Wonderful Welsh Wedding (part 2)

Yesterday, I blogged photos from the pre-wedding shoot of Jen and Rob. They'd invited me to photograph their day at Craig-Y-Nos Castle, north of Swansea, after we'd met a year earlier at another wedding I was photographing.

Craig-Y-Nos Castle is an absolutely fascinating venue for a wedding. A bold, gothic Victorian building snuggled deep in the Swansea Valley, it boasts stunning vistas over the River Tawe as well as a rich and somewhat quirky history. The castle was bought by opera singer Adelina Patti, who built her own private auditorium which is a grade 1 listed opera house. It's now a boutique hotel, and available for weddings.

 Rob and Jen had a blue theme tied through their wedding. This incredible cake was made by Sofairy Cakes.

I adored the table place settings. Jen and Rob love video games, and so went with Super Mario inspired table "names".

The Adelina Patti Theatre was the setting for the couple's wedding blessing. It made an impressive backdrop, as well as giving all of their guests a fantastic view of the couple's ceremony.

I like to try and evoke emotion from couples when I'm photographing them, rather than formally "pose" them. Rob and Jen were complete naturals, they just really got straight into the spirit of things and it made photographing them together an absolute dream. In the shot below, I asked Rob what was the first thing he really fancied about Jen. His response? "Her username", as they'd met online. Jen just cracked up (as did I!) at that brilliant reply. 

Many thanks to Rob and Jen on letting me be a part of their special day.

A Welsh Wedding... part 1

Last year, I had the pleasure of being invited to Swansea, to photograph the wedding of Jen and Rob, who I'd met (and gotten chatting to) at a wedding back in 2010.

Their wedding took place at Craig-y-Nos Castle, just north of Swansea, which, for the historically appreciative of you, formerly belonged to opera singer Adelina Patti. For the paranormal fascinated among you, it's also allegedly haunted, and finally for the geekily eagle eyed of you, was the setting for a Doctor Who episode, Tooth and Claw. (And for bonus points it's the one that establishes the Torchwood Institute). Quite frankly, aside from being a gorgeous castle in stunning settings, the place is a pub quiz masters dream.

As Rob and Jen had already completed the formalities prior to their big day, we were able to meet up before the ceremony, and do a little pre-wedding shoot.

It was actually one of the most relaxed days I've ever been to, and being able to have a wander with the couple before the ceremony was great.

As a photographers experience, doing this was brilliant. It's fantastic if you're quite happy to have things mixed up, if you're after something a bit different, and perhaps you just don't want to adhere to old traditions. It also has the potential to help relax the couple before the ceremony, take a little bit of the edge off the nerves, and I imagine it would work best if you were both staying at the venue you were having your ceremony.

I know there's an emerging trend from America (the country which brought us Trash the Dress) where some couples and photographers have a "first look" photo shoot, which is where the couple have a mini shoot on the day before the actual ceremony, where the bride and groom are captured when they first see each other (and the emotions) without anyone else around. First look photo shoots involve the couple in their formal bridal and groom attire.

While this is different from the meaning of the First Look, I think dressing casually and comfortably there is scope for having a mini shoot as Jen and Rob did, if you want to keep your dress pristine and your suit looking neat and tidy, and you don't spoil the surprise of seeing the dress if you want to keep it a secret until the ceremony.