After a hectic year I’m finally back to blogging –  here’s Mary and Mickey’s stunning summer wedding at Tonbridge School in Kent, with the school’s first ever marquee wedding held in the grounds.

As usual, please feel free to read on to learn more about their day with a a selection of pictures, or view the slideshow for lots more pictures and some music.


Bride and Groom Prep

I started the day with Mary at her parents house with all the girls to document them getting ready. As you can see, it was smiles all round and massively chilled even though it was quite a hive of activity. Mary’s dad was on hand with the champagne while the ladies got on with their hair and makeup. Pretty soon it was time for the dress to go on and for me to then shoot off to Tonbridge School for the ceremony.

While I was with Mary, Rob (who was second shooting for me that day) met up with Mickey and all the boys for the final part of groom prep, a few cold beers and then a walk to Tonbridge Castle for some groom shots, before they made their way up to Tonbridge School.

Ceremony 

There can’t really be a more spectacular setting for a church ceremony than the chapel at Tonbridge School – this huge chapel can seat the entire school at once and the banked seating means we as photographers can see more guests than usual so it’s great from our point of view. As you’ll see, there was quite directional light in the chapel on this really sunny day, so I used that to my advantage to create some really high key shots to pick out Mary’s dress and create some drama.

Reception

Following the ceremony, a drinks reception was held in the grounds where the guests enjoyed some Pimms and canapes in the (very hot) summer sunshine. After shooting the groups (in the only bit of shade available, much to the annoyance of guests constantly trying to get a bit of cooling shelter!) I took Mary and Mickey off for a few quick pictures in the library gardens and then when the guests were making their way over to the marquee, we used the drinks reception gardens for some more pictures.

Pretty soon it was time for the bride and groom to make their way over to the marquee – a first for Tonbridge School, I must say the marquee was a fantastic addition to the day and I believe is now a service they will offer going forward – the marquee decorations looked incredible!

Speeches and evening

The speeches were spread throughout the meal during breaks so the rest of the day had a great laid back feel to it, guests made their way out into the evening sunshine and then back in for speeches – Mary’s dad is a teacher at the school so had no problems commanding attention!

As the evening sunshine got to that beautiful golden hour light, we took a quick walk so I could capture a few more portraits before it was time for the bouquet toss, first dance and party!

All photographs copyright David Burke Photography 2022