Brocket Hall – A Magical Wedding Venue
After photographing Lucie and Chris’s wedding, Brocket Hall instantly became one of my favourite venues! The location is breath taking, and I know the couple had searched far and wide for the perfect barn location for their day.
With a fun loving couple, a magical venue, and a perfect blue skied day, I knew straight way that this was going to be one incredible wedding!
Brocket Hall & The Surrounding Estate
Brocket Hall’s construction was completed in 1760, it sits in 540 acres of gorgeous Hertfordshire countryside. It has been home to two British Prime Ministers, Lord Melbourne and Lord Palmerston. It was also one of Queen Victoria’s favourite country estates; today it is regarded as one of the UK’s finest luxury events venues.
For Lucie and Chris’s wedding, they opted for The Oak Room on the estate with its floor to ceiling windows and its huge wrap around terrace. The views over the lake from its hilltop position are out of this world. I just couldn’t wait for the day to arrive so I could capture this incredible wedding and venue!
Civil Ceremony In The Oak Room, Brocket Hall
The civil ceremony was held in the Oak Room, with its stunning distant views over the lake and surrounding landscaped estate.
The tears started flowing down Lucie’s cheeks the moment she made her grand entrance into the ceremony. Quick as a flash, like a true gentleman Chris was on hand with his handkerchief before the emotional ceremony could begin.
Try and picture this magical ceremony, two very smiley and happy individuals, with so many fun loving friends and family in attendance. Then add to the mix non-stop sunlight streaming through the huge windows, stunning interiors and flowers, plus the most sensational views off in to the distance. Civil wedding ceremonies don’t get much better than this, I loved it!
The Drinks Reception & Family Pictures
Lucie and Chris hosted the most incredible drinks reception party, the reception terrace was buzzing to the sound of non-stop laughter. At every turn I had so many effortless picture opportunities, heaven knows how many great candid moments I captured. Lucie had the most infectious personality and beautiful smiles, and this had a wonderful affect on everyone at the wedding.
I shot family and friends group poses with the lake off in the distance, with a vista like this it was hard to consider any other options! Whilst I was working we would be occasionally distracted by the resident herons taking flight across the lake, and as distractions go it wasn’t so bad!
Excursion On The Golf Buggies Around The Brocket Hall Estate
After the drinks reception, the bridal party and I jumped aboard some of the venue’s golf buggies to explore the beautiful grounds for photo opportunities. At all times the buggies were in hot pursuit of Chris who drove the lead vehicle with the ladies on board, I was being driven by the ushers whilst standing on back footplate. I’m just pleased to report that these things had speed limiters, the suspension on the buggies is not great for the person stood up back! I captured so many fun pictures as we criss-crossed the main sights on the estate, each time we’d jump off for a few quick shots before we’d be on our way again.
These guys loved every minute of our little excursion, although they didn’t seem thrilled when I said that we needed to head back to join everyone else. Well at least one of us had an eye on the timing schedules, I think they’d have happily carried on exploring the estate for a lot longer! The best persuader was probably the fact they now had empty champagne glasses, then before they could say ‘Lewis Hamilton’ we were zipping our way back along the pathways to join the others. On our arrival there was still plenty of champagne flowing, so the adventurers got their well earned top ups after all!
The Speeches
None of the speakers showed any nerves whatsoever as they took it in turn to step up to the microphone, if they were nervous they hid it mighty well! The fabulous speeches went down a storm with the guests, the family and friends certainly lapped up all the fun memories from their past.
Many of the guests couldn’t wait to explore the venue’s gardens after the speeches, I know only too well how temptation often gets the better of us in beautiful locations like this! With a glass of champagne in hand, and a quieter few moments before the partying got under way, who can blame them. There are so many hidden gems within the grounds, and the lake was pretty mesmerising as it glistened in the sunlight.
Evening’s Entertainment
Of all the weddings I’ve attended, I cannot remember a bride who loved to dance as much as Lucie! She was partying barefoot non-stop from the moment the disco fired up! Her amazing energy, radiant smiles and fun-loving nature made for some fabulous pictures.
The first time Lucie left the dance floor was to lead the guests into a conga, Lucie was soon enthusiastically weaving her way around the venue’s interior. Within a few minutes the majority of the guests had been persuaded to join the jovial procession. I so loved capturing this magical moment from the day!
Boy these guys knew how to party, and they loved every minute of the party celebrations! This was certainly one of the liveliest parties I’ve witnessed in a very long time.
Sunset Picture Over The Lake At Brocket Hall
Once more Lucie was persuaded to leave the dancefloor, it happened when I told her about the amazing sunset that was happening outside. She was there in a flash for this photo opportunity, albeit she forgot her shoes as she dashed outside! Unfortunately, these sunsets can disappear as fast as they arrive, so there was no time to retrieve her shoes. The resulting image so captures a precious moment in time from this lovely couple’s wedding, the missing shoes really helped to tell the story of the evening’s celebrations.
After this final late evening shot, my day came to a close, and I was ready for the drive home and a well earned rest.
What an amazing wedding – What a magical day – What incredible weather – And I was thrilled to be leaving knowing I had some truly magical images in the bag!
Favourite Pictures
For me, it has to be the dancing images of Lucie partying the night away! The energy and enthusiasm I witnessed was off the scale, and the resulting pictures were my absolute favourites.
I also loved the sunset shot – the light, the sky, the shoe story, and those reflections all combined for a slice of pure magic!
Kind Words
Thank you so much for photographing our wedding Mark,
Our guests were all so impressed with your professionalism and attention to detail, ensuring you got the perfect photos for us. We can’t thank you enough for meeting us at the venue ahead of the big day to go through the best locations, choices of group shots and any particular preferences we would have liked. Your thoroughness throughout the process makes you a true professional. It shows us that you care about our photos as much as we did which made us feel in very safe hands at all times!
The photos are exactly as we discussed and we couldn’t be happier with the results. The thing that we love most about your photos is that you captured such wonderful candid shots; these beautiful images really capture the spirit and atmosphere of the day, especially the ones on the dance floor! You were able to capture those special moments in time with magical facial expressions that other photographers hadn’t shown us in their portfolios, and in taking these pictures you have given us memories that we will cherish forever.
We look forward to planning our wedding album with you soon.
Thank you again,
Chris & Lucie
