Just before the end of the year, I photographed Nicola and Justin’s wedding at Thornbury Church and Thornbury Castle. It was a pretty mild day for the middle of winter and also dry when I arrived at the castle and met up with Nicola and her bridesmaids. Nicola and Justin live in Hong Kong and lots of their friends and family had flown over for the wedding including her little flowergirls who were getting ready with her in the castle. There was a bustle of activity with hair and make up being done, dresses put on and sashes tied.
Over at the church, which is very conveniently next door to the castle, guests were arriving and greeting Justin and the boys to the sound of the bagpipes – so it was all very atmospheric. When everyone was ready, Nicola and the girls were piped over from the castle – what a nice way to arrive at church; on foot and to music!
After the ceremony, we did some family photographs briefly before heading back around to the castle for drinks and canapes. As it was getting dark I took Nicola and Justin off for a few romantic portraits using the castle’s lovely grounds and they then sat down for dinner. The Tudor Hall at the castle looked wonderful with coloured uplighters, candles and rich red flowers and berries – a great way to decorate tables for winter weddings.
After the meal. we had a lot of fun outside with sparklers (not the easiest things in the world to photograph!) and then headed back inside for the dancing – which kicked off with a rousing version of Gangnam style!
Here are some of my favourite images: