Allison & Tom’s Wotton House Wedding – Wotton House Wedding Photographer & Putney Photographer

“Juliet was so professional from start to finish. From the initial consultation at our house a few weeks before the wedding to run through how the day would go, to rallying everyone on the day for the perfect shots, working round the day’s itinerary and the weather! She took really natural pics, nothing too staged and lots of action shots of the day. “ Ali & Tom

Welcome to the absolutely gorgeous wedding of Ali and Tom who were married at the stunning Wotton House, a gorgeous 17th Century property nestled in the Surrey countryside.  As you can see from the photos the beautifully manicured Grade II listed gardens of Wotton House are spectacular and the pièce de résistance is their secret Roman temple.  The temple made an incredible setting for the photos during the daytime and as you will see from the final photo in this blog feature, a super backdrop for the last shot of the night.  This made me one very happy Wotton House wedding photographer!

I  have had the pleasure of knowing  Allison for a few years through one of my gorgeous previous brides and she has also been a glamorous guest at 3 weddings I have photographed so it is an absolute delight to have her as the Bride!  This meant that, including Ali and Tom, I had a total of FOUR of my wedding couples at the wedding – Clare and Luke, Emily and Richard as well as Olivia and Martin – it was simply lovely to see them all together!

It was so much fun capturing the getting-ready-action in the bridal suite.  The pretty bridesmaids  were getting their hair and makeup done whilst the flower girls waited patiently for their turn to have  flowers put in their hair.  Magic and sparkle filled the room and it was such a pleasure  seeing the stunning Allison transform into a radiant bride.

I headed downstairs to catch up with the Groom once he had arrived.  Very cool, calm and looking incredible dapper in his suit, it was super to see him and catch up  before the full action of the day commenced.

Back in the bridal suite the Bride and her entourage were ready in good time allowing for a nice bit of pre-ceremony chilling time and lots excited giggles were shared over sips of champagne.

Lovely friends and family came to celebrate their marriage and the setting of Wotton House was absolutely perfect. The ceremony took place  in The Old Library which was exquisitely decorated with beautiful  florals courtesy of Flowers by Elaine.  It really is such a splendid room in which to photograph and I particularly enjoyed framing the shots to incorporate the symmetrical arches and making the most of the gorgeous, soft light flooding in through the stained glass window.

The flower girls did a superb job of leading the way down the aisle ahead of Ali’s grand entrance.  As you can see from the photos she looked absolutely incredible, and on the arm of her father, gracefully walked down the aisle to join her husband-to-be Tom.  An incredible atmosphere of love and happiness filled the room and it was great to be at the front of the room discreetly positioned behind a floral display from where I was able to capture shots of the happy couple during the ceremony.  This  was in fact  one of Ali and Tom’s favourite parts of the day.  After  the wedding they told me:  “It was as if we were the only two people in the room!”

From The Old Library the couple exited to the applause and cheering of their guests through confetti- filled air and led the way to their drinks reception which was held on the terrace by the Evelyn Suite.

Celebrations from the clinking of fully-charged champagne glasses to  excited chat, lots of smiles, laughter, hugs and congratulations were soon underway. I love capturing this part of the day and it is a perfect opportunity to capture  really natural, candid-style shots of the guests  being really relaxed and having fun.

It was a beautiful sunny day but, as I always do on a wedding day, kept  an eye on the weather forecast. It showed that an unexpected shower could  happen during the reception so made the executive decision to get the group shots done before the rain came and that all worked out perfectly.  Fortunately the light shower didn’t last long and soon the guests returned outside to continue the drinks reception.

The wedding breakfast was enjoyed by all and during this they were serenaded by the fabulous pianist Bryan Edery, who played lots of marvellous melodies.

The speeches followed  the meal and were ten out of ten hilarious.  Everyone was in hysterics, cheering and applauding throughout! Super, heartfelt words came from Allison’s father as well as some particularly amusing stories about Allison’s travels and netball-playing days.  The Groom’s lovely words were followed by his Best Man’s,  who was his brother so naturally had lots of hysterical material to  treat everyone to.

Of course I stayed to party once my official photography duties were over keeping a camera to hand to capture the late-night dance floor antics which always make fun-viewing for the couple after the wedding day!

Also,  as 3 of my previous wedding couples were  amongst the guests I finally had a chance to catch up with them and hear all their exciting news.

Later on in the evening I spotted that the couple had left the dance floor to get some fresh air so I suggested a little 5 minute stroll in the grounds to get a killer final photo of the night.  It had started raining lightly so I grabbed a couple of umbrellas for the couple and we headed back to the Roman temple where I was able to get some back-lit shots of them framed by the gigantic pillars.  I do love getting nighttime couple-shots as it makes for such a great ending to the  photo collection story of their wedding day.

It really was such a pleasure capturing this amazing day for the happy couple and I hope you enjoy looking through their photos.   x

A big SHOUT OUT to the wonderful Wotton House wedding suppliers that worked so hard to make Ali and Tom’s special day so incredible…

Wedding Venue: Venue: Wotton House, Dorking

Photography: Juliet Lemon Photography (of course!) Wotton House Wedding Photographer

Wedding Dress: St Patrick, Pronovias

Make Up: Laura janowsk

Bridal Hair: Blow dry express

Florist: Flowers by Elaine

Groom’s Suit: Dapper in Surbiton

Wedding Cake: Good Buns Bakery

Pianist: Bryan Edery Music

DJ: Dj2K