CHRIS AND KATE'S LANGLEY CASTLE WEDDING IN WINTER

I've been looking forward to Kate and Chris' wedding at Langley Castle in Northumberland, England on New Year's Eve all year.

And so it finally came to pass ..... on one of the snowiest days of the year and at the beginning of the longest period of snow and ice and low temperatures for 30 years in the UK!

Getting to Langley was a bit hairy to say the least, and I was up most of the previous night hoping that I would not break my record in never missing a wedding in 25 years!

I arrived about 4 hours before the ceremony - just to make sure, and met with Kate as she wandered around this magnificent castle wedding venue in her towelling dressing gown meeting and greeting her early arrivals - she was pretty chilled out and looking forward to her BIG celebration!

Arriving so early gave me a chance to put on my walking boots and suit which seems to have become my December wedding outfit at the end of 2009. I took some lovely photographs of Langley Castle in the snow before heading up to the bridal suite that I now know so well as Kate started to get ready.

You need to be fit at Langley Castle as a wedding photographer as there's five floors and no lift (well, there is a service lift) - it's a REAL castle, not a pretend one like many others!

Chris arrived about 12.15 through the snow from his parents home in Langley Castle and was met at the door of the castle where an old polish wedding custom (Chris' side of the family...) of offering the chief bridesmaid varying sizes of vodka bottles to allow him entry to the castle for his own wedding .. there was a lot of to-ing and fro-ing between Chris and the best man and the chief bridesmaid before a 'fee' was worked out!

Final preparations with Chris and the registrar and Anton from Langley Castle kept me busy - and up and down the stairs - alongside Kate's final preparations.

Both were very nervous so I kept in the background as much as possible and before long the ceremony was over and we were straight out in the snow through the front doors of the castle.

Fresh air was welcome as it was VERY warm during the ceremony, but Kate and Chris and I knew there would be only a few minutes before guests would want to be back in the warmth, but this was an ideal opportunity to make an image of everyone - the downside being that I had to 'sprint' four floors back up the castle to the bridal suite to make the photograph we needed!

In the hour afterwards before the wedding breakfast there was time to enjoy a relaxing drink - the guests, not me - and grab a few informal groups around the Christmas tree while listening to the fine harpist - and a quick dash outside for 5 minutes so that Kate could put her wellies on for a few fun snow photos!

The wedding breakfast flew along and soon it was laughter and tears during the fine speeches.

The weather didn't look good at all, so Chris and Kate and I dashed outside in a snow storm for a few minutes for a few last minute images with the floodlit Langley Castle and it was agreed that I should head off while I could for the two hour drive home on the snowy, scary roads and back home to the east coast.

A great day of celebration for both Chris and Kate.

I hope you enjoy a SNEAK PEAK of a few of the images from their great days. Once kate and Chris have enjoyed their honeymoon in Africa I shall post more. For relatives and friends, Kate and Chris will send you an e-mail link to their private gallery so you can view all the images from their wedding at Langley Castle Northumberland Northumberland.

DIRK VAN DER WERFF

Related Site

-Gretna Green Weddings

-How Becoming a Wedding Planner











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