In June I had the privilege of photographing Jo and Hazel’s wedding day - first at Calne Town Hall followed by their reception at Marsh Farm Hotel. As luck would have it, their wedding was happening in Calne on the same day that the first ever Pride festival was taking place in the town. It felt all felt rather special and serendipitous.

I arrived to photograph Jo and Hazel’s final preparations at the Lansdowne Strand Hotel where they were getting ready in adjoining rooms - the first time they would see each other would be during their ceremony where their parents escorting each of them to the top of the aisle. I spent an amusing hour or so swapping between the two rooms, often following in the footsteps of their son who was dashing between the rooms every few minutes!

Preparations documented, I took a short walk across to the Town Hall where the ceremony was taking place in order to photograph the ceremony room and then the guests arriving.

As I mentioned, Jo and Hazel were both accompanied into the ceremony room by their parents, entering through opposite doors and then meeting in the middle before walking down the aisle together. It was a special moment which signalled the start of their emotional ceremony during which both of their Mums gave readings, their son acted as ring-bearer and a brass band made up of their friends played whilst Jo and Hazel signed the register.

After the ceremony we spilled out onto the pavement in front of the Town Hall where Jo and Hazel greeted their guests - we were even lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the Pride Parade heading down the hill.

Formal photos ticked off the list, we waved Jo and Hazel off as they headed to their reception at Marsh Farm Hotel. En-route, however, we made a quick stop at the large Motorbike just outside Calne for a couple of photos. The Motorbike is pretty well known to locals and it held special significance to Jo and Hazel which is why they wanted to make a brief stop. I was happy to oblige but I won’t go into more detail because that’s not my story to tell.

Arriving at Marsh Farm for their reception, I was interested to see how the rest of their day would unfold as I knew they were doing things a little differently. Their reception began with their first dance, something that typically wouldn’t happen until the evening. This was then followed by a fun but rather chaotic Ceilidh - always an exciting thing to photograph! It wasn’t until the dancing was done that their wedding breakfast was served and the speeches were given.

After the cake was cut and the evening party had started I packed my camera away and wished them well for their honeymoon in Mexico. It certainly had been a very special day and I’m sure the party continued long after I left (the shots were starting to flow when I took my leave!).

Below you will find a small selection of my favourite images from the day. To view the full gallery, please contact Jo or Hazel.

Suppliers:

Ceremony Venue - Calne Town Hall
Reception Venue - Marsh Farm Hotel
Hair and Make-Up - Claire Guy
Flowers - Julie May
Cake - Beckie Chapman Cakes
Dresses - Belle of the Ball Bridal
Transport - Function Cars
Band - Ceilidh Tree