Old Palace Chester Wedding Photographer

Confetti photography at the Old Palace Chester

Evie & Jed

Beautiful December wedding at The Old Palace

The location for Evie and Jed's beautiful winter wedding was the Old Palace in Chester. Set right in the heart of the city overlooking the River Dee, the Old Palace epitomises modern luxury blended beautifully with a rich history.

As there was no wedding on the Friday, this allowed Evie and Jed to stay the night before at the venue and whilst Evie and her bridesmaids got ready in the morning room with hair and make up provided by the lovely Lizzie Griffiths the lads were able to get ready in a couple of the other rooms at the other end of the venue before having a couple of photos and drinks in the bar.

Evie looked effortlessly timeless and her dress from Maria Modes which was perfectly paired with gloves from Cornelia James and her shoes from Harriet Wilde.

It's the moments which really matter

There are always so many lovely moments during the morning. Whether its the girls all sat around reminiscing over a 9am opened bottle of Champagne (because.... why not!!!) or the moment when everyone first saw Evie in her dress, not a dry eye in the room, including my own if I'm totally honest. Capturing these little emotions of everyone together arguably the most important element of what I do.

As Christians, Evie and Jed had said that their marriage service was a really important part of the day for them. They chose to have their ceremony next door, a 5 minute walk up the path from the Old Palace at the incredible Parish Church of St John the Baptist.

Although the ceremony itself was undertaken by the resident Reverend, the service was conducted by their friend and old youth worker Adam Prior who provided such a personality filled and personal service befitting of the couple. The personal touches didn't finish there with readings from friends and also from Jed's Grandma, a touching blessing from their two close friends to the music provided by singer and guitarist Amy Dolley, whilst Jed's brothers sung during the signing of the registry.

After we'd quickly grabbed a few group shots of family and friends (and some canapés too of course... you can't miss out on your own canapés, this is one of my unwritten rules!), we went to capture a few moments of Evie and Jed away from the hustle and bustle of their wedding guests.

Now the beauty of the Old Palace being situated where it is, is that you've got so many options of where you can shoot. From the grounds of the venue itself to the the banks of River Dee, the ruins at the back of the Church to the city gardens, there are so many different locations which is why each and every wedding I shoot at the Old Palace tends to look different as each couple have their own vision on what they want out of their couples portraits.

A cheeky little twirl...

As the big heavy wooden door swings open to the Palace suite, it is genuinely one of those rooms where you walk in and you're left a little speechless... even more so when you walk in and Evie and Jed have decided to have a quick practice of their first dance.

As they danced their beautifully choreographed routine around the room to Elvis Costello's "She" as it crackled out of my iPhone speaker (which I'd dropped in a puddle the week before) I couldn't help but think to myself how amazing it was to witness this little moment between just the three of us. Even more so coming from someone who's only got the running man and the worm in his dance repertoire...