I finally made it to Cooling Castle Barn, this is a very popular venue owned by Jools Holland and is located in Rochester, Kent.
Because of it’s location Cooling Castle Barn is remote but accessible from all sides. Rachel and Chris were married last October the 20th and as you can see from the image above, we had some lovely low sun because of the time of year!
The Bridal Suite at Cooling Castle Barn
Because of the number of weddings that take place at Cooling Castle it’s highly geared up for them. Not in the conveyor belt sense but in their smooth running.
There are distinct areas, the large garden, the hotel rooms, bar, ceremony area, reception room and dining area are all well defined.
It was also nice to have everyone getting ready in the same place too as I lose shooting time when travelling between locations and whilst getting shots of the boys in prep don’t take up many frames it was still nice to do.
I try my best to religiously update my blog with the weddings I do.
In order to make this happen I often prepare the images and put them into a folder ready for uploading with the only thing remaining to do is add some text.
Sometimes though, as in the case of Victoria and Andrew, months pass before I get to publish a post. so this particular wedding is from July 2011.
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Victoria and Andrew were married last year at the Worthing Tabernacle. It’s quite an old church filled with russian pine for all the seating. Apparently it has to be Russian pine because in the extreme cold it doesn’t develop any knots in the wood (so can be bent without cracking)…you learn something new every day!
After the ceremony we all headed of to Victoria parents where there was an exceptionally large marquee set up. Plus we were on the back of Littlehampton beach. This was one of the few weddings where at the end of the evening the bride and groom actually went straight off on their honeymoon. A traditional touch that’s nice to see
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Worthing Tabernacle
Inside Worthing Tabernacle
Outside Worthing Town Hall is a decent spot for a large group shot
Hedingham Castle Wedding Photography - Sarah and Darren
Hedingham Castle Wedding – Sarah and Darren
I had 5 weddings in December last year, 5 of them. This month seems to be the new April in the wedding world!
I met Sarah an Darren almost a year before their wedding day, in the spring of 2011. We had a little shoot on the grounds of Castle Hedingham and got a good feel for the day to come.
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Hedingham Castle and the house are situated very close to each other with lots of space in both. It’s nice when a venue is away from the main drag, it’s nice and private. On this occasion myself and Laura stayed the night before in case of snow, which we got, but not until the morning.
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The ceremony itself was candlelit, the drinks reception and dinner were held in the house but the evening reception and party was held in the main marquee….which is huge.
The only drawback on the day was the absence of light. At this time of year twilight is at 4pm and with the ceremony being at 3pm I had to really think on my feet and push the limits of my camera as I was shooting in almost total darkness. But, I knew this and was prepared.
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Overall, Hedingham Castle is a great venue but more importantly, Sarah and Darren were a great couple (and still are). It was a lovely day for all involved and I look forward to being there again.
Kate and Andy’s Wedding at the Rickety Barn, Bassmead Manor
September the 17th last year was the wonderful wedding of Kate and Andy in Cambridge.
This was an all day event for me, starting at the home of Kates parents and then moving onto The Registry office in Ely (The Old School House in Market Street).
When Kate and Andy booked me it was due to a referral from the wedding photographer Chris Geary who was already booked on that day (thanks Chris).
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Another thing, when they booked me Kate wasn’t pregnant so I received the good news a few months prior to the wedding.
Because of this Kate wore flat shoes and she said they might not be worth using for photos as they were a bit boring,…. sure thing…..
.... not so boring now.
The weather on the day was really changeable, that sunny but ‘could really chuck it down any time’ sort of weather!
And it did, boy did it really throw it down! It had the best timing though. It rained heavily at the registry office and stopped during the service, the sun came out and lasted until an hour or so after arriving at the Rickety Barn in Bassmead.
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Due to the weather we had a double and triple rainbow appear. (ref:Double Rainbow Dude)
After the fun and games in the grounds we went in to the reception itself. The Rickety Barn doesn’t look very big but it is. The actual Barn itself is used for drinks and dancing but sewn onto the back of it is a massive marquee.
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I’m not exaggerating, it’s an awesome venue. Everywhere you go there’s a nice spot to either have privacy or be part of the group. It’s big enough to fit everyone in and small enough to feel cosy. It’s also in the middly of nowhere, I couldn’t hear any cars, just wildlife and as far as the eye can see….. fields, sky and trees.
I’d get married here.
Kate has since given birth to a beautiful baby girl named Orla Sky, ace.
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Possibly my favourite Wedding Bouquet of last year
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I liked a lot of the nice touches at Kate and Andy's wedding
The bar was an open one so everyone had the option of name tags for their glasses. Cool idea.
Note to grooms... if your best man gives you the above look, you're in trouble.
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'...and then I said to him, give me back my toy car or I'll use the other hand to...'
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I didn't know what this was but I want one.
I never realised the the Cambridge area was so flat. (I'm not used to it down here)
The Ricketty Barn Bassmead, a wonky image of a wonky barn!
This is the coolest way to deal with couples who have a two foot height difference.
