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We recently attended the Detling Wedding fair, I was like a child in a sweet shop, it has got to be one of the best things about getting married (other than marrying the one you love of course) but being able to walk around and see all the goodies available that you could spend so much money on for your wedding, I am like a magpie so anything that sparkles grabs my attention immediately and there was lots of sparkle, even the kids walked off.

Previous to going to Detling I had been looking around for chair covers and sashes, not realising how much this would cost, we are looking to have around 120 people for the sit down meal and some places were quoting £3.50 for the chair cover and £1.50 for the Sash, whilst they look gorgeous and really make the room look special there was something in the back of my mind that said I could be spending that money on something else like jewellery, for us it would have cost around £600 just to hire so I went looking around for cheaper and there are several companies on Ebay that you can buy them for much cheaper at £1 a chair cover some places but the downside to that is that  you can’t see the quality and also you would then be stuck with 120 chair covers and sashes to sell on.

Table centrepieces also were proving to be costly at £30 a small gold fish bowl with a flower floating around in it, I had started looking around like most brides just to buy the bowls myself but then I would be stuck with 12 goldfish bowls to sell on as well and the cheaper you get them you risk compromising on quality.

Then we met Charlotte and her husband from Sashes and Centrepieces, they were so friendly and professional, and their prices are very competitive, their Lycra chairs covers were £2.00 with the sash to hire and the quality was good, they had beautiful centrepieces and we opted for the 95cm silver Windsor candelabras with hanging pearls and crystals, they looked stunning on the table and I can’t wait to see how beautiful Charlotte is going to make my Wedding breakfast tables look.

So refreshing to meet someone who is not out to make as much money out of their clients as possible and to be so lovely with it, I wish them and their business every success in the future.

Thank you Sashes and Centrepieces

Janet xxx

The Royal Festival Hall is currently redesigning their wedding package which when complete will include Gomes Photography and many of the images from Anna and Andy’s wedding.

Pretty chuffed…

I met Andy and Anna at the Halls back in January where we chatted about their wedding photography requirements… Most of my couples want a mixture of reportage wedding photography with the a few groups shots and some fun relaxed posed shots and this is exactly what Andy and Anna were after too. I was with them on their wedding day for 5 hours which was enough time to get photos of guests arriving all the way through to the end of the speeches. In total Anna and Andy received 352 images.

To see all 352 images please click here, I have emailed the couple the password (hint: Grooms surname)

I would like to thank Anna and Andy for asking me to photograph their Royal Festival Hall Wedding and all of their family and friends who made me feel welcome on the day.

Here’s a selection of my favourite images from the day. Please feel free to leave a comment at the bottom of the page.

Getting married at Hall Place & Gardens in Bexley Kent certainly is a regal affair, as soon as you walk in it offers that wow factor, it is very grand and has amazing architecture as you would expect from a Grade I listed Tudor house.

It was originally build for the Lord Mayor of London in the reign of Henry VII and has beautiful landscaped gardens surrounding the house.

It is licensed for civil ceremonies, the ceremony will take place in either the Great Hall or the Great Chamber, having seen both rooms they are equally as beautiful as each other, the great hall has traditional wood panels on the walls with thick dark wooden beams on the ceiling and beautiful gold chandeliers hanging down which complements the whole grandeur feel of the room, the Great Chamber has a magnificent carved ceiling and has neutral colours so you can dress to your own taste.

Above the great hall is the minstrels gallery, this is a perfect area for the photographer to stand and take amazing pictures of the double height panelled room, this room leads out onto the paved courtyard of the private garden where your guest s can enjoy a pre dinner drink.

For this venue you would need to hire out a mobile bar which can be set up in the Tudor Kitchen just off the Great Hall, there is a Grand piano for use in the Great Hall, no charge for usage or tuning.

The surrounding gardens are a masterpiece in their own right with amazing sculptured hedges akin to a children’s fairytale and has been kept immaculate.

Hall place can cater for 100 seated guests in the great hall, catering is by Relish who are local, professional and competitive.

Are you getting married at Hall Place & Gardens Wedding Venue in Bexley Kent. Please get in touch to discuss your photography requirements.

Please use this form to contact Gomes Photography and remember to double check that your email details are correct!

Alternatively, you can contact me directly on the following.

Mobile number: 07809 464 554

Email: info@gomesphotography.co.uk

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Kent Wedding venue Cooling Castle Barn is located on the outskirts of London, in fact a 35 minute drive from Greenwich positioned within the rural peninsular of North Kent.

We went to see Cooling Castle barn yesterday as a potential venue for our own wedding, according to their calendar they are a very popular venue and it is very easy to see why, as soon as we walked in we were greeted by one of the staff who knew both of our names and knew we were coming, you may think that is pretty standard but believe me we have been to lots of venues who didn’t even know we were coming, she was extremely friendly, professional and knowledgeable, as she walked us through the venue she described what would happen in every room, and how we would enter, it made me visualise my day in the venue, out of every venue we have been to this is the venue where I thought we would be taken care of and everything would run smoothly.

