The weather often forms part of my preface to a blog post, and with the extensive flooding we’ve had this winter throughout Gloucestershire I’ve kept a keen eye on what’s been happening locally. Thankfully last weekend there was no sign of rain, instead the forecast was for wall to wall sunshine. If you’re going to pick a day in the past five weeks to get married on, this was the one. James and Suassana chose the nearby venue of Eastington Park (an elegant 18th Century Manor House) for their civiil ceremony and wedding reception all under one roof. In fact, this wedding venue offers more than just that, boasting 31 bedrooms for guests to stay overnight too, certainly a great solution for those wishing to party the night away then drop straight into bed!
A party atmosphere was definitely in the air; was it the fact the sun had come out to play, the guests had the Monday off work, alcohol, or simply the enjoyment of a wedding itself? With an all inclusive quiz to get the party started pre dinner, the evening kicked off with much laughter and maybe marginally embarrassing moments for the bride and groom. It’s a fun approach to get some guest interaction, and with the MC (an all-in-one blend of Ant & Dec) as host it couldn’t have been better.
So kick back and enjoy a sun filled collection of Eastington Park wedding photos.
How cool is this? If only they’d got married in a castle though……still Eastington Park is nice enough eh!?
James spent a few minutes practicing his wedding speech whilst enjoying time on the swing in the grounds of Eastington Park.
The deadly silence of an empty room, awaiting the guests……
…ahh here comes a wedding guest ;-)
Meanwhile the girls were all beautifying up in the bridal suite.
‘Welcome to Eastington Park, Eat, DRINK and be Married’. I got the impression James was taking note of the ‘drinking’ part of this signage.
Whilst the boys were off getting drunk, somewhat strangely the make-up lady was left with the brief of ‘do some videoing’.
Yep mum looks good, now really Susanna I think you should be getting into your wedding dress ;-)
That video camera got passed around a fair bit. Time to get some action…..
Love dad’s face as he watches on.
Yep, the ring never goes on quite as easily as you’d expect.
Not only a kiss but a dip too – good work Sir…..claps all round.
James & Susanna’s friend sang during the signing of the register……it was very good I must say.
I like to see an enthusiastic photographer at a wedding.
Whilst the wedding guests enjoyed a drink during the wedding reception, the Silk Street Jazz band played a few blues.
Ta na…..yet another group photo sneaking into my blog posts. Everyone asks if I take them….so yep – here’s a sensible one, followed by the marginally more relaxed group (aka the drunk girls) :-)
Yes, groping often forms part of my group shots. I was most amused though when the lady on the left said to Susanna afterwards “I may have ruined your photo as I was feeling ……’s tits!”
Wedding flowers by the fabulous Maria of Sorori Design
Pre-scripting what couple shots to take on a wedding day isn’t really my thing. Why, well you never really know what’s going to happen with the weather, where therefore may work best for photos, and also what the couple may like themselves. So to kick things off I took the above photo, but soon noticed the option of using the setting sun for this fantastic silhouette wedding photo….
….taken on the lawn at Eastington Park, with a beautiful winter sunset.
One dip during the wedding kiss was clearly not enough. This time James stepped it up a notch and went for a dip on the slightly slippy log (after he’d first spilt his champagne down Susanna, which to her credit she took remarkably well).
Although a winter wedding, the beautiful light gives this photo a more autumnal look.
It’s true, confetti gets everywhere!
A rather unusual wedding theme going on here today……fruit and legumes!
Apples as wedding place names. Nice.
Eastington Park primed and ready for the wedding breakfast….(but first a quiz!)
As mentioned earlier, here is James & Susanna’s very own quiz host (a hybrid mix of Ant & Dec), flaunting the winners mug. Now hands on bums, or hands on heads to decide the winner.
I’m guessing she went for the wrong answer!
James’ sister (in the foreground here) pleased to be on a winning streak.
….and we have a winner.
The winners table admiring the personalised mug. What a gift!
Following food it was straight onto the wedding speeches….with yet more clapping, pointing and laughter.
This was a nice touch where Susanna gave her bouquet to her (Aunty & Uncle?) as it was their (50th?) wedding anniversary?
NOTE: Some information on this public service announcement may not exactly be correct – but you get the idea!
Like a couple of cake cutting champions if ever I saw some.
Goodnight Eastington Park, see you next time.
If you’ve been looking for Eastington Park wedding photos and are having your own wedding here, then please contact me for a chat, I’d love to hear from you.