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Italian job was a busman’s holiday
It was the Italian Job with a difference when wedding photographer John Grayston completed a “dream assignment” – all expenses paid.
John, of Lifestylefoto.com based in Buckshaw Village, Euxton, couldn’t believe his luck when the bride and groom offered to fork out an extra £500 as part of their £17,000 wedding budget just to have him at their special day in Desenzana del Garda near Milan.
They paid for his flights, accommodation and car hire and John, 43, didn’t even need to give it a second thought.
He said: “I was really shocked at first, but I was always going to say, ‘yes’.
“It was so different from a wedding in England because you have more of a guarantee that the weather will be good abroad; you always need a Plan B in England, so it was easier in that respect.”
The happy couple, Ian Knapgate and Nina Lorenzini, wanted John to be their photographer so much that they dismissed the cheaper option of hiring an Italian photographer.
Nina, 26, a primary school teacher who grew up in Preston before moving to Italy now lives in Bedfordshire with her law enforcement husband. She said: “The photo album is one thing from the wedding day that you keep forever, so we were willing to fork out the extra expense to have John there.
“He did my friend’s wedding in York last year and presented a slide show of photographs telling the couple’s story, which I just thought was amazing.
“We did consider going with an Italian photographer, but we thought the language barrier would be difficult.
“It was definitely worth choosing John, I’m very happy with the results.”
The couple’s photo album cost £1,200, which includes the £500 they spent on John’s flights and two nights’ stay in the four star Aquila D’Oro Hotel.
The ceremony took place on June 3 in the hotel’s gardens on the banks of Lake Garda, and the newly-weds stayed in Desenzana del Garda for a week, along with some of their 60 guests.
John said: “I actually went out to Italy three days ahead of the event so I could make myself familiar with the location, and paid about £200 for that myself.
“You could say I had a bit of a holiday; I just had to.”
John is used to travelling for his work, and has done weddings in Northern Ireland, Cornwall and London, but he’d never been offered a job like this before.
He said: “When I was asked to do the gig, I just thought, ‘Wow, this is going to be stunning’.
“And the couple look like models, so from a photographer’s viewpoint, you just couldn’t take bad photos.”
Nina, who lived inn Italy for several years as a youngster before returning age six, studied for her A-Levels at Preston’s Cardinal Newman College. She wanted to get married in Italy because her Dad is from there.
She managed to get Ian on board when she promised him that the food would be amazing.
Her parents, Sue and John Lorenzini, now run Lorenzo’s restaurant in Freckleton.
Ian, whose family is from Wales, met Nina in 2003 when they both attended Liverpool’s John Moores University.
He proposed to her during a gap year from studying when they visited Ayers Rock in Australia.
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Weather for Preston
Friday 25 May 2012
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Temperature: 13 C to 24 C
Wind Speed: 18 mph
Wind direction: East
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Temperature: 12 C to 22 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: East
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