Beautiful Lymington wedding photography from Clare & Gareth’s big day in the New Forest. Why might you consider having your wedding reception in the garden of your family home? Well, one reason might be that your family home sits on the edge of the wonderful New Forest town of Lymington, and the garden stretches down to the seafront with views right across the Solent to the Isle of Wight. And there’s definitely room to squeeze a marquee (a small tended village in fact) in. So it was for this gorgeously smiley couple, with the marriage itself taking place at the incredibly cute little church in nearby Boldre.
Oh, and just as a tiny sidenote, this wedding was also a little landmark for me as it was my 100th wedding, so three cheers for me 🙂
It always seems really sweet when bridal prep happens at the old family home – there’s just something very touching about seeing a wedding dress hanging in a corner of a room which the bride must have been playing in so many years before. It also means that everyone is very comfortable and relaxed (usually), and most importantly of all they know exactly where all the champagne glasses are.
So while Clare got ready here (so many beaming grins) Gareth was tasked with occupying himself in town before getting ready and heading to the Church where I was to catch up with him later. He chose to take the family to fortify themselves with fish and chips on the quayside. (They do excellent fish and chips in Lymington and the quayside is the perfect setting to scoff them down). I know this because I bumped into him in the chippie while I was getting my own order in to power up before the day kicked off. Rookie error: didn’t have my camera with me at that point. Lesson learned, and I guess I’ll just have to find a way to feature a visit to the chip shop in some future Lymington wedding photography next time I’m in the area.
Boldre is a tiny little village tucked away in the heart of the New Forest, and the church is about as cute and New Forest-ey as is gets. I believe this had long been Clare’s family church too, so this wedding really was a homecoming. Gareth and his groomsmen were there in plenty of time and doing what groomsmen tend to do, which is greet guests and take discreet nips from hip flasks. As the first of the wedding cars pulled up bearing the bridesmaids and flower girl, the ushers performed their proverbial one job with aplomb. And shortly after if was Clare’s turn to pull up at the gate. Wedding on!
Freshly married, our bride and groom were whisked back to the house where the celebrations could begin in earnest. Such a cool house and gardens, and having those waterfront views down at the end and out through the gate was a real bonus on the couple photo front. (Another nice thing about a reception at home is that the dog can attend, and stare longingly at all the canapes he’s not allowed to eat. Bit of a shame for him perhaps, but it makes for a cute photo).
Wedding breakfast, speeches, cake cutting all in the enormous main marquee, and then as the evening drew in and the lights came on, round the pool to the party tent where the band were set up ready to kick off the evening’s celebrations. It’s wroth pointing out that our bride and groom are both doctors, and indeed the medical profession is a bit of a family tradition on both sides. Which means lots of doctor-ey friends too. I’ve covered a fair few weddings which lots of medical professionals and if there’s one very recurring theme I’m spotted over the years it’s that they most definitely like a party! 10/10 for all the shape-throwing in the absolutely heaving dance tent. No-one had gone in the pool by the time I finally packed up and slipped away, but I certainly wouldn’t have bet against it having happened by the end of the night.
An absolutely gorgeous wedding, and the perfect celebration for an absolutely lovely couple. So much fun at this one – what a total treat being able to capture stories like this for a living! Massive congratulations to you both, Clare & Gareth, and wishing you many extremely happy and smiley years together!
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I hope you’ve enjoyed this snippet from Clare & Gareth’s beautiful marriage and celebration. This is just a small selection of images from the day – friends and family can view the rest of the photos and the slideshow in their private viewing gallery, but you’ll need to ask them for the password first.Â
If you are currently exploring your Lymington wedding photography options and would like to find out more about my services, packages and prices, please do get in touch to check availability and ask me any questions you might have. I’m only too happy to help however I can.
Thanks as ever for reading, and come back again soon for many more photos from many more beautiful weddings!
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