Vicky & Tom – Oldwalls Wedding

I will always remember this Oldwalls Wedding for the job I had to perform to make the day go ahead. I had to step into the role of driver for the family and bridesmaids when the car company let down Vicky on her big day. I was happy to help as soon as I realised that there was a real possibility for the family to be stranded. I basically saved the day … well maybe not but got alot of thanks from the family and it really helped to bond me with the family and bridesmaids during the rest of the day.

The day started for me with a long drive in the sun down to the Gower and ended with a long drive in the dark shivering and wanting to be in bed – thankfully this came to no more than a day in bed! Anyway back to the start of the day where Vicky was getting ready at Mulberry Cottage with her family and bridesmaids. I had photographed Vicky’s sister wedding a few years earlier in The Bear Hotel in Cowbridge and was delighted to see her and her husband with a little boy – who certainly had a few photos taken of him during the day.

Vicky was looking great despite being quite ill on the lead up to the wedding and she had found herself in hospital and only a few weeks before! I was totally unaware of this but because she knew how I worked she was happy to let me get on with the day and felt confident with me guiding her. I had been there for about 40 minutes when the cars were first talked about and eventually it was discovered that they were not turning up! I, obviously, offered my car as a replacement – which they were delighted about. I then had to clear out the rubbish from it including sweet wrappers, crisps and general debris. I also had to somehow cram my daughters car seats into the boot with all my kit!

Once I had cleaned the car I headed (with a full car) to St Cennyd’s church in Llangenith to meet my assistant for the day – Jon from Jon Turtle Photography and get into the ceremony. Unfortunately we were not permitted to take photos inside the church during the service so we were able to stop and chat before getting on with the day with a meet and greet, followed by confetti and then a trip to the beach. This was a paticular highlight for me but probably not so for the wedding party that came with us and had to climb the sand dune to get some photos of them with the bride and groom. I also had 5 minutes with the bride and groom before we headed back to Oldwalls in transport kindly laid on by the venue!

We had time for group photos on the jetty as well as the bride and groom getting well deserved time with their guests. Oldwalls is a terrific place to get married and with the sun shining for most of the day it was just a fantastic day and topped off with really funny speeches and then a very pictureresque evening portrait session in the low August sun before a first dance on the very welllit dance floor in the marquee. They use lots of lighting as well as smoke and it is a great way to finish your wedding day.

So thank you Vicky and Tom and despite the illness of Vicky and my brush with a shivery cold it was a really fabulous day and I hope that these photographs really do justice to your wedding day.

** You can see a condensed vesion of these photos in a previous blog – here **