Clare & Dan
Clare and Dan have been planning this wedding for a decent amount of time. I believe it ended up being roughly 7 years? What with Covid and restrictions slowing down and changing plans. I’m sure many people can relate. So, as I arrive at the beautiful Stanhill Court Hotel on a particularly humid morning in mid June, the buzz is already very apparent. The hotel staff checking in guests of the wedding party, flower arrangements and place settings being put in their places and a smile from the wedding planner for the day, Jackie. She shows me around the venue and then leads me to Clare’s room. I’m greeted by a bridesmaid i recognise back from my days as a club photographer and there’s Clare and the other bridesmaids having their hair prepared.
Now a little something about Clare:
This woman has been a friend of mine for the past decade and we used to work together for Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge. Clare would pretty much run the student nights and I would run around taking photos of drunk students on these nights.
To see an old friend getting married is an incredibly special thing for me, especially if i am trusted with the job of capturing the day.
So we were a bit giddy to say the least but my beaming smile was totally eclipsed by the mother of the bride and the bridesmaids buzzing about the rooms.
With 2 double decker buses of guests and the bride and her father in a classic cab, we headed off to the beautifully quaint and picturesque location of Ifield Parish, Crawley where there was a beautiful service and we were able to recreate the wedding photos of Clare’s grandparents from the same bench they had their wedding photos done many years ago. It was a wonderful moment and you could see how much this meant to everyone.
Magic for the guests was provided by another old friend of both Clare and myself in the form of Wayne Goodman. Wayne was the regular entertainment on the student nights we worked, specialising in close up card tricks and we fast became friends. Now, several years later, he would be performing for Clare and Dan’s wedding guests alongside two of his student’s, Sean Mann and Magic Maisie, a 13 year old protege who wowed the guests.
After speeches and dinner Dan, Clare and I went to take some newlywed photos and were then followed by some bridesmaids and groomsman photos now everyone had a few to drink. The night ended with Thunderstorms and revelry as guest’s played in the casino and danced in the main hall. It was a pleasure to be a part of and editing the photos i’ve been smiling a lot. Thank you for having me guys, you are the best.
