DB Photography

Kelly & Nik - Flakley Ash Hotel

Kelly & Nik's beautiful wedding day at Flakley Ash started like most do with myself heading off to shoot Kelly and her bridesmaids getting ready preparations. Kelly was already at the wedding venue, this really takes the pressure off for us as there is no travelling between venues. The girls were all in really good spirits, drinking bucks fizz and talking about the day ahead. My friend Marissa was on makeup duty despite having a broken collarbone!

The lighting in the room was beautiful and even more so outside, so I took the girls outside to get some shots of them in their matching robes.

After that it was time to get Kelly in her dress and the photos came out really nicely. Its always a beautiful moment as you can see the emotions start to build in a Brides face. The morning can so often feel like a breeze and that you have loads of time. Suddenly its time to get dressed and it starts to feel a bit real.

Steph went to the couples house in Hastings, where Nik and his groomsmen were getting ready for the day. This included giving out presents to his lads, and getting themselves suited and booted.

The decor for this wedding is absolutely beautiful, love the copper tones and general metalics plus all the flowers. Kelly & Nik had put in so much work making their day look perfect. Its always lovely to see a wedding where the couple have had real input to how the day looks.

We had beautiful weather all day and this meant the guests all congregated in the garden pre-ceremony, rather than hanging around the bar etc. This made for much nicer shots. After that, it was ceremony time!

The ceremony took place in the conservatory at Flakley Ash. This meant lots of lovely natural lighting. Flakley Ash is not a venue we had photographed before which gives you an element of uncertainty going into the day. However there was no need to worry as it really was a lovely setting for a ceremony. There were smiles and laughs a plenty.

We had a slight stress when it came to the post-ceremony group photos. With the ceremony running slightly behind schedule and there not being much tome for group shots anyway, we had a very limited time to complete the shots but thankfully managed to get everything done in time.

For Kelly and Nik's couple shots we had found a beautiful rhododendron plant earlier and this was the perfect opportunity to make the most of it. We also found a lovely staircase in the garden that made a beautiful setting with the summer sunlight shining through.

The speeches at Kelly and Nik's wedding had some wonderful and memorable moments. Really funny and emotional.

As dinner and speeches were ending we noticed that 'golden hour' was in full effect so we whisked the couple out into the carpark of all places for a quick shot bathed in that glorious lighting

As this wedding was in early September the weather was beautiful and after the formalities the guests all spilled out onto the lawn area. This is a lovely feature of Flakley Ash Hotel and made for a perfect place for us to capture some more natural shots of the guests doing what they do. . . Which obviously included one of the Best Men wearing a ladies hat.

First dance time and dancing the night away was on the agenda and Ashley from Sussex DJ Company was getting everyone up and enjoying themselves.

Venue: Flakley Ash Hotel

Make-Up: Marissa - Make Up

DJ: Sussex DJ Company

Things were a bit cramped here with myself and the videographer trying to find space. All part of the job though and really pleased with the shots we got.

Big fan of this shot. The perspective came out exactly as I had hoped and the sun was positioned just right to get it breaking through the trees.

'Golden Hour' is that time of an evening, especially in the summer, where the light is just perfect and yields incredible effects like this one.

I love this shot of Kelly and her Dad. We have managed to capture a lot of lovely shots of parents emotions of the years and the look of pride in this mans eyes says it all!

1st Sep 2018