Heather & Gareth | Train Station Love Story Engagement Shoot - 21st April 2012

gaHeather and Gareth's story on how they meet is absolutely adorable, this was the inspiring and lovely story Heather wrote to me on how they meet.

'So, a little about us. We met almost 4 years ago, when we worked for competing companies, both organising tailor-made holidays by rail around the world. I was living in York, Gareth in London. We had both travelled out to Switzerland to see a stretch of the Bernina Express being awarded UNESCO World Heritage Status and we boarded the same train at Zuerich Hbf, having never met before. We were in first class and when the trolley came round, I assume, rightly, I maintain, that the refreshments would be free of charge. The very kind waiter poured and handed me a coffee, then presented me with a bill for 5 Francs. Completely without cash, I looked around the carriage in panic in search of a familiar face. Gareth spotted my distress, called the waiter over and very generously settled my bill, with a smile. And so the tone was set for the future.

We were in Switzerland together for only a few days, but by the time I boarded my plane back to the North of England, we'd barely looked away from one another. We stayed in touch on our return to the UK, determined to remain friends but not to get embroiled in a long distance relationship. After a month, and one particularly long late night phone call, I called in sick to work, almost unheard of before or since and boarded a train to London, convinced I was being unforgiveably reckless. 

Fortunately, Gareth was as delighted as I was to meet again, and came to meet me at the station. We had a really quite nauseatingly romantic reunion on the platform at Kings Cross and have been inseparable ever since. I had to gently break it to my boss that I was leaving my job and moving down South to be with a Railbooker, the enemy! I don't think they ever forgave me. Gareth still works organising rail holidays, and I work as an Account Manager for the open-top sightseeing bus operator in London. 

Transport is very definitely in our blood, and we take almost all of our holidays by rail (Oz was a little beyond our skills, although we did explore the Blue Mountains by train). We're planning to take our honeymoon by rail.

I do want to emphasise, having said all of the above, that we're not total rail geeks. We don't own thermos', notebooks or anoraks, I promise. We just love the experience of travelling by rail, seeing sights from the window of a train that you'd never get from an airplane and soaking up the unique atmosphere of a railway station with the exception of Waterloo at 8am on a Monday morning, of course.'

I meet Heather and Gareth at the chapanyne bar in Kings Cross station and loved the two of them immediatly, Heather looked stunning and Gareth very dapper. They kindly bought me a champayne and we sat down to chat about their exciting wedding and take some photos of them sharing and celebrating their wonderful engagement.

For the rest of the shoot, we played out a gorgeous love story, how they catch each other glancing at each other from afar and then when he drops his paper she runs to give it back and he buys her a coffee, they fall in love, drink champagne together, dance under the sun and then its time for her to get her train, they run to catch it and just as she gets on the train she changes her mind and they run back down the platform happily ever after.