Enjoy this blog post Hayley and Chris’s Wedding at Fanhams Hall

Date – 30th July 2016

Ceremony – St Peters Church, Arlesey, Bedfordshire

Reception – Fanhams Hall Hotel, Ware. Hertfordshire

Bride – Hayley Smith

Groom – Christopher Easom

Matron of Honour – Vikki

Bridesmaids – Chloe, Kiran and Catherine

Best Man – Terry

Ushers – Matt, Lewis and Richard

Brides Parents – Irene and Mick

Grooms Parents – Ruth and Barry

Entertainment – Andy Mr H Productions

The Initial Meeting.  I first met Hayley and Chris when they came to Fanhams Hall to a Wedding Show.  My stand was in The Great Hall the first stand as you go in. Straight away Hayley, Chris and I got on and had a really lovely chat about their Wedding …we didn’t stop talking they looked through all the Story Books and by the end of our chat I took their details and we arranged a meeting at my Studio the following week to discuss things further.   When they came in we chatted in detail about the type of pictures that they really wanted and I showed them a Reportage Style Storybook “very natural – which is my preferred shooting style” they booked a beautiful Storybook Package which included a Pre Wedding Shoot which we did a few weeks ago over at Fanhams Hall… Click Here to see it as well as all the images on USB from the Pre Wedding Shoot and The Wedding.

Heres a few pages from the Pre Wedding Shoot.

 

 

The Wedding Day.

As with all my Storybook packages I usually start with a few pictures of the groom getting ready early. I left my studio at 8:30 am to arrive at Chris’s house at 10:00 am in Hail Weston.  When I got there Chris was in the lounge getting into his wedding suit with his best man, brother and usher.  He was relaxed and his brother was filling up the hip flask which had a very clever go pro mount on it so anyone who drank from it got to be on the video..it was brilliant (see the Video HERE).  I then left the house at 10.30 and made my way back down to Apsley to get to Hayley for 11:00 am and do all the getting ready shots.

When I went in to the house I was met by Mick the brides very proud dad. We got chatting straight away and he showed me his beautiful garden which I made sure we got out to later for some pictures.  I went into the back lounge of the house and saw Hayley, she was having her make up done and looked beautiful “a naturally stunning bride”. The make up took longer than scheduled and created  a bit of a problem later as the time just got away from them, with this taking longer than normal.  Hayley had created a brilliant timetable for us all to go by but this delay put the whole timetable out. So I realised that I needed to stay here longer and get the pictures of Hayley getting into her beautiful Wedding dress “a very important picture”, so the shots of the boys at The Vicars inn pub unfortunately had to go. There is a lesson here that make up and hair people do need to keep to their times otherwise it can delay everything massively.

So I got the shots and I arrived at the Church and was met by the vicar who complimented me on my suit and appearance, saying that the majority of photographers he meets wear very casual clothes – well, I always try to blend in and think its professional to look smart and dress well.  Chris had some pictures outside the church with his Best man and Groomsmen and then took his place at the front of the church and waited for his bride.

Hayley then arrived in a Beautiful Rolls Royce Phantom with her very proud dad, I took a few quick pictures and she made her way in to the Church.  The Ceremony was lovely, afterwards Hayley and Chris came out and everyone through the confetti. I then took some family pictures at the church before we all made the 30 minute drive over to Fanhams Hall.

On arrival at Fanhams Hall John and his team greeted the couple with a nice glass of Champagne and we started the pictures.  The guests were all arriving so I decided to take the couple off around the grounds and take the personal shots of them.. with Fanhams Hall there really are so many places that you can use for photos. I like to make use of the main building, steps and established gardens as well as all the other areas – that I know which are hidden away. The staff bought the couple some canapes and a nice cold beer and glass of Champagne which was just what they needed. I finished the photos off in the grounds and then Hayley and Chris greeted all their guests and a lovely time chatting to them all and speaking to everyone.

We all went through to The Great Hall which looked absolutely stunning.. Hayley’s attention to detail is impeccable. Everyone took their seats and Terry the Best Man welcomed the Bride and Groom in with huge applause. After the meal I set up for the speeches which were brilliant 3 great speeches from the father of the bride, groom then the best man who had two full size cutouts of Chris on his stag do.. Brilliant and he got a great applause of everybody.

Once the meal finished the couple went out into the Gardens with their guests and we did some fun pictures with people then I took the couple off for a few romantic early evening pictures before heading in for the First dance and the party.  Mr H was all set up with a fantastic flame show.  He called everyone in and the couple did their first dance with everyone joining in – I got some great dancing shots.

I finished the photos with 2 main shots (1) a picture of the couple at the bottom of the staircase in the hallway.. it was taken with off camera flash (2) a beautiful silhouette of the couple as the sun dropped down two of my favourite pictures from the day.

Here is a selection of pictures that I have selected from the day.  JP  

 

 

Personal message.

Its been great getting to know you, the wedding day was amazing. Have a great time on your honeymoon in South America.  See you when you get back to the UK for the viewing.  JP

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Photographed and written © John Paul O’Donnell Photography.

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Hayley and Chris’s Wedding at Fanhams Hall