Weddings West Wycombe House

Wedding at West Wycombe House, Karen & Ian, A Sneak Peek

Recently Kiti & were lucky enough to photograph a wedding at a beautiful country home called West Wycombe House. I have photographed the house & estate several times but this was my first wedding there & one I have been really looking forward to.233-KIH-ML-MLP34121-186Kiti & I both started at the house but Kiti made her way into West Wycombe village to the primary school to meet Ian the Groom. He went to school there for some shots as a memento before going back to the house for shots by the beautiful columns & in the stable yard!040-KIH-KS-MLP21913-7 053-KIH-KS-MLP21970-14I made my way into the house to find Karen the bride & took some shots of her getting ready. It was so convenient for her, she only needed to make the short journey down the stairs to meet her groom.043-KIH-ML-MLP33405-37 081-KIH-ML-MLP33461-55West Wycombe House and its 5000 acre estate is the home of the Dashwood family and has been since 1698. The current Premier Baronet of Great Britain is Sir Edward Dashwood, 12th. Bt, and he currently resides at West Wycombe Park with his wife and family. The house today is often featured in screen adaptations of literary classics such as Cranford, Downton Abbey & was most recently seen in Doctor Thorne.002-KIH-ML-MLP33316-2The Hall where the ceremony was held is a beautiful room with marble & frescoes.The staircase that Karen descended on is a work of art on its own made of mahogany with inlaid satinwood & ebony. Their friends, family & an expectant groom waited as Karen made her way down the stairs to meet him with her best friend Mark.101-KIH-ML-MLP33511-71 104-KIH-ML-MLP33518-74 108-KIH-ML-MLP33529-78 112-KIH-ML-MLP33537-81After the lovely service Karen, Ian & their guests moved onto the colonnade for champagne & canapés before we took the group shots. We then took Ian & Karen away for a few quiet minutes to get some stylish shots of the two of them. Very often my Brides & Grooms say how much they enjoy this part of the day. A part of the day that they can take a deep breath & take it all in…And a have minute just the two of them…..well, apart from me!232-KIH-ML-MLP34118-185 241-KIH-KS-MLP22360-78 258-KIH-ML-MLP34225-205 255-KIH-ML-MLP34202-202

I never keep them away too long & it was soon time for them to join their guests in the Music Room for the wedding breakfast.288-KIH-ML-MLP34330-235 341-KIH-KS-MLP22475-102 342-KIH-ML-MLP34482-291 363-KIH-ML-MLP34517-311 365-KIH-KS-MLP22508-111 380-KIH-KS-MLP22540-117After a delicious meal & some very funny speeches it was time for cutting the cake & then for a boogie on the dancefloor.424-KIH-ML-MLP34658-355 433-KIH-ML-MLP34689-367 438-KIH-KS-MLP22651-139 After a little while everyone was asked to gather their coats & move outside. The guest were all amazed with the wonderful firework display & I was really pleased with the images I captured.443-KIH-ML-MLP34717-378 449-KIH-ML-MLP34747-384 450-KIH-KS-MLP22738-143 452-KIH-ML-MLP34766-388We then moved back inside for a bit more dancefloor action before it was our Cinderella moment as we made our way homeward.

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Prince’s Countryside Fund charity clay shoot – West Wycombe estate

Earlier this week I photographed a charity clay pigeon shoot for The Prince’s Countryside Fund hosted by Sir Edward Dashwood at his West Wycombe home. E J Churchill put on a superb display of targets for the guests to shoot in the grounds of West Wycombe Estate. After a breakfast served in the hall the 9 teams had an eventful morning shooting in their teams of 4 guns over the various stands. England rugby star Phil Vickery, the new ambassador of The Prince’s Countryside Fund was there demonstrating his sharp shooting eye and support to the other guests and the PCF.

West Wycombe House – an ideal venue for a clay shoot or a wedding!

With teams from various industries that support the PCF competing the final winners were Samworth Brothers and runners up Dovecote Park who had their awards presented to them by Sir Edward Dashwood, Phil Vickery and Managing Director of Waitrose, Mark Price. With other notable figures in the teams it really was a great fund raising event for the PCF and raising awareness to help rural communities across the UK.

Phil Vickery, ambassador to the PCF and all round nice guy

To find out more about the Prince’s Countryside Fund and to support the Great British countryside and it’s people please click here.

Here are some of my favourite images from the day.