Charlene & Carl got married recently in a church ceremony with a reception at Missenden Abbey in Buckinghamshire. I met up with the girls in the morning while Becky went to hang out with the boys. For me, it was like being welcomed back into family as I’d been lucky enough to photograph Charlene’s brother, Nathan’s Pains Hill wedding to Cherita last summer. Charlene was beyond excited when I arrived at the house and the beaming grin never left her face. She may well be the most excited bride-to-be I’ve seen in fact! Carl is super thoughtful and send over a beautiful bunch of flowers and chocolates in the morning which further fuelled the excitement.
Charlene & Carl have actually known each other since childhood and their families are great friends. In the early 2000s Carl moved to the US but promised to come back for her, which he duly did! He proposed to her at their church, which is the centre pillar of their lives together, and did so with 11 roses. Ten of these were presented by their immediate families who are so important to them both, the 11th by Carl to represent 11 years since he’d left for the US and subsequently come back to propose.
With Carl and Charlene planning their new life in America, Charlene’s family did a lot of the decorating for them. The moment where they came in to see the room for the first time was magical. Charlene was shocked, then surprised, then overwhelmed . And I don’t blame her, it looked spectacular, including the surprise five tier wedding cake to go with their Hollywood elegance theme.
The fact that Carl was seemingly smitten since day 1 came up a lot in the speeches. I think Carl was a tad embarrassed at points, but it was all in good fun. As well as lively speeches, MC’ed by Nathan, the dancing was also super fun. I love how involved all their 300 guests got in the day. There was also much hilarity at the shoe game that Nathan had them playing. It involved them answering who was the most… (romantic, funny, tidy etc) and the disagreements caused some hilarity – especially about who was the better cook!
I cannot put into words how lucky I felt to be Charlene & Carl’s Missenden Abbey wedding photographer and how grateful I was to work with these lovely families again. I know that a long and happy future together awaits you both!
If you’re looking for a Missenden Abbey wedding photographer or a Buckinghamshire wedding photographer, please do get in touch! You can find out all about my signature style of happy, natural wedding photography right here.
