Audleys Wood Hotel Wedding Photographer

Karli and Rob’s Wedding at Audleys Wood Hotel

Getting to work with couples like Karli and Rob and getting to return to be an Audleys Wood Hotel wedding photographer is what my job is all about.  Karli and Rob chose the perfect wedding venue for their summer wedding.

Audleys Wood Hotel is a magnificent Victorian mansion set in beautiful grounds and woodland in the heart of Hampshire.  It’s a truly romantic setting for a wedding but I’m getting ahead of myself.  I’ll get back to all the reasons why I love being an Audleys Wood Hotel wedding photographer in a minute.  Let’s start at the beginning of Karli and Rob’s day.

Bridal Prep

On the day I arrived early and got some great images of the house and gardens.  I then caught up with Karli who was getting ready in the gorgeous Jane Austen bridal suite.  She was in good company with her bridal party around her, complete with matching ‘team bride’ robes and was in the capable hands of her hairstylist and makeup artist.  The bridal party consisted of Karli, her mum, four bridesmaids and her Karli’s daughter who made the prettiest flower girl.

Before leaving the bridal suite, I captured a lovely father seeing the bride moment for Karli and her dad Andrew.  Karli looked amazing in her dress that was beautifully fitted with lace detail and a mermaid shape that gave Karli a gorgeous silhouette in all of my images of her.

Ceremony

As guests congregated in the bar, I had a chance to quickly catch up with Rob and his grooms party to get a few images of them.  They all looked very smart in three-piece petrol blue suits and pink ties, even the pageboy (who performed his duties very diligently)

The ceremony was held in conservatory which has an impressive vaulted ceiling and views across the grounds.  It is also flooded with tons of natural light (music to the ears of any Hampshire wedding photographer!)

After the ceremony there was a fun confetti moment before everybody enjoyed a drinks reception and I took my chance to get some great group, formal and informal images of Karli, Rob and their guests.  As everybody was happily mingling, I quickly whisked Karli and Rob away to get some romantic portrait images of them around the grounds.  This brings me neatly to one of the reasons why I always love returning to be an Audleys Wood Hotel wedding photographer, the gardens.  They are beautiful and always provide me with a beautiful backdrop when photographing my couples and their guests.

The Reception

The wedding reception was held in a luxury marquee in the garden.  Everybody enjoyed a sumptuous wedding breakfast and there were some very funny and well received speeches where unsurprisingly Wolverhampton Wanderers got more than a mention!  (Karli and Rob are devoted fans!)

Then everybody spilled outside onto the terrace to enjoy the late afternoon sunshine and there were outdoor games for the young, and not so young, to enjoy.

The Party

Evening celebrations saw the marquee transformed and ready for a party.  It looked amazing.  Celebrations started with the cutting of an amazing four tier wedding cake.  Before Karli and Rob took to the dancefloor for a romantic first dance.  This was followed by a sweet father/daughter dance.  Then the DJ got everybody on the dancefloor.  I don’t mean that as an expression, he really did get everybody on the dancefloor, where many remained for the rest of the night.  This lot were certainly up for a party.

Before leaving I quickly whisked Karli and Rob outside to take a picture of them on the garden gazebo.  It was worth the effort as it was my favourite image of the day.

As I said at the start, getting to work with couples like Karli and Rob and getting to return to be an Audleys Wood Hotel wedding photographer, are what my jobs all about.  An elegant and stylish family friendly wedding full of love and laughter.  Congratulations to Karli and Rob for getting married and thank you for allowing me to tell the story of your day.

I’ll leave the last words to Karli and Rob.  Here’s what they had to say about working with me.

‘Alex was recommended to us by a guest at a wedding he had previously photographed, from the first contact he was polite, helpful and informative, answering any questions that we had. Alex explained his background, got to know us as people and we understood his values and also that photography was his real passion, he made us feel at ease whilst discussing the options and answered any questions we had about the big day and how it would unfold. He met us at our venue and showed us the sample album choices plus some of his previous work. The venue was new to Alex so we took the opportunity to walk the grounds and pick some fantastic spots for photos on the day.

Alex was fantastic at capturing those unexpected special moments when no one was expecting him to be there, he was great with the kids throughout the day, especially our 6 year old daughter, even when the bridal party was getting ready he kept an eye on her to make sure she was ok and wasn’t too bored!

When we had the photos taken after the ceremony Alex carried my flat shoes in his bag and even helped me change into them. Although Alex was there all day, we hardly noticed him as he moved about unnoticed.  A number of our friends and family, who were guests at the wedding, have commented on how good Alex was during the day and also on how good his photographs are, some have said they think the pictures are better than full time professional photographers, Alex only does Wedding photography as he is so passionate about it, but the results are clear to see, we were so happy with our photographs.

Alex also helped us design our Album, we had so many great pictures to choose from following our special day we just couldn’t decide, but Alex really helped us make those tough calls when designing the album, we couldn’t have done it without him!

Alex was there from early in the morning to capture the Bridal party getting hair and make-up done and getting ready, right through until after our first dance. He was competitively priced and provided a great follow up service, sending teaser videos and pictures in advance of the main album being produced from when we left for our honeymoon the following day. The slide show set to music was also a great touch.

Many thanks Alex!’

Are you planning an Audleys Wood Hotel Wedding? As a Hampshire wedding photographer I would love to hear about your plans so please get in touch