Cherita and Nathan invited me along to be their Pains Hill wedding photographer and I loved it! It’s a venue I’d never been to before and what a hidden gem it is!
They started the day with some very relaxed preparations on both sides. I was a little worried as the mercury just kept creeping up and I thought they were both going to melt but it turned into a perfect English summer day; bright blue, sunny skies and a beautiful breeze to keep us all cool.
The ceremony took place at the Holy Trinity Church in Claygate which is a large part of Cherita and Nathan’s life and family’s lives. The church ceremony was like a breath of fresh air. Everyone was calling out their support for the happy couple; throwing their hands up to praise the bride and groom and singing with all of their hearts. I loved it. Nathan was obviously over the moon too as was evident when he danced his new bride down the aisle!
After the ceremony the couple headed off to the beautiful Pains Hill. Pains Hill has gorgeous 18th century landscaped gardens and stunning views so I can see why any couple would want to get married here. The grounds are amazing! The reception took place in the lovely marquee with private garden. I think even Nathan & Cherita were wowed by the scenery, despite having seen it before. I could have easily spent all day in the grounds taking photos of this gorgeous couple, but their guests were beckoning. With their reception being held in a pretty walled garden with wild flowers it really did have a very pretty, ethereal feel to the day. Nathan said that he wanted the day to feel romantic and it certainly did!
Nathan’s sister Sarah is a budding event planner so she’d done a lot of the styling of the day and it looked wonderful. The setting was magical, the nude colour scheme was elegantly understated and creative purple uplighting and pin lights really pulled everything together. There was a little tipi in the garden for the kids, a sweet cart, big lit up letters and the marquee was lit in shades of purple – lighting makes SUCH a big difference to marquees as plain white walls don’t photograph very well.
Nathan & Cherita danced into the reception with their bridal party. I’m thinking this is the perfect way to work up an appetite for dinner! The speeches were lovely too. The MC opened up the mic to the floor and the guests were falling over themselves to talk about Nathan & Cherita. The main thing that came through was that everyone feels Nathan & Cherita were destined to meet 🙂 It was a wonderful testament to them both hearing friends and family so effusive in their praise.
The speeches were incredibly funny – both Cherita and Nathan took well-meaning ribbings from friends! And the dancing was off the hook! Their friend was DJing and then other friends were playing in the band with various other people performing. The dance floor was on fire. Cherita and Nathan even got to leave through a tunnel of their guests’ hands (which they also insisted I had an honorary exit through!)
Cherita and Nathan are the sweetest couple and this was the perfect day to start their married life together.
If you’re looking for a Pains Hill wedding photographer and would like to chat then I’d love to hear about your big day! Or if you’d like to see some more of my happy and moment filled wedding photography then you can check that out on that link.
