An intimate wedding in a grand hotel.
Perhaps it’s something to do with the way I market myself but I really do end up getting booked by the best couples in the world! I’m pretty sure I’ve said this already in the blog I wrote about Adam and Scotty’s pre wedding photo shoot, but Adam and Scotty are my kind of people, I can’t put my finger on it exactly but I just love them and I honestly feel so lucky that I was the one to capture their wedding day on camera.
Their wedding was held at the magnificent Duke of Cornwall Hotel, a place which is brimming with history. Built in 1863 as Plymouth’s first luxury hotel, the property has survived two world wars. With so much of what used to surround the building destroyed, its Victorian gothic architecture makes quite the statement as it stands in a now contemporary city scape. Adam and Scotty adore the hotel’s aesthetics and its history too; for them there was nowhere more suited for their special day. The hotel did an exceptional job at hosting this autumn wedding. It felt like a safe place to be, which is something we all can appreciate in these strange times. The staff took my temperature upon arrival, logged my details for track and trace purposes and the venue was equipped with hand sanitizing stations.
I arrived a little early to give myself some time to photograph the ceremony and reception room. I love capturing all the little details that come with weddings, the cake, the place names, the centre pieces or in this case one gorgeous centre piece that my photos just don’t do justice to. No photo could do justice to the incredible work that Hollyhocks Florist (now my favourite florist) did because it wasn’t just a beautiful display to look at. We’re all familiar with weddings having a colour scheme, a theme, maybe even a soundtrack but this was a first for me - this wedding had a scent; eucalyptus. It smelled incredible!! As soon as I walked in the room it wrapped around me like a comfort blanket, it was so welcoming. Dotted amongst the eucalyptus garden on the table, Adam and Scotty had placed pots of aloe vera which their guests were invited to take home as a gift. I love this idea because the aloe vera was a beautiful addition to the wedding table and will now hold happy memories for the wedding guests as they get to enjoy it in their homes.
Of the four weddings that I’ve photographed since covid, this was the only wedding where the couple have been asked to keep their face masks on during the ceremony. It’s strange because each venue that I’ve photographed at this year has done something a little differently in their bid to keep their venue safe and covid secure. It was a little disappointing for myself, because I’m sure Adam and Scotty both had beaming smiles on their faces underneath their face coverings. They were allowed to have their masks off briefly while they signed their marriage certificate and I do remember welling up when I could see their happy faces. Adam and Scotty had always planned to have a small wedding so thankfully they didn’t have to make any cut backs to their guest list before it went ahead. Unfortunately though, Adam’s dad Brian wasn’t able to attend on the day as he was self isolating at the time. Brian was still present throughout most of the wedding via video call; he had a seat right at the front during the ceremony, he was there during the group photos (which was a laugh) and when he wasn’t needed for group photos you’d find him being hijacked by his granddaughter Tilly, who is clearly a big fan of her Grandad and loved seeing him on the tablet.
I was due to leave just as the couple were sitting down to eat their wedding breakfast but the wedding breakfast happened a bit sooner than we all expected and we hadn’t finished with the photos. With the hotel being local to me, I offered to pop home while they eat and then return again afterwards to finish getting the shots they wanted. I’m so glad I did return later in the day because we managed to catch the sunset, some warm tones outside in the early evening and some ambient photos inside the venue on the stairwell. In total Adam and Scotty have received 343 individual photos and a black and white copy of each photo making a total of 686 photos altogether. All photos have been loaded in high resolution to their very own private online gallery. They are also due to receive their photos via USB stick along with two extra copies on personalised disks just for good measure.
