I turned up at Winters Barns in Canterbury last month having not been to the venue before, to photograph the wedding of Ayse and Jay whom I hadn’t yet met.
This situation does happen sometimes. Usually it’s one or the other but these things don’t phase me. I did my usual thing of turning up an hour or so beforehand to do a quick recce of the place. Well, what can I say, Winters Barns is a great venue and although set in seven acres, feels nice and contained, with the accomodation, ceremony and wedding breakfast rooms all coming off the outside space around the pond.
Ayse and Jay turned out to be a great couple and the day was very relaxed. Ayse did exceptionally well seeing as she broke her fourth metatarsal about two months ago and was hoping to be rid of her funky leg brace altogether by now. I’m glad to say that she walked down the aisle in a much prettier pair of wedding shoes but the leg brace did come out later for a picture as one of their guests was also wheelchair bound with her dodgy leg in a cast too.
A well known hire shop did it’s best to spoil the proceedings by sending the wrong size outfit for for one of the ushers. Several irate phone calls later and still no resolution to the problem; the poor sap on the end of the line didn’t seem to have the authority to get the right gear in a taxi over to the venue. This was a pretty poor show from a nationwide retailer. This couldn’t be said for some of the other suppliers; Lisa from Lisa Bridal Beauty recognised me a wedding I did a year or so back and did a great job with all the hair and make-up on the day.
The magnificent white horse and carriage came from The Ostler Kent and I followed them out as they took Ayse and Jay for a ride after the ceremony out on to the Nackington Road to join the modern world of the motor car. I knew they were on their way back as the traffic died down for a while and sure enough the horse and carriage combination had created it’s own little tail back behind it as it approached the turning for Winters Barns. This still didn’t stop a whole load of impatient drivers trying to overtake especially just as the horses and carriage tried to turn right back into the entrance.
The groom Jay, works for a TV company and his colleagues on the day seemed to be enjoying themselves. I think they may have signed up the ice cream man for ‘Take Me Out’ – one of the shows that they all work on. Jay’s speech was very amusing and included a ‘magic trick’ which was no more than a bit of primary school arithmetic but had everyone laughing. All in all, a good fun day.
To see the rest of Ayse and Jay’s wedding click here http://www.everybodysmile.biz/craigprentisphotography/weds/ – you’ll need to get the password from Ayse and Jay, not me!
