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Today we’re bringing out the big guns* and sharing a Chinese wedding from
Belvoir Castle - a slice of sheer unashamed luxury, decadence and delight in weddings.
Alan and Ruth were married in November and
photographer Martins Kikulis won an AGWPJA award for his photograph of the wedding guests themselves photographing the happy couple. It’s pretty cool isn’t it!
This is a treat for anyone who admires a grand wedding venue. It’s a bit of English Wedding opulence – and as a wedding blogger I couldn’t say no to such a spectacular set of images. (Also – Martins Kikulis is a lovely, lovely guy and I really like his photography style too.)
But Alan and Ruth’s wedding is here because it’s awe inspiring – this is a classic English wedding, the way the aristocracy have done it for years I imagine: from the horse and carriage to Ruth’s full and beautifully made wedding dress, from the portraits of the ancestors to the four-tier wedding cake. This is a proper, luxurious wedding and I hope you enjoy gazing at it in awe as much as I have!
The lances lining the entranceway to Belvoir Castle make it a whole new kind of classy, albeit with a hint of our violent past, but hey. Grandeur and then some!
Ruth’s dad looks at home with the castle, but bursting with pride at his little girl getting married.
Martins told me, “The wedding of Alan and Ruth took place in one of the grandest places I have ever had a pleasure to photograph. Belvoir Castle (www.belvoircastle.com) is located in Leicestershire, literally in the middle of nowhere. When I first saw it I was truly blown away! The setting and the castle are absolutely amazing. The Duke of castle was also attending the wedding and took charge of some parts of the day.”
Alan and Ruth by a portrait of the Duke, Duchess and family.
The girls at the back are enjoying the confetti bit!
*For anyone waiting to see what I meant about the big guns…
They don’t dress up like that for your average wedding firework display do they?
A shot of Alan and Ruth highlights the high ceilings and plenty more of Belvoir Castle’s historic decor.
This was a big wedding: 100 guests and there’s still plenty of room for everyone to mingle.
Will you be cutting your wedding cake with a sword? Heee I think it’s a great touch. There isn’t a photo of the actual cutting, so I’m assuming it was lifted high above the bride and groom and sliced those four tiers right down the middle!
Guests form an orderly queue to photograph the bride and groom with their families.
Not only does Belvoir Castle have room for a bike on the landing, it’s a penny farthing and looks right at home as an ornamental piece.
These images of Alan and Ruth really show the scale of the venue – and the beautiful and elegant bride and groom fit perfectly with the surroundings. Martins said, “We also took a chance to have a small photoshoot in one of the grandest rooms of the castle…”
I love this image of Ruth twirling around in a room fit for a princess.
Thanks to wedding photographer Martins Kikulis for sharing this wedding, and congratulations to Alan and Ruth. There are more images on Martins’ own blog post of the Chinese wedding in a castle – do go and see them if you’ve enjoyed these.
Any takers for a Belvoir Castle wedding out there? I’d love to know if we’d all marry here, given the choice and the budget!