Local man and his fiancee get engagment pictures taken at IKEA

James McAlister and his bride-to-be GIllian Boyd contacted the furniture store to find out if they could have their engagement pictures taken instore.

Engagement photographs used to be a thing of the past here, but in the US, professional engagement photographs are common practice.

Gillian, who is a law student from Bangor explained: "James and I have a shared love for each other and IKEA, so we thought it would be the perfect place for our engagement photographs.

"The idea started following a conversation with our friends Richard Torrens and Shelley Garrett of Ten21 Photography, and we all thought it would be stylish, colourful, different and really fun.

"We had seen a few engagement sessions in the IKEA stores in America and thought they looked fantastic, so we got in touch with the Belfast store.

"We've spent the last six months in IKEA Belfast planning our new home together and we'll be asking for IKEA vouchers as wedding presents", said Gillian.

Marketing Manager at IKEA Belfast, Christie Gregg, said, "It was a very unusual request but one which we were happy to accommodate.

"We had heard of engagement photos being taken in the U.S. stores but this is definitely a first for Belfast!"

Ten21 photographer Richard Torrens added: "As a photographer, it's always great when a couple come to us wanting a creative and different angle. IKEA was the perfect venue for James and Gillian and the photography session was full of colour and a lot of fun. The pictures very much reflect their personalities and, of course, their passion for Swedish furniture!"