My home town boasts some pretty spectacular wedding venues, but there aren’t many which can offer something quite as grand and unique when it comes to wedding photography as the Great Hall. This place is a history buff’s dream for a wedding ceremony; a beautiful, ancient and enormous hall (it takes us all the way back to when Winchester was the old capital of England), bang on the site of the old castle up at the top end of town. If that’s not enough, how about making your vows and exchanging rings beneath King Arthur’s Round Table (allegedly)? It’s really like nothing else, and just as the icing on the cake, Rebs and Adam are one of the sweetest wedding couples you could hope to meet. And they brought their two dogs. And there were uniforms. Soooooo many cool uniforms. Bring it on!
This one was to be a pretty large wedding so I had brought the luxury of a second photographer for the day. Paul was over at the Great Hall to cover the arrival of the groom and guests, while I caught up with Rebs and family just a hundred or so feet away at the Westgate Hotel. It’s a fab little vantage point for bridal prep, as it means you can keep an eye on all the comings and goings across the road.
Uniforms fit in pretty nicely at the Great Hall (they’re not obligatory though). So what did we have there? I have to confess I kind of lost track – I really don’t think I’ve seen so many at one wedding before. There was definitely Army, definitely Fire Service (superb ones, those), Navy I think, oh and definitely a genuine Canadian Mountie which is without question a first for me.
Once guests had taken their seats and the doors were closed it was safe for Rebs to approach the Hall, firstly for her interview and then for a quick sprint across the courtyard so that she could climb the steps to the magnificent staircase which lies hidden – most of the time – behind those incredible Game of Thrones-style gates at the back of the hall. They then swung open and our bride made her entrance, ready for the big walk down the aisle.
There’s no denying it’s a pretty spectacular scene. Just look at that view from the back with the towering stone columns and the Round Table high up above the bride and groom as they make their vows. And it’s a pretty special walk back down the aisle too. Back out through the arched entrance and into the Summer sunshine, to a shower of confetti before group photos in the courtyard and then, as guests started to make their way on to phase two of the day, a few extra couple portraits around the old Castle buildings before heading on to the reception venue, the beautiful old barn at Barford Park near Salisbury.
Gorgeous Summer wedding celebration: afternoon tea, garden games (throwing horseshoes, it turns out, can get increasingly fraught with danger as the evening progresses and the enthusiasm levels rise), and the dogs even made a special appearance as a ‘petting zoo’ for the kids. The flags in the middle photo below, I believe, were there for every country represented at the wedding by a guest. There were a lot of flags – this was one very well-travelled wedding party! It was all very relaxed, very chilled – just like our couple really – the perfect way to make their marriage. Family and friends out in the sunshine (while it lasted) and chilling in the barn. Lots of cake, lots of laughter, lots of partying.
What an absolute corker of a wedding. Massive congratulations, Rebs & Adam, you really did it in style!
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I hope you’ve enjoyed this little taster of Rebs & Adam’s Winchester Great Hall wedding photography. 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.
If you are currently planning your Winchester Great Hall wedding and would like to know more about my wedding photography 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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