Louise & Mike’s Kent Wedding at The Shepherd Neame in Faversham.
The last time I was at this particular wedding venue was back in November and it’s one on of those places that has so many possibilities for photographs you never feel you have long enough to explore!
Louise and Mike are such relaxed couple I knew I was going to really enjoy photographing their day. Arriving at Louise’s parents house beforehand everyone was pretty chilled out with Louise was just having the finishing touches done to her make up. If you’re a bride debating whether or not to have your make up done by a professional, I would always advise having it done, get a good one and you won’t believe the results, and it lasts all day!
After about an hour it was time for me to go and meet Mike at the ceremony venue and photograph him and his groomsmen as well as some of the guests. Although I love this wedding venue, it can be a bit of a squeeze in the bar area when it starts to fill up but I did my best to manoeuvre around and get some photos of people enjoying a drink and a chat.
The Saturday market was taking place in the high street right outside the ceremony venue so there were plenty of spectators for Louise’s arrival. Mike looked a little nervous to start with but they appeared to dissipate once the ceremony got under way and before long they were announced as the new Mr & Mrs Ward and it was back downstairs for a celebratory drink!
To enjoy a little time together away from everyone they went for a spin in the open topped Rolls Royce for 15 minutes while guests stayed at the bar, which I thought was a lovely idea as a wedding can be such whirlwind and it just gives the couple a little time to enjoy the day together.
Like almost all the weddings I photograph there were a number of group photos to be taken, so before the wedding breakfast these were done outside. I try to make it as painless as possible for everyone involved by being organised with a list of those requested and helpers who know the people to gather them together. Other than these and some couple photos the rest of my work is capturing events as they happen and anticipating little moments that present themselves.
Louise and Mike’s little daughter was adorable and constantly made me smile with her little expressions, no doubt they were very proud with how good she was on the day and her grandparents clearly loved looking after her. A little too young to enjoy the wedding like some of the youngsters who were made up with the inflatables on the dance floor, but nevertheless she was a huge part of it.
So with the wedding breakfast eaten and the speeches completed, albeit after a little microphone issues, we had a time to take a few photographs of Mike and Louise together. At this stage in the day there is more scope for creative portraits as the pressure of time has been removed so can be more relaxed and enjoyed by the couple as well.
Meanwhile the band Happy Hour were setting up while the kids enjoyed messing about with the inflatable bananas, it’s amazing how much fun even for adults they can provide! They didn’t feature in Mike and Louise’s first dance though which was probably a good thing.
To view more of my wedding photography at different venues around Kent please check out my latest Blog Posts or click on Other Kent Weddings
I’d love to hear about your wedding day plans and discuss your wedding photography so please do get in touch via the Contact Page or directly at helenbatt@yahoo.co.uk 01233 822449 / 07754 705679