Mina and Pete - Mina gets ready for their big wedding day!

This was a very special assignment for me. For a change, I wasn’t actually going to Mina and Pete’s wedding as their Devon wedding photographer, oh no, I was going as a fully-engaged guest as Mina didn’t want me to miss out on being able to celebrate their big day with them - and that was something I was rather looking forward to as a) Mina (or Miss Minz as she is affectionately known to me) is a long-time, beloved friend and I couldn’t wait to be fully present watching her marry her dearest lovely Pete and b) it would be fun to see things from the other side, especially as my friend, Lee Maxwell, was shooting the day. I did, however, not leave my wedding photographer duties behind entirely for the day as I had offered to shoot the morning as Mina got ready, as a wedding present to her. Also, from an entirely selfish point of view, it meant I got to see one of my loveliest buddies at one of the most special times in her life - a time we’d wondered and chatted about many times over the years on our frequent stomps whilst putting the world to rights. I felt so proud to be there to be able to document this momentous morning for Mina and her closest. It was such a beautiful morning full of lots of laughter with Mina’s lovely Mum, Carol, and gorgeous bridesmaids Stacey, Rachel and Kate. A very relaxed morning although as Carol was ready to leave to go to the venue, and Mina’s dad arrive, emotions definitely started to come to the fore - a few lumps in throats had started! After somewhat meanly laughing at Mina whilst she struggled to get her dress off its impossibly high hanging place (you know the rules, “photos first” - sorry Buddy!) I finally decided to put her out of her misery and apply my height advantage so she could get helped into her wedding dress by her crew. Wow, I mean, I knew she was going to look insanely gorgeous (I can hear you cringing whilst you read this bit, Minz!) but my, she looked like a Hollywood-of-old knock-out pin-up, so classy and beautiful. Definitely a lump in throat moment for me…and then Mina went to meet her dad, and some of my favourite Dad-Daughter moments to date as they oscillated between tears and laughter with their shared great sense of humour. Such a beautiful morning, that I was privileged to be part of and able to capture. Miss Minz and Mr Minz, you both are such a perfect match and deserve so much happiness, I am so glad you found each other. Love you lots, Buddy xx