The bride started her day by getting ready at a country manor hotel in Surrey where she would later return for the wedding reception. Her, her mother and her bridesmaids got ready in the Autograph room at the hotel. The bride was happy to have her mum with her who had to fly over from France to be there. When I arrived, the brilliant girls at Makerover had done everyone's hair and makeup and they were ready to help the bride into her dress. After the bride was ready in her dress and veil everyone else got ready and headed outside to get in the VW Camper van that was taking them all to the ceremony.
They shortly arrived at Horsham Registry Office where all of their guests were waiting outside. I headed inside to find a nervous but very happy groom, his best man by his side who helped calm his nerves with laughter. They had a lovely ceremony surrounded by their closest friends and family. Afterwards they headed outside to the gardens which lead into Horsham Park for some group photos and congratulations.
All the guests made their way to the Stanhill Court Hotel for the wedding reception. They walked through to The Orangery where they were greeted with welcome drinks. The staff had done up the room beautifully, with lots of hessian at the brides request for a more rustic look. The mother of the bride and her maid of honour started unboxing 200 Krispy kremes and made a huge donut tower which was the wedding 'cake', it smelt incredible. The evening guests arrived and headed into the garden, it was a beautiful sunny day, perfect for a wedding. I let the bride and groom speak to the guests for a while and then I took them off for a few couple portraits. There's lots of really nice spots for photos in the hotel's grounds to explore so we headed around the back to find a lovely open area with lots of trees.
At 6pm everyone was called in for the wedding breakfast, they had a BBQ buffet. The bride and groom were announced in by the DJ and then everyone helped themselves to food. After food came the speeches, they were keen to keep the speeches short so there was only two speakers; the bride and the father of the groom. Both received cheers from the guests. It was approaching sunset so I took the bride and groom back outside for a few more photos. They always appreciate the time alone away from the guests.
They went back inside to do the 'cake cut' which was instead them feeding each other a donut from the tower. Then straight into the first dance, they chose Always by Bon Jovi as their song. They were quickly joined on the dance floor by their friends and family which was lovely. They wanted to end on a sparkler shot so we got everyone outside, lighting 50 sparklers with one box of matches was a challenge but we made it work. It was a wonderful day, full of love and laughter, that's what wedding are about.
