Laura and Paul’s Winter Wedding at Belle Epoque

I love Belle Epoque Brasserie in Knutsford, Cheshire, and that was the venue for Laura and Paul’s post-Christmas wedding day at the end of 2010. Belle Epoque is a unique venue in so many ways. And they had decorated it beautifully for the festive season – stylish, fashionable, sophisticated and with pink and purple twinkly lights in the window which helped me create one of my favourite images of the year (which you’ll see later on!).

Laura’s bouquet was so fitting of the season. Such craftmanship and so beautiful. She didn’t throw it, you might not be surprised to learn!

Laura’s exquisite jewellery – bridal headdress and bracelet from the Jenny Packham collection.

Paul was waiting patiently and nervously only metres from Laura’s room. I love the intimacy of the Belle Epoque.

Laura wanted the ceremony room dimly lit so that it had atmosphere (and winter weddings are all about atmosphere), so I knew I had to use all my skills at low light photography. I can’t lie – I was nervous about it beforehand – but actually created some of my favourite ceremony photos ever. Real winter wedding atmosphere and lots of emotion. It was a truly lovely ceremony.

Bubbles for the bride and groom. This was a lovely idea as confetti wouldn’t have been an option on such a cold wet winter’s day outside. And I think Laura and Paul’s page boy is so cute in the bottom of these two images!

Downstairs for congratulations and some mingling with their guests, but first some winter Pimms! We also managed to do Laura and Paul’s list of group photos in one of the downstairs rooms at Belle Epoque before they headed back up for their wedding breakfast.

In between main course and dessert I went up to ask Laura and Paul if they wanted to come downstairs for some photos of the two of them. It was so peaceful downstairs and I like to give my couples a chance to escape the circus for a little while and enjoy some private time together. It’s often the only chance they get on the day and they often say how special it was. And Laura and Paul were no different… In Laura’s own words:

“We thought we’d drop you a quick line now that our feet have touched the ground to say thank you everything you did on our wedding day.  We have seen the sneek preview on Facebook and it looks gorgeous and so we are really excited to see the rest.  In fact, that moment was our favorite moment of the day, when everything was so quiet downstairs and we had a little time to ourselves, so we thank you for creating that and capturing a special photo.”

And here are the photos from that ten minutes they spent together alone downstairs:

This is the photo I sneak peeked on facebook that Laura was talking about. I adore it. I love everything about it. The way they’re looking at each other, it’s like I’m not even there. The lights behind them which add a dreamy Christmas feel to the image and of course how happy and beautiful Laura looks and how proud Paul looks of his new wife. Magical.

Speeches! Soooo much laughter, including from me. I get so caught up in speeches. By this time of the night, I feel like a part of the wedding party and I guess because I actually listen to the words being spoken it helps me to anticipate the moments and capture them.

Love the facial expressions here, wish I could remember what had just been said!

There are those twinkly lights again! Love ‘em.

What a winter wedding day that was. I expected a day of challenging photography in extreme low light, and that’s exactly what I got. But this was an easy wedding to capture in every way. A stunning bride and her proud groom, lots of happiness, laughter, tears and real emotion and moments-a-plenty. I loved every minute of it. Thanks for having me Laura and Paul and all the very, very best for your future together.

You might also like:

• Lucy + Griff – Belle Epoque Wedding Photography
• Laura and Liam – wedding at the Marriott Worsley Park, Manchester
• Laura and Liam’s Engagement Shoot at the Marriott Worsley Park Hotel
• Sally and Lee’s Manchester Hilton Winter Wedding {Part 1}
• Sally & Lee’s Manchester Winter Wedding {Part 2}