Bisham Abbey Wedding – Bruce & Julia

 Riverside Wedding

Back in the summer I attended the most beautiful and unique wedding between Bruce and Julia at the 13th Century Bisham Abbey. This was a perfect venue for their special day as these boating enthusiasts live locally alongside the River Thames.

Bisham Abbey is mainly a Tudor building which is Grade I listed. It houses one of the Britain’s three national sports centres. The building incorporates parts of the original Bisham Priory. This was founded by the Knights Templar in 1338. In spite of its name, the monks or nuns never inhabited the abbey.

The bride and the groom arrived on separate fabulously decorated boats for their outdoor ceremony. Julia and Bruce certainly made a stylish grand river entrance!

The lovely celebrant Colette Ashby carried out the relaxed ceremony. The couple chose a fun knot tying ceremony where they tied themselves together with traditional boating ropes and knots. This all sounds way easier to do than it really was, it certainly entertained their guests!

Then to exit the ceremony, they skipped between their guests whilst still tied together. And the newlyweds enjoyed the moment so much that they ran back down and up the aisle one more time! Their appreciative guests encouraged them every step of the way with cheers and a rapturous round of applause.

After the ceremony, Julia and Bruce were keen to capture some pictures on one of the decorated boats. I knew instantly that these guys were regular boating enthusiasts, as without hesitation they  navigated their way along the narrow walkways at the side of the boat. At times like this that my heart sinks as I watch the bride in her expensive flowing gown attempting such a manoeuvre!

A Fun Wedding Reception, with Boat Trips on the Thames from Bisham Abbey

During the drinks reception, guests played traditional fun games on the lawns. These always provide great photo opportunities for me, the non-stop laughter really can’t be beaten!

Then there were boat trips on offer for their enthusiastic guests too! I don’t think there was a single guest who missed out on this opportunity. At times there were queues forming to board the next river trip!

The guests lapped up the fun storytelling in the lively speeches detailing the bride and groom’s life adventures to date! These shots are so much about split second timings to achieve the most perfect images. For the group photos, the backdrops don’t get any grander than having Bisham Abbey as my wedding canvas!

Then over my shoulder was my other fabulous backdrop for the day, the River Thames! As always, I used as many vistas and angles as possible to showcase this historic venue in all its glory.

Come the evening, everyone was dancing the night away to the lively Ceilidh band. Heaven knows where everyone found the energy to dance the night away!

What I love about a Ceilidh is how all the varying age groups lap up the opportunity dance. And Julia and Bruce’s family and friends were no exception.

My floodlights come out at every wedding I attend, but this abbey shot is one I’m absolutely thrilled with!

The fabulous interior decor & gorgeous floral arrangements on the day were created by the super talented team at Hire Heaven. This interior is of The Great Hall at the abbey.

And the marvellous jewellery that you see on the bride & bridesmaids was created by non other than Julia the bride! @juliacoombesjewellery. It must have been so special for Julia to wear her own jewellery on her special day.

Kind Words

Choosing a photographer for such an important life event is quite nerve wracking – it feels important to get it ‘right’. What I can say is that from the outset we were put at ease by Mark and his care and attention to detail and customer service are phenomenal. He took time to explain his shooting and editing processes – showing us examples of his work whilst also enthusiastically talking through our plans and his knowledge of the venue. His approach is professional, warm, and friendly and his skill and passion for his craft really shines through.

It was clear throughout how he truly cares about his clients and the results he achieves. We found it so helpful to have a pre-wedding portrait shoot and planning session with Mark at our venue Bisham Abbey. On the wedding day itself (we chose the 8 hour option) we really got to appreciate Mark in action – he is wonderfully creative and responsive as a photographer and he beautifully captured the precious moments of our special day as they unfolded. When needed he gently guides and directs but otherwise he blends seamlessly into the background doing a fantastic job. The gorgeous photographs we have now are testimony to his dedication and exceptional work – we are delighted and warmly recommend him to other couples – thank you Mark.

A Few Extras

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