Blog post by Katy Tainton
This January wedding at the King Arthur hotel in Gower was the very definition of a crisp winter's day. The sun was shining but you'd never tell how cold it was from looking at the photos! It was a gorgeous day for this amazing couple and their little daughter Phoebe. So much love and joy in one place, it was a privilege to be there.
Laura's bridal preparation took place in the cottages just alongside the hotel, with her mum, daughter and bridesmaids. The morning was super relaxed as the girls got ready and popped a bottle of champagne. I absolutely loved Laura's bridal look - her hair and dress gave her an old Hollywood vibe and the black and white portraits of her were just gorgeous.
Laura and Rhys had a beautiful ceremony in the Avalon room, backed with a curtain of fairy lights. Rhys shed a tear as he saw his stunning bride walk down the aisle, and Laura did not stop beaming throughout the whole ceremony.
Following the ceremony we headed outside and started on some group shots, starting with a large group photo of all the guests. At the King Arthur, photographers can go up on to the roof of the building to get a great vantage point so even if you have a large number of guests, everyone can be seen. After the group shot is the perfect time to get guests ready to throw confetti, which we did on the pathway and got some beautiful images. We then did some smaller group photos and took the all important photos of the couple and their little girl. We spent some time with the bridesmaids and groomsmen to get some lovely natural photos.
When I had met with Laura and Rhys to go through the plan for their wedding day, they had mentioned that if the weather allowed, they would love to get some portraits on Cefn Bryn, which is a short few minutes drive down the road from the King Arthur. The sun was shining so I headed there with the couple and Katy the videographer so we could get some stunning dramatic shots on the road.
A little time to photograph the details of the reception and some lovely natural photos of the guests before they sat down for food, and I managed to capture some beautiful reactions to the personalised place names the couple had done, which were photos of each guest at the table. Speeches followed, with some funny and touching moments sprinkled throughout.
After the speeches it was time to head outside for one of my favourite parts of a winter wedding (although albeit sometimes a little chaotic!) - sparklers! I always advise couples to enjoy their sparkler shots with a smaller number of guests, since the biggest challenge can be actually lighting the sparklers all at the same time. Top Tip: Get the extra long sparklers so they don't run out after a few seconds!
We then headed down to the beautiful fairy lit tree at the bottom of the garden for some lovely romantic shots, followed by the couple's first dance, which was absolutely epic!
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