Recently Amy & I headed off to the beautiful Ardington House to photograph the wedding of Anna & Sandy. The bride & groom found us by recommendation, we have photographed several of their friend’s weddings. We love it that our happy couples feel they recommend us to their friends & families.
Amy joined Sandy, his Best Men, Ushers & parents to capture getting ready shots whilst I stayed with the bridal party at Ardington House.
Ardington House is a beautiful stately home in Oxfordshire. It is an idyllic venue for your wedding with the house & stunning marquee set in the extensive grounds. All weddings have exclusive use of the house & grounds so give a wonderful relaxed feel to the day.
Anna, her bridesmaids & family were getting ready at the house. The beautiful rooms with large windows offered a wonderful backdrop for the bridal preparation images. I love this part of the day, capturing the flurry of hair & make up but one of my favourite moments is when the Father of the Bride sees his daughter for the first time. Nothing like a proud father to get the emotions going!
Meanwhile Amy was with the boys making the journey to the church in Wantage, capturing the guests arriving & an expectant groom waiting for his bride.
I was travelling with Anna’s Mum & bridesmaid which meant I was able to be with Anna for as long as possible but before long it was time to make our way to the church. I was in place in readiness for Anna’s arrival in the gorgeous vintage car & to capture some lovely shots of her bridesmaids waiting for her. I then dashed into the church to take my place at the top of the aisle for the service.
It was a beautiful service & the very happy couple made their way back down the aisle to the congratulations of their friends & family. After being showered with confetti under an arch of tennis rackets, cricket bats & golf clubs (watch out Grandad!) Anna & Sandy made their way back to Ardington House.
As their guests mingled on the lawns we took the formal group shots & then took the happy couple out into the grounds to capture some shots of the two of them. The house & grounds give a wonderful variety of backdrops & that, along with a gorgeous couple lends to some wonderfully stylish couple shots.
We never like to keep the couple away for too long. It was soon time for them to rejoin their guests & make their way into the stunning marquee. The speeches were just wonderful; hilarious & emotional. There certainly were a few tears both of laughter & sadness. There was also a surprise performance by the singing waiters, it was wonderful to see the guests reactions!
It was then time for the happy couple to take their first dance as a married couple before they were joined by their friends & families on the dance floor. As always, we left them dancing the night away!
