Cliveden House Wedding

This Cliveden House Wedding, was definitely one to remember as it took place in August this year 2020, right in the middle of the COVID-19 wedding restrictions, with a limit of 30 wedding guests. The lovely wedding of Evelyn and Mark was a beautiful and intimate affair that was full of style, tradition and the most importantly 30 carefully chosen family & friends. I’m very proud to be one of a very select group of cliveden wedding photographers to be officially recommended for weddings at Cliveden House. It’s just one of the most stunning venues anywhere in the UK.

COVID-19 has hit the wedding industry in the UK very hard this year so it was lovely to be out, cameras in hand doing what I do for a living again.

The Wedding Venue

Built in 1666 Cliveden House is most definitely one of the grandest wedding venues in Berkshire with a supreme location in the heart of the countryside. With its beautiful landscaped gardens, sweeping drive and stunning architecture, it will certainly take your guests breath away. Cliveden is unique. The setting, architecture and interiors all speak eloquently of extraordinary extravagance and remarkable refinement

The Wedding Dress

Evelyn wore a gorgeous lace gown from sought after London designer Philippa Lepley, teamed with a flowing veil.

Mark and his two groomsmen sons went for beautifully tailored lounge suits and looked very dapper I have to say.

Evelyn had a stunning red gown from Valentino as second dress for the evening celebrations and first dance. Her hair & makeup was done by the make-up artist Jo Cable dressed in full visor, as are the rules of weddings in COVID-19 times.

The Ceremony

Due to the COVID restrictions the couple opted for an outdoor ceremony on the first-floor terrace. The glorious August British weather actually held up and got better and better as the day went on in spite of the wind earlier, with some rain showers just before the ceremony. The guests sat on the terrace and were treated to beautiful music from the violinist and harpist drifting out across the terrace and the Cliveden grounds. 

Instead of having licensed registrars as is normal, the couple actually decided to get formally married at a short ceremony the day before. The wedding was made more special by the grooms’ brother (a teacher by day) taking the outdoor ceremony full of personal touches. Evelyn’s parents weren’t able to fly over for the ceremony due to the COVID restrictions so her brother walked her down the aisle and gave her away. After the ceremony the couple walked out through a curtain of confetti to the champagne reception.

The Traditional Touches

One of the traditions in this venue is the lighting of the Unity candle. This proved to be slightly challenging due to the breeze but made for some great humorous images with bride, groom and his brother trying to shield the candle from the wind. In the end they gave up and lit it inside straight after the ceremony.

The couple also decided to follow the tradition of pouring champagne into a champagne glass tower. The team at Cliveden arranged this perfectly and it went without a hitch and the guests loved it (and the champagne!)

The couple managed to get a special red wax monogram seal made for their beautiful invitations which added a very personal touch to their day.

The Wedding Photographs

The photographs were very important to the bride Evelyn and the couple were very generous giving me the time to get the signature couple images I love creating. We were whisked off to the riverside setting by the amazing Cliveden team and then brought back to the Long Garden and the famous Cliveden fountain of Love in the late afternoon sunshine. The fountain features Female figures frolicking with winged putti amidst the jets of spurting water. This sensuous marble group, sited prominently on the Grand Avenue at Cliveden, was from the sculptor Thomas Waldo Story. It’s lovely to shoot back towards the house, down the driveway with a fountain and couple in the foreground.

Perhaps my favourite place to photograph at Cliveden is the colonnade of arches where the light is always so beautiful. Evelyn looked amazing in her wedding gown seated on the stone steps whist the groom slipped away for some last-minute additions to his speech.

The couple were delighted to hear that the photo of them in the arches won a GOLD AWARD in the Master Photographers Association awards.

The Cliveden Party

A very tasty meal followed in the French Dining room and some great speeches afterwards and then the cutting of the cake. The bride then slipped away back upstairs to change into that stunning red dress from Valentino all ready for the first dance. Without hesitation, right there on the carpet in the French dining room, Mark picked up Evelyn and whirled her around in front of the guests. 

This was the perfect end to what was definitely one of the most lovely and intimate weddings I have been lucky enough to be a small part of. I look forward to more weddings at Cliveden House in 2021. They may be bigger, but I doubt they will be more beautiful than this intimate wedding.

Little black book of suppliers

• Venue Cliveden House
• Wedding Coordinator Lydia Kenny
• Hair & makeup Jo Cable
• Brides Day dress Phillipa Lepley
• Brides Evening dress Valentino
• Brides Shoes Manolo Blahnik
• Wedding Photography David Bostock Photography

If you would like to chat about my wedding photography for your own wedding please CONTACT ME HERE