A couple of weeks ago now we got to spend a day at Langtry Manor for the wedding of Kate and Chris. Only really down the road from us in Bournemouth, we’d heard a lot about Langtry Manor being avid watchers of The Hotel Inspector, but hadn’t ventured inside before our final consultation, either to the main ceremony room or the absolutely stunning events’ room acroos the road – Langtry Lodge. There’s no denying there’s nowhere else like this place in Dorset, let alone Bournemouth!

The day kicked off with me heading over to Westbourne to meet Kate and the bridal party for hair and make-up time at a cute little salon out the back of a Brazilian store called Corcovado just on Queen’s Road. It was great fun watching the enthusiast stylist Vinnie Ribeiro doll up the girls ready for the day and in between slating Keira Knightley and wondering why on earth we were listening to Christmas songs in March some nice little prep shots were snapped up.

Hair all set in place and make-up expertly applied it was time to quickly head back to Kate’s house to get that dress on, make sure everyone had their flowers and await the snazzy blue limo.

Of course, I’m always keen to snap up shoes and flowers. Kate’s were pretty spectacular and it’s always a shame that underneath those wedding dresses you only rarely get a peek! Also, the flowers from Flowers at 166 were special too!

Tucked away in Bournemouth, there are three different ceremony options at Langtry Manor – either outside in the garden gazebo, in the regal-looking Gladstone Room or across the road at Langtry Lodge. Kate and Chris opted for the Gladstone Room. With it’s large sun-blessed window and cosy atmosphere this gave us a chance to snap up some naturally- lit shots during the ceremony for once!

Although it wasn’t long before the guests sat down for the wedding breakfast, we had a little time to explore the rooms of Langtry Manor for some indoors couple shots. The ladies on the reception desk kindly let us quickly sneak into the King’s Room to get a bit of quiet time and snap up some more intimate portraits. There’s a lot of history in that room. Langtry Manor was built in 1877 by King Edward VII for his mistress Lillie Langtry.

As we were doing that the hotel did a good job of turning the ceremony round ready for the meals. We were so impressed with Kate and Chris’ great little cupcakes and the guest’s tables looked really stylish with thoughtful place settings.

Champagne passed around and everyone tucking into their bread the speeches took place before the meal so everyone could enjoy the dishes without worrying about remembering their lines. The Gladstone Room has a really neat little balcony that overlooks the guests so it was possible to snap up some shots from both levels.

With everyone tucking into their meals, Ian and I headed off for our break. We felt so priviledged only living literally three minutes drive away we were able to pop back home, back up the shots we’d captured so far and do a little quick change for the evening. All refreshed we headed back to Langtry Lodge where the evening entertainment was to take place. Having spent a heck of a lot of money doing that venue up Langtry Lodge is a really stylish set of suites complete with a dedicated bar. Of course, that meant it wasn’t long before everyone got into the swing of things – (sorry guys, but if you do insist on me snapping up your poses of course I’m going to put them on my blog… I have some far sillier than this

After the first dance, and a bit of entertaining the kids…

It was time for a bit of tradition. As well as a bit of bouquet throwing, the boys also got a chance to practice their scrums as Kate offered up her garter!

We’re heading back to Langtry Lodge in October, although hopefully I won’t be taking many photos! We were so taken by Kate and Chris’ choice of venue that we’ve chosen to have our own wedding reception there. We can’t wait to go back!

Emma – BB

Posted with thanks and congratulations to Mr & Mrs Southern