Dorton House – A Beautiful Wedding Venue
Kayleigh and Michael chose Dorton House near Aylesbury for their wedding ceremony and reception, and I was privileged to take the photos for them. This wonderful setting had so many gorgeous options for photographs. The grand interiors and stunning grounds certainly have the absolute wow factor!
Dorton House sits in the historic royal hunting grounds of Saxon and Norman Kings. The Grade 1 listed Jacobian Mansion dates back to 1596. In fact, the bricks making up the house consist of locally sourced clay from nearby Brill Hill.
Historic Property
The property still retains many original features. For example, Tudor chimneys and stone mullioned windows, highly detailed plaster ceilings, plus the most gorgeous Jacobean screen in the Saloon. In addition, the Clock Court, with its cobbled courtyard and stables, was built about the same time as the house.
Dorton House’ main use is a preparatory school, though it is available during the school holidays for wedding receptions. What makes this venue so special is it has its own private chapel for wedding ceremonies within the lovely 30 acre estate. In addition, the wedding party get full use of the grand reception rooms in the main house.
So Much Laughter & Emotion
The cosy chapel in the grounds was perfect for the ceremony, and walking proximity to the main house was ideal. Not only did Kayleigh and Michael use the chapel, they also had Michael’s father who is a retired vicar carry out the wedding service. How special was that, I’ve only ever witnessed such a scenario once before in my career!
The sun shone throughout the day, perfect for lots of outdoor picture options against the many fabulous backdrops. It’s great for me when a wedding has so much non-stop laughter; I can’t tell you how beneficial this is for masses of great reportage pictures!
Fabulous Speeches
The excellent speeches also provided so many stunning picture opportunities. The heartfelt speeches created so much laughter, not to mention all the tears that flowed as the newlyweds’ memories were shared by the speakers.
I particularly loved the images of the adorable young children. They decided to plaster their faces with sticky transfers whilst their parents were watching the speeches! I’m sure their parents weren’t best pleased with them, but I guess it’s my job to document the day!
A Storybook Of The Day
My brief for the day was to capture mostly reportage style imagery, whilst still taking some classic poses and group shots too. The secret for natural images is to work really fast, once the guests spot my camera the magic moment is usually lost forever!
I stayed throughout the day to capture a mixture of posed, classic and reportage pictures. My day came to a close soon after the first dance, and a few floodlit poses in the grounds.
My Favourite Dorton House Wedding Photographs
Probably my favourite photos of the day were the ones I took in the buttercup meadow near Dorton House in the early evening light; bright blue skies and blue bridesmaids’ dresses against the yellow flowers made for some really great results! I have the shot of the couple kissing in this sequence on my studio wall in a huge frame, it looks amazing printed at this size!
The many reportage images also produced some of my favourite shots from the day, wwith fabulous reactions on some of the guests’ faces! It certainly helps me during these candid moments when everyone is in such high spirits, and especially so when they are oblivious to my camera pointing their way!
Kind Words
Mark took so many fabulous pictures that captured our day perfectly!
Throughout the consultation process he fed us ideas and listened to our likes and dislikes, which resulted in amazing photos that were just what we’d hoped for. His professional attitude during the run up and on the day ensured everything ran smoothly and efficiently.
The gorgeous pictures that Mark captured will give us much joy and many find memories in the years to come!
Kayleigh & Michael
