Getting Ready For The Big Day
For Verity and Rob’s sunny Christmas wedding at the Dairy, Waddesdon, I started two hours before the church ceremony, to visit multiple locations. First I went to capture Rob with his family in Thame, then I dashed off to see Verity at the nearby Oxfordshire Hotel. Then to complete my trip around town, I went on to capture the guests arriving at the church in Thame.
I’m pleased to report that everyone was in a jovial mood, and Verity and Rob certainly showed no sign of any pre-wedding nerves.
Church Service At St Marys, Thame
Verity and Rob were blessed with a lovely sunny day for their wedding, although as to be expected for this time of year it was pretty cold. Their closest friends and family travelled from far and wide to be with them on their special day.
The ceremony at St Marys, Thame was beautiful, and very emotional for everyone in attendance. The acoustics in the church were superb for the hymns, and I’m quite sure the guests’ heartfelt singing could be heard in the nearby town centre!
After the ceremony I captured a few group poses inside the church, then we briefly ventured outside into the cold air!
Amazingly not one guest complained as they waited outside the church to shower the newlyweds in their confetti aisle; these pictures always make for a lovely send off. The resulting fun images were really worth the effort, despite the newlyweds needing to dust themselves down thoroughly afterwards.
The Dairy, Waddesdon – Decorated For A Christmas Wedding
After a twenty minute drive through the gorgeous countryside, we all arrived at The Dairy on the Waddesdon Estate. I’m pleased to report that the skies stayed perfectly blue all day!
I was so inspired by Verity and Rob’s gorgeous Christmas wedding at The Dairy, Waddesdon. The attention to detail throughout was superb, and I just adored their rich colour scheme. Verity and Rob chose a red and gold theme, echoed in their striking floral arrangements and all of their wedding details. The bridesmaids wore gorgeous gold and red dresses, which tied in perfectly with Verity’s vibrant, colourful vision for the day.
The Dairy is about as magical as it gets for a romantic winter wedding venue! Many of the guests braved the chilly conditions to explore the wonderful lakeside gardens on the day, and who can blame them – there’s just so much to see!
At this time of year, the Dairy has a fabulous illuminated Christmas tree in their central courtyard. It looked so majestic as the guests arrived through the venue’s dramatic vaulted entrance. And naturally I incorporated it into some of my pictures too – this dusk shot was probably the pick of the bunch.
The fabulous huge illuminated personalised letters were made by Verity’s father. They took centre stage in the winter garden and looked stunning.
Sing Along After The Speeches
I’ll never forget the fun packed surprise sing-a-long the couple had planned for after the speeches. There was certainly no time for anyone to shy away from the challenge that was coming their way!
Each table in turn had to jump up on numerous occasions and belt out their allotted words from twelve days of Christmas. This was fabulous to witness and photograph; the sight of everyone jumping up from their seats, plus the sound of singing and constant laughter was unbelievable!
The resulting images are some of my favourites from the day. When the guests are having this much fun, most people become oblivious to my camera.
Kind Words
Dear Mark,
We’ve now received our wedding photographs and we’re emailing to thank you very much indeed.
From the beginning of the process you put us at such ease. Your expert advice regarding the number of formal shots to consider, the timings for the day and the spots for photos at the Dairy were totally invaluable. You’ve been really communicative and efficient – we didn’t expect our pictures to be ready as soon as we were back from honeymoon!
The quality of the pictures is really excellent – the colours are so vibrant and you managed to get a shot of every single guest! The family photographs are exactly what we had envisaged – we love the informality. We really feel that you captured the spirit of the day – looking at the pictures has brought back so many lovely memories.
It’s going to be hard to choose our favourites as they’re all really great!
Kind regards, Verity & Rob
