On a beautiful day in April 2019, I headed to Braintree in Essex for a family wedding. I was so happy to have been asked to capture this wedding and attend as a guest with my husband and two little monkeys as well. So before I begin, thank you to Mr & Mrs Carpenter for allowing me to photograph your special day!
The day began at Braintree Town Hall where family and friends arrived in the glorious sunshine. Page boys (wearing suits from NEXT), flower girls (wearing dresses hand-made by the Groom's Grandmother) and bridesmaids (wearing dresses from Amazon) waited downstairs for the Bride, as the Groom, Darryl, waited patiently in the Lounge Room as the guests were seated. The Groom's suit came from Moss Bros.
Arriving in a beautiful Vintage motor (courtesy of a family friend), the Bride, Ieasha, wore a gorgeous white gown from Wed2Be which was complimented by a cathedral-length veil. She held some strikingly beautiful flowers in a hand-made bouquet (the button holes were all home-made too).
The ceremony room was packed and the bridesmaids, page boys and flower girls led the way before Ieasha walked down the aisle with her father to meet Darryl. The service was lovely and after the signing of the register, we took a few group photographs in the main entrance using the staircase as best we good with the large number of people in attendance. I even managed to sneak into the side of a shot which was taken with a timer (can you spot me?). We also made sure to catch a photograph of the couple with their four beautiful children on the staircase.
After all the guests had moved onto the reception venue, I went with the newlyweds to the Braintree Public Gardens where we took some photographs of the couple on their own. What a gorgeous place for photographs! There's a pond, a bridge, a beautiful garden which was being maintained nicely by some volunteers whilst we were there. I'd love to return one day for some more photographs!
When we were finished with portraits we all headed off to Jardins for the evening reception. The room was decorated with hand-made centrepieces, activities for the children, cakes and sweets and a selfie-booth area. The cake was lovingly made by a family friend and upon cutting the cake, the groom, Darryl, got the first taste (as you can see from the images below). Speeches were funny, emotional and full of joy for the newly weds. Later on, the first dance kick-started the party followed by a father-daughter and mother-son dance.
Great fun was had by all who attended - it was such a lovely day. Thank you again for having me! It was a pleasure!
RIP Ron Carpenter