This morning I joined Simone & Stu, old buddies of mine, for their pre-wedding practice shoot ahead of their wedding this Saturday!
After their wedding ceremony at Leeds Town Hall they’re hosting their reception celebrations at The Foundry Wine Bar, near Bridgewater place on the edge of town.
I love it round this industrial area of Leeds (particularly when it’s this tropically sunny!), not only because it’s packed with brilliant places to eat and drink…
…but because it’s brimming with ace historical industrial buildings that have been lovingly restored and creatively renovated for all kinds of purposes.
They’ll be hosting their reception at The Foundry, on Saw Mill Yard, which needless to say was a Foundry.
After catching up over a coffee we took to the streets to iron out any nerves about being photographed!
It didn’t take long for these guys to be at ease with the process!
It’s brilliant to have so many fun backdrops to shoot against!
I went to high school with Simone & spent a while travelling in Thailand with them both, so already know them well; but it’s always good to do a practice shoot to show them how it feels to be in front of the lens.
Stu’s an incredible chef and head-cheffed for years around Leeds, and Simone’s spent years running the front of house side of restaurants, so it wasn’t long before they headed for the bright lights of an amazing restaurant down in the Big Smoke. But ever since I’ve known them, they’ve always dreamt of running their own place; and it was ace to hear all about how this happened when they took over running The Gunton Arms, a traditional gastro-pub with 8 bedrooms in an extensive historic park in North Norfolk, not far from both the broads and the coast!
It sounds just brilliant & I’m looking for reasons to go to visit!
It was so great to catch up with these guys! The date they’re actually getting married on is May the fourth!
That’s right… Star Wars Day! May the fourth be with you!
Those of you know me will know I like to dress my little dog up as Star Wars characters on this day every year (such as here, last year).
Part of me is secretly hoping Simone puts her hair up in buns…
By the end of the shoot, I felt Sim & Stu were thoroughly relaxed in front of the camera, and really liked some of the more quiet intimate shots we were capturing.
So here’s majorly looking forward to what, knowing Simone & Stu, will no doubt be a brilliant knees-up starring plenty of good booze and great food!
Let’s just hope we get the same sunshine…
😉