Kilworth House Wedding Photography

Guest Arrivals

The point where the guests start to arrive marks the beginning of the wedding proper.  Families and friends coming together in anticipation of the ceremony, lots of hugs, handshakes and hellos.

As the groom and his friends were ready in plenty of time, they were there to greet guests as they arrived.  It was especially nice to see the groom talking to everyone as they took their seats for the ceremony.  And, because the bride has timed her morning perfectly, it meant the two of us could be buzzing around at this time, capturing everything that was going on before the main event began.

Wedding Ceremony in The Orangery

With the bride making her way down the venue’s beautiful staircase, it was time for the wedding ceremony.  Kilworth House’s main indoor ceremony space is The  Orangery – a key feature of the venue and one that never fails to impress.  The space is flooded with natural light, even with the drapes fitted by the venue to help conceal the critical exterior works underway at the time.  It feels open in a way that many indoor ceremony venues simply can’t match. E & A’s ceremony was lovely – short enough to be efficient, but long enough to be warm and personal. Wedding ceremonies always feel special in this room.

Drinks Reception in The Courtyard

Due to the restoration work happening on the exterior of The Orangery, the main terrace was temporarily out of use, so after the confetti had been thrown outside the main entrance, the drinks reception moved to Kilworth’s central courtyard.

Kilworth scheduled two hours for the afternoon drinks reception, which is one of those small planning decisions that makes a significant difference to a wedding day. It gives guests time to properly relax and catch up, it gives the couple breathing room, and it gives us chance to cover everything properly – we made use of every minute.

Afternoon couple portraits

With two hours available during the afternoon, there was no undue pressure on the first of the couple portrait sessions, but that said, we didn’t want to keep the couple away from the party for too long.  Using the lawn and some of the nearby gardens, we got about 15 minutes worth of pictures with the couple. The spring gardens at Kilworth gave us everything we needed before heading back inside as everyone was waiting for the meal.

Wedding breakfast & speeches in The Orangery

By this time the guests had left he Courtyard and were sipping drinks in the lounge in anticipation of the wedding meal and speeches.

During the drinks reception, the staff had turned The Orangery around into a beautiful setting for a meal for 130 guests.  The beautiful florals from Stylish Weddings provided a nice contrast to the white linen and the ornate tiled floor of the Orangery.

Evening couple portraits

For weddings in lighter months we always try to incorporate two portrait sessions with the couple.  A shorter one in the afternoon (so as not to keep them away from the guests for long) and longer session in the evening, when the light is usually more flattering.

With E & A, we had them outside again once the speeches were finished and used the main entrance and courtyard areas.  Even through the temperature had dropped, we had a nice amount of evening light to use and it gave the couple a little bit of respite away from the crowd before the evening party began.

Evening party in The Orangery & goodbyes

With evening guests starting to arrive it was time for everyone to head back into The Orangery for the cake cutting, first dance and evening party.   One really notable thing about E & A’s wedding was just how lively the dancefloor was – absolutely brilliant!

When time and circumstances allow, we find getting a final portrait of the couple is a great way for us to finish.  The walkway between Kilworth’s car park and the main entrance provided the backdrop and all we had to do was get the couple in place and light it.  These final pictures gives us chance to ’round off’ the coverage of the day – and as we’re away from the noise of the dancefloor we can actually say goodbye properly too.