Brighton Wedding Photography – A Royal Pavilion Wedding – Elaine & Mark got married at Brighton Pavilion in November, but before all the ‘I Do’s’ and formality of their actual wedding ceremony, they gave a big nod to tradition by holding not one but two traditional Chinese tea ceremonies at each of their parents homes. My coverage for the day started with bridal preparation which was well underway in London at Elaine’s parents home. When I arrived and saw the bridal bouquet – a handmade bouquet made up of 9 hello kitties surrounded by pink tulle, I knew this wedding was going to be anything but traditional!
Mark then arrived with his brother /best man Roger and his entourage of groomsmen who all wore beautiful handmade paper button holes and personalised cufflinks. And so started the door games – the traditional games the keepers of the bride play on the groom who has to earn his way into the house to prove he’s worthy of marrying his bride. All fun and games literally, usually involving eating and drinking hot, sweet, fiery and sour things and generally making a fool of yourself! Games over, Mark was able to come in to claim his bride who was dressed in a traditional red Chinese wedding outfit,  and so the first tea ceremony began. With exchanges of tea and traditional red envelopes given for good fortune and blessing, Elaine’s parents and family formally welcomed Mark into the family.
After the ceremony we all made our way down to Sevenoaks for tea ceremony number 2, where Mark’s mother and family drank tea and offered red envelopes to Elaine to welcome her into the family. Then we were all off to Brighton for the next part of their day, the formal wedding ceremony at Brighton Pavilion. After a super quick change into her gorgeous white wedding dress (and those amazing shoes!!) we all headed to the Royal Pavilion. Now, its no secret I love shooting at the Pavilion, one of my favourite venues in Brighton where I’ve shot quite a few weddings at last year – and with the official ‘I Do’s a lovely reading from Elaine’s brother & sister in law and some shots in the music room, we then all headed off to our final destination, the World’s End pub. A strange place to have a wedding reception? No not really – not if you play in a band and its your local!
These two really wanted to celebrate in a way that made them happy – and that involved gigging on their wedding night. Mark plays drums in a band called Kobayashi and as they both love music and sing, they decided to have a first song instead of a first dance – well, actually, 4 first songs! It was nuts! 3 sets, 2 bands and lots of shots later….. followed by a late cake cutting (check out the cake that Elaine’s brother made featuring lots of guess what – little kitties!!) and so the night came to a close. What a wedding!! Mark & Elaine – you guys rock.
Day 2 will be posted in a few weeks as I’m about to scoot off for a break. Meanwhile, enjoy and do get in touch if you like my style and are still looking for photographic coverage of your wedding.
