Weddings at Kilworth House
Ben and Faye wanted an elegant, relaxed feel for the day but still feeling incredibly personal and warm not just a beautiful backdrop. Kilworth House, with its stunning Victorian architecture and sweeping parkland, gave us that perfect blend of grandeur and intimacy.
The Challenge; Kilworth is gorgeous, but it’s tricky!
Lighting Battles I had to jump between the moody, rich interiors, think dark wood and low light and the bright, high-contrast outdoor lawns and the Conservatory. My job was to make sure the light felt natural and beautiful everywhere.
Making it Personal for Ben & Faye the house is so big! We focused on finding beautiful areas in gardens to capture the feel of their deep connection, not just the look of the venue, and using all of the bursts of autumn colours.
My Approach I kept the equipment minimal and the focus on ambient lightI, using flash indoors with the darker rooms is a must.
The interiors have lots of window light and prime lenses like my 35mm to keep the focus tight and shallow, giving those detail shots a really luxurious, high-end feel.
Key Success the images captured in the courtyard were a hit. The diffused glass light made everything soft and romantic. It’s a perfect shot that captures the unique architecture of Kilworth while highlighting a tender moment.
In the end, the photos captured the high-end sophistication of the venue while keeping the emotion front and centre.
Getting Ready
Faye didn’s want much fuss with the getting ready shots, so I kept it nice and simple just blending in as much as possible. We did a lovely first look with her father too.
I captured some natural moments of Faye looking out of the big bay windows of her room, lost in thought, I’m guessing thinking about the exciting day ahead and marrying her best friend.
The Ceremony
The ceremony for Ben & Faye was held in The Shakespeare Room, filled with mahogany wood, greens and reds, with hints of brass and golds, with yellow lighting illuminating the room.
The Bride and Groom opted for a simple short ceremony for their wedding day, this was a very close intimate wedding with 20 guests mostly family and some friends one family had travelled from overseas to share in the couples big day.
Group & Couple Photos
As soon as the ceremony had finished the couple headed out side for the group photos. As I ask all of my couples for a list this makes it nice and easy and less for you to think about on the day. With it only being a small number of guests, I captured all of the group shots in quick time. And then Faye’s children had asked me to surprise them with a confetti throw, which of course I “absolutely”.
The Wedding Breakfast
With each and every wedding I always capture the dressed room before any guests are inside, photographing all of the smaller details that you might forget in the future.
The speeches were beautiful and heartfelt and all relatively short, which is what Ben and Faye had asked for.
I stayed to capture the group enjoying lots of laughter and conversation’s, and sharing memories from the past.
The Cake…. was just WOW… Brownies, cake and cupcakes…. it looked stunning!
