Ashley & Will

Ashley and Will are not getting married for another year and a half, but Ashley's parents gave the couple a gift certificate for an engagement session for Christmas so the two decided to do their shoot while they were home visiting for the holidays. We have had an unprecedented spate of bad weather (at least in my life time), as it has been windy and rainy for 4 weeks straight, except on Christmas day, so as far as me and my camera are concerned, Bermuda weather has not been kind as of late! Having said that, we were able to squeeze the shoot in with Ashley and Will on a Sunday afternoon, and although the skies turned on us, we did have glimpses of pretty light now and then, and certainly enough to capture some magic between these love birds.



Can you believe the colour of Ashley's hair - and the amount of it - and so silky and shiny - she should do hair commercials!





Ashley contacted me back in October about booking me for her May 2011 wedding. I am always impressed with people who are so organised that they can plan that far ahead, let alone even think that far ahead in time. As somebody who likes to play one day at a time, I am in a bit of an odd industry considering wedding clients do like to book well in advance. So I told Ashley that I didn't even have my 2010 diary yet but once I had it on my desk, I could think about penciling in such a booking in the 2011 section at the back. I have to say, I don't usually take on weddings more than a year in advance as I just don't know what my family and I will have planned for holidays, but Ashley was so sweet and patient and told me she wanted me no matter what, and that she was happy to wait until I was ready so as soon as I purchased this year's diary, I did in fact break all my rules and pencil her in for 2011.



Ashley and Will met when they were only 14 years old at boarding school in New Hampshire. They shared some of their first classes together and Will made quite an impression. Ashley's parents still tell stories about Will's antics to gain Ashley's attention. The pair started as close friends at school, then dated and have been together since their first year of college eight years ago.



Originally, we were planning the shoot to capture the couple exploring the winding streets of St Georges and to enjoying the old historic town. But with the weather so unpredictable, we decided the window of good weather may not be wide enough for us to trek out to that end of the Island. Instead, the two came to my home studio before we headed out to discover some of the good old country charm that Somerset has to offer.



And we found plenty of character out and about Somerset. I was so smitten with this location - I cannot wait to go back!! Such a change from the beach, yet so Bermuda and moody - the perfect spot to capture the love these two are blessed to share with each other.















Much of the couple's relationship has been long distance. Will was at University in Boston while Ashley was in Atlanta. After graduating in 2006, the pair moved to Washington DC where they enjoyed discovering the city together. Last year, Ashley pursued a masters degree in the UK and the day after she returned to DC this past July, Will proposed in the garden at Dumbarton Oaks, one of their favourite places in the city.



















Seven years together has allowed Will and Ashley to really get to know each other's families. One sweet detail about Ashley's lovely ring is that the diamond belonged to Will's paternal grandmother and Will picked out the perfect new setting for it. Ashley can't believe she is so lucky to be able to wear something so beautiful for the rest of her life.









We ended up back at my house for some ocean backdrop shots. Of course this was when the skies were so dark that it felt like twilight, so it was a bit tricky exposing for skin and sea, but it is so romantic at the bottom of my garden that I am sure the two will not even mind too much that I had to blast out the water and the sky.















Hopefully this series of turquoise waters will suffice to share with their friends and hopefully it will entice a few of them to come to the big event in 2011!