Welcome to Friday and we are rocking it into the weekend this week with a fabulous Rock the Frock Paris shoot from Babb Photo. Every time I feature a rock the frock or trash the dress shoot I do always have a twinge of jealousy. Jealousy that this is something that I have been meaning to do for the last 6 years, since my wedding dress was cleaned and stored away, never to see the light of day again.

Plus how can you not be jealous when the rock the frock shoot is set on the stunning streets of Paris! I am also thrilled today to feature for the first time the work of Laura Babb, a photographer whose creative talent I have been been following.

Having photographed Ashley and Rob's wedding during the summer of 2014, the couple decided that they wanted a post wedding shoot and when Laura suggested Paris, the trio set off!

French Wedding Style - Photography © Babb Photo

At the end of the night Rob made an excuse to come and introduce himself to the group I was with. When it came time for Rob to leave, I suggested that he could possibly stay for one more drink. He asked for my number and even though I momentarily forgot it - he rang a few days later to invite me on a date. Two and a half years later Rob and I went on holiday to the south of France and he popped the question in a wonderfully romantic restaurant. Throughout our wedding planning and working with Laura, we knew that we would want to do a rock the frock (and suit) shoot. We thought it sounded like a fun thing to do in the first few months of marriage after all the wedding planning was over - plus it gave us a chance to don our glad rags another time! When we emailed Laura and told her the type of shoot we were looking for, she came back with an exciting idea - that we get the train to Paris! We loved the idea and turned it into a mini (4 month) anniversary weekend. We got an apartment via airbnb in the arrondissement, near Monmatre so we could have space to get ready on the day of the shoot. We travelled to Paris a couple of days before were due to meet with Laura and spent that time taking in the sights and drinking wine in cafes! Outifits - My dress started as a Pronovias Diamanté which I had customised. The bodice was originally a v-neck with straps. I had the straps removed and turned it into a sweetheart neckline by adding lace from the wedding dress which had been worn by my grandmother, mother and sister. I also had a bespoke sash made using more of the material and lace from my grandmother's dress, all of which thrilled my mother when she saw the dress on the day. My shoes were Jenny Packham and Rob hired a classic tailed suit from Austin Reed. On the morning of our shoot, I waited at the bottom of the stairs in our French apartment building, while Rob ran to the high street to hail a taxi in his morning suit - we felt somewhat out of place. After all it wasn't our wedding day! However when we arrived at the first location and Laura started taking photos we had a blast. Passer-by's assumed it was our wedding day and shouted 'felicitations!' as we passed which was really wonderful. A few people even asked to have their photo taken with us!
Throughout the day we went to Parc de Belleville, Monmartre (and the amazing "I love you wall" ), Rue Dénoyez (which is a mecca for Paris' graffiti artists and stunning as a result), Sacré Cœur where Laura staged a confetti shot on the cobbled streets and we finished the main part of the day at the Eiffel Tower where the evening light was perfect. After a long day, Laura, her second and the two of us enjoyed a well-earned glass of wine together. We also snuck in a final shot on the Metro on the way home which we think looks brilliant especially because it reminds us of the strange looks we were getting from the other passengers. We were really glad to have a few extra photos of just the two of us for our photo album, which had been tough to fit in during the craziness of the actual wedding day. And of course, spending a few hours on our 4 month wedding anniversary wandering the streets of Paris in my wedding dress getting beautiful photos taken was such a wonderful experience and a lot more fun than we could have hoped for!"

Ashley takes us through their love story and adventure in Paris: " We were both invited to a mutual friend's launch party for their new venture and each thought it sounded like a fun evening. We were both single and hoping just to meet someone nice. It was near the end of the evening that we noticed each other across the room.

That is it, a rock the frock shoot is going on my Goals list for the year!

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