Christmas Wedding at Fanhams Hall Clare and Rob.
I woke up this morning looked out and saw a beautiful bright and frosty morning and thought how lucky Clare and Rob are to have such a beautiful day. I met them at a Wedding exhibition at Fanhams Hall of which I am a recommended photographer at about 2 years ago…. Clare Rob, her parents and her grandparents they were all there and remembered me so well from that show.. in fact the Brides grandfather told me in the evening that “you was the one we all liked straight away and knew by your photographs and personality that we wanted you to be photographing the wedding, we were so glad you were free”.
When i arrived at Fanhams Hall “The Great Hall” was being set up by Kat and her staff. I was about 15 minutes early and was checking in on Facebook when I saw Rob.. he was looking very slick in a Navy 3 piece fitted suit and was looking at the Great Hall and saying to his best man and his future father in law “wow i can’t believe how nice this looks”.
As it is the Story of the Wedding that I photograph I was capturing pictures and snapping away as the morning started to unfold.
About ten minutes after i said to Rob I was going to see Clare and i would catch up with him shortly, I went up to the Ceremony room ‘The Long Gallery” and there standing with one of her bridesmaids was Clare.. she was a bit emotional because she had just opened a present from Rob ..A Beautiful Tiffany bracelet.
We left the Long Gallery and walked in to a big room where all the Bridesmaids and the Bride were getting ready.. that’s when i met Becca, Rachel, Jo, Emma, Chloe, Sammy and Hannah 7 Bridesmaids all getting ready and all bubbly and really happy.. just how you want your Bridesmaids to be. The atmosphere in the room was lovely and the Champagne was flowing.
The Girls then needed to get in their dresses so I left them for a while and went and found Rob and the boys.. dad still hadn’t seen his daughter in the dress..he was still with Rob and the best man Darren (Robs brother-in-law) a lovely guy… a Soldier on a break from Afghanistan.
The Girls were ready .. the dresses were on and now it was time to go to the Bridal suite and for Clare to get into her dress and have some pictures taken. The dress went on and Clare got a little emotional, this isn’t unusual really and happens a lot at this point of the day. I went outside the room as the registrars were ready to see Clare and it was at that moment that Mike (the Brides dad) saw her ..there was a tear and although there was a lot of people standing there ..to Clare and her dad I can guarantee that they didn’t hear anyone.. it really was a beautiful moment.
I went into The Long Gallery and saw Rob and all the guests seated, I shook his hand and wished him luck. Bagatelle were playing Flute and Harp and the Bridesmaids all came in and walked slowly down the aisle which was lovely, but then in came Clare with her dad.. The Long Gallery’s aisle is approximately 100 feet long and so it was a long walk Clare looked absolutely Fabulous.. smiling and enjoying the moment.
The Ceremony was performed by Richard one of the Hertford registrar’s finest, I’ve known Richard over 14 years and he really is top drawer.
After the Ceremony the couple had a drinks reception in The Library and the guests all came over and in the traditional way congratulated the couple. Shortly after we went outside in the cold and I took a picture of the complete wedding all together looking up at the Camera.
We then went round the grounds of Fanhams Hall, It is very rare that a Bride in this sort of dress in December could pose so well and get all her shots done in the cold and not complain once .. very tough and just got on with it.
We went back in and Clare and Rob had some quality time with their guests before the wedding breakfast was served. We had a Fabulous meal Roast Beef and all the trimmings. The speeches started and we were treated to 3 amazing speeches, Dad, Rob and then the Best man.. it’s not often at a wedding that speeches are written from the heart and these three really were, there wasn’t one piece of internet content in any, they really were beautiful.
Clare and Rob went and freshened up and Lovelight arrived to set up all the evening’s entertainment. The backdrops, the room lighting and the Dancefloor plus they had to do all the sound and backing for the Brides sisters band that were playing a set later in the evening. 8.45pm all the guests were invited in by Lovelight ..the room looked amazing, the cake was on the dancefloor and all the guests circled it. It was at this moment that the couple were announced in and the room went wild.. i set the cake shot up took a few pics then the cake was removed and the First dance took place. Lovelight played a few great songs the party was buzzing and the band started .. i then said my goodbyes to the Bride and Groom and then some of the family that i had met that day.
We then went into the Long Gallery and shot some closing shots and some outside pics so we had the final image to use afterwards as the last picture in the Storybook.
To quote Stephen Fry.. “There are times in life when a Job becomes a joy, a joy becomes a pleasure and a pleasure becomes a privilege, well I can tell you it really was a pleasure and a privilege to be part of such a beautiful wedding.
