Manchester Engagement: Amira + Mohamed

Amira contacted me through my Facebook page a few months before her wedding. It's always nice to be contacted directly by the bride herself and was even happier to discover that she was a fellow creative and owned her own business, called Amira Made which creates Islamic greeting cards. I instantly got a sense of her style being fresh, minimal and clean, which is similar to my own photographic style and was pleased to meet her in person over a cup of tea at a local cafe to discuss details of her wedding.

Amira was also keen on having an engagement shoot which always makes me happy as I believe couples that do a pre-wedding shoot are always more relaxed in front of my camera by the time it gets to their wedding day - a dress rehearsal if you like. In theory, I could have called this post "Just Married" because, technically Amira & Mohamed were already married. They had their Islamic wedding ceremony, the nikkah in Libya a few weeks before and had flown into Manchester a few days before their planned British Muslim Heritage Centre wedding party.

Time was short, but we managed to squeeze in the "engagement" shoot, just before the wedding. I always ask my couples to choose the location of the engagement shoot that way it is more personal to them and reflects their personalities. I ask couples to think of things that they like to do and we can build a shoot around that. With Amira & Mohamed, the shoot began at Gelateria, Fresco Freddo's where the couple ordered an ice-cream to share.

Amira's cute bag :-) I have a bit of a soft spot for details and accessories... blame it on my fashion background...

After finishing up at the ice cream palour, we took a stroll through the streets of Manchester towards the Cinema. I took pictures along the way, which allowed me to capture the couple's natural chemistry in a relaxed manner.I purposefully arranged the shoot towards the end of the day when the sun was setting as the light then is extra magic.

These pictures were just in front of St. Peter's Square, by Manchester Central Library. The sun cast beautiful shadows as it set through the buildings

Amira warned me that Mohamed hated having his picture taken and would be shy... this is even more reason to do an engagement or pre-wedding shoot. It gets the groom especially used to being in front of the camera. By the time it comes to wedding, the groom knows what to expect and is always more comfortable.