Scorched Skylark and a Summer Song of Love

Ash and Emma had their wedding at Skylark Golf Club in Whiteley right in the middle of the long hot Summer of 2018. 

The normally lush green fairways were a vibrant brown of parched grass but that didn't stop Ash and Emma from having an amazing wedding day.

Emma's day started at The Solent Hotel which was also in Whiteley and only a few minutes drive from Skylark.

It was a lovely setup for Bridal Prep with plenty of floor space and really nice rooms.

Emma's dress was fantastic...

...and all the girls together looked amazing.

The girls got on really well and were always laughing about something.

Meanwhile, the Boys were on their way into the barn to welcome the guests.

The distance was so short between the Solent and Skylark that the wedding car was able to do two trips. The first brought Mum and the bridesmaids, then it went back for Emma and her Dad.

The bridesmaids were wonderfully daft at times and whilst they were waiting they couldn't stop themselves from twirling their elegant dresses in the car park.

When Emma and her Dad joined the bridesmaids, the scene was set.

The girls had one last minute huddle to discuss strategy...

...and they were off up the aisle.

The plan worked like a charm and Ash was bowled over.

It was a ceremony that was both moving and full of laughter...

...with many giggles from the girls.

All too soon the formalities were over...

...and it was time for confetti...

...and drinks.

Once the group photos were done...

...we took some in-close photographs of them having a few moments alone in the sun.

The room for their Wedding Breakfast looked stunning.

Whilst they were waiting to go in for their meal, they had a magician...

...who astounded their guests.

Ash and Emma's wedding cake was absolutely brilliant. 

It had four tiers covered in swirls of the vibrant red that was her wedding colour and it had been made by one of the family. Awesome!

As Ash and Emma were welcomed onto the dance floor, another very special moment was about to take place.

Their First Dance was lovely. It was so obvious that they loved being each other's arms.

But extra to that, the love song that was sung for them was written especially for them and this was its first public performance. It was beautifully written and beautifully sung.

And after the dance and the song were over, bride and groom applauded the man who had helped to make their First Dance so special.

Emma and Ash were a wonderful bride and groom and they had the most amazing time in an extraordinary Summer, with a knock-out wedding cake and a love song written specially for them.

In our books that makes their wonderful wedding as good as it gets.

by Jacqui and Steve

Hampshire Wedding Photography

Wedding with White Horses

In August of 2017, Dom and Charlotte were married at St Mary's Church in Portsmouth. Their wedding transport was a white carriage drawn by two magnificent white horses.

The horses and carriage were supplied by the wonderful Ostler Company. We were so impressed. The carriage looked fantastic inside and out. The horses were immaculate but we also have to mention the utter professionalism of the drivers and handlers of the horses. 

Sometimes when we have a horse and carriage involved, travel can take a long time between venues. Not with this crew! They skilfully weaved their charges through the heavy Portsmouth traffic, negotiating lane changes and traffic lights and back roads that are so narrow it can make a car driver wince. Travel times with the Ostler Company were the same as any car would have been at a weekend and they did so with style and panache and they looked a million dollars. A big thumbs up and a thank you to The Ostler Company.

Charlotte got ready at her house in Portsmouth which meant her baby rag-doll cat was there to "help". 

His name was Bernie and when you could see him, Bernie looked to be all sweetness and light.

It was when you couldn't see him that you needed to worry.

Especially if you were a bridesmaid with toes that would occasionally stick out from beneath long flowing dresses. That's when Bernie would STRIKE!

To read about more about Bernie and what he did to Jacqui, please read our post Bernie the Terror Cat!

Eventually, when Bernie had "helped" enough, it was time for Charlotte to get into her wedding dress.

Charlotte and her bridesmaids looked amazing.

Charlotte had lots of bridesmaids...

...and they were all amazing, even if they were a little prone to over-dosing on the glitter front. But there's no better time to be glittered-up than at a wedding.

There were so many lovely moments in their wedding and one of them was when Dad saw his daughter ready to be married.

The connection between them was just so heartbreakingly wonderful.

Then it was time to pile into carriage with white horses.

In no time at all they were at the church. The horse and carriage did two runs, the first was for the bridesmaids and then they went back for Dad and Charlotte.

As Charlotte pulled up at the church door, it had been raining. They say it's good luck to have rain on your wedding day.

Despite the rain, there was no dampening the excitement of either Dad or daughter.

Her bridesmaids were there outside the church to welcome their bride as Dad helped her out of the carriage. It was like Jane Austen meets Disney princesses.

They were a great looking bridal party.

Moments before Charlotte walked up the aisle with her dad, she was so happy and excited.

St Mary's has spectacular proportions and the aisle they walked up was particularly long and it felt as though they savoured every step.

As Charlotte arrived by the side of her groom, he too looked so happy. It was all so very infectious, we were delightfully caught up in the whole thing.

Throughout the ceremony, Dom couldn't take his eyes off of his beautiful bride.

After the ceremony, Dom led his new wife to the church door for photographs.

By the time the ceremony was over, the rain clouds had gone. They had formed up to sprinkle their luck on this wonderful couple and they were no longer needed for the rest of the day.

Guests jostled to get photographs of the happy couple blessed by sunshine.

Then it was time for confetti...

...a few photographs in the sun.

...a kiss.

And then it was time to leave for Skylark Golf Club in Whiteley.

It was a magnificent sight to see them leave in their horse-drawn carriage...

...pulling away through the dappled sunlight of the pathways in the grounds of St Mary's Church. It was difficult at times to remember we were in the middle of the City...

...until the Ostler drivers effortlessly joined the queues of traffic at the traffic lights between Fratton Road and St Marys Road.

They didn't travel the whole way to Whiteley in their white carriage but they changed to their little pink wedding car to get them to Skylark.

It is still not obvious to us how she managed to get that amazing dress into that little car. But she did.

At Skylark, Charlotte and Dom were treated to blue skies and receding rain clouds backlit by an August sun that drew silver linings around them.

The staff at Skylark had prepared the room ready for their meal and speeches and it looked magnificent.

Charlotte and Dom had engaged the talented and charming Sean Boon as their magician and, as always, he was brilliant.

At some point, the boys thought it would be fun to pick up Charlotte and throw her in the air.

Before their meal, Charlotte and Dom cut their cake.

When it came to the speeches...

Charlotte was highly embarrassed in Dad's speech...

...and in Dom's speech!

They all had a brilliant time.

In the evening they had great fun in the photo-booth...

...and a wonderfully romantic First Dance.

Dom and Charlotte's wedding was epic with their magnificent church, the white horses and a dress to die for but it was packed full of the most wonderful heartfelt emotional moments as well as fun and laughter and romance. 

We wish these two wonderful young people the happiest of lives together and we thank them for sharing their day with us.

by Jacqui and Steve

Hampshire Wedding Photography