11

Jul

2011

Real Wedding: A Picture perfect Engagement shoot

Today I have a gorgeous engagement shoot for you from Jen Owens Images. Jen is based up in Edinburgh and sent me in this shoot a couple of weeks ago. I only like to post engagement shoots if they offer something a bit different and when I saw these photos I just loved the couple straight away. Colene and Jason are a great couple and have been kind enough to answer some questions fro me. I also like Jens use of the camera props, which has mixed up the shoot a bit, the red shoes are also stunning!

Edinburgh engagement shoot

Full names
Miss Colene Mandy McKessick and Mr (not Lord as he once stupidly put while we were booking flights) Jason Mark Andre Woolcott!

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How did you meet?
Sheesh, here goes! Jason and I met in April 2006. Jason is originally from Wellington, New Zealand and had been convinced to move to Aberdeen, Scotland for a gap year, working as a PE teacher at a local school. I am from a village outside Aberdeen, and was in the city studying journalism. I wish our tale was a sweeping, romantic extravaganza and although it was in a nightclub it has a cute spin.
I had split with a guy that day, and my friends coerced me into an unplanned night out. The nightclub is actually an old church, and as I stood upstairs looking down onto the dance floor, they released loads of balloons down into the crowd. The balloons held raffle tickets that corresponded to free drinks, and my eager(drunk) eye spotted that one particularly tall guy had a great system going on! So I toddled off in his direction and asked him for one of his free drinks! And so our relationship began – surrounded by sugary VK drinks, LL Cool J tunes and very sloppy dancing!
I told my mum that I’d met someone, and she rolled her eyes when I said he was from New Zealand and was leaving in 8 months………Although both of us set out knowing it couldn’t go anywhere knowing that Jason was only 18, and was moving back to NZ in the December, things naturally took their course and we fell in love very very quickly.
So I spend December in a constant state of tearyness, and put myself through the torture of taking the train down to Edinburgh airport to see him off and coming back ON MY OWN. A little old lady even offered me a hanky!! Nine LONG weeks later I flew to NZ to spend 2 weeks with my Kiwi and they were wonderful and just cemented everything we already knew – we wanted to be together. So happily, after another LOOOONG nine weeks he flew back, and we’ve been settled in Aberdeen ever since. We even adopted two Tonkinese cats (though we only have one now), and 5 years on, we’re planning our intercontinental wedding!!!

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Tell me about the proposal
As we’d been together 5 years, we’d been blocking the ‘so, when are you two getting married’ malarkey for quite some time, and when the time came we knew we wanted to do it differently.
After a fight (our only one I think), where Jason thought I was dumping him (silly man) we realised we were both in it for the long haul and started planning.
We wanted to surprise our parents, so we planned the engagement for Jason’s birthday (Feb 27), which fell on our yearly pilgrimage to Murrayfield to see Scotland play rugby.
We planned it all six weeks in advance (we got the ring a month before – it was torture only being able to look at it in the flat at night!)
We went to our usual restaurant that we always go to, the same alcove we always go to, and my mum though she was in on a big surprise birthday cake (I’m a FANATICAL baker) When the cake arrived though, it actually had the words ‘We’re engaged’ piped on it (I won’t go into what a hideous mess of a cake it was!)
My mum was completely oblivious and was singing Happy Birthday, when my dad elbowed her and they both peered at the icing. Mum squealed, Dad was, for the first time, speechless, and Jason asked my dad’s permission, keen to do things ‘right’. I’d love to tell you about the rest of the night which involved dancing with Irish rugby fans and running up a BIG phone bill calling Jason’s folks in NZ, but I actually had my wine taken away from me later in the evening so I can’t remember…

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Tell me one the thing you love most about each other
Colene:I love that in many ways we’re opposites – I’m a natural panicker, where as Jason is a typical Kiwi; so laid back he’s horizontal! I think we really balance each other out and are each other’s missing bits, so that we work perfectly when we’re together.
Jason: (hates writing this stuff so here goes) Other than her pert posterior, I love Colene’s ability to make me smile and laugh in any situation, no matter how inappropriate it may be and the fact that she is going to make a brilliant wife :)

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Date of E shoot
Our engagement shoot took place on a sunny June, 4 2011. (With a wedding that could potentially have 3ft of snow, we wanted one set of sunny pics!)

Location of E shoot
The stunning Haddo House in Aberdeenshire. I always dreamt of getting married here when I was younger, but when it came to the real deal, it wasn’t quite right, so it had to settle for being our engagement location instead.

Edinburgh engagement shoot

Edinburgh engagement shoot

Edinburgh engagement shoot

Date of wedding
We will officially become the Woolcotts on Friday, March 16, 2012.

Location of wedding
Monquhitter Parish Church, Cuminestown (where my parents were married), and then Meldrum House Hotel, Aberdeenshire (which has an all year heated marquee = awesome, and built in black chandeliers – doubly awesome!)

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Do you have a theme/colour scheme?
Hmmm…there are quite a few! The colours are black and white with a touch of red. This includes black bridesmaids dresses, black and grey kilts (HAWT!), and my white and red Vivienne Westwood shoes. The themes are 1940s glamour (I watched old films every weekend with my Granny and this is my only chance to look like one of the silver screen stars!) My bridesmaids will look like full on Hollywood glamourpusses!
I actually work as a motoring and entertainment journalist so we’re having the most gorgeous Chevrolet Bel Air.
We also have a travel theme running through with postcard Save the Dates, Boarding pass invites, Passport menus/orders of service and luggage tag place cards. There will also be little Kiwi hints throughout.

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What bit of the wedding are you looking forward to the most
I am most looking forward to my ’27 Dresses’ moment – when I’m walking down the aisle, and Jason looks back – I can’t wait to see his face (although this is the moment the two of us will lose it and start bubbling!) Basically I can’t wait to be Mr and Mrs Woolcott – what could be better than marrying your best friend??

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For more information on Jens work go to:
www.jenowensimages.com
www.jenowensimages.blogspot.com
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07984 629 441

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Comments

    Colene

    My goodness I’m blushing!

    Thanks so much for the lovely blog Kelly. I can’t recommend Jen enough – she put us totally at ease and when we saw the pics we couldn’t believe how well she’d captured ‘us’.

    I’d recommend having an engagement shoot to anyone – it’s the best way to get to know your photographer, and we’re really looking forward to having another laugh with Jen on our wedding day!

    Reply
    boho

    My pleasure Colene, so glad you liked the post. I hope you get better soon, and make sure you come back once the wedding is over I can’t wait to see the pictures xxxx

    Reply
    Anna

    These engagement photos are gorgeous!

    I am lucky enough to know both Colene and Jas, and am so glad that now everyone has a chance to view the talent of Jen who has really captured their love for each other in such beautiful photos!

    I sadly couldn’t be there for their engagement since I am another Kiwi but really loved seeing these photos which capture the essence of the couple that I miss! (And ill definitely be there for the wedding!)

    Reply
    Carol Clayton

    Well what can I say…..I look at many pre-wedding shoots but this was brilliant! Refreshing, fun and totally different! Hope this lovely couple have a fabulous Wedding day, long and happy life together.

    Carol xx

    Reply

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