Ellie & Andy’s Wedding
I was privileged to shoot a wedding at one of the most in demand venues in the South East. Perfect for a Kent wedding photographer.
https://www.coolingcastlebarn.com
As the name would suggest, this stunning venue comprises of a 2 fantastic barn conversions. A barn for the ceremony and one for the wedding breakfast and evening reception. The venue also has private accommodation onsite that is very much in keeping with it’s surroundings.
I joined Ellie and her bridal party in one of these rooms for relaxed and fun bridal prep. The venue really spoiled the guests with regular re-fills of drinks and a seemingly endless supply of hot snacks. The beautiful weather allowed for lounging on the balcony with Prosecco in hand of course!
For the ceremony the bride entered the venue via a beautifully decorated staircase. She was accompanied by an acoustic guitarist – emotions were running high.
The guitarist continued to play for the drinks reception which, thanks to the glorious August weather enable guests to relax on the lawn. Then it was into the truly stunning barn for the wedding breakfast and speeches. This has to be up there with the most enchanting locations I have witnessed for a wedding meal.
After the meal it was time to grab some potraits of the happy couple in an around the grounds. It was then that I was informed that the large property next door to the venue is owned by the musician and TV presenter Jules Holland. Apparently his wedding took place at Castle Cooling Barns back in the 90’s!.
We captured some lovely golden hour shots before the bride & groom re-joined their guest to throw some shapes on the dancefloor!
Kind Words
“Let me start by saying that Damien was the absolute dream photographer for my wedding this year. For two people who aren’t particularly happy in front of a camera, he made us feel comfortable in his presence from the very first phonecall consultation. From there he invited us to have a pre-wedding shoot which gave us a taster of the experience we would have on the day and allowed us to experiment with poses to see what suited us and what didn’t. We had ongoing communication with Damien from start to finish to make sure that we would have all of the shots we wanted on the day (grooms first sight of the bride, the dress, the getting ready shots etc as well as the family group shots which our parents wanted).
Damien blended seamlessly into the day, with many of my guests left wondering how he got such great shots as they rarely saw him! Damien worked incredibly hard to be in the right place at the right time and was continually conscious of aspects like angles and sunsets to give us photos we could have only dreamt of. This was all the more incredible because he had never been to our venue before.
When we received our pictures we were elated. He captured the day so well and the emotion in each shot was stunning. From proud mothers looking at us, to giggling bridesmaids to partying friends; it was all perfect. The colours were vibrant, the shots were clear and (dare we say it) we looked great!!! You would never have guessed we were the awkward and camera shy people from before.
Since then, I have been asked several times for Damien’s contact by my guests as they were so impressed. This man is excellent and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend him to anyone.”
Elli & Andy
