Here’s the lovely wedding of Ning and Joe, at the ever-popular Lympne Castle in Kent – one of my favourite and most-photographed wedding venue – if you’re getting married at Lympne Castle, do please contact me to discuss your wedding photography!

Ning and Joe’s wedding was a fantastic fusion of cultures – Ning’s family is Chinese, whilst Joe is half Spanish. So the wedding incorporated many aspects from both cultures; oh, and a Scottish Bagpiper!!

I love photographing at Lympne Castle – not only is it a stunning venue, but the bride (and sometimes also the groom) stay onsite, so everything’s in one place – it does involve a little bit of running around on my part but saves loads of travel time. Another huge plus is that, even if you want a church wedding, there’s one right next door – St Stephen’s, which Ning and Joe used for their wedding ceremony.

I started the day with Ning, the bridesmaids, and her family to document the bridal preparations, whilst Neil was with the boys.

A few minimal groom prep pics, and the Piper getting ready, and then it was time for the boys to head to the church – a one minute walk away!

Meanwhile, I was back with Ning photographing the final stages of makeup and then her getting her into the wedding dress with the help of her beautiful bridesmaids.

I then headed off to the church to capture Ning, walking on her father’s arm, on the short walk to St Stephen’s Church, which is right next door to Lympne Castle.

And then we made our way inside for the start of the service and the bride’s entrance. A beautiful service followed in this stunning setting – the church is unusually light so it’s easy to get fantastic photographs!

After the service, we made our way outside for a few hugs and congratulations for the happy couple. The guests then made their way around to the entrance to the Castle for confetti – once ready, the bride and groom followed on!

More congratulations followed, before the guests made their way through to the read terrace to enjoy the stunning view, drinks and canapes.

The drawing room was beautifully set out with details and a variety of foods – an ice cream cart, and, with a nod to Joe’s Spanish heritage, a Serrano Ham leg being hand-carved!

Just before the group shots, I took the happy couple for some quick portraits.

After the portraits and group shots, the piper entertained the crowds on the terrace, before it was time for the guests to make their way to the Great Hall to take their seats for the wedding breakfast.

Once the bride and groom had been piped into the room, it was time for the Father of the Bride and Groom speeches – the bestmen were going on later in the evening.

After the speeches the guests settled down to a fantastic meal. I always pop into the room between courses to keep an eye out for photographic opportunities.

After the meal, it was time for the evening reception. Ning surprised everyone with a change into a traditional Chinese dress for the reception. The two bestmen had organised a surprise slideshow for their speech, much to everyone’s enjoyment!

And then it was straight into the first dance, closely followed by dancing to a fantastic band!

I’d stayed later than I would normally do at a wedding, and lucky that I did. Wedding photography is a fast-paced job, and you need to be ready for the unexpected. So I was a bit surprised when the Band announced that the bride and groom would be leaving the reception, and asked everyone to form an arch! I quickly scrambled into position to capture this, and then again once we were out in the (very dark) courtyard – thankful for the amazing high-ISO capabilities of modern cameras, I captured the bride and groom being waved off by the guests!

Congratulations once again to Ning and Joe!

All wedding photography copyright David Burke Photography 2017