Lauren + Masih by Taylor Hughes Photography - Together Journal

We also had lots and lots of fun together and did so from the very beginning.

Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love…

Masih is a Paramedic working for the London Ambulance Service. He moved here from Australia in 2016 for a ‘working holiday’ where he planned to have a couple of years of hard work and even harder play before moving back down under. Although 8.5 years later, he is still here and yet to go back… Lauren works for an airline and grew up in the Berkshire countryside. We both LOVE to travel, especially around Europe. Masih has almost ticked off visiting all countries in Europe, something we try to do as much as possible, even if it’s just a day trip to a new country. We love having fun together, spending lots of time with family and friends, going out for dinners, taking long walks across the countryside, and trips to the beach (never as good as the beaches in Aus, though!). One day, we imagine we will emigrate back to Australia, but for now, we are still here in the UK, living together in Berkshire, and we recently found out we are pregnant with our first baby.

How/where/when did you meet – and what were your first impressions?

We met in a bar in Paddington called Pergola back in 2018, now sadly closed down. Masih was living in Hackney, East London, at the time, and Lauren was from outside of the City, a town in Berkshire in the Countryside. Lauren was out for a friend’s birthday and had just missed a train home from Paddington station, so they’d decided to continue the evening in a local bar instead of waiting on the platform in the cold for the next one. (It was a very cold December night). Masih had never been so far west of London (!!) but was attending to a friend’s leaving before they moved back to Australia, so they had to show face. We noticed each other across the bar; Lauren sent her best friend to call him over, and we had a quick chat and exchanged numbers, and both went our separate ways for the remainder of the evening. I (Lauren) remember the first moment I saw Masih, he was walking away from the bar taking a sip of his drink, wearing a big shearling jacket, hair gelled back and I remember thinking he looked like A C Slater from Saved by the Bell. Masih says he thought Lauren was the most beautiful girl he’d ever seen (especially her side profile) and turned to his best friend to reiterate before hyping each other up to come over.

When did you first realise that this was someone you’d like to spend the rest of your life with?  

Lauren – I wouldn’t say there was an exact moment but, as we all do, we went through some tough times in life, with family, health etc and Masih was always there, never scared to show up and get stuck in. He always just got involved like he was one of the family from day 1, and that was always so meaningful to me. We also had lots and lots of fun together and did so from the very beginning.

Masih – After our first date I knew this was something I wanted to be serious about. From then as I got to know Lauren more, I knew she possessed so many of the qualities I wanted in a life partner. She is so caring, always wants me to be happy and wants to live a happy life all about family. 

Was there a proposal? Tell us a little about it…

There was. Masih had to attend a ‘last minute’ training day at work, which was frustrating for Lauren because we’d planned to do something together that day and, as we’re both shift workers, sometimes we can feel like ships in the night. My mum and sister then both cancelled the dinner plans we had that evening. It started off as a very disappointing day! I then received a message to open a hidden letter in our flat, which led to a trail of hidden letters… a treasure hunt. I didn’t think too much of it as Masih had done this for me before and sent me on a Treasure Hunt across London. Masih is very romantic and likes to have fun, so I just thought this was another one of the things he likes to do sometimes. Letter 1 stated to not take this too seriously and don’t over think it, so that’s exactly what I did. He’d hidden some outfits for me to wear, and after turning the house upside down to find these hidden letters and then trekking across the farm to a local pub in my hunt, a taxi picked me up and drove me to a spot we always like to walk in. Masih then stood there, blindfolded me and walked me to a spot. The thought did cross my mind… was this happening? But I tried not to let my mind run away and potentially ruin something fun if it wasn’t that. I then heard his voice lower as he was talking to me and I thought… this must be it, he must be dropping onto one knee. Lo and behold, he was! We celebrated with Dom Perignon and had a picnic before driving into Windsor, where he’d arranged a surprise celebratory dinner with my mum and twin sister. We then continued the evening with cocktails at the Crazy Bear Hotel.

What was one element you were happy to splurge on? 

Food and drink- we wanted to make sure our guests were having the best time and felt fully looked after.

Did anything happen on your wedding day that you laugh about in hindsight (even if it was stressful at the time)?

Nothing – we’d always told ourselves from the start to not take the day too seriously in that sense, nothing is worth getting upset or stressed over. I feel like the Bride and Groom really set the tone for the whole occasion, we wanted everyone to really enjoy themselves and feel relaxed and have fun!!

Side note – one of the bridesmaids did get her dress accidentally altered 6 inches too short, so I had to panic buy one off eBay about a week before the big day; it had a hole in her chest, but at least it hit the floor! They didn’t tell me about this, though, until a few days before the wedding – and by this point, what else could be done – You couldn’t tell, and my bridesmaids looked absolutely gorgeous! I wanted them to feel like Baby Brides, Heavens Angels, and they did.

Tell us about your main outfits, what was unique, is there a story? The history of the ceremony dress…

Lauren – I’d always thought I’d go for a very understated dress, an anti-bride type of bride, something simple, silk, slip, easy. However, the morning I went wedding dress shopping I received some bad news about my health, long story short I had Thyroid Cancer. (Thankfully, it was all nipped in the bud after a few months, and I was back to full health) However – The idea of ‘simple’ went straight out the window that day! I wanted something sparkly and fun and, as cliché as it is, to feel like a princess! It was the best distraction. When else do you get to wear a proper Bridal dress? Never!!! And I was only planning on doing this once. The budget ended up getting stretched a bit, but I could wear slip dresses to my heart’s content at any other function, so I went head-on into the sequins and pearls.

Masih – I’d always wanted to do Black Tie. I love everyone getting dressed up to the 9’s and looking glam so for me it was always a no brainer. My suit was bespoke, I felt very dapper.