Wedding at Belvoir Castle – Susan & Andrew

On my last couple of visits to Belvoir Castle to photograph weddings, I have stopped my car on the side of the approach road to the castle and grabbed my camera to capture a picture of this Grade I listed building perched high on a ridge over looking the surronding Leciestershire countyrisde. But today I was foiled in my attempt to recreate this scene by the looming mist that obscured the view, and would remain with us for the remainder of the day. I was returning to the ancestral home of the Dukes of Rutland, whose family have lived at the castle in an unbroken line for almost a thousand years, to photograph the wedding of Susan and Andrew. The whole day was to be hosted at Belvoir, which was shrouded in an ethereal light thanks to the mist and further autumnal weather conditions, and provided the perfect fairytale setting. The bride and her family are originally from Arizona in the USA, a more contrast in locations would be hard to source. I found the bride with her maids in the ornate Kings Rooms, busying themselves with preparations for the ceremony. These rooms were once designed for sole use of King George IV whilst his was Prince Regent and a close friend of the 5th Duke of Rutland. The groom’s mother is a vicar, so it was a lovely touch to see her perform the marriage ceremony in the castle’s own chapel. The guests were then treated to a guided tour of the magnificent building whilst the Susan and Andrew were escorted to the Elizabeth Saloon, the first room in England at it’s time to be decorated in the style of Louis XIV.  The wedding party were rejoined a few minutes later in the art gallery for drinks before they were summoned for the wedding breakfast in the dining room. I think the first dance was playing on the happy couple’s mind as I kept discovering them practicing their performance in nooks of the castle. I am pleased to say they danced beautifully as their guest looked on in the Guards Room, designed in true gothic revival architecture. Shortly after everyone got to join in with tradition ceilidh folk dancing. Later in the evening we were all treated to a firework display, after the mist just lifted enough to make them visible.

 

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