Itchenor Sailing Club Wedding Photography

When Livvy & Toby’s contacted me about their Itchenor Sailing Club Wedding Photography the previous summer, they were clearly interested in a laid back, relaxed style of natural un-posed photography that didn’t involve them having to be on camera all day. They were having a gorgeous hand-made summer wedding at the sailing club, and wanted to simply relax and enjoy the day. That always makes my heart skip a beat when I hear that from couples as it’s a perfect fit for my documentary approach to shooting weddings. We met in the run up to the wedding when I got to hear about their plans and all the work they’d been putting into making it a fabulous day. Toby and Livvy met at school and had dated seriously since college so were childhood sweethearts. Things had just clicked and you can always tell when a couple are just meant to be!

Seaside themed wedding

“My father and grandfather were fisherman and my father is now a fishmonger. A large proportion of both our families also live very close to the sea and love all things sea related; meaning that many of our childhood memories include holidays and trips to the seaside. Once we had chosen the sailing club as our wedding venue we needed very little inspiration – it had to have a subtle seaside theme and the colours had to be blue and green because not only are they very much seaside colours they are also both of our favourite colours.”

The day started at Livvy’s mum’s house with all her bridesmaids and parents getting ready for the day. Her mum and dad had both re-married so Livvy was planning to walk down the aisle with both her dad & step-dad who were both really important to her. After they were all ready, I scooted off to the sailing club to cover some of Toby’s preparations and the welcoming of guests – the club is a gorgeous outdoors summer venue with views across the coast – you feel a bit like you’re on holiday there! Once Toby was ready, and after a bit of liquid refreshment for nerves, Toby joined their guests as everyone gathered outside for the wedding ceremony and for Livvy who was arriving in style by boat. The sun was out in full and the everyone was ready!

The Bride arrived by boat!

The little Itchenor ferry brought Livvy and her bridal party over to the jetty where they all disembarked and excitedly got ready to walk the long jetty up to the club. A quick touch up of lippy and they were off, Livvy walking arm in arm with both her dads! The closer she got, the more emotional Livvy was and Toby’s eyes were welling up too. It was a magical arrival and everyone was captivated by how beautiful she looked. After taking each other’s hands, the ceremony began with personalised vows and even more tears and it wasn’t long before they were married! A fabulous steel band played throughout the afternoon as guests mingled in the hot summer sunshine, enjoying the scenery chatting happily to the newly-weds. At that point, we took a few family photos down by the water’s edge and some portraits of Livvy and Toby around the sailing club, before guests headed inside for dinner.

Sussex documentary wedding photographer

Their guests enthusiastically welcomed Livvy & Toby into dinner and to lots of emotional speeches with tears and laughter throughout. Livvy and her mum had painted gorgeous sea-themed pebbles for each and every guest as wedding favours, as well as other decor hand-made by friends and family – the place looked amazing – what a talented bunch! After a few hours of dinner, there were games on the lawns outside and a photo booth kept young and old entertained. Then the live band struck up and the dancing started! Livvy & Toby danced a brilliant choreographed routine to Paulo Nutini’s ‘Pencil full of Lead’ and there was a second equally impressive routine to David Bowie’s ‘Let’s Dance’ from Livvy & her dad! Not the kind of dad dancing you’d expect either! The place was in uproar. Other than a handful of group photos and couple portraits, the entire day was shot in a natural documentary style. If you love this style of photography, perhaps you’d like to take a look at this Elmore Court Gloucestershire wedding or this Devonshire Terrace London wedding. Here’s another Itchenor Sailing Club wedding I shot a few years ago if you’re considering getting married there you might want to look though this one too. Please do get in touch here for a copy of my wedding brochure or to enquire about my availability for your wedding. I bowed out towards the end of the night when the dancing was in full swing and guests were still outside mingling in the cool night air.

Featured on Love My Dress

This was one special wedding! There was so much love and emotion throughout the day, happy folk enjoying the day and celebrating the union of these two gorgeously fun and lovely people. I’m delighted that this gorgeous wedding has been featured on Love My Dress; to take a look please click here and search for Mona Ali Photography. Thanks Livvy & Toby for choosing me to photograph your gorgeous wedding and I wish you both the happiest life together xxx