Trentham Gardens Engagement Shoot | Emily & Ryan

June Evening Setting Sun in Trentham

I’ve actually held a Trentham annual pass for many years and it’s an engagement shoot location I always love to return to shoot. With its forever changing gardens, rural fields, ancient tree lines and statement architecture it’s for sure never hard to find a photograph here and a lot of the time I find myself spoilt for choice and not knowing where to start the shoot.

Emily & Ryan met as pre-teens rowing along the lake together as part of the Trentham Boat Club so it only felt right we return to capture such a defining moment within their lives. With the later opening times, we took advantage and caught the evening sun dropping behind Trentham Park.

I’ve been incredibly keen to push my couple posing on my engagement shoots this year after seeing how much this feeds my actual wedding work. It’s my practice ground and a place to try out new and exciting things which I can then bring to my couples on the biggest of days. For me, it’s important to not take the easy way out when it comes to somewhere as beautiful as Trentham Gardens. I could not look and click the shutter and the photo would probably still be awesome so I was super excited to push myself more. So rather than use the Medusa and Perseus statue, bring the Fairies into the frame or get some comedy in the Monkey Forest I was keen to look a little deeper. 

It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by what the Italian gardens offer so I used the space as a warm-up taking a few shots here and there. We then ventured up to the garden installations including the Secret Garden area before seeing the sun hit the wild grass on the ridge of the parkland at the top of the estate.