British-born Harry moved to America in the 8th grade (that’s Year 9, to us Brits). He attended Lambert High School, which is where he met the lovely Allison. After high school, the pair went their separate ways for college and work. It wasn’t until 5 years later when Allison moved back to Atlanta that she and Harry reconnected and started dating.
In 2019, after a few years together, it was time for Allison to meet Harry’s extended family in the UK. Thankfully, Allison received the seal of approval, even from Harry’s nana, Hazel, who is a renowned hard nut to crack.
A few months later, on February 13th 2020, Harry whisked Allison away to New York City for her birthday. One morning they went for a stroll in Central Park, when they reached the John Lennon Memorial, Harry dropped to one knee and asked Allison to marry him, to which she promptly said ‘Yes!”.
Unfortunately their euphoria was soon to be interrupted by the arrival of COVID-19, and the couple began their engagement in lockdown at their condo in Atlanta. As the world started opening up again, Allison and Harry began touring wedding venues, and settled on a mountain paradise in North Georgia. They picked 24th April, 2021 for their wedding date, thinking that the Global pandemic would be well and truly over by then. Sadly, that wasn’t the case, and Harry’s UK family weren’t able to attend the wedding.
Fast forward a year, and with COVID restrictions lifting, Allison, Harry, and Harry’s mum began planning a wedding blessing in England, so they could celebrate with their UK family. And that’s when they got in touch with me, to ask if I’d photograph the happy occasion.
On 22nd June, 2022, Harry and Allison had a beautiful wedding blessing at Whalley Church, surrounded by a small group of family and friends. The church was the very same that Harry’s parents were married, and Harry himself was christened.
Allison’s parents, Tyler and Jennifer, also graciously agreed to make the trip to the UK to attend the blessing. This gave them the opportunity to see where Harry was from. Tyler and Jennifer immediately fell for the beauty of the Ribble Valley and are already planning their next trip!
I was on hand to capture all the magical moments during this special celebration. These photos, and the memories they elicit, will last a lifetime and provide a family tale to be told for years to come.
Here are a few of my favourites:
