Carla and Ian’s West Didsbury Pre-wedding shoot photos are a perfect example as to why I include pre-wedding shoots for all of my couples.
It’s about spending a bit of extra time with them ahead of their wedding so that I can really understand what they want from me as a wedding photographer – and crucially, it’s about giving them the experience of having their photo taken before the big day (it’s not something that people go out and do on a regular basis, so I want them to feel relaxed about it by the time it comes to their wedding!) I hate the idea of turning up to shoot a wedding and the bride and groom having any apprehensions about being photographed. By spending a bit of time before the day, hanging out and shooting some cool stuff, we make sure we avoid that situation.
Another reason I love this particular shoot (and it goes without saying that I love all my couples and their respective shoots equally!) is that Carla and Ian wanted to stamp a bit of themselves onto it. Where they live. Places they go. What they enjoy. Which is exactly what we did. The same approach I have to weddings applies to pre-wedding shoots. I don’t want to churn the same stuff out for every couple. I want the experience and shoot to be unique to them and who they are as a couple, and as individuals as well.
So we met at The Metropolitan in West Didsbury (Carla and Ian’s local – and as it happens, my local too!) for a couple of drinks to take the edge off the nerves (and that was just me! 
and we headed off down Burton Road to shoot some cool stuff. We even managed to shoe horn in the restaurant where Carla and Ian had their first date! AND (controversially, as I don’t think Carla has quite forgiven Ian for this yet) found a dead Christmas tree to include in the pics. (Originally we had planned to do the shoot in the build up to Christmas and were going to include a visit to the local DIY shop that Carla and Ian buy their tree from every year and get some photos of them choosing their tree and carrying it down the road – but Ian had to cancel for work reasons at the last minute!)
So here’s a proper look at Carla and Ian’s West Didsbury Pre-wedding shoot…
BIG thanks must go to my friends at The Met for letting Carla and Ian go behind the bar to channel their inner ‘barkeep’ and to all the drivers on Burton Road who very kindly slowed down and didn’t run us over 
VERY excited about their big day at Styal Lodge and very much looking forward to working with Kirsty Rogers and The Midnight Cats, Sian from The Flower Lounge and Gemma Hallowell MUA!
xxx