Black Tie Christmas Wedding at Celtic Manor

Hi guys!

It’s been a while since I wrote a blog post and I have just sent Harriett and George their gallery for their super fun black tie christmassy wedding reception at The Celtic Manor, so it seemed only right that I wrote a blog post to show you all how lovely their day was.

Harriett and George had originally planned to get married in 2020 - I think that’s a story we all know the end of by now. I have photographed quite a few pandemic postponement weddings in 2022 and I really love doing them. If you ask me, the best thing about wedding receptions are the chance to celebrate with family and friends so rescheduling the reception part so the people you care about still get to celebrate with you at a later date is always such a lovely idea, and all the more meaningful for the guests too.

Celtic Manor is such a beautiful spot for a wedding and Harriett and George chose the lovely marquee for their reception. It was just before Christmas and there were Christmas trees dotted around the room. The tables were also decorated with home-made place cards that doubled as Christmas tree decorations - how cool is that?!

So before the wedding reception, I had made plans with Harriett and George to take family group photos on the lawn outside the hotel. But when they checked into the hotel the night before, something amazing happened - they got upgraded to the presidential suite! And not just any presidential suite - it was the very same one that Obama stayed in when he came to Celtic Manor for the G8 summit a couple of years ago.

I mean - when you’ve got Obama’s hotel room, you’re going to take photos in it, right?? So, we decided to do the group photos up there as well as out on the lawn. And this hotel suite was amazing. I’m pretty sure it was bigger than my house! So we took the family photos in there in Obama’s lounge and then took some couple photos on his balcony, AND some fun flash photos in his presidential office. Of course this hotel room had a presidential office…!

Then it was onto the evening reception. Anyone who has been to The Celtic Manor before will know that it’s absolutely huge, but we were driven over to the marquee which feels like a much more intimate setting. The dress code was black tie and it was great to take photos of everyone looking so smart.

My favourite kind of photos to take are documentary-style ones of people enjoying themselves and having fun, and this wedding reception was an absolute gift for that. I mean to start with the marquee was looking great, but also, there was so much dancing! Party photos are so much fun to take so I was having a great time capturing these.

Take a look at the photos below to see a little snapshot of their lovely day. And if you are having your wedding at Celtic Manor and want a photographer who knows the venue well, drop me a message!