Amanda & Aaron

Their Story

Eleven Hours on a First Date. A Lifetime to Follow.

Aaron and Amanda’s first date began with a wrong station and ended with a rush for the last trains.

In between came sunset on the Thames, arcade games, pizza and a walk along Embankment. They talked about everything you’re supposedly meant to avoid on a first date, from politics and religion to exes and baby names. Eleven and a half hours later, neither was in much doubt. They both say that was the day they fell in love.

Their wedding at Hampstead Garden Suburb Synagogue brought that same mixture of affection, humour and openness into a celebration with 180 friends and family.

Before the day, they told me exactly what they hoped their photographs would hold. In twenty years, they wanted to remember why they were smiling. The joke behind an expression. The feeling of being close. The people sharing it with them. That gave me something much more personal to work towards than a list of photographs.

Room to Be Themselves

By the wedding, Aaron and I had already spent plenty of time talking. He told me that our open communication was one of the reasons they had chosen me. There was a friendship there, and a trust I wanted to look after.

Their brief made room for both sides of their relationship: the intimate, romantic moments and the willingness to have a laugh at themselves. The photographs needed to feel like the same two people who loved a night on the sofa together as much as a date in London.

The traditions mattered deeply, too. Beforehand, they had spoken to me about the signing of the ketubah, the unveiling, Amanda circling Aaron beneath the chuppah and the breaking of the glass. Understanding what mattered to them helped me approach the day with attention to the moments they most wanted to keep.

A Little Support When It Mattered

There were points when the organisation of the day became difficult. I stepped in to help gather people for photographs and bring some direction when it was needed.

Just as valuable was finding room for a little humour. When things feel frustrating, having someone nearby who can help you laugh again can make a difference.

Afterwards, Aaron and Amanda wrote that I had “cheered us up when things seemed bad” and “brought levity to our celebration”. Those words have stayed with me. How they felt while the photographs were being made mattered as much as what they would eventually see in them.

Before They Had Even Seen the Photographs

During the wedding meal, I sent Aaron a link to their previews. He hadn’t spotted the message, so I walked over to let them know.

They both got up, leaned across the table and pulled me into a bear hug. They hadn’t opened the link yet.

For all the photographs from their wedding, that is one of my own clearest memories: the two of them, still in the middle of their celebration, delighted that a little of it was already there to revisit.

Later, their message was simple: “We’ve only seen the previews so far but we LOVE our photos so far.”

They had asked for photographs that would bring them back to how it felt. It meant a great deal to see that connection beginning while the day was still unfolding.