A nostalgic Christmas-themed wedding, infused with South African flair.

Doesn't that just sound like the most amazing wedding ever!?! I love all things Christmas (except for being cold!), and so I was absolutely thrilled when Hayley and Ty contacted me saying that they were really embracing the fact that their wedding was just a few days after Christmas, but going full Christmas theme! They even had their guests bring Christmas jumpers with them so that they could get a huge group photo of everyone in their festive attire.

This wedding, although I am only posting about it now, because it has just been published in Your Hampshire and Dorset Wedding Magazine, was actually a 2021 wedding, that had to be rescheduled no less than 4 times due to covid. I think it is easy to forget now that things are 'back to normal', just how stressful it was for couples getting married, and indeed anyone working in the wedding industry. So, a Christmas themed wedding wasn't exactly Hayley and Ty's original destination wedding abroad, but sometimes you have to embrace the chances you're given. This wonderful couple just had the best attitude towards their wedding day. They were determined to have a great time with their friends and family, no matter what the style or size of the wedding was, and it certainly was a party to remember!

Of course, with Ty being South African, there had to be a bit of fusion with the Christmas theme. Traditional South African flowers were very hard to come by mid-winter in the UK, so Hayley found artificial flowers and made the bouquets herself. I think you'll agree that they looked absolutely stunning!

There were so many wonderful parts of the day, but a few highlights include the large bridal party. Anyone who regularly reads my blog knows that I love a big bridal party. I love getting shots of everyone together, enjoying themselves and I especially loved this group - willing to go outside on a cold day in December to get some fabulous sunset shots.

I loved that the bridesmaids were all in floor-length white dresses! A bride who knows that no-one could possibly outshine her, and who is confident enough to dress 5 other women in white dresses on her big day is such a wonderful thing. She was, of course, the most stunning and happy bride on the day, and it was a joy to photograph. The bridesmaids all had fluffy Christmas-green stoles too, which were fabulous - although it did get rather confusing in the evening when they all took off their stoles and there were just women dressed in floor-length white absolutely everywhere!

I also loved having a Bride and Groom who completely trusted me with their photos. When I said to them that we have a very short window of time to get outside while the light is still nice (no-one should be allowed to have a 3pm ceremony in the middle of winter!!!), and so we were straight outside after the ceremony, without even speaking to any of the guests! The front of the hotel was pretty, but unfortunately the sun had already set behind it, so the light was horrible. Instead, there was a tiny dog-area at the back of the hotel that had beautiful light. How cheerfully everyone picked their way through the long grass and potential dog mess to take photos in the beautiful golden light.

And then, joy of all joys, a friendly pony in the field next door came over to say hello. I may have gotten slightly over-excited at this point. Generally, during a photo session I know which photos are going to be my favourites and when this gorgeous pony trotted over, I knew that this was our moment!

All in all, a fabulous day that I thoroughly enjoyed!

And, once again, it is so exciting for my photos to be featured in Your Hampshire and Dorset Wedding Magazine. You can download it for free!