Mr and Mrs Todd
Married at Marwell Hotel
2nd August 2019
James and Naomi tied the knot at Marwell Hotel in August 2019. It was a beautiful ceremony surrounded by all their family and friends. Read on for what wedding photography at Marwell Hotel looks like.
Getting Ready
Naomi always knew that she wanted to get ready at home. With 4 adult bridesmaids, 2 young bridesmaids and 2 young page boys, not to mention her mum, make up artist, hair stylist and myself, she felt it would be far more relaxed with more space for us all to spread into. Naomi had known from an early point that her Nan would not be able to join her on her special day, due to illness. I therefore suggested that she place photographs of her Nan around the house, so that she would be in the background of some of the photos. This was a big hit with Naomi and her family as she felt that her Nan had a prescence.
Naomi and James had chosen the themeas Beauty and the Beast, so I was particulary keen to capture as many of the details as possible, seeing as the Bride (normally) spends many hours researching, making and buying all the items that go towards this theme. Normally I would add this in later on in the blog, but it starts in this story with the shoes..
Naomi had always been quite relaxed about the photos, giving me free reign to capture the day as it unfolded rather than manipulate any situations. There was just one photo that she was desperate for – THE shot of her dad seeing her in her dress for the first time. She wanted the raw emotions and reactions. It was great that I knew this in advance as then I could plan carefully and ensure the set up was in the lightest and most spacious area. She had also mentioned that her niece and Goddaughter, Jasmine, was one of her favourite people in the world, so I made a mental note to capture them together as much as possible, both staged and candid.
There was just time for me to dash to Marwell Hotel to capture James and his Groomsmen quickly before Naomi and all her entourage arrived. In my experience, the Groom is never as keen to have his photo taken as the Bride and her Bridesmaids, but it is still important to capture those moments. Plus it is important for me to meet the groomsmen initially as I always ask if the Best Man or an Usher can help me out with the staged photos later on – always really handy to have one person on hand rounding up all the members of the group shots so that we can get though them quickly.
The Ceremony
The ceremony was a tale of two halves (rather than a tale as old as time – Beauty and the Beast theme! Get it? – ha ha ha). The first half was ceremony – a beautiful registrar ceremony with good friends reading the readings and two ex-pupils of both Naomi and James’ performing a beautiful duet while the happy couple signed the registers.
The second half was a blessing of the wedding. Naomi’s family are very good friends with the new Dean of Salisbury, the Very Reverand Nick Papadopulos, who was invited to bless the vows that Naomi and James had just taken. This was an incredibly personal and moving service which was just lovely.
The Reception
We were so lucky with the weather during the afternoon – it was lovely and warm and dry, so we were all able to make the most of being outdoors. Having never shot wedding photography at Marwell Hotel before, I was pleased to see some green landscape that we could all enjoy and utilise. I always try and spend some time with the bride and groom first, before we then invite others into the group shots and then finally everyone can relax and mingle whilst I take some candid shots.
The Speeches
The speeches, as will all weddings were gorgeous and beautifully personal. The Father of the Bride even managed to get James in a Pompey shirt whilst bantering about Saints (James’ team and Pompey Naomi’s team). Can’t see James ever getting in that shirt again!
The Details
Naomi and her Mother-In-Law had worked incredibly hard in the months leading up to the wedding, to create and collate appropriate Beauty and the Beast items to make the theme sing. And boy did they make it work! The cake was made by the incredible Nikki from Nikki B Cake Design and was just incredible! I’ve never seen a cake with its fairy own lights before – exquisite!
Although Naomi asked me to capture the details, I always do as a matter of course. These are the details that so many hours of planning and making go into, ther detils that can make a wedding so unbelievebly personal. As you can see from Naomi’s shoes, she has Grandad’s name included in the design so that she felt he was with her! What a beautiful sentiment.
The Party
James and Naomi chose to have a band playing at their eveing reception, and The Hatties did not disapppoint. They are an 8-piece band playing a mix of soul and Britpop and they had everyone dancing within minutes! Two of the members are the parents of the incredibly talented girls (Daisy and Nell) who sang during the ceremony, so it was lovely to have them all performing together at various points in the evening. It really was an amazing atmosphere and especially awesome at the end when the lead singer went for a little wander around the dance floor and was singing amongst the revellers!
