Country House Wedding in Nottingham

Annie and Calum had a lovely Country House wedding in Nottingham. Annie is Chinese so the day was a lovely mix of Chinese and British traditions. I love these sort of fusion weddings and it’s so lovely to see people mix together and enjoying the customs and traditions of different cultures. So, after the traditional English wedding ceremony, there was an intimate tea ceremony in the other room. Annie’s bridesmaids prepared the tea and Annie and Calum’s family were presented with tea before handing over their red envelopes to the couple. It was a touching ceremony. I’ve always thought tea drinking to be something of a ritual. Even in this country. So it was lovely to photograph this. After the tea, Calum had to pay Annie’s bridesmaids a sum of money in order that they would allow him to take her from them. I love this tradition and have also seen it at Indian weddings. There’s something lovely about that bond between girls and of course the man has to pay them a good sum to relinquish that bond. But here was the great bit! Not only did Calum have to pay them. But he had to go through some ritual humiliation as well. Annie and her bridesmaids had him dressed up in ridiculous outfits performing a dance routine for them. It was hilarious. And a tradition I think we need to start adopting over here!

Beautiful getting ready photos

Annie got ready in the bridal suite. It is a lovely room for bridal prep photographs and I adore the light that is created from the large windows. I think I have some of my favourite bridal portraits that I have ever taken here of Annie in the window. She looked amazing and some of the photos of her having her makeup done too looked awesome. Thank you Annie for looking so radiant and serene so I could create some of my favourite bridal portraits. I absolutely love this part f the day. I also got pictures of Annie with her bridesmaids and with her dad. And I even managed to nip downstairs to grab some photos of Calum and his groomsmen as they put on their ties and button holes.

36 Photos

I am blogging just 36 photos from the day (like a roll of film) They are pictures I particularly like and moments I remember fondly. If you would like to see more images from the day, I have included the slide show at the bottom of the post so you can watch the 3 minute version of highlights to music if you so wish. Some of the 36 moments I have included are… obviously those wonderful portraits of Annie in the window (swoon!) Annie having a cheeky peek out of the window to see guests arriving. Calum attempting his tie (he is a scientist and un-used to these things called ties) Annie’s dad lifting her veil; the gorgeous tea ceremony; the ritual humiliation of the groom; the penguin and starfish cupcakes (they looked awesome! and tasted pretty good too) portraits in the orchard; red apples; some dance floor action.

First Dance Song

I loved Annie and Calum’s choice of first dance song. It was Lava from a little short disney pixar animation of the same name. I recognised it immediately and thought it was a perfect choice!