KENT:
THE PERFECT SETTING FOR ROMANCE
BY ANDRÉ AND LILY / PHOTOS BY AP ART PHOTOGRAPHY WWW. APARTPHOTOGRAPHY. COM
WEDDINGS
IN A WORLD WHERE NO ONE EVER HAS THE TIME TO TAKE TIME, WE MANAGED TO ESCAPE OUR HOME IN SWITZERLAND TO VISIT KENT FOR A WEEKEND, AND WERE VERY PLEASED. LIKE OTHERS, ALL WE HAD SEEN OF KENT IN THE PAST WAS WHEN WE EXITED THE CHANNEL TUNNEL IN FOLKESTONE ON OUR WAY TO OTHER PLACES, NEVER REALLY STOPPING TO ADMIRE ITS BEAUTY. HOWEVER, THE FATIGUE OF A 14- HOUR JOURNEY DID NOT PREVENT US FROM CATCHING A GLIMPSE OF ITS BEAUTIFUL SCENERY; AND WE KNEW WE WOULD HAVE TO COME BACK TO EXPLORE FURTHER. BUT HOW AND WHEN?
We first came to know Pete from Ap Art Photography back in 2008 through the internet, but never met until October 2016. His witty jokes and good sense of humor were not the only things we liked about him: his photographs were absolutely stunning. When he later decided to commit full-time to his passion by becoming a wedding photographer, we were in awe of the creativity and freshness he was able to bring to his photos.
By the time we got engaged, we knew that we wanted Pete’ s flair in our engagement photos. As he lives in Kent and we had wanted to visit for so long, it sounded like the perfect opportunity; we booked our tickets without a second thought, feeling pretty ecstatic.
We arrived at Gatwick early on a Saturday morning and enjoyed a wonderful breakfast in the charming little town of Tunbridge Wells. On our way to Hythe, we discovered the majestic forests of the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. From the scented woods to the salty air of the seashore, it was quite a change from the scenery in Switzerland and we gladly embraced it.
Once we settled in, we met Pete for a couple of drinks at The Gatekeeper Inn in Etchinghill( cozy sofas and fireplace) and later went for a delicious bistro dish at the Tiger Inn in Stowting. Though the night was a bit foggy, we were in love with the quiet charm of the countryside and fell asleep with a smile on our faces.
The sound of seagulls and the waves crashing on the beach woke us up to a bright and sunny day, perfect for our engagement photo shoot. We spent our morning strolling around near the Folkestone Warren, with its gigantic white cliffs and clear blue sea. At lunchtime, we ate a delicious roast at The Butt of Sherry in Hythe’ s quaint High Street. Our appetites now satiated, we took a few shots along Aldington Road and then on to the post-apocalyptic derelict army barracks near Lympne to get some more incredible shots. But the“ end of the world” feeling was never quite like the one we felt in Dungeness. We’ ve never seen a place like this before: tiny old shacks and abandoned rail road tracks, the wind as the only background noise – we felt like we’ d been transported into another dimension; and a rather dystopian one. Yet, maybe due to its emptiness, we felt a calm and peaceful serenity over us.
We finished our session by going to the dunes of Camber in East Sussex, with the most romantic scenery we could have hoped for: a sunset on the beach! Our journey ended in the most typical English way for our tourist eyes: a delightful evening at the Three Mariners in Hythe, singing to our hearts content while drinking good beers.
In short, we were beyond delighted with our weekend engagement photo session in Kent, as it provided us with more than we could have ever expected – delicious food and beverages, wonderful and unique natural wonders for the eye to see, warm and welcoming locals and not to mention a new good friend, Pete.
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