Marie~Laure & James get married | Botleys Mansion, Surrey

Charlie and I photographed Marie-Laure and James’ pre-wedding shoot in the City a few months ago. We really enjoyed photographing Marie-Laure and James for their pre-wedding shoot and we knew then that we would enjoy photographing their wedding. We really didn’t realise just how much we would love photographing their wedding though…

Marie-Laure and James’ wedding was ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC. It was a beautiful French- English wedding at Botleys Mansion in Surrey, where I am a recommended photographer.

I can honestly say that the French put us Brits to shame when it comes to celebrating a wedding! They certainly know how to party in style! The whole day was full of wonderful touches and amazing surprises that clearly required meticulous planning. There is so much more that I could say about this wedding…..I know I keep saying it but it truly was a fantastic spectacle…and I’ve been to a few weddings!

The ceremony was heart warming, with lovely readings by the bride’s mother, two of the bridesmaids and James’ sister-in-law. There was not a dry eye in the house! Marie-Laure looked absolutely radiant in her beautiful dress. James’ also looked very dapper in his sophisticated suit! James told me that the colour theme for the wedding was decided by the colour of his tie! Good choice and sound advice for future wedding couples- everything looked wonderful!

The couple entered the wedding breakfast room to David Guetta and Estelle’s song ‘One Love’. Brilliant! All the guests were standing up on their chairs swirling napkins above their heads. The speeches were second to none! James’ daughter Manon even gave a speech. They were all touching, beautifully delivered and very very funny.  As half of the guests were English and the other half French, handouts were given to guests that translated what was being said during the speeches. James was the interpreter for Marie-Laure’s fathers speech- well done James- not an easy task for a groom but done so perfectly!!

After the speeches, it was party time and the guests took control of the proceedings! Over half of the wedding party had organised a staged group dance. It was fabulous! Apparently they had all met in Hyde Park before the wedding to rehearse their routine. Some of the other guests, clearly not wanting to be outdone by the group routine, got together and performed a rendition. All good fun!

In the evening, James had arranged a firework display for Marie-Laure. James clearly doesn’t do things by half! The display was jaw droppingly good! The couple’s first dance was classically choreographed and skillfully delivered! James told me that he didn’t have time to practice but I think he may have lied 🙂

James and Marie-Laure requested a Photobooth for the evening, so I set one up for them, with lots of props for the guest to play with in their photos. This is the first time I have done a photobooth at a wedding and it worked so well that it is now something that I will be offering to couples in the future. While Charlie, my brilliant second photographer took control of the photos on the dance floor,  I set up le photobooth!

I left the party at 1am after a 17 hour day! The time passed really quickly though and we enjoyed every minute. Even at 1am, it looked like the Marie-Laure, James and all the guests were going to go on for another few hours! A great time was clearly being had by all!!

I can’t wait for Marie-Laure and James to get back from their honeymoon in Botswana to show them their audio visual presentation, it’s one of my best yet, even if I do say so myself!