Afternoon Peeps,

Hope you’re all having a good Tuesday.

We have a gorgeous shoot to share with you all today.

If you mix autumnal countryside with lots of smiles, a soon to be married couple who just ooze chemistry and some fun loving photography the result will be Molly and Danny’s gorgeous pre-wedding shoot captured perfectly by Dan of D&A Photography.

What I love the most about any pre-wedding shoot, whether it be an engagement shoot or just an opportunity for couples to channel their inner Zoolander (magnums on a postcard please!) is that it gives both the photographer and the couple an opportunity to get to know each other ahead of the big day. If you’re a bit camera shy or uncertain about how you are going to capture those all important couple shots then a pre-wedding shoot is the perfect way to practice, build your confidence and become more comfortable with your photographer. It can also be a hell of a lot of fun as Molly and Danny illustrate.

Dan from D&A Photography tells us about the shoot…..

Do What You Normally Do…..

Molly & Danny always said they wanted to keep the shoot nice and local to where they live, and Molly’s parents live in a converted farm house in the middle of lots and lots of fields and beautiful surroundings, I was more than happy to drive from my studio in Colchester to meet these two as I knew it would mean a lot to them. M&D loved my style of photography and when I asked them what kind of stuff they wanted me to shoot they just said to me “Do what you normally do” so after initial jitters they really got into the shoot and they both said they really enjoyed themselves, which was great to hear!

Why a Pre-Wedding Shoot?

I do the shoots because obviously we get some lovely photographs but the real reason is to meet my couples, see how they behave with each other, learn what they do and don’t like or feel comfortable doing and then use that information on their big day, and hopefully when the wedding roles around, I am just a guest with a camera, I am part of the day and the couple as cliche as it might sound are my friends and feel comfortable around me!

Two Cool Cucumbers…

M&D are just two cool cucumbers, nothing fazed them, I could express my idea’s and my visions and they would go along with it and these are the couples photographers dream of, they allow us as professionals to express ourselves, I don’t go into a garage and start telling the mechanic how to fix my car, and I love when I am given free licence to shoot how I love to! M&D are just so much fun, always laughing always smiling and there is a real connection between them which I hope I have captured in the photo’s. I always say silly stuff behind the camera to make my subjects giggle at each other and with these two I didn’t really need to do a great deal!

Over to Molly and Danny….

How did you guys meet?

How we met was a bit of a coincidence. During the summer of 2007, we both holidayed in Zante, Greece with our separate friend groups. We met in a bar called ‘Ghetto Bar’ and I bought Mol a Piña Collada… Which she hated!

Who proposed and how?

I proposed to Molly on her birthday in December 2011. We have a favourite restaurant so taking Molly there on a date made her non-the wiser as she assumed it was for her birthday. At the table I handed her a small bag with a book in it. In the book I’d written a reason why I loved her on every page. When she got to the last page it said: ‘And I want to spend the rest of my life with you’ …By this point I was on one knee in the middle of the restaurant!

When and where are you getting married?

We are getting married at Tunnels Beaches, Ilfracombe, Devon on May 28th 2015; a small, relaxed seaside venue with unbelievable views and amazing hospitality.

Can you let us in on any more details of the wedding?

It’s not going to be your traditional wedding… They’ll be a BBQ, lots of drinks and dancing on the terrace! We are praying for some good weather.

Tell us a little bit about your pre-wedding shoot and the photographer you chose…

Our pre wedding shoot was set at Mol’s parent’s house… It was, as expected, relaxed and fun with an amazing photographer. We found out about Dan (our photographer) through a girl that Molly went to school with, Dan’s girlfriend, Sarah.

We couldn’t have chosen a better photographer. We’ve never met somebody so passionate and enthusiastic. Not only a lovely guy, but an exceptional photographer!

What was your favourite moment?

There were a few favourites moments during the shoot. Piggybacking Mol over the cow field to dodge the poop. And also the photographer telling us to whisper into each other’s ear every now and again!

The whole experience was great fun… Cannot wait for the day now!

Advice From D&A Photography…

If I can give any advice it’s to embrace it, some call them cheesy, however it’s a great opportunity to see your photographer in action before the big day and if your backdrop is somewhere important to you that’s a great touch because it has so much more meaning to you, for instance, M&D in the background is the house they kind of grew up together in as kids when they were dating and I love the realness of that!

We didn’t have fantastic weather, in fact it was raining all morning, this isn’t a problem, use that to your advantage, get photographs of rain drops and wet grass as it’s all part of the shoot!

I would suggest every couple have a pre-wedding session because the feedback I have had is that it made the couple feel so much more relaxed on the big day, because not only did they feel confident in the job I would do as they had seen some lovely images from their pre-shoot but we became a lot friendlier and that always helps to break the tension of having your photo taken.

The Line Up