Borough Market Couple Photography
THIS WEEK'S BLOG IS PACKED WITH POSTS, AND HERE IS THE SECOND OF THE WEEK. RYAN & TEDDY ARE THE SWEETEST IN THEIR PRE-WEDDING SHOOT, WHERE WE SPENT AN AFTERNOON IN BOROUGH MARKET. WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN ONE OF YOU LOVES THE PDAS AND THE OTHER REALLY DOESN'T? YOU LAUGH YOUR WAY THROUGH THE SESSION, AND FALL INTO MOMENTS OF ABSOLUTELY SWEETNESS. THESE GUYS ACED THE ENTIRE SESSION, MAKING ME LAUGH AND SIGH IN EQUAL MEASURES. THEIR NEARLY-WED Q&A IS ABSOLUTE GOLD TOO, SO MAKE SURE TO READ THROUGH TO THAT...
I try and pick new locations for every single couple I work with. It keeps everything fresh, and it enables me to pick places which I know will work for specific people. Location scouting must take so many things into consideration, on top of what might suit the couple; light, weather conditions, atmosphere, space, flexibility, privacy, composition, accessibility, and whether there are lots of moments within which I can create pictures. Borough Market just felt right for these guys.
IT'S SUPER COOL WITH LOTS OF CHARACTER, AND A LITTLE QUIRK AND HISTORY.
Arriving early on a crisp September morning, I wondered around the eerily quiet walkways of Borough Market.
WITHOUT THE HOARDS OF PEOPLE I WAS USED TO, COUNTLESS LITTLE COMPOSITIONS JUMPED OUT AT ME FROM AROUND CORNERS AND DOWN ALLEYS;
block colours, typography, archways, raw brick, everything I love about the eclectic city style was here, all butted up against one another in juxtaposition. I loved it.
Once Ryan and Teddy stood in all my chosen locations, everything was easy. The fact that one half of this pair was absolutely LOVING the need for PDAs, and the other half not so sure, made for the funniest and most genuine shots. They would joke and banter and flirt, then quietly find themselves kissing or just looking at each other.
THOSE LITTLE SPACES BETWEEN THE CHATS AND PLAY-FIGHTS WERE MAGIC.
They would always end up laughing again, but that's what makes them so much fun.
Here is the usual (and fast becoming more popular than my blathering!) Q&A.. Wait until you read their proposal story. It is literally THE BEST THING EVER...
QUICK NEARLY-WED Q & A:
DO YOU REMEMBER THE FIRST TIME YOU SAW EACH OTHER?
T: I was introduced to Ryan by some mutual friends in a nightclub. We'd been friends for some time but I'd never met Ryan as he was a bit of a hermit (he was doing his Masters Degree at the time). I remember being a bit intimidated because he was very attractive and out of my league. But a little alcohol helped and we got talking. Over the period of 4 or 5 months and through group meet-ups we got to know eachother and bonded over Harry Potter, Disney and our disdain for anything to do with love (we'd both been through bad relationships/break-ups) and our group meet-ups led to one-on-one mate dates.
R: My first proper memory of Teddy was greeting my best mate at the door of my new pokey little flat post break-up and being confronted with what looked like a ninja crossed with an arctic exploroer. There was a massive snow storm outside and this little Eskimo arrived with wine in hand and my best mate. To be honest I didn't even know who it was until he unveiled. That night we really bonded over Harry Potter, Disney, mutual dislike of "the poor, darling, the poor", and having both worked in Whatton prison. Over the months our friendship culminated in an anti valentines day where we booked our first holiday together as a protest against love and the day I was originally going to marry my ex. Little did we know we would actually be a such a happy and loved up little couple by then. We also had an impromptu demi-date to Nottingham Castle whereby we both started to feel the deeply buried butterflies of happiness and hope that we'd been trying to avoid due to previous heartbreaks. But after a little
Chocolate teddy being left by front door and a drunken omission by me one weekend whilst I was away in London, I realised I couldn't deny my feelings any more and that little eskimo ninja who came to my door on one of the coldest winter nights was going to be the one who made me feel happier than I thought I ever would again.
WHEN DID YOU FIRST KNOW YOU WANTED TO MARRY THEM?
