If you would have told me nine years ago when I started this business that we would be given the opportunity to travel outside of the country, I would have stared at you in complete disbelief. In high school, I had dreams of traveling abroad and even got as far as renewing my passport after I graduated. But it didn’t pan much further than that. As this business began and our family grew, that dream got pushed to the wayside. Was it still a dream, or a bucket list idea? You bet – but it wasn’t something I was chasing after.
Up until this point, Chris was the only one out of the two of us who really could be considered a “world traveler”. After all, he spent 15 months in Afghanistan and even stepped foot outside the terminal in Ireland on his way home! (Let’s be honest, I don’t count that as traveling to a different country, though he begs to differ. 😉 )
It wasn’t up until just a few months that our dreams of traveling would shortly become a reality – we just didn’t know it yet. Enter Kristy and Ryan. Kristy’s mom reached out to me last year to discuss plans for their upcoming wedding in January at Channel Side and mentioned that she (Kristy) didn’t live here, but in fact in England where Ryan is stationed for the Air Force. We wouldn’t meet Kristy and Ryan until months after, and when we did I poked fun at the idea of us shooting their wedding across the pond, instead of the states. (All in good fun, of course!) But, with just a few weeks to go before the wedding, Ryan sent a message to us asking if we would be up for traveling to England after the wedding to shoot their newlywed session. England is home to them, it’s where they’ve spent the first few years of their married life together, and traveling has become a part of who they are. It didn’t make sense to hold their shoot anywhere else!
We can’t even begin to express to you how grateful we are for the opportunity they have given us. It was a true, and amazing gesture, and even more so, something we will never forget. Not only because of the sites we saw but because of who we spent it with. Kristy and Ryan welcomed us into their homes with open arms and treated us as though we were not just friends, but their family. They took us to so many amazing places and left our hearts filled to the brim with a joy and thankfulness that just cannot be expressed through words.
On a personal level, this trip has awakened my heart to the reality that there are not limits to what can be hoped for and achieved when you pray for something. It might not be answered at that exact moment, but when God says it’s time, you don’t sit and question it. You just go! In every aspect of this thing we call “work”, God has connected us to the most incredible clients, who have become friends on so many levels. He has taken us on so many amazing adventures, and given us incredible opportunities not only for us to grow together, but for us to grow and serve so many others.
This trip, to say as the locals do, was absolutely brilliant. We hope to get back across the pond again somedy, but until then here’s a recap from our trip!
Day one we hit the ground running. Ryan briefed us on jet lag before our trip and reminded us that when we got off the plane DO NOT SLEEP. (We slept on our 7 and a half hour flight, anyway.) So day one we headed down to Bury St. Edmunds, to see the Abbey, the town of Bury and the St. Edmunds Cathedral. 
The inside of St. Edumunds was breathtaking, but not the most breathtaking on our trip…
From Bury, we headed over to Mildenhall to see the Holy Trinity Church.
After walking through Mildenhall, we started to head back home on Day one – but not before stopping at the town of Lavenham, for a little Harry Potter hunting. 
If you’ve ever seen Harry Potter, walking through Lavenham will make you feel like you are wandering through the streets of Godric’s Hollow. Lavenham was used as inspiration for the design! 🙂
I mean this could be Harry’s House! 
Of course had had to hop in the phone booth! And yes, they all still work!
The inside of St. Peter and St. Paul’s Church. 
There’s no distortion in this image, that house really was crooked! I mean, wonky. 😉
Day two of our trip we headed down to Cambridge. It was probably the COLDEST day while we were there. (It was windy and only about 48 degrees!) We started our walk through the town and we were in awe! A college town immersed in so much history and beautiful architechture.
Of course we had to get some shots of Kristy & Ryan together! 
Straight out of Harry Potter, I swear!
This is “Punting”! A little tour down the rivers behind the college! 
This is called the “bridge of sighs” — and I agree. 
We ate lunch at the Eagle Bar, which is one of the most famous places in Cambridge. During WW II , pilots would come and inscribe their names onto the ceiling using a candle, a lighter, or yes, lipstick. It was quite a piece of history! 
After lunch we headed into Kings College, and friends, even though this is a beautiful Chapel, it’s still not the one that was the most breathtaking… 😉 
Love this lady!
After our adventures in Cambridge we stopped at Ely Catherdral on the way home. And friends, THIS was the most breathtaking Cathedral we saw on our trip. 
These doors!!
Before we began the sightseeing portion of our day three, we headed over to the region of the Cotswolds (which is the cutest area I have EVER seen!) for Kristy and Ryan’s newly wed session!
(To see their session in full, check back in a few days!)
When we finished at the Cotswolds, we hit the road and traveled west to visit Bath, and then south to see the iconic Cliffside and finally ending day four of trip in London! 
It was SO warm standing next to these waters – we really didnt even need our coats!
After Bath, we headed south to the Jurassic Coast to find Durdle Door… Which totally sounds like something from out of Lord of the Rings! (And looks that way too!) The trek down the cliffside is VERY steep, and the hike back UP was even more enduring, but it was SO worth the climb and the wind to stand on that coast line! We could have walked that beach for hours! 
Finally on the last day of our trip and our way home from Durdle Door, we made our way to London. We caught the tube to the heart of the city and passed through the crowded streets past Big Ben and Westminister and ending our journey with a quick hello to the Queen!
We’ve been back on U.S. soil for almost 3 days, and I’m still readjusting to time switch! If you ever get the opportunity to travel, or go on the adventure of a lifetime – jump on the chance… and bring a really wide lens. It helps! 🙂
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