Wedding Photographer Hazlewood Castle | Helen and Kevin's Wedding

Helen and Kevin's wedding was our last of 2019, taking us right up to Christmas, and our third consecutive wedding at Hazlewood Castle Hotel.  An enormous amount of planning went into the couple's celebrations and at our final meeting a few weeks before they told us about everything that had gone into making their big day amazing, calling for a very long and detailed set of notes to follow to make sure we didn't miss anything important. Usually when it's a civil ceremony the bride gets ready at the venue but as Helen had planned a spectacular arrival the bridal preparations took place at a hotel a distance away where, after some difficulty getting past security, we enjoyed a lovely, calm and relaxed couple of hours with Helen and Sophie, her incredibly helpful best friend and bridesmaid. Often the bridal preparations are hectic and things run late so it was really nice that this time everything ran so perfectly and we were able to capture some special moments as Sophie helped Helen into her dress, before we left to start phase two, Kevin and his party at the venue. During this time Helen was  collected and driven to the bottom of the lane by Kevin's dad and then she arrived in style in a carriage drawn by four spectacular horses wearing red plumes to match the couple's colour scheme. Before her arrival we had some fun with the lads until we spotted Kevin's dad's car arriving, signally time for the groom to make himself scarce.  His strutting entrance to into the Old Dining Room for the ceremony made everyone laugh but then emotion got the better of Kevin as he saw his bride for the first time.  She looked stunning!  We'd talked to Kevin about how to pack photographs of everything they had planned before dinner into the daylight available on a late December wedding day but he had it all covered and we have to commend him for his organisational skills, his and Helen's cooperation and for arranging a longer than usual drinks reception to give us the best chance to get what we needed before we lost the light. There is a first time for everything and this was the first time we'd had a groom communicate with his best man by walkie talkie, and with Gavin, the two of them did an awesome job.  It was really funny though when Kevin radioed Gavin to ask him to get Helen a cup of tea, as she was feeling the cold! What a fabulous day with so much to capture - the spectacular horse drawn carriage, a falconry display, a casino, the Great Hall exquisitely dressed for the wedding breakfast in a completely different style to anything we've seen before, a choreographed quick step, a live band, fireworks and a wonderful couple who really did put everything into helping us to do a great job for them.  It was full on but we loved every minute and we left our last wedding of 2019 on a massive high.  Thanks a million Mr and Mrs Wright for inviting us to be your Hazlewood Castle wedding photographers.            

   

  

Wedding Photography at Hazlewood Castle | Victoria and Phil's Wedding

It was a great to work alongside Oliver from Jorvik Wedding Videography during our penultimate wedding of 2019 when we were back as Hazlewood Castle wedding photographers this time for the lovely Victoria and Phil's celebrations. Victoria and her bridesmaids got ready in the Lavender Suite and after the bridal details were photographed Janet stayed with the girls whilst Alex caught up with Phil for his final preps, before the two of us met up again in the courtyard to play with the boys, enjoy some banter and get some great images outside before the wet stuff sent us indoors.  The couple giggled a lot as they married in a civil ceremony in the Old Dining Room and afterwards we managed to get outdoors for just a few minutes for the big group photos and confetti shots before the weather gave us the run around yet again, as it has often done during our weddings this year, forcing us back into the Old Dining Room to photograph the groups beside the Christmas tree. When, thankfully, the rain stopped, Victoria, in her stunning strapless dress, braved the cold and the icy wind to get photographs outside with her new husband while we still had the daylight.  Winter weddings are beautiful but do require a "Let's go for it!" attitude.  The couple were amazing, right there when we needed them in order to get certain pictures done, including some gorgeous twilight photos, which to get the best result are time critical. After the wedding breakfast in the Great Hall and the speeches, including a heartfelt, funny and emotional tribute from Phil's brother, Steve, all the guests assembled for the evening blessing in the Chapel of St Leonard, conducted by the wonderful Reverend Ian Walton.  He certainly is one of a kind! Alice, one of the bridesmaids, sang as the guests took their seats and although we've seen many things during wedding ceremonies, we had a first, a religious blessing which included a set of pink fluffy handcuffs!!!  The end of the blessing was followed by a spectacular firework display which everyone loved, and then back inside into the warmth for the cake cutting and first dance. After the fast pace of the day with so much happening it was nice to sneak off for a few minutes into the Victoria Room with its gold wallpaper, subdued lighting and warm tones, slow things down and capture some images of the new Mr and Mrs Edwards in this beautiful room. Congratulations and thanks a million for booking us for your Hazlewood Castle wedding photography. You two were an absolute pleasure to work with and we can't wait to design an album for you!