Hensol Castle fun wedding photographer – Lucy and Sam’s Welsh Castle wedding videography.
Creative and natural wedding photography at Hensol Castle.
As Cardiff wedding videographers and photographers, we’re lucky enough to frequently capture weddings at Hensol Castle. And no matter how many times we turn onto the grand approach along the long sweeping driveway, the first glimpse of the castle always takes our breath away. Lucy and Sam chose an amazing venue for their spring wedding in South Wales.
Welsh Grade I listed Hensol Castle is a dreamy setting for a wedding. It has towering turrets, sweeping staircases and gothic towers and sits in luscious landscaped grounds. All of which make amazing back drops in our wedding photos and film.
Lucy and Sam’s wedding was held on a sunny day in late May, and we headed to the luxurious Vale Resort & Spa Hotel, where Lucy and her bridal party were getting ready. The atmosphere was great, Lucy had her and Sam’s two children with her who were a flower girl and a page boy on the day and were utterly adorable. Lucy also her team of five bridesmaids with her and her lovely mum.
Lucy looked amazing in her dress that had a v-neckline with off shoulder straps with a fitted bodice. It kicked out from the knee of the skirt creating a train at the back and a lovely silhouette in all of our images. Lucy bought it at All About Eve Bridal Wear and wore it with an elegant veil. Lucy’s hair was beautifully styled into a loose up do with some loose curls framing her face and her make-up looked immaculate thanks to make-up artist Kathryn Kift. This was complemented with a gorgeous bouquet of white flowers with green foliage. Bridesmaids looked elegant in soft dark gold dresses and they held small posies of wild gypsophila.
We also had a chance to catch up with Sam and his grooms party who were getting ready at Hensol Castle. The boys were in good spirits and all looked very smart in traditional black tie. We got some great images of them making their way to the castle for the ceremony. We love grooms’ parties in black tie, they always look so smart and these guys were really easy going and fun to work with.
The wedding ceremony was held in Hensol Castle’s opulent Oak Room, and Lucy was walked down the aisle by her mum. The Oak Room has original wood paneling, a chandeliered ceiling, a period fireplace and elegant arched windows that not only offer spectacular views of the 15-acre lake, but also flood the room with additional natural light. As castles are built as fortifications, they can be dark spaces, but one of the many things we love about capturing wedding photography at Hensol Castle is that it is filled with natural light, that we play with to create even more beautiful images and film.
The ceremony had a wonderfully warm atmosphere and we especially loved the images we got of Lucy and Sam laughing in it.
After a lovely ceremony, we captured a fun confetti moment with all of Lucy and Sam’s guests lined up on the lawn outside the castle entrance. Then Lucy, Sam and their guests all enjoyed a drinks reception.
Relaxed and fun Hensol Castle wedding videography.
After a glass of bubbly for Lucy and Sam, we quickly whisked them off for a few minutes for a romantic photoshoot around the gardens, by the lake and inside Hensol Castle. The images we got were lovely. We then rejoined the wedding party and got some great images of the wedding party.
The wedding breakfast was held in Hensol Castle’s beautiful Courtyard Hall, this light and airy space has feature chandeliered ceiling, and stunning ceiling to floor windows. Lucy and Sam had dressed it beautifully for the reception. Guests enthusiastically welcomed Lucy and Sam into their wedding reception, where everybody enjoyed delicious food by Hensol’s talented team of in-house chefs. There was also a heartfelt speech by Sam and a sweet and funny speech by his best man Will. Afterwards, the sun was still out, so guests spilled back outside into the garden to enjoy drinks.
Whilst everybody was happy mingling and exploring the castle. We whisked Lucy and Sam away for a few minutes for another mini photoshoot. This time of day is known by us Cardiff wedding photographers as ‘the golden hour’. It’s just before sunset when the sun is at its lowest creating a soft hazy light that is perfect for romantic wedding photos.
We headed down to the pontoon and used the drone to get some great images. This involved Lucy and Sam lying down with their heads side by side for the images. Understandably, by this point in the day, neither of them were entirely sober, causing some giggling. We had so much fun getting the images and they were well worth the effort as they were amongst our favourites of the day.
Storytelling Hensol Castle wedding photography.
Evening celebrations started with the cutting of a delicious looking three-tiered wedding cake followed by a first dance for Lucy and Sam. Now, when it came to the evening party Lucy and Sam thought of everything. There was live band Audio Jaxx who made sure the dance floor remained packed all night, along with a really fun marryoke photobooth that came with some very popular props (Lucy and Sam’s guests couldn’t get enough of the Viking hat!) and as if that’s not enough there were tasty chocolate kebabs! All provided by the lovely people at UltraBooth
We bravely took to the dance-floor to get some really great images, and the image of Lucy and Sam partying with all of their loved ones around them, felt like the perfect one to close the story of their super fun and laidback wedding day.
We had so much fun capturing Lucy and Sam’s wedding. It’s working with lovely couples like Lucy and Sam at wedding venues like Hensol Castle that make being South Wales wedding videographers and photographers, the best job in the world.
We’ll leave the last words to Lucy and Sam, here’s what they had to say about working with us.
“Just wanted to message to say thank you so much for being part of our day. You were the perfect fit for us and made the photo taking process painless as possible (as you probably know by now, I hate my photograph taken!)”
