I had another local gig this weekend with a wedding at Berkeley Castle in Gloucestershire, although the day did start nearer to Weston Super Mare for Lucy’s bridal preps. Something that does concern me with weddings is travelling on Motorways, as with any major roads, should there be a problem, you could easily sit in a traffic jam for hours on end……missing the wedding altogether!
This it appeared was a concern of Lucy’s too (or at least the wedding car driver) as they left plenty of time to get from A-B, in fact enough time that they got to Berkeley castle before the registrars had even arrived to prepare for the wedding ceremony itself! After some waiting around (40mins) at the Castle gates, 2pm finally approached and it was time to land the butterflies and get on with the wedding ceremony.
It was however lovely to have plenty of time to photograph the wedding guests as they enjoyed pre ceremony drinks at Berkeley castle in the long drawing room. Bridesmaids mingled with the guests too, which is perhaps unusual, but worked really well. It made me think, why not have a drinks reception before the wedding starts? Definitely a nice way to welcome guests before the big event begins.
Despite being March and having a seriously cold snap this week in the UK, it was warm enough on Saturday to sneak outside for a few quick couple portraits around the grounds of Berkeley Castle. When I say ‘warm enough’ this should be put into context, as compared to a beautiful summers day this is certainly not warm, but if you’re having a winter wedding I guess this is to be expected to some degree ;-)
Anyhow, without further ado, sit back and enjoy a few photos from James & Lucy’s wedding at Berkeley Castle.
A slight departure from my normal blog posts in that I’ve included a few more wedding detail photos than usual. I presume most clients realise I take these as part of their wedding day coverage, but maybe without posting them more often you don’t? So, problem solved, this post has some :-)
This area was officially ‘bijou’ yet very busy as far as spaces go for bridal preps. Despite many bedrooms, the landing was the hive of activity.
I didn’t ask, but presumed the noise of the hair dryer denoted wearing them? Either way they were fun, so I was going to photograph them……especially as she was wearing them later when in her bridesmaid dress.
Looking good, even without the ear defenders.
Made me smile :-)
One wedding dress, three bridesmaids in action. Pampering to the max.
Love this reactions from all the guests gathered in the kitchen as Lucy appeared…..
….but the bridesmaids reaction was priceless….
….ahhh
A whole hour before the wedding at Berkeley castle was about to start…..and is that a bridal wedding car I hear???
Wedding flowers. I said I was going to include a few details photos right? Well here you have them.
Wedding flowers by Maria from Sorori Design
The flowers were only a part of the styling provided by Maria and here team, creating this ‘Steampunk’ theme. Don’t ask me, I’m a photographer not a stylist, but it was cool IMO.
As mentioned, guests arrived early at Berkeley castle and had time for a warming drink before the wedding ceremony started.
You’re not meant to look down Lucy, that’s not the deal. :-(
It’s often a tricky moment squeezing on the grooms wedding ring.
Berkeley Castle makes a great winter wedding venue as the rooms are ample for guests to enjoy the drinks reception, whilst the Main Hall is transformed ready for the wedding breakfast.
Group photo alert.
Another question I’m often asked – “do you take group photos Matt?” Well, yes I do. Today we took advantage of the ample rooms at Berekely Castle for a ‘Vogue’ style group photo.
Despite favouring documentary wedding photography, I do actually talk to your wedding guests and quite enjoy photographing a few group shots too. I suggest keeping the list to around half a dozen though, as it can otherwise become tiresome for guests, but it’s certainly one for grans mantlepiece or a double page spread in your wedding album.
You gotta spin if you wear a bridesmaid dress – it’s the rules :-)
Group photo alert no. 2 I know, two group wedding photos in one blog post – what’s up with me?
If you’re having a wedding at Berkeley Castle I often take the group photo from an upstairs window with guests in the courtyard. I rather liked this version with the inclusion of the castle windows too.
The problem with March….(well Britain in general) is the dull skies we are sometimes dealt! If only we’d had a peep of sunshine or some fluffy clouds? Thankfully it was dry though, so really I should be grateful for that alone…..just us photographers are never quite happy!
More wedding detail photos. Love these cute candle arbors on the tables set amongst the flowers and ‘steampunk’ artifacts.
Cheese wedding cake
“Here we have a table plan, please check for your name and tale the appropriate seat”
“Do you need help finding your place?”
“Yes, you’re sat here, on Kings Landing table”
The guy with the dagger in the painting always unsettles me.
If you are having a wedding at Berkeley Castle drop me a line, I’d love to hear from you and hopefully have the chance to photograph your wedding too.