Rebecca & Karl

The very lovely Rebecca and Karl, the team behind one of our favourite stationery companies, Wildflower Illustration Co., enchant us on a daily basis with their beautiful Instagram feed. When we heard they were engaged and that Millie & Jo at Millie Benbow Photography were shooting their pre-wedding session, we just knew it was going to be beautiful. And here's the evidence...atmospheric, emotive, and raw, while simultaneously being sweet, caring and romantic. Honestly, it's a whirlwind of feelings and just serves again to show why having a engagement shoot is such a good idea. Please take a moment to read Rebecca's beautiful words too, they truly sum up why photography is such a special thing.

Rebecca the Bride-to-be: In May, almost exactly two months before our wedding, we went to the Brecon Beacons with Millie & Jo of Millie Benbow Photography for our engagement shoot. I had decided fairly early on that I wanted to have an engagement shoot, partly because I knew it would help Karl and I feel more comfortable in front of the camera on the day itself, and partly because I was really keen to get some photographs of us ‘as we are’ most of the time. I was so pleased when during our first Skype call, Millie & Jo said that they would love to do a ‘wild’ shoot somewhere, as I felt it would suit us so well. It didn’t take us long to decide on the Brecon Beacons. We are probably both at our happiest in the wilderness, with mountains and rivers framing the horizon. It also, of course, meant that Martha our 7 month old ‘sprippet’ could come along too. We stayed at the Felin Fach Griffin, which was the perfect location. We shared a wonderful supper with Millie & Jo on the Saturday evening, before getting an early night for our planned 4.30am start! We wanted to catch the early morning light and mist in the valley, and we were certainly rewarded for our eagerness. The weather perfect for the whole day; atmospheric in the morning and filled with soft afternoon sunlight as the day went on. The day was so wonderful, filled with such genuine laughter and conversation, that I sometimes almost forgot that they were stealing shots of us as we ambled along. Millie and Jo showed us a few previews on the back of their camera screen throughout the day, so I already knew that we were in for a treat, but I still didn’t realise quite how incredible the photographs would turn out to be. We are now in possession of the full set, and I am thrilled. Looking through them, a quote came into my mind that I heard a few years ago: “We take photos as a return ticket to a moment otherwise gone.” – Katie Thurmes This seems relevant already, as the photographs brought each feeling of the day back to me in vivid detail. But I am sure it will be a photo set that we look back on for years from now, and those feelings will be all the more pronounced as time passes, and the nostalgia builds.