Lympne Castle weddings | Ellie & James pt 1

Here’s the first part of a lovely wedding from back in the summer – Ellie and James were married at their family parish church of Our Lady Help of Christians in Folkestone, with their reception at the stunning Lympne Castle – one of my favourite wedding venues in Kent!

If you’re getting married at either Our Lady Help of Christians or Lympne Castle and would like candid, natural wedding photography, please get in touch to check if I’m free on your wedding date and to discuss your requirements!

I started the day by joining Ellie, bridesmaids, her mum and the flowergirls at Ellie and James’s stunning house – the large open plan kitchen was flooded with beautiful, soft summer sunshine so made for some beautiful bridal prep photos. We started the day with a birthday – one of the flowergirls – so I had to capture that – she seemed pleased with her perfume! After photographing the details, I documented bridal prep as I normally do, telling the story of what’s going on amidst the hustle and bustle. The light was perfect for the makeup artists (and me) and it was great to have lots of space to really work the angles.

All too soon it was time for me to then head off to join Tash at the church. We had a slight issue in that the Bestman got lost en route – there was a road closure that had me and my satnav worried for a minute or two – and he had the buttonholes! We got on with a few groom photos as time was limited, but the buttonholes arrived in the nick of time!

After capturing the bride’s arrival in a stunning vintage car, we made our way inside for the lovely service. The wedding had a beautiful musical feeling to it – James studied music at university so had composed some music especially for Ellie’s entrance – how amazing is that! We also had guests singing and playing guitar at various points during the service – so lovely!

After the service, we all made our way outside into the lovely summer sunshine – bride and groom said hello to their guests, before a quick run through confetti and into the car. We all waved the car off then the guests jumped on the Routemaster bus as we all made our way to Lympne Castle.

At Lympne, bride and groom made their way onto the back terrace to await the arrival of the bus. As is often the case at Lympne, it was slightly windy!!! In fact, one of Ellie’s bridesmaids had to act as official veil carrier (Ellie had a stunning cathedral-length veil) as at times I thought it was going to go fully-vertical!

Once the guests had arrived and had enjoyed some drinks and canapes, it was time for me to photograph some quick group shots and then onto bride and groom portraits in the lovely summer sunshine. I always try to back-light couples, and the top lawn at Lympne is perfect at that time of day.

Tash and I then made our way into the main room at Lympne to photograph the details, which looked stunning as always! After the group shot of everyone, it was time for the wedding breakfast and the bride and groom’s entrance!