Hampton Court House Wedding - Candice & Ed

I can generally tell how strong a set of wedding images is based on how difficult I find it to refine down the images for a blog post. Candice & Ed’s day was ridiculously hard to trim down. My first attempt left me with 230 potentials – way too many for a readable blog but an undeniable marker of a great wedding! Hampton Court House wedding photography is a prospect that’s easy to relish. It’s a fantastic building, quirky yet grand, familiar yet luxurious and I always seem to end up working with some of the best suppliers around. Zero fuss, maximum boomshakalaka.

It was an interesting thing meeting Ed & Candice. When I initially sat down in their house, Candice was yet to arrive home from work and Ed and I were simply discussing life in general and largely holding off on wedding chat until the Bride was present. Rather quickly I had the distinct sense that I’d met Ed somewhere before. Prior to signing contracts with my clients I don’t always pay a huge amount of attention to surnames, invariably I think of things in fairly friendly terms, and people are simply Ed & Candice or Brad & Angelina (don’t ask, I can’t tell). This sense of having met Ed previously got stronger and stronger so eventually I piped up and asked his surname. When he answered the pieces fell into place rather quickly. We’d been at school together 20 years ago! Perhaps even more bizarrely, we’d had a mutual best friend, Giles. I’d fallen out of touch with him, but Ed had stayed in close contact – clearly a much better bloke than me – and Giles was going to be his best man. This my friends is the definition of a small world! Anyway, enough of reunions, the wedding you ask?! In short, bloody brilliant, but allow me to elaborate.

Candice got ready at her parents’ home in Hampton, a few mins drive from St Mary’s Church, with her close family around her. Everything ran remarkably smoothly and I particularly enjoyed the light and space in the living room where Candice got into her dress. Oftentimes this part of the day is rushed and cluttered. In this instance it was calm and spacious. Joy.

Once Candice was ready and looking absolutely radiant I sped off round the corner to catch up with Ed, Giles and the other Groomsmen. St Mary’s is a real looker of a church both inside and out and it was decorated resplendently. The Vicar, Rev. Derek Winterburn is, so I’ve subsequently heard, an accomplished photographer himself, and he couldn’t have been more welcoming. My thanks as always to those vicars who make wedding photographers’ lives that little bit easier! Because the main road alongside St Mary’s doesn’t allow a bridal car to pull up, even for a short time, this meant that Candice arrived at the back of the church and walked round to the front. Not a bad thing mind, as it made for lovely photographs of her with her Dad, and equally fun confetti images on the way out.

After the service we drove the short distance to Hampton Court House and made quick our escape into the beautiful Bushy Park for a few portraits before the reception got fully underway. For a bride that was worried about ‘taking a good picture’ I think you’ll agree that from beginning to end she looks absolutely amazing. Cheerful, at ease, joyous, in love – pretty much everything you’d want to be on your wedding day!

After the wedding breakfast I was lucky enough to bag one of my favourite images of the entire year. Candice & Ed practicing their first dance in a quiet corridor. I simply adore moments like this. Unrepeatable, unstaged, (largely) unseen, yet filled with heaps and heaps of meaning.

I mentioned earlier that I always seem to work with superb suppliers at Hampton Court House. Candice & Ed’s day was no exception, with beautiful blooms by the nonpareil Fairy Nuff Flowers, exceptional catering by the lovely people at Acclaim Food (they feed me so well!) and music in the evening by one of the best wedding bands I’ve ever seen; the deeply impressive All Covered Up Band. Quietly tying everything together is venue manager Di who is a complete pro. It was a pleasure to work with them all.

Anyway, as usual I have talked too much. Tis time for some pictures. Here are just a few of my many many favourites.