A Waddesdon Wedding At Its Very Best
Kayleigh & Jon were married on a beautiful summer’s day at The Dairy, Waddesdon. I really made the most of the glorious natural lighting with many dramatic and striking poses of Kayleigh and Jon showcasing the backdrops of the Dairy and Waddesdon Manor.
With such a warm, fun loving couple to work with, I knew I was in for one incredible wedding day – and I was not disappointed!
The Dairy have kindly recommended me for the past 15 years, most year’s I’ll attend between 6-10 weddings at this beautiful venue.
The Dairy, Waddesdon
I can’t think of a more magical setting for an outdoor wedding ceremony than the waterside pavilions at The Dairy; it is the most serene experience for anyone lucky enough to be invited to a wedding at this fabulous venue.
The Waddesdon Estate has such a unique and colourful history, and it’s always so special to witness a couple creating their own piece of unique history here too.
The Civil Ceremony Outdoors Within The Dairy’s Pavilions
The lakeside location is a haven for the local wildlife, and the exotic ducks that occupy this corner of the Waddesdon Estate provided a fabulous background chorus for Kayleigh and Jon’s heartfelt civil wedding ceremony. They also provided a vibrant splash of colour too as they went about their daily antics!
Friends and family had come from far and wide to witness the beautiful promises and vows this lovely couple made to one another.
Relaxing Time And Pictures At The Dairy
The choice of car for the day was an elegant 1920s convertible Bentley, and it looked spectacular in the gleaming sunlight as the newlyweds were waved off by their guests after the ceremony. Once they returned from their trip through the local countryside I captured a few group poses, then it was time for them to join the celebrations with their family and friends for champagne and canapés.
The Dairy is such a magical place for the wedding guests to relax, the building and the stunning gardens certainly have the wow factor on every level!
There are just so many options for pictures at The Dairy, especially so when we have perfect blue skies all day! When I’m working I like to try and alternate the backdrops regularly, this ensures lots of variety, and captures so many vistas for the newlyweds to look back on in the years ahead.
I was very impressed with the couple’s attention to detail throughout their wedding. Kayleigh’s choice of beautiful wedding gown, vibrant bridesmaids dresses, warm colour scheme, flowers and table decorations provided stunning opportunities for my camera.
Pictures At Waddesdon Manor
After the meal we drove up to the main manor house for a few extra pictures; Waddesdon manor is out of this world as a backdrop! Many couples who have their wedding at The Dairy ask me to capture some shots for them in the gardens of Waddesdon Manor. The gardens are always so perfect, yet the colour scheme seems to alternate for each of my visits!
The Parterre is a particular favourite of mine, I love shooting through the flower borders whilst still keeping the manor house prominent in the frame. Waddesdon Manor is a crazily busy place to be thinking about pictures during the summer months, the secret is to time my visits for when the public have departed for the day.
The Evening Reception
The wedding had a great buzzy atmosphere throughout the day, and everyone invited was certainly in high spirits. Since most of my pictures are reportage style, Kayleigh and Jon’s wedding was dream territory for me as the guests partied non-stop! The dance floor was certainly the place to be after sundown, their superb band performed so many dance classics throughout the evening. And the wedding guests matched them every step of the way with their energetic non-stop dance moves.
At dusk my floodlighting was deployed to illuminate the fabulous Dairy setting, these are always my favourite images to end the day.
A big thank you to Kayleigh and Jon for booking me for your special day, I loved every minute of your incredible wedding!
History Of The Waddesdon Estate
Waddesdon Manor was built (1874-1889) by Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild to display his outstanding collection of art treasures and to entertain the fashionable world. Fascinated by the history and culture of France, he commissioned a French architect to build him a Renaissance-style chateau based on those in the Loire Valley, and employed a French garden designer to lay out the grounds. The Manor was only used for weekends in the summer months for Ferdinand’s famous house parties, and was the last word in luxury with electric lights, lifts and under-floor heating. The Dairy was again built on a grand scale with no expense spared to house his prize-winning cattle.
Kind Words
Dear Mark,
The words thank you just don’t cut it for how extremely grateful we are for the stunningly beautiful photos you have given us of our special day. From the initial visit to The Dairy you were first choice and boy did we make the right one! Your knowledge of the venue and where the best lighting would be are second to none!
To say wow is an understatement! Looking through them all took us right back to the day from start to finish; it was as if we were there doing it all over again. You truly and completely captured every little detail of our day, making the hot pink colour scheme really shine against the incredible back drops at The Dairy and Waddesdon Manor with the results being so fairy tale and magical. On the day you captured the photos with such ease, never taking us away from our guests for too long and the speed in which you organised the group shots was amazing.
Throughout the whole process you were extremely professional and friendly, listening to what we wanted and also giving you own recommendations in line with our vision. You even went above and beyond helping the groomsmen with their button holes! Not only did we love you but so did all our wedding guests who have done nothing but sing your praises since. You didn’t feel like our photographer at all during the wedding; you felt like a friend there celebrating with us.
The images you have given us of our perfect day are nothing but perfect themselves. You really are a master of photography!
We’ve already begun recommending you to other couples!
Thank you so much from the bottom of our hearts. Kayleigh & Jonathan
