It was my pleasure to be invited to photograph Howard and Katie’s recent wedding. The day started with bridal party preparations with the girls and then moved onto the ceremony at St Margaret’s Church in Ifield, Crawley. Finally, we travelled the short journey to their reception at Roffey Park Institute, West Sussex.
The preparations were exceptionally relaxed with probably one of the most laid back bridal parties I’ve ever been with at the start of the day. There was plenty of time to enjoy the anticipation of getting ready for the main event, with hair and make up going very smoothly. With the bridal party ready in no time at all, the car arrived to take them off to St Margaret’s Church – a beautiful vintage rolls royce that could take advantage of the warm weather with it’s open top.
St Margaret’s, I always think is a kind of hidden gem of a church – tucked away in Ifield, Crawley in it’s pretty setting. It’s a lovely one for guests to attend with lots of parking (and that’s a rare and wonderful thing for most churches) plus the nearby pub in case of pre-wedding nerves or just soothing thirst for early arriving guests. The church also has one more unusual feature in that it actually has retained a fair amount of land around it so it is perfect for group photos after the ceremony. We were joined during this stage of the proceedings by an unusual visitor – a three legged cat! Weddings always seem to hold a few surprises – I can’t ever get bored that’s for sure.
Then we made the short journey to Roffey Park Institute. The reception had a New York Theme with the most amazing cake – the couple had got engaged in Central Park. – Roffey Park is a gorgeous reception venue with plenty of grounds for the guests to enjoy and lots of space and opportunities for wedding photography. Obviously we simply had to make it’s iconic statue a part of the day as well as enjoying a short walk around some of the grounds with their lovely countryside views. A fabulous day for everyone who attended, including me!
