New Forest Wedding Photography - Bucklers Hard with Madeline & Matt
Autumn and winter weddings have a charm all of their own - forget lounging on the lawns with a glass of pimms; at this time of year it's all about lolling in front of roaring log fires with warming mulled wine, and a venue like the Master Builders Hotel at Bucklers Hard, near Beaulieu in the New Forest, is set up perfectly for this. It's part of an amazing site with a long maritime history, tucked away a few miles up the Beaulieu River and offering beautiful views across the water to the trees beyond, with lots of little boats bobbing around in between. Idyllic is a word I don't use often enough, so I'm going to use it here.
So this was the scene for Madeline & Matt's wedding in November - a fantastic couple, very cool and a whole load of fun. An absolutely brilliant wedding with lots of traditional touches but at the same time loads of other points which really made it unique (and a few firsts for me in my career as a wedding photographer, including a longbow arrow-launching ceremony across the river). But before all of that came the preparations, the gathering of the guests, and of course the small matter of the ceremony...
Madeline was upstairs getting ready in the bridal suite (which offered a wonderful view of the rain absolutely hammering down onto the Beaulieu River that morning), while Matt very sensibly set himself up downstairs in the hotel's excellent pub. The poor weather wasn't a problem - they're really not the sort of couple to let a little thing like that spoil the day - as long as we managed to get outside at the appropriate time for at least a few quick shots - and in fact as the morning rolled on it began to clear up nicely, giving me the chance to nip outside and capture some lovely establishing photos of the surroundings with dramatic wintry skies.
With guests having safely arrived, buttonholes pinned (check out the superb forest-theming going on in the buttonholes and the bouquet in the photos above: very nice touch!) and bows strung, it was through to the ceremony room. This was my first time photographing as lead photographer at the Master Builders Hotel (I had been here the year before assisting another photographer with a photobooth) so I'd done a little recce and very much liked what I saw. Big windows down at the far end to let that gorgeous soft winter light to flow in: to my tastes this is just about perfect as a set-up for photographing a ceremony as it really helps the action at the front of the room to pop out of the image, and then a feeling of intimacy and warmth as you go further back into the darker corners of the room. Plus, I had a big floral arrangement to hide behind right at the front - happy days!
Newly married, Madeline & Matt walked back down the aisle together and - with a brief stop to pull on some wellies (the rain had just about stopped but the ground outside wasn't exactly ideal for a pair of Louboutin wedding shoes!) the celebrations were kicked off with a small ceremony which culminated in the launching of arrows across the river from their longbows. While conditions were in our favour we also grabbed the opportunity to take some portraits of the bride and groom outdoors, while the rest of the guests warmed themselves through back indoors before the wedding breakfast.
...and then on into the evening (with the guests looking very glad of some very comfy sofas to lounge on after mountains of bangers and mash to gather themselves before the next stage of the celebrations kicked off in earnest). As what seemed like hundreds of additional guests began to arrive it was on to the cutting of a fantastic-looking cake of cheese, and then a first-dance with a difference (I won't give the game away - scroll down to see it in all its glory!). And then on with the party, late into the night...
This whole wedding was so much fun to shoot: an absolutely fantastic couple, so many little touches, thoughts and ideas, a few firsts for me, and all wrapped up in a wonderful venue down in one of my favourite places in the workld, the New Forest. I wouldn't have missed this for anything!
Many congratulations to you both, Madeline & Matt, and wishing you many happy years together!
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The photos above are just a small selection from the day - all the rest are up and ready to view by friends and family in their private gallery, although as ever you'll need to ask Madeline & Matt for the password first.
If you are planning your wedding at the Master Builders at Bucklers Hard, or anywhere else in the New Forest, and would like to know more about my wedding photography services, packages and prices, please don't hesitate to contact me to discuss your plans - I'm always happy to help however I can.
Thanks for reading,
Stephen