Winters Barns Wedding Photography

I unquestionably love a winter wedding, especially a Christmas wedding and this one was a corker!

Lyndsey and Ben got married amongst the twinkle lights at Winters Barns near Canterbury in Kent on 22nd December.

Getting ready for the big event

Winters Barns is an all-inclusive venue with accommodation, so both the bride and groom could get ready without seeing each other before the big event. At winter weddings, I like to have an extra pair of hands, so Jim came along on the day to support me. As he was there and available, he spent some time with the boys in the dressing room known as the Pump Room while I joined the girls in the bridal Salon.

It was quiet and calm in the Salon while Lyndsey was having her hair and makeup done, and the girls were enjoying spending the time together. Leaving Lyndsey to it, I popped into the main barn to capture all of the Christmas details and table decorations that the couple had put together, followed by some fun shots of the boys in the Courtyard. Back in the Salon, one of the girls opened the champagne, and Lyndsey passed around gifts for the bridesmaids. Afterwards, Lyndsey stepped into her beautiful gown from Victorias Bridal Boutique in Orpington and became the full-on bride.

One of my favourite moments of the day was when Lyndsey’s dad came into the Salon just before the ceremony. I love these emotional moments, and they can vary wildly from full-on tears to restrained emotion. Whatever it may be, you can always see the pride in the fathers’ faces; it’s beautiful.

A ceremony with a surprise

Lyndsey and Ben had already warned me of a joke they were going to play on their best man during the ceremony. They had replaced the wedding rings in the ring boxes with a couple of Haribo rings, causing the best man to panic! The shock on his face was priceless, made worse by the fact that both Lyndsey and Ben managed to keep straight faces for a moment or two. All came good when Santa delivered the rings a short time after. It was one of the most unique elements in a ceremony I’ve ever seen!

While Santa entertained the guests, both large and small, Lyndsey, Ben and I headed into the grounds of Winters Barns for some bride and groom shots before the last of the winter light disappeared below the horizon. It was a gorgeous day and much better than we could have expected. Lyndsey wore a beautiful fur shawl over her dress to keep her warm.

After some fun group shots in the Courtyard, we headed into the festive barn for dinner. Speeches were a great deal of fun and caused some raucous laughter and some tears.

Creative Photography

Lyndsey and Ben were keen to have some creative night-time bride and groom shots, and this we did before the first dance. It’s very dark at Winters Barns, which made some fabulous photos by the door to the Salon. I love creating these silhouette shots for my couples. We also headed to the Cart Barn for some twinkle light and Christmas tree photos!

Just before dancing, the couple cut their wonderful cake by Melissa Rayner of Fairy Dust Bakery, which was a cake of two halves. On one side, a beautiful traditional white frosted cake and the other a scene from A Nightmare Before Christmas. That was a new one for me!

After the bride and grooms first dance and the brides’ dad dance, we captured some dancefloor action before leaving them all to it and headed home for our own Christmas celebrations.

There’s something extraordinary about a Christmas wedding, and I’m always excited every year when I take a booking for a December wedding.

Lyndsey and Ben, it was wonderful and one I’ll remember for a long time to come!