love shoot: from casabalanca, with love {hannah & laurie}

Posted on Tuesday, January 3, 2012 ·

Good morning gorgeous b.loved brides! I hope you are all loving the new look and are finding your way around ok?  If you notice any bugs please do let me know and we’ll get them fixed!

Don’t forget to check out the launch giveaway, with lots of amazing prizes to be won, including a love shoot in Paris this is one not to miss!  Click here to find out how to enter.

I thought long and hard about the first shoot that I wanted to share as b.loved.  I wanted to capture the essence of what b.loved means, inspiration, creativity and style, but above all love.  So when I stumbled upon this gorgeous couple shoot by Norfolk-based photographer Katherine Ashdown I knew it would be the perfect thing to share with you today!  Katherine’s images ooze love, her ability to capture those secret looks and knowing smiles create the perfect images for a couple in love.

Hannah and Laurie aren’t engaged, or even married, but through this shoot they wanted to celebrate and capture just one simple thing, their love.  The images are oh so very pretty (in my opinion you can never beat a beach shoot, after all that’s where Mr B and I celebrated our engagement) but this couple have one simply amazing love story to share.

Driving from Calais to Casablanca in a car worth £100, for charity didn’t really evoke thoughts of love or romance (even with one of the most famous love stories ‘Casablanca’)!  Hannah inadvertently signed up to do it over a few too many drinks with some colleagues, the next day before she had time to say in hindsight it wasn’t for her, she was booked on to do it!  Laurie was with two friends, one who couldn’t even drive but was roped in to provide the much needed laughs and entertainment for what was set to be a very long road ahead!

The female to male ratio was very low on the rally, with only four females (two of which were married and with their husbands) and over 60 men!  Hannah’s car broke down in France and Laurie’s team came to their rescue, that was the first time they met, on a mountain, with Hannah’s car going nowhere quickly! Unfortunately there was nothing they could do for the car though and it had be towed away in Andorra.  For the rest of trip Hannah and her team hitched lifts with the other teams, Laurie never offered though, apparently this was his way of standing out from the other men!  Each evening all the teams would meet and head out for dinner or drink into the small hours in the local bars, however Laurie and Hannah just exchanged smiles at this stage!  It wasn’t until the final evening Casablanca that they first started talking and then they finally stumbled in at 5.00am!  As no cars could be left in Morocco, people made their way back to Spain to fly home.  The final evening they all went out for a sangrias and paella, said there final farewells and all parted direction.  The next day they were both flying back from Malaga.  Laurie’s flight was earlier, so they weren’t due to see each other again in Spain, however Laurie text Hannah saying they needed to come to the airport as the traffic was very bad!  Quickly Hannah and her friends jumped in a taxi to the airport worried about missing their plane due to heavy traffic, to find the roads were clear and there was no traffic.   A few months into their relationship, Laurie admitted that it was a ploy to get Hannah to the airport in time to see him again!

On the second day back Hannah received a text from Laurie saying he was coming to Norwich that weekend to see a ‘friend’.  That Saturday, Laurie jumped in car and drove down to Norwich, knowing no one else in Norwich apart from Hannah!  Their first date was spent in Southwold, walking along the beach and finishing up hand in hand, eating fish and chips on the pier!  This weekend started the first chapter in what was set to be spending every weekend taking it turns going to Manchester and Norwich.  In the 3 years of doing that they only spent a handful apart.  On Christmas Eve 2010, Laurie had the call they were desperate for, he got a job in Norwich!  After a holiday of a lifetime in Australia and Hong Kong, Laurie moved to Norwich in February 2011.  The rest they say is history!

A little bird tells me Hannah & Laurie have just bought their first home and are busy renovating it, I am sure some of these images are going to adorn the walls and I can’t think of a better way to decorate than with love! I hope you both enjoyed your first Christmas in your new home too

Thank you for sharing your story with b.loved, I’m sure this is just the beginning!

Categories: love shoots · Tags: beach, beach huts, katherine ashdown, love shoot

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