I’m so excited to be sharing this stunning wedding from Hampton Court Palace which took place a little while ago. The super-lovely Alexandra and Ed’s wedding day was truly wonderful! I started off the day with the Alex over at her family home where she was accompanied by her gorgeous bridesmaids. The morning was so much fun with lots of excitement, flowing champagne and lots of giggles. The hair and makeup team were busy with their important duties and as you can see from the photos and all their talented work resulted in everyone looking glamorous!
Alex had planned the morning to perfection with the timing allowing everyone to get ready at a leisurely pace and still have a good amount of time for photos in the garden. This was a real blast, especially the singing of ‘King of the Swingers’ from the Jungle Book!
Eventually, the time came for the beautiful Bride to be accompanied by her father and make her way to the church, which she accomplished stylishly as she was driven away by a dapper chauffeur in an absolute peach of a classic car.
Over at St Mary’s Church in Wimbledon, the Groom was busy meeting and greeting all the lovely family and friends, who had come to celebrate their special day. Alex wowed the whole church as she glided down the aisle with true grace and elegance. She was beaming with such happiness and excitement that she was literally glowing and she couldn’t wait to join her soon-to-be-husband!
The service was beautiful with some really poignant and powerful readings. The couple walked hand in hand up the aisle, outside into the glorious sunshine where they were greeted with congratulations and confetti-throwing; with 130 guests that was a lot of confetti!
Hampton Court Palace was the venue for the reception and whilst the guests boarded London busses, the couple and I were able to get a head start reaching the Palace with time in hand before the guests arrived.
This little window of opportunity allowed for ‘photo time’ with the gorgeous couple in the magnificent setting of Hampton Court Palace making me one very happy wedding photographer! Incorporating the Palace’s features of the historic architecture at the front, around the back, in the courtyards, and in the beautiful gardens was absolutely magic. The newlyweds were so relaxed and happy in front of the camera that I was able to capture lots of delightfully candid and fun photos. We even bumped into King Henry VIII along the way which was a giggle!
The Bride and Groom joined their guests in the grounds by the Garden Rooms where they mingled happily, sipped champagne and tucked into nibbles and ice cream from the cute old-fashioned bicycle vendor.
It was such a wonderful afternoon with everyone loving the warmth of the sunshine and laughter filled the air.
With many of the chaps clad in ‘Top Hats & Tails’ and the ladies all looking splendid in their outfits, the gorgeous, lush, verdant setting of the beautifully manicured Palace grounds was the perfect venue for this quintessential English wedding.
The wedding breakfast took place in the Garden Rooms where 3 long tables, set parallel to each other ran the length of the room. It was a welcome change for me to photograph this wedding breakfast layout as opposed the usual round tables; for the speeches, it was perfect for me to be able to capture so many reaction shots of laughter and hysteria in response to the wonderfully witty and entertaining speakers who took to the mic.
The celebrations continued right through the evening with everyone hitting the dance floor, dancing away to more of ‘King of the Swingers’, and enjoying lots of craziness and silliness in the photo booth. One of my most memorable moments was when everyone was outside armed with sparklers, surrounding the happy couple whilst merrily singing (drunkenly shouting!) the chorus of ‘Can’t take my eyes off you’ by Andy Williams.
It really was such a super wedding, jam-packed with so much fun, happiness, and laughter. Alex and Ed, thank you for having me photograph your incredible wedding day and I hope this Blog post was worth the wait! xxx
A big shout out to the wonderful suppliers who worked so hard to make Alex and Ed’s day so incredible…
•Florist: Brian Kirkby Flowers – 32 Leopold Road, Wimbledon, London. SW19 7BD – http://www.briankirkbyflowers.co.uk/ – info@briankirkbyflowers.co.uk – 0208 9466422
•Hair: Tanya Kin tanyakin@hotmail.com
•Makeup: Vicky Carter http://thelookingglassuk.com/ – vmlcarter@aol.com – 07745462930
•Wedding Dress: Pronovias dress from The Wedding Dress Shop in Wimbledon