One from the Pre-Covid restriction archives, Caroline & Jacob’s amazing wedding day – a catholic ceremony at St Thomas of Canterbury, Sevenoaks, followed by a Jewish ceremony in the Orangery at the stunning Chiddingstone Castle, ending with dancing, pizzas and sparklers!
There were so many great moments at this wedding it’s a long post, so you can either watch their slideshow below or read on for my take on all the amazing parts of their wedding day!
Bridal Prep
I joined Caroline and her bridesmaids for hair and makeup at Caroline & Jacob’s house, and interspersed photographing the details with Caroline and her bridesmaids getting their hair and makeup done (courtesy of the talented Laetitia at Makeup Angel. Once Caroline’s mum and dad arrived, the Perrier-Jouët (a favourite of the happy couple) was uncorked for a toast!
We’d all been keeping a close eye on the weather, which was looking a bit ‘changeable’ – the rain pounding onto the conservatory roof was a bit worrying, but as you’ll see, the brighter spells materialized just at the right times!
once the finishing details had been applied, it was time for Caroline to get into her stunning wedding dress, before I then made my way to the church.
Church Ceremony
After bridal prep I made my way over to the ever-popular St Thomas of Canterbury in Sevenoaks (which seems to be the church de-rigueur for Chiddingstone Castle weddings for me!) to join Craig who was second shooting the guest arrivals for me and to meet up with Jacob. After a few quick groom portraits (in that amazing outfit!) it was time for me to await the arrival of the bridemaids and then the bride (whilst keeping a watchful eye on the weather!!!).
Once the bride was at the church, I made my way inside for the wonderful first ceremony of their wedding day!
After the ceremony and some quick congratulations, the bride and groom were waved off on their way to Chiddingstone Castle – just in time, as the heavens then opened! a quick run to my car and then I hot-footed it over to Chiddingstone Castle for the second ceremony of their wedding day.
Jewish Ceremony at Chiddingstone Castle
And so onto the second ceremony of the day – a Jewish ceremony in the stunning location of the Orangery at Chiddingstone Castle. The guests made their way around to the Orangery, inside which the Chuppah had been set up and we awaited the arrival of the bride and groom in their wedding car directly onto the field ready to walk up to meet the Rabbi and begin their ceremony, watched on by family and friends.
Once the ceremony was concluded, the Bride and Groom made their way through confetti to lead their guests round to the front of Chiddingstone Castle, to start their wedding reception.
Reception
Awaiting the bride and groom, and as a surprise to the guests (and a first for me) was…a David Brent impersonator! Caroline is a huge fan, so it had to be done!!! ‘David’ mingled with the guests to the sounds of some amazing classical pieces (Jacob being a Cellist, the music was especially important to him) whilst the guests admired the simply stunning wedding cake taking pride of place in the window of Chiddingstone.
Once we’d completed a few quick group shots outside using the castle for a bit of shelter, I took Caroline and Jacob down to the bridge for some quick portraits before it was time for everyone to be called through to take their seats for the wedding breakfast.
Evening portraits, speeches and first dance
After the meal we quickly headed back out for a few more portraits – the blustery weather had cleared leaving some beautiful golden evening sunshine for us to use, before we made our way back inside for speeches around the cake, followed by the cake cut itself (the stunning cake supplied by Emma Page Cakes.)
Then, onto the first dance and dancing, with another amazing musical treat as a fantastic Jazz/Swing band played.
Signing of the Ketubah
Whilst the guests carried on enjoying the music, Caroline, Jacob and close family made their way back through to the White Rose Drawing Room to sign the Ketubah – the traditional Jewish wedding contract – a special honour for me to photograph!
Party, pizzas and sparkler exit
The fantastic evening reception continued with more treats and surprises – guests could decide to carry on dancing to the band, enjoy conversation and tea and coffee, take Instamatic selfies, or enjoy a fantastic slice of pizza, courtesy of Urban Pantry , who had set up outside the castle to serve up their amazing hand crafted cooked-to-order pizzas!
Then all too soon it was time for everyone to make their way outside to see the happy couple off, through an arch of sparklers, into their taxi and away into the night! Congratulations again to Caroline & Jacob, and what an epic wedding day!
All photographs copyright Kent Wedding Photographer David Burke Photography 2020