Joleen and Tim | Coombe Abbey | Engagement Photographer Coventry

On the 13th September in one of the most beautiful places on earth, Genoa, Italy, Tim was preparing to ask his girlfriend Joleen to be his wife. Tim had it all planned out. They would explore Genoa together, visit Christopher Columbus’ house and at the perfect time he would lead Joleen to a local villa garden, Villa Durazzo-Pallavichini, get down on one knee and ask her to spend the rest of her life by his side. September 13th not only marked their two year anniversary, it also marked the start of their forever together.

For their engagement session, Tim expressed interest in a forest backdrop. He also mentioned Coombe Abbey Hotel as a location close to Joleen’s heart so it wasn’t long before the well-known Coventry hotel and country park became our location for their session.

It turns out you can plan and prepare, but you cannot predict everything to go the way you want it to. Part of the reason I wanted to blog this engagement session was to show just how great Tim and Joleen were! It rained and it poured and they were absolute troopers through it all. Especially since Tim said he hated rain from the get go!

Though I try to encourage my couples to embrace whatever weather we’re dealt with on a shoot, I never thought anyone would take that so literally! What was pinned to be an innocent cloudy day turned into relentless rain from the minuted we arrive. Towards the end of their engagement shoot, muddied feet and all, Tim and Joleen not only kept smiling (which was more than I could ask for!) they put their umbrellas down and let the rain soak them head to toe- a spontaneous moment that created some of my favourite photographs. I hope it was worth it for Tim and Joleen too! ;)