They met online. First date at Fairgame in Canary Wharf. And somewhere between the arcade games and the conversation, that was that.
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When Ricky proposed, he planned a puzzle trail across Greece: clues leading to the Love Stone of Aphrodite. Shelley-Ann loves puzzles. He knew that. That's the kind of detail that tells you everything about how someone pays attention to the person they love.
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Now they're planning two celebrations. A small, close family wedding in Northern Ireland. And then Italy: intimate, unhurried, just the people who matter most.
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Elopements and small weddings aren't really about running away from something. They're about running toward it. Toward the day you actually want, without the noise of everyone else's expectations layered on top.
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What changes when a wedding is small is the quality of the quiet. There's more room to breathe. More room for the moments that don't make it onto a schedule: the look exchanged before the ceremony, the way someone reaches for your hand without thinking.
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Those are the moments I'm there for.
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Not to produce a beautiful set of images, though I care about that too. But to make something you'll come back to. Something that still feels real a long time from now.
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If you're planning something small, whether that's a London elopement, a ceremony abroad, or something in between, I'd love to hear about it.

Shelley-Ann & Ricky | A Love Story Without Limits

My dad printed everything.
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He shot on film and he printed on film. Kitchen table mornings, garden afternoons, trips to the seaside and the ordinary weeks in between. Those photographs are still around. You can hold them. They haven't gone anywhere.
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What he didn't do was print the digital ones. And that's where things get murkier. Hard drives fail. Cloud subscriptions lapse. Phones get lost or upgraded and the migration doesn't quite work. The thing you thought was safely stored somewhere turns out not to be.
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A print is different. It exists in the world. It sits on a shelf, or in an album, or in a box under a bed where someone finds it thirty years later and stops what they're doing.
I think about this a lot when I'm editing weddings. These images are not just nice to look at now. They're the version of you that your children will one day find. The proof that you were young and nervous and happy and completely certain about this one thing.
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That deserves more than a folder on a laptop.
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I don't have a strong opinion on format. An album, prints, a canvas, all of it works. What I do feel strongly about is that your photographs should have a physical form somewhere. Something you can hold. Something that doesn't need charging.
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If you'd like to talk about printing options when we work together, just ask. It's something I'm always happy to help through.

Why I Always Encourage Couples to Print Their Photos

They'd been placed at desks next to each other. For months, they found reasons to stay close: longer lunches, conversations that ran over. Eventually they stopped pretending there wasn't something there.
Thatcher is from North Carolina. Sean is from Derby. They met at work in London and now it's the city they share.
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We spent an early Sunday morning at Embankment, before the tourists and before the noise. The Thames, the bridges, the light still a bit hazy. They were completely relaxed with each other in that way that takes years to build. There's a different kind of ease between people who are also genuinely best friends, and you could see it in everything.
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The laughter. The way Sean caught Thatcher's eye mid-sentence. The moments where neither of them was performing anything.
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Those are always the best ones to photograph.
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Engagement sessions are good for a few things. The photographs, yes. But also just getting used to being together in front of a camera, somewhere you actually like, without the weight of a wedding day around you. By the time we got to the end of the morning, it felt entirely natural. That ease tends to carry through to the wedding day itself.
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Most people find it's easier than they expected.

Thatcher & Sean | Engagement Session | Embankment, London

It was a bright July day in Stepney, and St Dunstan &amp; All Saints was exactly what a church wedding should feel like. Old stone, high windows, the kind of quiet that settles over a room just before a ceremony begins.
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Emma wore a Halfpenny London gown. That particular London brand that manages to feel both bridal and completely modern at the same time. Manolo Blahnik shoes. Handcrafted jewellery from Juni. Hair and makeup by Alev Miller. Flowers by Emmy Bloom, who has a way with arrangements that never looks overdone.
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After the ceremony, they made their way to Covent Garden in a vintage London bus. It's the kind of detail that sounds showy on paper but in person just felt like them: a little theatrical, a lot of fun.
The reception was at Rucola at The Conduit, and they ended the evening at the Nomad Hotel. The whole day moved at a good pace. No rushing, no waiting. Just the day unfolding the way a good wedding should.
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What I remember most is the look on Michael's face when Emma walked in. He thought he'd composed himself. He hadn't, quite.
 
