James & Charis chose one of their favourite clifftop walks for their couples shoot in August, which overlooked the beautiful Jurassic Coast in Dorset. Have a scroll to see what we got up to and to hear all about their proposal, their wedding plans and even some top tips from the Bride to be!!
When and how did you meet each other?
We met in September 2017 at our church. I had only just moved to Bournemouth for work and was living with the pastors so went along to the church service the morning after I moved down!
Our pastor introduced us whilst James was sitting on the sound desk getting ready for the service!
Describe each other in 3 words.
3 words is tough but … I would describe James as fun, handsome and steadfast. James – ‘I would describe Charis as beautiful, loving and perfect!’
What are your favourite things to do together?
We love being outside in nature so you’ll most likely find us walking somewhere in the Purbecks (or at the nearest cafe or pub for a well earned treat!) James also loves movies and although I usually fall asleep halfway through, we do enjoy watching films together! I do manage to stay awake through most of them now, with some breaks in the middle!
We also love going to CrossFit together and are quite competitive with each other which the coaches find very amusing! Over lockdown we decided to pick up mountain biking again and love cycling to Wareham forest so James can enjoy the technical ‘off-roading’ trails!
Tell us about your proposal.
We’d talked about getting engaged for a while but James said he wanted it to be a surprise, so he had asked me to get my ring finger sized before the end of 2019 so I wouldn’t have a clue!
It was the day after my 21st birthday and James arranged for us to go and watch the sunrise, so we got up before 5am (might I add James is NOT a morning person!!) but he was bright eyed and bushy tailed and even had breakfast for us to cook on the mini bbq! He took us down to our beach hut where he set up the bbq – which wouldn’t light because it was so windy but we finally got it going with the cardboard packaging of the sausages! As we were waiting for breakfast to cook, he took my hand, got down on one knee and popped the question!!
What did you like the most about your engagement shoot?
We absolutely loved our shoot with Aimee, it was so much fun! Aimee gave us some funny little things to do which of course ended in giggles and some amazing faces! I loved being with my best friend in nature and having that captured forever but my favourite part was probably practising our first dance as the sun was setting!
Would you recommend an engagement shoot to others?
100% – it’s such a great opportunity to capture the moment and an engagement shoot is the perfect time to get relaxed in front of the camera. Aimee made us feel so at ease and relaxed from the get go, which really helped us on the day of the shoot and when thinking about our wedding photos. It was so reassuring to know that even if we’re not typically ‘photogenic’, our photos will be absolutely stunning!!
When and where are you getting married?
We’ll be getting married on the 31st July 2021 at our church, followed by a reception at the gorgeous Kingston Country Courtyard in the Purbecks.
What are you most looking forward to about your wedding day? (apart from becoming Mr & Mrs!)
We can’t wait to see it all come together and to have all of our loved ones in one place to celebrate! I also can’t wait to see our wedding photos and to put them up in our new home.
What style of wedding are you planning?
Our wedding will be a rustic, country style with natural flowers and pops of our bold navy and red wine colour scheme. And lights, lots of fairy lights! I just love the atmosphere it brings and as it’s in the summer, I’m hoping the weather is lovely and we’ll get to spread out of the barn into the courtyard.
What have you enjoyed the most about planning your wedding?
I’ve loved putting my dream into action, there’s been lots of dreaming on Pinterest and it’s great to be able to share that with my suppliers so they can make it come to life! I’m also a planner so I’ve been loving the spreadsheets and getting things organised!
Any wedding planning tips for other Newly Engaged / Mr & Mrs To Be?
Enjoy this season!
Your day will come and it’ll be magical, so enjoy every moment!
Also work out your budget and whether there are any non-negotiables. Ours were our venue (I knew I wanted a barn style venue that would be gorgeous for photos as as church has a treasured place in our hearts but isn’t the most photogenic building) and our photographer as these will be cherished forever and be a main feature in new home!
Photos by Aimee Joy Photography – www.aimeejoy.com | info@aimeejoy.com
