Valentines Love Shoot… Laurie & Hannah

I have a rather special post for you this lovely Valentines day. Hannah actually bought Laurie a voucher for the photo shoot last Valentines Day and they had the shoot on a beautiful November Day last year. They have the most wonderful meeting story which they very kindly shared with me and the fab wedding blog Bloved for a feature and it seems apt that I share this with you today. Read all the way to the end as there is a little surprise!

“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!

he 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 sangria’s 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!”

Hannah and Laurie are now renovating a house in Norwich which they hope to move in to soon and I am thrilled to share that on Christmas Eve Laurie got down on one knee and proposed in their special place of Southwold! They are now planning their wedding for the end of 2012, huge congratulations to them both, I can imagine picnics with their children and grandchildren in years to come on this very special beach…