A Gorgeous Beach Hut Engagement Shoot at Wells-next-the-Sea: Kerry & Deepan

After working together over the phone and via email for 2 years, Kerry finally met Deepan in the flesh when she went to his office in London. He introduced himself, and when she realised who he was she was speechless at how handsome he was and left open-mouthed, melting at his wonderful smile as he put his hand out to meet hers.

Kerry remembers so clearly her excitement and the butterflies in her tummy as she texted her girlfriends (less than an hour later) to tell them she’d found the man she wanted to marry…

Words by Kerry. Images by Kathryn Hopkins Photography.

He radiated warmth, kindness and positivity from the second he introduced himself to me and I just knew he was exactly who I was waiting to find in life. We spoke for a few weeks and then he asked me to go on a date.

He was the sweetest, most perfect gentlemen and as I would learn over the next 4 years, he genuinely is the perfect gentleman he was on the first date. The last 4 years have been nothing but pure happiness and I’ve never felt more complete than when we’re together.

His positivity, kindness and love have made me a better person I know I can deal with anything in life because I have my pillar of strength behind me all the way.

I always knew we would get married as we had discussed our hopes and dreams for the future and marriage was always a big part of that so the proposal wasn’t a huge surprise, but the way he did it took my breath away.

Every year since we’ve been together we’ve done an annual road trip to my (Kerry) Grandparents’ house in rural France. In the middle of our trip in 2016 we drove to the coast for a day at the beach in Deauville where we went on our first holiday 3 years before. As I sunbathed on the empty beach, Deepan told me he was digging for treasure. A while later he asked me to dig for treasure with him which I wasn’t keen to do as the sun was blazing and I was feeling super relaxed basking in the sun.

After some pestering, I eventually agreed to help him ‘dig for treasure’. As I dug deeper I saw the edge of the box and thought someone had lost their mobile phone. A little more digging and I realised it was a box of some sort… A battery pack maybe? Wiping off the sand, it took a while for me to process that it was in fact, a jewellery box. Open mouthed, I opened the box and looked at Deepan who was smiling ear to ear! He asked me if I would be his wife and I finally got to say yes to the question I knew he’d be asking me one day. There was no one around but us and it really felt like we were the only ones in the world at that moment.

Just when I thought he couldn’t have done a better job of it, he pointed to the Go-pro camera which had been set up earlier and the whole thing had been caught on camera. I love looking back at those photos and laughing at his cunning plan to surprise me. We laughed a lot and

We celebrated by going to the same restaurant we went to on our first holiday there and had martinis on the sea front.

Deepan: I was planning to ask Kerry to marry me at her Grandparents’ house, however, when we got there we saw that the gardener hadn’t been for a while and we spent the first few days trying to cut the 3 acres of grass that had overgrown. It didn’t feel like the right place and wasn’t the setting I imagined so needed to come up with a plan B.

We were going to Paris on the Friday, but I didn’t want to do it there as I felt this was too cliché and obvious. I was only going to do it once so it had to be special and different.

I had decided to take the ring with me the day we went to the beach as I thought there could be a perfect opportunity there. When Kerry laid down to sunbathe I looked around and saw the beach was empty which was perfect as I didn’t want it to be a public moment but one for just the two of us. I buried the ring about 6 inches down marking the sand with an ‘X’ to make sure I didn’t forget where it was.

Trying to get Kerry to dig with me wasn’t easy as she was only interested in sunbathing. But when she eventually did and pulled the box out the look on her face was priceless.

We got to go to Paris as a newly engaged couple instead of getting engaged there so it was exactly how I wanted it to be. We were upgraded in our hotel into the honeymoon suite, and all worked out perfect!

The wedding ceremony will be in the stunning Marble Hall at Holkham Hall which we hope will provide an amazing setting for our guests to watch us as we take our vows. We love architecture and really appreciate the history of such beautiful buildings both internally and externally so Holkham had everything we could imagine in a venue. We knew it had to be our venue.

The reception will be in the newly finished Lady Elizabeth Wing also at Holkham Hall, which is a clean and modern space which really reflects our personalities. Our home is very light and airy, with little colour so when we saw the Lady Elizabeth Wing it felt like we had the best of both worlds. A ceremony in an architecturally aesthetically pleasing venue, and a reception in a very modern light airy space.

We will style the venue with a classic white and green colour scheme with lots of foliage. We also hope to incorporate some nautical ideas subtly throughout since it is by the sea! Kerry is very crafty so expect to see a lot of handmade décor and styling on the day!

On the day we’re most looking forward to celebrating our happiness as a couple and the fact that we are a team, a family, best friends and so much more. We see the wedding as an opportunity to celebrate us as a couple with all of our loved ones surrounding us having an amazing time.

The shoot location was an obvious choice for us. We will be getting married at the outstanding Holkham Hall in Norfolk, Kerry’s favourite place. Holkham beach and Wells-next-the-sea beaches are usually up there at the top of the Britain’s best beach list and there’s no wonder why!

The beach is one mile from Holkham hall and has a lot of sentimental value for Kerry and her family. For generations, Kerry’s family have holidayed there right back to her great grandparents. It holds so many wonderful memories and still to this day we all enjoy an annual family holiday there.

I wanted the engagement session to be on the beach for so many reasons! Mainly because there’s nowhere in the world that makes me as happy as Wells-next-the-Sea. I can’t help but smile and feel full of happiness the way I felt as a child. It has barely changed in the 27 years I’d been going there and is still as beautiful as ever.

We introduced Deepan to our favourite family place a few years ago and he fell in love with it too. It really is like a place stuck in a bygone era. The traditional English family seaside town perfectly preserved.

I knew the beach would be the perfect setting for our photos. The golden sand on a beach that stretches as far as the eye can see, an array of interesting and unique little beach huts and the sea breeze through our hair. It felt so romantic and really allowed us to relax in the happiness of one of our favourite places.

When a place has so much sentimental value, the memories and the reason why you’re there sharing it with your future husband just fills you with a happiness that could never be forced or awkward.

Kathryn, our photographer, was amazing at letting us just be ourselves and the photos really do reflect us the way we are as a couple. When I saw the pictures, they were so much more than anything I had ever expected. It was us exactly as I feel we are, always laughing, smiling, cheekily looking at each other with a grin. Our initial nerves and any awkwardness just fell away as we were able to just enjoy being ourselves. I will love the photos forever and smile every time I look at them.

Love quotes… we knew it was love when…

Deepan

I knew it was love on our first holiday together. After an amazing week travelling around France, we spent a few nights at Kerry’s grandparents’ farmhouse in Beaumesnil. After a day of exploring the French countryside, laughter and toasting marshmallows on the log fire, we were cooking tea together when I looked at her and in that moment realised she was exactly what I’d been waiting for and that one day she’d be my wife.

What was obvious was that she was intelligent, independent, had a great sense of humour, and she could cook which had sealed the deal.

Kerry

I knew it was love when I told him I’d bought Christmas gifts for women and children living in refuges. I worried he’d ask why I’d spent money on buying presents for people I didn’t know.

He didn’t, he asked if he could buy some too. I knew right then we were one and the same and I would always have his support in whatever I wanted to do.

shoot credits / photographer: kathryn hopkins photography

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