity for me to get to know the couple better…
…and to explore the beautiful grounds for spots to use for portraits on the big day!
But fundamentally, it’s an opportunity to show the happy couple how it feels to be photographed, to show them what I’m looking for from them, and to (hopefully!) show them how great I can make them look!
I really like this natural one heading away from the hall and gates into the gardens
Nice to have a bit of sun out to back light this little moment, framed by one of the monster Arley hedges!
There are so many great spots to shoot around the grounds.
I hear this little iron pagoda has been sanctioned for marriages, for those brave enough to risk an outdoor UK wedding!
Time to loose the coats and pretend it’s warm!
Awww. Â It’s about this far into a shoot when I notice a couple are loosening up and are becoming less worried about how awkward it all feels!
Then we decided to wrap our shoot up in the doorway to the hall
Lovely spot eh?! Â It was great to return to this lovely venue, so stay tuned for the wedding highlights later next week!