South Wales Wedding Photography – Chris and Ella
St. Pierre Hotel, Chepstow, South Wales
South Wales has many hidden treasures and St. Pierre Hotel, a converted 14th-century manor house, is one of them. Set in 400 acres of lush green parklands including a lake and a tree-lined avenue, it is a wedding photography dream.
Chris and Ella both work in hospitality and work together at another Marriott hotel in Bristol, where they met and fell in love. Ella is from Romania and a few of her family members including her Mother and Brother came over to share their intimate ceremony. It was a perfect, small wedding with about 15 people sharing their day. Ella got ready in the beautiful Rose Cottage and Chris got ready in Marigold cottage, one of many beautifully appointed suites in the hotel grounds. Her brother walked Ella into the Manor and gave her away before Chris and Ella walked into the ceremony room together, a break from tradition but special to them. The ceremony was very sweet and afterwards their guests showered them with confetti. There was time after the ceremony to go for a walk around the grounds which were lit wit beautiful May sunlight, whilst their guests unwound in the lounge areas.
I joined them for the beginning of the meal where Chris gave a short heart-warming speech before Ella sliced bread she had made which is a Romanian tradition. They were all given a short drink which is also tradition in Romania and they toasted the couple before eating the wedding breakfast. The wedding was a beautiful reminder that a small wedding can be just as special and meaningful as a large one. It was a stunning day and they were both so completely natural together and so obviously in love and this really came across in the wedding photography.