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Photography: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/simonehughesphotography/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Simone Hughes</a> | Hair &amp; Make Up: <a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" href="https://www.instagram.com/alevmiller/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Alev Miller</a> | Flowers &amp; Decoration: <a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" href="https://www.instagram.com/emmybloom.ldn/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Emmy Bloom</a> | Jewellery: <a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" href="https://www.instagram.com/junijewellery/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">JUNI</a>&nbsp;| Bridal Dress: <a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" href="https://www.instagram.com/halfpennylondon/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Halfpenny London</a> | Bridal Shoes: <a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" href="https://www.instagram.com/manoloblahnik/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Manolo Blahnik</a> | Ceremony: <a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" href="http://www.stdunstanstepney.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">St Dunstan &amp; All Saints Church</a> | Hotel: <a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" href="https://www.instagram.com/thenomadhotel/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NoMad London</a> | Catering and Reception: <a style="color: rgb(149, 165, 166);" href="https://www.instagram.com/theconduitlondon/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> Rucola at The Conduit London</a> | Transport: <a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" href="https://www.instagram.com/london_retro_bus_hire/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">London Retro Bus Hire</a>

Emma & Michael | St Dunstan & All Saints Church | Rucola at The Conduit

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Sally grew up in Indiana. Reece is from somewhere considerably less landlocked. They met at church, started spending time together, and somewhere along the way the sea became part of their story.
Shoreham Harbour is where they paddleboard. Where they crab fish on slow afternoons. Where they've accumulated the kind of private memories that belong to a place. It made obvious sense to come back here for their engagement session.
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The light on the water was good. They were easy with each other, always moving, always laughing at something. There was no point in the day where either of them seemed aware of the camera, which is exactly how it should be.

Sally & Reece | Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex

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Ten years together. High school sweethearts who made it all the way to an engagement, which is the kind of thing that sounds simple and is actually everything.
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They chose Hampstead Hill Garden and Pergola, which is one of those London spots that feels genuinely hidden even though it isn't far from anywhere. The pergola is overgrown in the best way. The light filters through in soft columns. It's the kind of place where you don't have to do very much to make beautiful photographs. You just have to pay attention.
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Jonas and Andy walked through it all slowly, pausing when they felt like pausing. There was a lot of laughter. There was also a lot of quiet: the comfortable kind, between two people who have been in each other's company long enough to not need to fill the silence.
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A decade is a long time. You could see it in the way they were together.
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If you're newly engaged and looking for somewhere in North London that earns its beauty without trying too hard, it's worth knowing this place exists.

Jonas & Andy | Hampstead Hill Garden & Pergola

"Simone arrived at the venue on our big day and captured everything and more. We were blown away by the photos when we received them, the attention to detail and ability to capture our full day without it feeling like a photoshoot was amazing."

Jake & Kelsey

"I wanted to say how much we love the wedding photos they are so wonderful, thank you so much, we will treasure them forever."

Emma & Michael

"Simone made us both really comfortable and at ease when doing our engagement shoot. It made for a really fun day as well as getting great pictures for us to treasure!"

Matt & Natalie

"We had an amazing engagement shoot with Simone. The time flew and we had such a great time! Needless to say we just got our photos back and they’re gorgeous!! Thank you Simone for such a fantastic shoot!"

Aiana & George

“Simone was amazing throughout our wedding. She captured the best bits and did so very discreetly. We would recommend Simone to anyone for a wedding or special occasion”

Anna & Josh

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Just the two of you. Or close to it. Three hours is enough time to do this properly when the guest list is small and the day isn't trying to be anything other than what it is. No filler. No rushing. Just a quiet, unhurried record of something that mattered. This one is for elopements with up to 10 guests — the kind of day where the focus stays where it should.

Intimate Elopement (3 Hours)

For the people who kept the list short on purpose. Registry ceremonies, town hall weddings, church services with a lunch afterwards, this is the package for a day that's intentionally small. Six hours covers everything that matters without padding it out. Straightforward coverage, honestly documented.

Town Hall & Small Wedding (6 Hours)

A full, relaxed record of the day, without the production. Eight hours covers most of what a wedding day actually is. Getting ready, the ceremony, the in-between bits, the meal, the first speeches, the point where everyone stops being nervous and starts having fun. I'll be there for all of it, working quietly in the background. We'll also spend some time together before the day, a connection session to get comfortable with each other and make sure the day itself feels easy.

Full Day Wedding (8 Hours)