Hang out the bunting: classic country garden in Staffordshire

E-J and Ben: In the beginning

Chattering happily to Ben in a restaurant in 2002, Emily-Jane (E-J) was struck by how different this first date was. “We met when I was at university in Manchester,” E-J says. “Ben is older than me, and I remember thinking what a nice change it was to go out for a meal on a date, rather than to the half-price pint night at the union.”

The couple clicked straight away, and five years later, they were celebrating their anniversary at a restaurant in Paris when Ben got down on one knee. “I was absolutely stunned,” E-J remembers. “In fact I was so surprised that I think my response was ‘are you joking?’ But of course he wasn’t and I said yes.”


Photography by Lawson Photography (lawsonphotography.co.uk)