Remember how I like a wedding that goes against the grain, well, this one's up there as one of my favourite weddings, and one that's undoubtedly on the unconventional side!
You may remember a few months ago the blog of Claire and Hayden whose engagement shoot I captured at Brownsover Hall. Well, on the Monday of the coronation weekend, it was finally time to capture their wedding and let me tell you right now from the get-go, it was definitely one to remember!
It was a whole team job for this one, so myself, Rachel for the photography and the incredibly talented Dan for the videography.
The start of the day was set for the Manor Court Hotel, in Newark for us to capture Claire's bridal prep. Let me be the first to tell you, that the Manor Court Hotel, is anything but your run-of-the-mill hotel, there's no baskets, shabby chic bunting, or neatly placed vintage items. What it is, is a very gothic themed hotel.
Manor Court Hotel really does go all in on the theming, and whatsmore it perfectly matches Claire and Hayden. There were no shortage of little hidden details, which included skulls, suits of armour and various other trinkets that enhanced and added to the ambiance of the hotel.
Back to the happy couple though, and the first order of the day was Claire’s bridal prep! Suffice to say, we had a real laugh capturing Claire and the bridesmaids getting ready, it was awesome to be out with Dan bouncing jokes off each other to get some really genuine laughs and smiles… from Claire and the bridesmaid’s obviously.
As we got the final few bridal prep shots out of the way, Claire was ushered out of the hotel to make her way to the ceremony, where she made her way to the couples wedding car for the day, which in typical Claire and Hayden style HAD to be a hearse.
From then, we raced over to the registry office to meet with a very nervous Hayden who was dressed in black leather and of course a cape to finish off the whole ensemble. As always, in a more conventional fashion, I think Hayden was struggling with the nerves, but as we got him mic’d up and ready, myself and Dan gave him a-bit of a pep talk to get him geared up for Claire’s arrival.
Of course there was no wedding march for Claire and Hayden. Nope, they’d gone for Metallica. I really don’t think anything else would be appropriate for them both to be honest. As Claire walked up the aisle It was wicked to see their guests fully onboard with the theme, dressed in black too.
The weather wasn’t playing ball for Claire and Hayden unfortunately, but there was no way we were going to let that get in the way of the festivities, so it was out into the grounds of Newark Castle where instead of rain the newlyweds could be showered in confetti.
Just as soon as we’d finished with the group shots, it was over the road to the reception venue ready for the guests to sit down for their food.
Claire had thought of everything ahead of her big day, vials of “poison” which were actually flavoured liquids to add to champagne, a rub on tattoo station for their guests, doc martens, a black dress for the evening, and tons of little details that just added so amazingly to the look and feel of their day. As a photographer it’s those finite details that are an absolute joy to photograph as you can really start to tell a story through the images you capture.
Once the newlyweds had finished their food, which I can only imagine, was equally in keeping with their theme, we managed to grab Claire and Hayden for some shots around the grounds of Newark castle. Having built up a good relationship with them both, I knew exactly the look and feel of the photos that they both wanted, so some equally dark and moody photos in the grounds of the castle were definitely a nice addition, even if we did have a bit of rain to contend with.
Claire had mentioned that she wanted to change into her black dress for the evening, and there were a couple of quick shots both myself and Dan wanted to get around the Manor hotel so it made perfect sense for us tag along with the happy couple. Whilst Claire got changed, the venue staff lit the various candles dotted around the hotel to really hone down that gothic vibe I knew they’d both love.
Shots taken, it was back to the venue for the evening reception for their first dance. I’d joked with Claire about it being a mosh pit, and me having a go at some crowd surfing. Sadly no mosh pit, but it was a pleasure to capture their first dance with all their guests crowded around them.
As all good weddings do, our time with Claire and Hayden was brought to a close and having had a good old headbang myself, Rachel and dan made our exit.
Despite the very gothic demeanour Claire and Hayden are an absolutely amazing couple. Their wedding will definitely rank amongst one of my most memorable days to capture. In the run up to their big day, it was a fantastic to get to know Claire, hear about all her ideas and touches she had planned along getting to know them both too. Whilst Hayden was a little nervous on the surface, I think by the end of the day between us we’d cracked the surface and he really relaxed into enjoying the process. I shall no doubt be staying in touch!! Thank you for having us!!
Special thanks goes out to Dan too! As always Dan was a legend, a pleasure to work along side and a top mate!
Catch you all next week for another wedding related blog!
Peace. Love and Photos.
Jono x
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