Shottle Hall Wedding

A Shottle Hall Wedding in Derbyshire

Last summer Beth and Emmet tied the knot at Saint Mary’s Church on the outskirts of Derby’s city centre. Their Shottle Hall Wedding reception was beautiful against the picturesque Derbyshire countryside. The weather tried it on to start with, but it all came good in the end!

Occasionally, it’s not the bride who gets in touch with me but the groom. In this case, Emmet’s a photographer too, which meant we spent an hour or so in QUAD chatting about photography, camera gear and other stuff that most normal folks wouldn’t be interested in! We did talk a little about their wedding, obviously, otherwise you wouldn’t be about to see my photos of their wedding.

I started the day at Beth’s parent’s house to capture the excitement, nerves and laughter that makes the bridal preparations one of my favourite parts of photographing a wedding. Despite the persistent drizzle, spirits were high and it was a pleasure to be around her family and friends.

At the church, the rain had upped it’s game and was tipping down! Beth’s ‘Just in case’ brolly was put to good use as she was escorted from the wedding car up to the church. Though, by the look on Emmet’s face, she could have walked down the aisle completely drenched, and he’d still have looked like that cat that got the cream.

After the ceremony, in true English summer style, the rain had been replaced by sunshine, much to everyone’s relief. So it was off into the countryside to Shottle Hall for the reception, where Beth and Emmet got things started with a dove release before we spent a few minutes working on some group shots and portraits.

The evening gave us more sunshine and allowed the guests to enjoy the grounds and views over the Derbyshire countryside. It also meant the boys could enjoy some wedding day cigar action. Then it was back inside to watch the newlyweds dance their first dance under the twinkly ceiling of The Orangery. Nice!