Ray Lo & Yanki, Engagement Shoot

It’s not often that we get to play the tourist but when Ray Lo & Yanki, inspired by the Royal Wedding, contacted us all the way from Hong Kong and asked us for an engagement shoot at London’s tourist hotspots we leapt at the chance! Pausing only to pick up our oversize maps, Union Jack hats and shout “London baby!” at the top of our voices we jumped on the train, cameras in hand and prepared ourselves for a fun-filled weekend in our nation’s capital.

We went to meet the couple at their hotel in Paddington where hair and make-up artist Kaz Fernando had done a fantastic job making the couple look even more glamorous ready for day one of the shoot. Ready for a trip to Westminster Abbey there was really only one type of outfit the William and Kate fans could wear: The future Bride and Groom got their first preview of their wedding day as Yanki stepped out and into the waiting black cab clothed in a beautiful white wedding gown and silken veil, closely followed by Ray Lo in his finest Groomsman attire.

Ray Lo & Yanki are such a fun couple and as it was their first ever trip to London their excitement was bubbling over making for some fantastic natural reaction pics of the pair. You could see they were really enjoying themselves as they stood hand in hand outside the world famous Westminster Abbey and imagined themselves a Prince and Princess for the day. They looked every bit the part as passers-by stopped to take photos, their smiles enchanting, clearly enjoying being stars for the day.

Remaining in the Westminster area we walked around towards another iconic landmark; Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament. With the grand gothic architecture, views to the London eye and the many incredible buildings down the banks of the Thames we were reminded of the first time we visited London and the excitement we felt at this incredible site. As Ray Lo and Yanki took it all in for the first time we were privileged to be a fly on the wall, looking on as they enjoyed their holiday together celebrating their engagement.

After a quick costume change (with Yanki now in a gorgeous purple dress) we moved on down the Royal Wedding trail to Buckingham Palace, pausing in front of those famous gates for some more great shots. Next it was time to relax for a while in the Royal grounds of the stunning St James Park where the couple really cut-loose and started to truly relax in front of the camera.

To finish off the day we moved down the Mall and over to Downing Street, stopping off for photos aside another true British Icon: the classic red telephone box. With the light fading, our cameras weighing heavily around our necks and the couple eager to explore more of London on their own we said goodbye for the night and retired to our hotel rooms (after a proper British pub dinner!)

The following morning, feeling refreshed and thoroughly proud to be British we met up once more with our betrothed Hong Kong duo. For this final day of shooting Yanki came dressed in a festive Yellow dress, Ray Lo looking cool and stylish in a lighter suit jacket and waistcoat. Today we started at St James Palace where our couple, concerned for the welfare of the Royal Princes, took the place of the missing Grenadier guards at the rear gate. After securing the rear of the building we marched around to the front to find that the household cavalry had not abandoned their posts entirely! Happy that the Royal Family were indeed safe we offered a salute to our relief guard and moved on.

The rest of the day was a whirlwind tour of the big smoke featuring Tower Bridge, The Tower of London and many of London’s other incredible tourist spots. Throughout the day the couple clearly enjoyed themselves just as much as we did and we hope that the pictures provide some special memories of both their engagement and of their trip to London. Ray Lo and Yanki are clearly perfect for each other and if the fun we had over those couple of days is anything to go by their wedding (back in Hong Kong) will be utterly amazing! As we left them to enjoy the remainder of their time in the UK and make more plans for their wedding day there was only one thing left to say:

“Ray Lo and Yanki; the best of British to you!”