28th March 2014

Wedding Photography at The Mercure Bush Hotel in Farnham, Surrey

I’m pleased to say I’m now one of the Bush Hotel’s recommended wedding suppliers, and know it very well, as I have photographed many weddings there over the last few years and have lived in Farnham all my life so know the area like the back of my hand! It came to my attention recently that I haven’t actually blogged about any weddings I’ve shot here though so I thought I’d better show some of my favourite pics and chat about weddings in general at this lovely venue.

Getting ready before the ceremony…

If I’m coming to take photos of you and your bridesmaids getting ready, I’d normally get to you a couple of hours before the ceremony starts. This is the best time to capture the atmosphere (hopefully lots of fun & not stressed!) of the Bride & bridesmaids getting ready, get detail pictures of your flowers, shoes, jewellery etc, and also do some nice portraits of the bride, bridesmaids and parents once ready. It’s also quite nice for the groom to be able to see the photos after because he would have missed it all (also a good reason for having a second photographer to take photos of the Groom & groomsmen!).

Another thing to think about is some nice photos of you in your wedding lingerie before you put your dress on, as being a boudoir photographer I know how to pose and make women look their best! This would definitely knock your new husbands socks off when he sees the images after the wedding! I’ve had brides do mini boudoir shoots on the morning of the wedding before, and it works well because it gives the bride that extra confidence boost before walking down the aisle.

The Ceremony!

The Bush Hotel offers a beautiful ceremony room. I love capturing the moment the bride walks down the aisle and makes eye contact with the groom, which can be quite an emotional moment. It also makes me giggle when the groom goes to place the wedding ring on the brides finger and can’t get it on, and the bride has to push it on herself 😀 I feel so honoured to be a part of so many weddings, and it still puts a tear in my eye (which I have to try and hide because most of the time I’m standing at the front for all to see!).

After the Ceremony…

You’ll want to chill out for a bit and greet your friends and family! There’s usually about an hour and a half before the Wedding Breakfast, and in that time I will be photographing you and your guests socialising and enjoying themselves, taking a few organised group photos, taking photos to the wedding cake and table details before everyone sits down for dinner, and I also take the bride and groom off for about half an hour for some nice couple photos! I love capturing the reactions of people enjoying themselves and having fun. I normally do a mixture of documentary style and also small groups of people squishing together and looking at the camera. I think it’s nice to get a mixture of both 🙂

Why is the Mercure Bush Hotel in Farnham such a lovely wedding venue?

It’s homely (not just because it’s in my home town) and has many places within walking distance to take nice pictures of the bride & groom. Firstly the grounds within the hotel itself offer plenty of options for nice photos, whether it be out the front next to the water fountain, or the back of the hotel in the garden and tree-lined walkway. Alternatively you’ve got Farnham town centre on one side of the hotel for urban style photos with Farnham town landmarks, or Gostrey Meadows on the other for more green rural style photos next to the River Wey… we could even go as far as Frensham Little Pond for lovely beach-style photos, which also has beautiful purple heather in late summer… This is the highlight of my day. If there isn’t much time or if the bride and groom aren’t fussed about taking time out to get some gorgeous images of just the two of them, I feel like I haven’t done my job properly!

The Speeches and Evening Entertainment…

Depending on how many guests you’ve got, you’ll either have your Wedding Breakfast in the main hotel itself, or the conference building at the end of the garden, which is bigger. Both are lovely, although the room in the hotel itself brings in more natural light through the big French windows. I love capturing peoples reactions during the speeches! If you’ve got me for the whole day until the first dance, there’s usually a time for everyone to relax after the speeches, before the cutting of the cake and first dance. In this time there’s sometimes not much going on because people are all full from eating or go off to their rooms to freshen up. It’s a good time to get some more informal small group photos, or if there’s a good sunset it’s well worth making the most of it and going off for some more photos of just the bride and groom!

Thanks for reading; if you’re getting married at The Mercure Bush Hotel (or anywhere else!) please do get in touch for a full price list and to check availability. Check out my other blogs to see whole weddings I’ve covered at other venues. Also feel free to leave me a nice comment and/or share with your friends 🙂