Every time I photograph a wedding at Davenport House, I fall in love all over again – and Kelsey and Edward’s wedding day was no different. Their celebrant-led ceremony, luxury wedding styling, and transatlantic love story all made for an amazing day which I felt so lucky to be a part of!
From Shropshire to South Florida (and back again)
After a pandemic, a postponement, and the arrival of their little one, they finally said I do in July 2022. Though Edward is originally from Shropshire, he and Kelsey actually met in South Florida. “The day we met, I had an appointment to have my background screening done with Edward’s company,” Kelsey explains. “On this day it just so happened that he was the only person in the office. The screening usually took about five minutes and involved a quick photo and electronic fingerprint collection. My hands were so sweaty from nerves, after meeting Edward, that I had to make several attempts to have my fingerprints scanned; the program would not accept black blobs as fingerprints!” Afterwards, they spent about 30 minutes chatting about all the places they had both travelled to. “We both thought the circumstances of our meeting were very unlikely, we also thought that it must have been meant to be.”
Travelling and adventure are a big part of their relationship; they got engaged in a candle-lit chapel up a snowy mountainside in Austria, and originally planned to get married in France. “We originally planned to visit a few venues in France, but at the last minute, we visited Davenport House and knew immediately that it was right for us. We cancelled the venue tours in France!”
Humanist celebrant wedding ceremony
Kelsey and Edward chose to have a celebrant-led wedding ceremony; in particular, they chose a ceremony led by the wonderful Humanist celebrant Laura Gimson. I love it when couples choose celebrant weddings, as they’re always such wonderful ways of celebrating your love story (in their pre-wedding questionnaire, Kelsey and Edward said the ceremony was the part of the wedding they were most looking forward to – which is so lovely to hear, after decades of the ceremony being seen as the bit to just get out of the way!)
Celebrant-led ceremonies are also super personal; for example, Kelsey and Edward chose to pass their rings around the guests, so that their loved ones could bless them before they put them on each other’s finger. There were tears of laughter throughout the ceremony, and just as many tears of joy: all in all, a beautiful moment well worth waiting for.
I had the pleasure of chatting with Laura Gimson all about the benefits of a celebrant wedding ceremony – you can listen to all 45 minutes of it here.
Luxury wedding styling with a quintessentially British inspiration
With their stunning setting decided on and booked, the nearlyweds knew they wanted luxury wedding styling throughout the day. This is where the lovely Lesley from White Fern Weddings came in.
“Once we spoke with Lesley from White Fern, all the details for our day started to come together.” Kelsey explains. “She has been a huge ally!” To bring their luxury wedding styling to life, Lesley used a colour palette of soft sages and hints of summer apricots as an accent to the bright, brilliant white. This was aided in no small part by the Wild Bunch’s organic floral arrangements in the ceremony room, where asymmetric floral pillars stood at the top of the aisle, and more meadow-like arrangements lined it. These elegant, unstructured blooms also nestled at the bottom of the staircase down which Kelsey and her bridesmaids made their entrance, as well as some pillar candles to add to the rustic, romantic feel.
The colour palette was the perfect fit for the space, as it both complemented the room and stood out from it. The pale green emulated the walls of the dining room at Davenport House, while the pop of apricot added some gorgeous warmth. The gold charger plates, candlesticks and table numbers also nodded to the ornate picture frames that line the dining room walls.
Signage and stationery
Another element of Kelsey and Edward’s luxury wedding styling was the beautifully sleek stationery and signage that Lesley had designed for them. On the steps going up to the ceremony room, guests were greeted by a frosted welcome sign hanging from a tall golden frame, and later on they could check the order of the day and the seating plan on a similar sign in an aesthetic, minimalist handwritten font.
It’s not just the big moments that add up to luxury wedding styling, either; it’s all the smaller details too. One example of this was the elegant tags that marked out the ceremony seats reserved for family, which had been designed in the same clean, sleek aesthetic as the rest of the stationery and signage. Another example is that during the drinks reception, champagne was served in coupes. Over the course of the day all these tiny details come together to elevate the experience even further.
Let’s get this party started
Now, when you hear the words ‘luxury wedding styling’ you may well think of something that looks beautiful but feels soulless: something that’s all style, but no substance. Kelsey and Edward’s day was the total opposite of that, proving that luxury wedding styling can also mean having the absolute time of your lives.
I loved capturing the day in a documentary style, snapping away as everyone partied to their hearts’ content – from the shots of baby Guinness to the hilarious gif photo booth to the guests loving life on the dance floor, it was clear that everyone was having the best day (as well they should).
Kind words
But you don’t have to just take my word for it. The lovely Kelsey and Edward had this to say about choosing me to capture their wedding day:
“We can’t thank you enough, these photos are incredible!! We knew we would love them because we love all of your work, but we were blown away. You’ve really captured every detail and important moment and we are so so grateful, thank you!! The whole gallery is so wonderful I have no idea how we’ll choose which photos to print!”
Contact me!
If you’re looking for a documentary wedding photographer with an eye for detail to capture your luxury wedding styling and the epic party you’re planning to throw alongside it, then I’d love to chat – you can get in touch here to tell me all about your plans.
