Stranton church, Hartlepool
We first met Svetlana (Lana) and Paul at a wedding fair we exhibited at in Hartlepool at the Hartlepool Golf Club. They had chosen the golf course for their reception venue so were looking for suppliers to make their day perfect. We could tell Lana was very excited for her day and very much looking forward to her photos being taken as she had lots of ideas!
Getting ready
Lana got ready at her mums house with lots of the family there for support including her mum, sister and daughter Melissa. The hairdresser put the finishing touches to her curls and added her veil. Her mum had her hair done as well and everyone looked amazing. Lana’s dress was gorgeous. It had lots of layers and pretty intricate details to it and she looked stunning! With some sparkly jewellery and hers shoes on the bride was ready to go! Lana’s dad had come over from Moscow to give his daughter away. The wedding car which was a lovely old cream Rolls Royce arrived to take her and her dad to the church.
The Ceremony
Paul was waiting at the church with their son Max for Lana to arrive. He was looking quite calm and collected which is great. They were having the ceremony at Stranton Church in Hartlepool, it’s a gorgeous big old church with lots of character, we always enjoy photographing weddings there!
Lana arrived and they were ready to begin the ceremony. They made their vows to each other surrounded by their friends and family and exchanged wedding rings. There were hymns sung and the organ playing and Paul was allowed to kiss his gorgeous new wife! After the register was signed the couple left the church and everyone went to the entrance of the church to throw confetti. With tradition being followed there was as also rice and coins thrown at the newlyweds and the children were delighted to run around collecting the money! After a few shots with the car we headed off to the Golf Club for the reception, we just made it indoors before the rain started!
The Speeches
The couple mixed some of Lana’s family Russian wedding traditions with the English traditions. On arrival at the reception the couple must stay away from the guests and when they enter the room they are presented with a special homemade bread/pie by the bride’s mother, the couple have to take a bite out of the ‘cake’ and give them a happy marriage together. There were speeches from the best man and the groom thanking everyone for coming with some lovely words. There wasn’t a father of the bride speech due to him not being able to speak English but he did look very proud of his daughter.
Romantic Mr & Mrs photographs
After the meal we had plenty time before the evening started so we took the couple out onto the golf course as the weather had brightened up and the sun had dried up all the rain! We had a walk all round the golf course taking advantage of the beautiful scenery. You can quite clearly see in the images just how happy this couple were to be married. They were open to anything we suggested and had lots of their own ideas for shots as well. Being relaxed and enjoying having your photographs gives great results, you do get out of your photographs what you put into them. We find all our couples say they enjoyed having their photographs taken, we keep things light and with no pressure to make it fun! We also had the children outside for some family shots together as well.
A bit of extra posing fun and throwing the bouquet!
Lana decided she wanted to throw the bouquet for the girls! This proved to be quite competitive with everyone jumping for it, and resulted in about 3 people all getting a piece each!
Lana and her girls posed for some fun shots with our white sunglasses and we had some silly photos with pouting and strutting! They all loved it!
Party time...
We captured the cutting of the amazing chocolate & strawberry wedding cake and the couple took centre stage for their first dance. The bride also opted to have a dance with her dad, although he seemed a little unsure he was soon smiling happy to be dancing with his daughter.
The party really started then when everyone hit the dance floor, and wow these guys could bust out some dance moves! Everyone was truly in the party spirit having a wonderful time dancing to a mix of English and Russian tracks!
A beautiful sunset!
Just as we were getting ready to leave we noticed there was the beginning of an amazing sunset outside, it was too good an opportunity to miss so we whisked the bride and groom outside to grab a few stunning shots with the pretty sky. Again this couple loved every minute of it, we don’t think they wanted the day to ever end!
We had so much fun at this wedding, it was lovely to see a mix of the two cultures come together and be with such a happy family for the day, we enjoyed every minute of it, thank you so much for choosing us to be part of it!
Their photographs really capture the couples character and personality, showing the happiness of the day. These photos will transport them right back to the day keeping the memories alive forever. Congratulations Mr and Mrs Thomas.
If you are getting married in Hartlepool and would like LeopardPrints photography to help capture the memories then don't hesitate to drop us a mail!
Suppliers;
Venue : Hartlepool golf club
Venue dressing : My Wedding Belle
Cake : kirsty cakes
Cars : white orchid wedding cars
flowers : Home made
Hairdresser : leanne Marriott , scizzorhappy
make up : Stella nails and beauty
Dj : Nightfever roadshow disco
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