Dramatic wedding shoot in Wales' Snowdonia National Park

I was thrilled to feature this beautiful pre-wedding shoot by KATIE GRANT on the cover of Issue 18 of the MAGAZINE. Captured in the stunning landscape of Snowdonia National Park in Wales, it features a show-stopping dramatic black gown by one of our favourite designers CLAIRE LA FAYE. The beautiful landscape was accented and enhanced with a gorgeous bouquet of seasonal blooms by WILD BUNCH FLOWERS.

Chelsea and Ashley met in 2006, when they were in college and only 17 years old. “It was a case of right person, wrong time,” Chelsea says. But as fate would have it, almost 10 years and several relationships later, they found their way back to each other. They became engaged on Christmas Eve, which was also their third anniversary. Ashley said he had forgotten to get Chelsea a present but, of course, he was kidding and he pulled a black diamond and rose gold ring out of his pocket. To go with Chelsea’s engagement ring, they found Ash’s wedding band at a local jeweller—it is a stunning second-hand black and gold signet ring. He was also gifted gold skull cufflinks to compete his ensemble. “Ash loves anything dark or gothic, and I knew the skulls would be a little touch of his own personality and style,” says Chelsea.

As a great lover of black (which you can see by the custom engagement ring that Ash picked out himself) it was always a kind of dream of Chelsea's to be able to wear black at her wedding. Bending to tradition and opting for a classic white wedding gown, she decided on wearing black for this incredible pre-wedding shoot instead. That's where the stunning CLAIRE LA FAYE gown came in. Living on the border of Wales, they had previously visited and were enamoured with the beauty of the rugged Welsh countryside. On a moody November day they decided to brave the unpredictable Welsh weather and hike Snowdonia to document this special time with photographer KATIE GRANT.