Another one from the archives, Rebecca & Simon’s wedding at The Archbishops Palace Maidstone, followed by a vintage bus trip to Hunton Village Hall.  A lovely summer’s day, with a great family feel made even more special by the village hall reception venue, with lots of owl decorations! Simon is the brother of a previous groom, so it was great to see Kelly and Stewart again and see them playing such a big part in the day!

Bridal Prep

I started the day joining Rebecca and all the girls at her parents house for bridal prep. Soon we were joined by their kids, which was great – loads going on for me to photograph, and much excitement when the vintage bus turned up (a lot of it from the bride to be honest!). Hair and makeup was in full flow, so I photographed this while also shooting the details during little breaks – including taking the shoes for a tour of the lovely garden, and capturing a necklace that held extra-special sentimental value to the happy couple, the love sign seemed a very appropriate background to use.

Once the dress was on I shot over to join Simon at The Archbishops Palace in Maidstone.

Ceremony

After parking up I joined Simon and the boys for a few quick shots, plus some shots of their details – again, owls were a theme! Simon had cufflinks to match the bride’s necklace, a lovely tough.

With a fly past from a World War ii plane, the guys made their way through to greet the guests as they arrived and wait whilst it was their turn to go into the Archbishops Palace. It’s fair to say that (for some reason), things got slightly delayed at this stage, so when the bride turned up in the bus, we were all still waiting to go in – it all worked itself out in the end though!

Once we were inside the lovely ceremony got underway. The bride and groom had some beautiful readings and there were some really emotional moments (always lucky to be able to hide face behind camera at these times!) but also lots and lots of laughter and smiles!

Once the ceremony was over, everyone made their way outside for one quick group shot then it was back on the bus and head over to Hunton Village Hall for the reception!

Reception

As I was on my own I had to let the guests travel by bus while I drove to the village hall. In a stroke of luck (due to the delay we were running a bit behind schedule) I had already been to the hall before bridal prep and had photographed all the details then, so as soon as the guests arrived when quickly photographed the group shots, before it was time for the receiving line and everyone to make their way inside for the wedding breakfast.

Portraits and Speeches

After the meal, I took the bride and groom of for a wander to capture some portraits as we hadn’t had time earlier. It was still really warm but a lovely time to go out, so we headed into an amazing wheat field right next door to the village hall.

Once I’d photographed the couple, we headed back inside for the speeches. The book Beck’s dad had read obviously did the trick, as his speech was awesome! Lots of props etc. so very well prepared. Simon was great too, with lots of heartfelt comments about the bride and their awesome family together, then finally the best men – great stuff!

First Dance and Party

Once the speeches were finished, the cake was cut then onto the first dance, where the happy couple were joined by their children. Then the party got started! Some great moves, so great fun for me to photograph. The evening was still really warm, so the surprise ice

cream van was a massive hit with everyone!

And then it was time for me to leave the guys to it! Congratulations once again to Rebecca & Simon!

 

All photographs copyright Kent Wedding Photographer David Burke Photography 2020