Let me start by saying that Helen & William’s Wotton House Festive New Year’s Eve wedding last year was a ball! A riotous mix of tradition – Christmas and Irish – a good nosh up and more dancing than anything else! Add in lots of festive cheer, family and friends from far and wide, and two people who wanted to enter the New Year as Mr and Mrs, laughing and dancing all the way. That about sums up Helen and William’s wedding! They’d planned a party wedding at the stunning Wotton House in Dorking, a fabulous venue complete with Roman Temple and Italian gardens, located not too far from where they lived in the Surrey hills. With lots of accommodation, family and friends were able to stay there too.
Winter Weddings
Don’t you love crisp, cold, bright and sunny winter weddings days! Whilst its nippy out there, it’s nothing a short glass of whisky won’t sort out… William, best man and friend did just that before heading off into the bright December sunlight to St James’s on Abinger Common. Meanwhile, Helen was getting ready at Wotton House with mum and bridesmaids, calmly preparing herself for the ceremony and helping her bridesmaids get ready. Then off I trotted to the church to await Helen’s arrival with her dad. After the lovely service and mass, they headed back out into the sunshine and confetti as Mr and Mrs, then onwards to Wotton House to start the celebrations.
Wotton House Gardens
One of the loveliest things about this venue are the gardens. Even in the winter, they look stunning, so being able to get outside for some photos with Helen & William during the daylight was something that was important to them. With winter weddings, daylight is limited so I highly recommend planing things to make the most of whatever daylight you have. As their guests headed back from church, we whizzed off in advance to take a stroll in the gardens before going back inside into the Old Library for drinks and a warm up by the open fire.
12 Days of Christmas
The theme for their wedding was the 12 days of Christmas so all the dinner tables were named after a day, with decorations to go with their theme. There were twinkling christmas lights a gorgeous tree and festive decorations all around – the venue had made things look so Christmassy and cosy. They decided on having a Toast Master for their wedding formals, not always necessary if you have a confident best man or family member who’s happy to do the announcing! Dinner was announced and everyone headed into for a good nosh up and speeches. And later, after the cutting of the cheese cake, the dancing began. This was something they’d been planning for a while. Helen & William had been taking dancing lessons – they’d wanted to do two traditional waltzes on their wedding day and even had an extra large dance floor installed so they could twirl around gracefully! And what a reception they got!! Most men have 2 left feet and dread a first dance if they’re planning one, but William did a stellar job and even looked like he was enjoying himself! With such a large Irish contingent, some Irish dancing was inevitable. I’m always secretly happy when the dance floor erupts with any kind of traditional dancing and the crowd really gets going. I love it when the old traditions appear, guests get merry and invite others to join in the shin dig. Love it! So I’ve included a lot of dancing photos in here… even one of William’s Aunties DJ’ing for a bit. The happy and merry crowd saw the New Year in with a huge bang, dancing the night away till the wee hours. That’s what NYE weddings are all about!
If you’re having a New Year’s Eve wedding today have a fabulous time welcoming the new year in. If you’re having a Wotton House wedding and are looking for a photographer, get in touch when the New Year dust settles! Happy New Year to you all. I wish you a healthy, happy, fulfilling 2017 filled with love, peace and abundance. See you next year xxx
