You can ask any South Wales wedding photographer what their favourite wedding venues are, and I guarantee that Hensol Castle will be in their top 5. The Vale resort have really done something quite magnificent with this old building that was once derelict, and turned it into a wedding venue that holds very high prestige.
I've photographed many weddings here now, and every one is different. What photographers don't tell you, is that so much of what we capture is down to the client. Every picture is take is ultimately handed to me by the person in front of the camera not the person behind it.
That brings me on to this picture. I'm really like this image for many reasons. Some technical and some sentimental. The sentimental reason is that the two leading ladies in this image are both clients of mine. I was lucky enough to photograph the bridesmaids wedding last here, and you'll see some of her images on this website. The bride in this photo was also a bridesmaid at that wedding. Being asked to photograph a bridesmaids wedding is such an honour, and its building that level of trust amongst a group of friends that really motivates me to do what I do. I love meeting new brides through enquiries on the website and at wedding fayres, but its the word of mouth referrals that mean the most to me personally.
I really like the gesture in this image between the two ladies. The bride had just got into her dress, and was doing a sterling job of 'keeping it together', but who can blame anyone for getting a little misty-eyed on the wedding day? Being the wonderful bridesmaid she was, a tissue was on hand to save the wonderful work of the make-up artist.
Location: Hensol Castle, Hensol Castle Park, Hensol, Vale of Glamorgan, CF72 8JX.