T: I don't think i ever made the conscious decision that i wanted to marry Ryan. There wasn't ever any form of epiphany...i think i just kind of expected it. Like...of course im going to marry this dude and spend the rest of my life with him. I love him and any other eventuality was simply not an option. Haha
R: When I realised that actually doing so would end the year long badgering, pouting, and sad little face that accompanied his daily requests (and by requests I mean demands) that I propose to him. Seriously though, I think I always knew it was meant to be but I wanted it to be super special. I finished my MSc in Aug 2013 so we celebrated by going to Mexico which solidified our relationship even further. Now that I had some head space after uni I was able to think more about our future together. More than anyone I've ever known he makes me laugh and has the uncanny ability to sneak up on me and scare the living hell out of me. We share so many interests, hopes and dreams but also celebrate and encourage each other's diversity, independence and individuality. We encourage each other to grow and learn whilst also challenging each other and never become complacent. Personally I feel that we make an incredible team. Even if he's Team Hufflepuff and I'm Team Slytherine!
HOW DID THEY PROPOSE? & HOW DID YOU REACT?
T: Ryan is SO bad at keeping secrets so i knew that it was coming. But he did so in the most romantic way. We booked a trip to New York and made loads of lovely plans so it could have been any one of those dates or locations. But Ry was obviously very nervous and wanted to get it over and done with (Haha) so when we landed we got a taxi to our hotel in Manhattan. As soon as we got there he wouldn't even let me unpack and virtually frogmarched me to central park where we hired a boat and he had me row us out onto the boating lake. It was quite overcast at the time. Then all of a sudden he put some music on his phone (The transformation song from beauty and the beast). The clouds literally parted the sun started to shine and he started saying some really lovely things. He presented me with a book, which turned out to be a book we'd found in the house we'd bought together a year earlier whilst we were moving in. He'd cut out the pages and in the middle of it was a beautiful platnium diamond ring. Obviously i said yes and we celebrated with champagne at the Rockefeller.
(Possibly the gayest moment of my life hahaha)
R: Being a little princess I knew teddy would want (and of course deserved) the best ring...which would obviously take time to save for. I'd planned to take him to Iceland the following January for his 30th where I considered proposing under the Northern Lights but knew this to be unpredictable and that he wouldn't want anything to overshadow his big milestone birthday. So I waited until February that same year when I'd paid off some debt and bought the ring that Teddy had expressed such a liking for when he'd repeatedly informed me that we were going to be married! We then bought our first house together in the June and then flew to New York in the September where I finally had planned to do the deed. Being a professional secret keeper as a career I was dazzled by my own brilliance at telling everyone and his dog about my plans whilst applauding my own stealth-like ability to keep such a thing from my betrothed. Turns out my poker face wasn't as good as I thought...the rest of the proposal story you know. People asked if we cried...no, not us. I think we were both more relieved than anything else. And then we crashed our boat into some structure in the middle of Central Park lake and nearly lost the bloody ring. However, the sun continued to break through the clouds and and the magic of Disney music continued to play. And most importantly the most amazing and special man in my life agreed to spend the rest of his life with me...I had to turn him down and chose Teddy instead. Just kidding...I had found my "One True Love".
WHAT DO YOU THINK MAKES YOU WORK SO WELL AS A COUPLE?
T: I think we work so well because we're a team. We love and respect eachother and there's no disparity...everything is equal between us. We bounce off each other, teasing and challenging one another in equal measure and we share the same dark sense of humour. We're always laughing, sometimes *with* and other times *at*eachother. We communicate. We're interested in what the other has done that day or in how they're feeling. We know beyond a shadow of a doubt that we will be there for eachother, come what may. And we never go a day without saying "I love you".
R: Three things...I'm psychotherapist and whisper things in his ear whilst he sleeps to convince him that he loves me. I also let him believe that he's the one in the driving seat. I've also learned one very important phrase..."yes dear...here's the credit card"
Doing a shoot like this in public, and in the city, is a baptism of fire; you suddenly have to let all your inhibitions go, and just relax together. These guys did an absolutely stellar job. I cannot wait until your wedding gents. Bring it on!!
GWx