To celebrate us getting married at Cooling Castle Barn we are offering a unique Cooling Castle Barn wedding photography special offer, anyone who books with us who are also getting married at Cooling Castle Barn will get a 10% discount plus our Honeymoon Album presented to you on the same day as your wedding.

Cooling castle barn dates back to the 17^th century and is adjacent to Cooling Castle, the barns themselves are beautiful with high exposed beams and natural brickwork which gives you a blank canvas to choose your own colour scheme.

Just to quote from the first page of their booklet:

“We are different.  We want each and every one of our couples to feel special.  We believe in giving a dedicated and personal service.  We are here to help you plan and organise your day, and we aim to make the planning as exciting as the day itself.  We would like to share your day with you.  We are unique.  We are … COOLING CASTLE BARN”

That is the feeling you get when you walk in, I knew as I was walking around that this had to be where I got married, it felt special as I walked around, as with some barns it didn’t have that damp old smell which had previously put me off anything historical.

The Fathom Barn is where the ceremony will be held and this too has high beams and natural brickwork, the bride arrives dramatically onto a raised balcony and then walks down the stairs towards the 60ft promenade down the aisle.  The last Barn which is the Heritage Barn is where your guests arrive and wait to be called by the toast master into the ceremony room; this has a home from home feel with its warm and cosy feel.

The Tithe Barn is where you would have your wedding breakfast and your evening celebrations, the DJ has a suspended area above the space which enables great lighting, the vertical beams can be used to place uplighters, creating the perfect atmosphere whilst eating, this Barn can seat up to 160 for a wedding breakfast and 250 guests for the evening celebration.

 
Another bonus about cooling castle barn is that your guests get to choose from 3 dishes rather than everyone having the same, kids can have Pizza and chips or sausage and mash if they want to or half adult portions, I love chicken so everyone would have had to have chicken like me at least now they have a choice.

The outside space is equally beautiful with plenty of lovely backdrops for photo opportunities; overall I found this the perfect wedding venue and can’t wait to get married there.

Please get in touch to discuss your wedding photography requirements.

Mobile number: 07809 464 554

Email: info@gomesphotography.co.uk

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If you’re getting married at the Trafalgar Tavern it really is a fantastic choice as even if the weather isn’t great, the venue is flooded with beautiful light. Once again thanks to the amazing staff at the Trafalgar Tavern for their excellent hospitality.

When I met with Shanshan and Charlie they mentioned that they wanted natural documentary wedding photos combined with a few groups and posed shots. This is exactly my style of wedding photography, given freedom to capture the day as I see it.

Shanshan arrived very early at the Tavern which gave me plenty of time to get some beautiful natural bridal portraits… she was very lucky too as the rain held off. The ceremony was lovely with two readings to set the mood.

Following the ceremony, Shanshan, Charlie and I wandered around the Old Navy College grounds in Greenwich where we got some romantic shots, some fun natural-feeling images.

Here’s a selection of my favourite images from the day.. I hope you like them and please do feel free to comment.

If you’re getting married at the Trafalgar Tavern please do get in touch to discuss your wedding photography requirements.

This was the first Swedish wedding I have photographed and it was interesting seeing the cultural differences, although in the part very similar to the UK. The first and obvious difference is that Mili and John both walked down the aisle together. It was a lovely moment seeing them walking down the aisle together smiling at their family and friends. The Swedish church that Mili and John chose to get married is in Harcourt Street Central London. It really is a beautiful church inside with the words ‘Gud ar Karlek’ inscribed above the alter, this translates to ‘God is Love’

Sunday’s Hindu Celebrations took place at  SHREE RAM MANDIR Hindu Temple in Southall. The Hindu ceremony takes about 2 hours to complete, with guests coming and going makes it feel like a very relaxed affair. I recently wrote an interesting blog on the Hindu Wedding Ceremony.

Thank you to both Mili and John who went out of their way to make me feel welcome. Here are some of my favourite photos from the day. I hope you like them and please feel free to comment.

I do like to post a lot of images on my blog as it gives a good feeling of the days events, rather than just posting one or two.

I welcome all of my visitors to Pin away your favourite images…

Happy Pinning…

The Trafalgar Tavern really is steeped in history and according to their website it was a place where William Gladstone and Charles Dickens could be seen dining. If you’re going there for lunch I can highly recommend the fish and chips. It may not be what William and Charles ate but it’s what I had on Sunday.

On the first floor of the Trafalgar Tavern is the Nelson Banqueting Rooms that are used for the wedding ceremony and wedding reception. Wedding photography at the Trafalgar Tavern really is fantastic.  The huge bay window floods the ceremony with natural light, this lets me keep the ISO settings relatively low in order to achieve crisp clean images. Another thing that I love about the Tavern is that everything is set up in advance so no manic room change around.

I thoroughly enjoyed Vanessa and Mark’s wedding, a lovely couple, great guests and a fantastic venue.

Here’s a selection of images from the day, I hope you like them. Please feel free to comment.