Last weekend saw me revisit Sudeley Castle in Gloucestershire for the wedding of Ahmed & Della. I hadn’t been back to Sudeley since taking wedding photos there in 2008 for Rowley & Nicola, which was quite a memorable occasion as I met the Stig from Top Gear then too! Their wedding had been a crisp winter wedding, so I was looking forward to this occasion as summer weddings at Sudeley Castle mean you’ll get to spend time in the beautiful gardens – or so I thought!
I realised too this week, this wedding was the first in a run of three weddings all consecutively at Castles, with next weeks being Berkeley Catsle, closely followed by Eastnore Castle the week after. Gloucestershire certainly has it’s fair share of exclusive wedding venues hey! If you wish to see other posts relating specifically to Castle weddings I’ve photographed, please take a look.
I also learnt prior to the wedding that Sudeley Castle now have the option of an outdoor wedding ceremony in the Tithe Barn, something I’m sure is going to be really popular with couples choosing to get married there. So, we wanted some good weather right? Umm….that was the downside. With a forecast of high winds, heavy downpours and possible flood warnings in some areas, it wasn’t looking good!
Needless to say this made for an eventful day, one to keep any wedding photographer on their toes!
Anyhow, without further ado, here are the Sudeley Castle wedding photos of Ahmed and Della.
The look of concentration as adjustments ‘DIY style’ (on the morning of the wedding) are made to the bridesmaid dresses.
The glamorous side of a wedding day morning. Dressing gown (with tiara) and ironing!
This is quite a random photo. I like the ‘bra flinging’ element, but also you later notice the kid just peering over the edge of the sofa!
Ahh the ‘stoop’ to have your veil fixed in. Always an awkward moment, and a testing one to make sure it’s fitted correctly and/or the bridesmaids know how to take it out or adjust it if necessary later in the day.
So, the ruin you see before your eyes is indeed Sudeley Castle’s Tithe Barn……and yes, the roof disappeared many years prior to planning an outdoor wedding ceremony! It’s a really beautiful setting…just could’ve done with a little summer sunshine!
Della looked a little shocked at this point – sorry, had to put it in!
Lighting candles during an outdoor wedding ceremony (with gale force winds….okay, so that may be a little more dramatic than it really was) is testing to say the least.
…ahh yeah, they’ve blown out – doh!
“I WILL get this ring on”. Ahh okay, let della do it!
At least with the bad weather Della got to use her heart shaped wedding umbrella.
There are some great locations around Sudeley Castle for wedding photos. This archway (part of the Tithe Barn) was the perfect retreat for some shelter from the rain.
For weddings at Sudeley Castle you tend to use the grounds, rather than the Castle itself (although I do believe that is an option).
These Castle ruins are spectacular, and ‘if on a dry day’ make great backdrops for wedding photos, especially with some low sun (but that was just a dream!) This was taken during a rare moment when it wasn’t raining!
The wedding marquee looked fantastic, decorated with a purple theme.
The rain even stopped for a short time to get some wedding photos of the bride and groom!
I wanted to include Sudeley Castle in the wedding photos some how, and this vantage point worked really well….pity it then began to rain – again! Arrrgh!
We must have had all of 5 mins before the rain came and everyone darted back inside the Marquee for dinner.
Possibly the only bit of blue sky ALL day! So that’s a summer wedding at Sudeley Castle……not exactly what I had in mind! Damn you British weather, rain in the week, then be dry at the weekends! Better still rain at night, then be sunny & warm all day!
If you have been looking for Sudeley Castle wedding photos and are considering having your own wedding there, please contact me for a chat, I’d love to hear from you.