Clare got ready for her wedding in one of the lovely executive rooms of the Royal Bath Hotel in Bournemouth. The room, with its terrace, had a perfect view of Bournemouth Pier where the wedding reception was to take place later that day. It provided us with a great backdrop for the morning’s preps despite the fact it was Helter-Skelterless.

Clare and Andy had booked us to shoot their wedding last year and in that time we’d already seen the Helter Skelter been taken down once for the winter so we knew it wouldn’t be there forever. We had a lovely play around it for their pre-wed shoot and had spoken lots about how it would provide a great backdrop for the party. A few days before the wedding Ian and I had sat enjoying the sunset on Boscombe Pier and the conversation went something a bit like this:

Me: “That Helter Skelter is going to look beautiful in the twilight light on Saturday”

Ian: “That’s if it’s still there.. end of season now.”

Me: “Nah.. they’re not going to take it down now. Especially not before a sunny weekend.”

Jump to the day before the wedding when I get a rather fraught bride on the phone: “Emma! They’ve only gone and taken down the Helter Skelter!”. Andy had just broken the news to her and at first she thought it was a bit of a silly joke. Clare had begged the fairground people for it to stay for the next day but it was a gonna. Mocking us for that whole day before with its head chopped off as it was packed up to go to Barry. Ho hum. There was never any doubt everyone was still going to have an amazing day, though.

Onto the preps…

Of course, if you’re going to have a party on the pier you need to go to town with the seaside details.

Clare and Andy exchanged gifts on the morning of the wedding. Weirdly, they had both each other a photo book – great minds think alike!

Clare had also arranged for some letters from a few famous faces to be penned for Andy which he opened up during his own morning preps.

All of the girls (including me) got to ride in a lovely VW Split Screen van with orange tilted windows whilst Clare and her dad made their way to Bournemouth Town Hall in a beautiful shiny VW Beetle convertible.

VERY cute bridesmaid dresses for the little’uns.

The ceremony took place in the largest room of Bournemouth Town Hall – the Council Chamber.

After the ceremony we spent just a little time outside taken some of the larger family shots. We took the rest on the pier and made use of the deckchairs!

Slightly dodgy avoiding the gaps in the planks with stiletto shoes on, but all good fun.

For a while we’d been keeping a secret with Clare’s mum and dad and we worked together to organise our timetable to make sure all the guests were in position for a special fly-by. It all worked out so well and we got the reactions were we hoping for!

I know this blog post ties in with Clare’s birthday and that she loves a bit of blog action so “Happy Birthday, Clare!”

Click here to jump straight to Part Two.

We can’t think of a more perfect place to hold a wedding for close family and friends than the beautiful Chaffeymoor Grange. Lying slap bang in the middle of the Dorset, Somerset and Wiltshire border it boasts some amazing views over the The Blackmoor Vale. More importantly, it has ten magnificently decorated bedrooms for guests and a pretty outstanding TV den in the cellar!

Lisa and Ian were to make the most of their venue for the entire weekend – it was a house party and wedding all rolled into one. When we arrived at Chaffeymoor guests were enjoying the start of their weekend croquet tournament and trying to get their heads round the rules. Meanwhile, Lisa and her mum and sister got ready upstairs carefully avoiding Ian, the Groom until they went down to the pub for their own morning preps.

Each room in the house was decorated with its own pretty purple orchid to match the tones of Lisa’s bouquet. We’ve now shot quite a few weddings at Chaffeymoor with flowers prepped by The Gilded Lily and they consistently impress us with their work.

Whilst Ian (photography) went off with Ian (groom) and the boys (the abundance of Ians became very confusing), I stayed at Chaffeymoor with the girls.

It was all very calm at the house and with no danger of bumping into the groom we had the luxury of using lots of different rooms to sort the make-up, hair and dress. The ceremony began at a leisurely 4pm and it was nice for everyone to be able to take their time.

The ceremony took place in Chaffeymoor’s Oak Room. Poor Lindsay and Rik, the owners of Chaffeymoor, normally have to lug these sofas out of the room ready for the ceremony (and they’re mighty heavy). However, Lisa and Ian decided to embrace the cosy set-up and their guests watched the ceremony in comfort. We thought it was a great idea and it kept the day super relaxed and laid back!

After the ceremony the guests made the most of the sunny day with canapés and champagne on the terrace.

Then we took some family shots. There were some guests who had travelled a long way to be there.

This may have been the smallest wedding party bunch we’ve shot but I don’t think I’ve ever enjoyed the formal group shots more. After taking the essential shots guests started suggesting random set-ups for us to capture. Trouble is, some of the party had moved along to chat and drink their champers by this time and missed the discussion. We must have seemed like the most random wedding photographers

We took some more sedate group shots as well, I can assure you.

Those done it was nearly time for the guests to sit down for their meal. There was just some time for a bit of post-ceremony football.

Until the ball fell in Chaffeymoor’s huge pond.

With a little bit of teamwork they soon got their ball back.

We stayed at Chaffeymoor whilst guests enjoyed their meal around one big table. There were no formal speeches at all but we could hear plenty of laughter coming from that room.

It was getting pretty late after this and it was a real reminder that the days are getting a lot shorter as the sun set fast. We still had some time to take some dusk shots around the garden of the bride and groom. Lisa and Ian took us up on the offer of a full engagement shoot early in the year so they were real pros by now. It was great seeing the guestbook we made up for them get such a good response and lovely to see the pages fill up with comments.

There wasn’t any evening entertainment so to speak of, but with a mighty playlist a huge stock of beer and wine, and the knowledge the guests didn’t have to travel far to get to their beds that night, there was no stopping the party.

We hope you, your family and all your friends had an amazing bank holiday weekend at Chaffeymoor, Lisa and Ian. Congratulations to you both! x

The skies were blue and the sun was baking for the wedding of Clare and Andy yesterday. It was a fun packed day which kicked off at the Royal Bath Hotel for wedding preps, then onto Bournemouth Town Hall and finished off at the end of the pier at the Key West restaurant and bar. We did the Bournemouth circular, waving at everyone from the polished VW Split Screen van and Beetle.

Clare and Andy made the most of being by the beach on their wedding day with a full-blown seaside theme. They even brought along their own lollipop props for their photos and we took some of their group shots on the deckchairs. Being at the end of the pier was a dream come true for these two. Clare is so obsessed with piers they’ve invented their own sightseeing hobby which they call “Piering”. They take it VERY seriously.

We were honorary members of the Piering Club yesterday and here’s a preview from our day. It was a great privilege.