A traditional church wedding in Parkstone, followed by a beautiful reception at Rhinefield House Hotel in the heart of the New Forest.
If you can call a wedding where the Groom arrives in a Trotters Independent Trading Co van Traditional!? The rest of the wedding was traditional anyway, with the Bride arriving at the church in a beautiful horse drawn carriage. I think that because I'm a girl, I'm meant to be more excited about the horses and carriage, and don't get me wrong, they were absolutely stunning, and it must be so much fun trotting down the road to your wedding in style. That being said, I have had the pleasure of photographing a horse and carriage church arrival on several occasions... and i'm a HUGE Only fools and Horses fan! So, I must guiltily admit that I was ridiculously excited about seeing the famous 3-wheeler! It was everything I could have hoped for, down to the furry tiger print interior, to the blow up dolls staring at me from out of the back window. While the very dapper looking Groom Dan was having his photo shoot with the van when he arrived at the church, the OFaH theme tune was blasting out of the speakers, and then the occasional catch-phrase from the show would blurt out 'shut up you tart!' It was brilliant!
I feel like the vehicle arrival choices really matched the Bride and Groom's personalities perfectly and definitely added a touch of fun to the ceremony. I even got some photos of the vicar in the van, so that's definitely a first in my photography career! Brilliant!
St Peter's Church in Parkstone is such a gem. It's known as a mini-cathedral and it certainly lives up to it's nickname. It's high ceilings and beautiful stained glass windows were an absolutely stunning backdrop for the simple and personal ceremony for Helen and Dan. I love meeting vicars who are happy to let me move around discreetly during a ceremony to capture wonderful memories for the couple, from different angles. It makes for a lovely variety of ceremony images, which can sometimes be a bit repetitive if I have to be stood in one place for the entire ceremony.
After some fun confetti shots outside the church, we were all off to the always fabulous Rhinefield House Hotel in the middle of the New Forest. It's such a beautiful venue and I always love shooting weddings there. There are so many beautiful spots to take photos, we were really spoilt for choice. I particularly love the photos shot through the water fountain, and those in front of the amazing blue gate really pack a punch with their colour.
Of course, you all know that I love a veil, so I was thrilled that we were able to capture some floaty veil shots too throughout the day. Oh, and we can't forget the fact that the Bride was wearing white trainers with her Mrs name and the date on them! How cool is that!?!
There were so many things I loved about this day. I really had such a lovely time with this fun and sweet couple, who were clearly just so happy to be marrying each other. They had lovely friends and family present who were all chatting and having fun and being friendly. Such a gorgeous wedding day!
Special shout out to the Toast Master Alanna at Rhinefield House, who kept everyone on schedule throughout the reception and was the most friendly, helpful Toast Master i've ever come across! You can find out more about her at www.mrstoastmaster.com
Suppliers:
Wedding Dress: Web2B Bournemouth
Hair: Barnet and Belle
Bride's earrings and necklace: Clogau
Assorted Bridesmaid Dresses: Coast, Monsoon and Next
Groom's Suit: Next
Singer/Evening entertainment: Lewis Hutton
Cake: Susie's Cakes
