It's funny how things work out. 13 years photographing weddings, and before last week, I'd never photographed a wedding at The Beacon before. Then, I'm lucky enough to have two in a week. I joined Nikki in the morning where she was getting ready with her daughter, Tony's daughter, and two other members of the family. With the whole day happening at The Beacon, it meant I could pop between areas before the ceremony to photograph different things going on, including some photos of the venue and ceremony area (they had incredible floral displays here by Lisa Furnell), portraits of the groom and groomsmen, and candid shots of guests enjoying a pre-ceremony drink.
Their ceremony was in the amphitheatre and as Tony had opted to not have a ring, Nikki decided to give him something else - she'd written a poem as a surprise for him, which was very well received by him and all their guests. Drinks and canapes were then served in the Rose Garden with some incredible backing music provided by violinist Elouise Prouse (she also played music for the ceremony).
They had their speeches throughout the meal, and then after the cutting of the cake, Tony's daughter Charlotte sang 5 songs with the last one being for the first dance. She has an incredible voice and I definitely wasn't alone in being completely blown away by her talent.
Everyone then moved back up to the main building for the evening party with some Frank Sinatra tunes sung by Alex Banks. I'm not sure if I've photographed a wedding before with this style chosen before but I loved it. It set such a cool vibe for the start of the party and the guests obviously loved it. This then put them properly in the mood for DJ Marcel Mendez to take things up a notch for the rest of the celebrations.
Congratulations Nikki & Tony!
Suppliers:
- The Beacon: Venue
- Lisa Furnell: Florist
- Kate Waller: Make-up artist and hair
- Hollies Little Cakery: Cake
- Marcel Mendez: DJ
- Pantiles Brides: Dress
- Jesus Peiro: Designer
- Violinist: Elouise Prouse
- Magician: Roberto Forzonee
- Singer: Alex Banks
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