I’ll hit my 100th wedding later on this year, which is quite a big thing for me. The thing with wedding photography is that a lot of photographers fall behind, or realise it’s not for them and give up. Luckily I’m one of the ones who carried on, and I can honestly say that it’s the people I meet who make wedding photography in Kent so fun. From the silently loving, to the all out fun loving party demons I love each and every one of the couples I have worked with…Kirsty & Lewis’ wedding was no exception.

I met Kirsty at a Vintage Wedding Fair in Groombridge last year and soon after booked me for her big day. She immediately struck me as a lovely, outgoing lass who was going to have a stunning wedding, and boy did she ever!

We started bridal preps at the Ramada over in Pevensey and right from the offset Kirsty has to be one of the happiest people I have ever met. When it came to the church she practically skipped down the aisle with excitement. I think Lewis has her share of nerves. Kirsty and Lewis’ love for each other was so apparent, that even the minister of Horsmonden Church bought them a wedding gift of a chalk board love heart, so they could forever write love notes to each other.

Their reception was held at Lewis’ parents house, and was a real family affair. They set up a marquee, filled it with home made vintage style jam jars, decorated the table with hand made decorations and even hired vintage mismatched crockery to complete the look. You’d be forgiven for thinking that after doing all of this, the last thing they would want to do was make the food themselves. Well once again the family did wonders, and everything on the food table was made by friends and family who all chipped in time and effort to pull off an absolute culinary delight.

Come the evening reception, the family were once again working wonders and cooking up probably the best Paella I have ever eaten, whilst guests chatted round the bonfire, others popped some shapes on the dance floor, and a couple of guys decided to jump over the bon fire in spectacular fashion.

I hung around for a while after the first dance as I had a shot I wanted to try out. I’ve seen a couple of amazing night time shots with all the stars in the sky showing up and the couple beautifully lit (check out the amazingly talented Sam Hurd for a great example). Anyway, the couple braved it and we did it. It was an epic wedding, and I felt more like a guest than their photographer.

So here we go, the epic wedding of Kirsty & Lewis…I seriously could have posted every single shot I took…believe me, I struggled getting it down this much!

by James Heffernan