Fran and Martin - Brighton Registry Office and Pelirocco Hotel
Where do I start with the wedding of this fabulous couple? Firstly they are adorable, and so wholesome, secondly I had a blast photographing their wedding day, and spending time with their lovely family and friends.
The ceremony took place at Brighton Town Hall in Bartholomew Road. It is a beautiful Greek revival Grade II listed building. The bride and groom were arriving separately. I do love it when the couple surprise each other. It feels very traditional and romantic. The bridal party arrived, but disaster had struck as the sole had come loose off a bridesmaids shoe. Luckily enough at an art gallery up the road a kind person gave me some sticky pads and blue tac to get the shoe through the ceremony. Note to self…add superglue to my wedding bags for next time. Disaster averted and there was time for some pre-wedding photos with the bride and her bridal party. The bridesmaids dresses were a beautiful soft lavender, but all the styles were different to suit each person. The bouquets were a mixture of purple freesias, white roses amongst green ferns and other delicate purple flowers.
The bride wore an amazing white lace and satin dress from Dig for Victory. It was mid-length and had a full skirt with a petticoat, that flew when the bride spun. She was also wearing the most outstanding lace boots, which finished off the ensemble beautifully.
After the lovely ceremony the newlyweds and their guests walked along Brighton seafront, not only for the fantastic photo opportunities, but also to get to Hotel Pelirocco in Regency Square. This is where the reception was being held. Hotel Pelirocco is a boutique hotel with themed bedrooms from a Dolly Parton inspired room to Star Wars and Bowie.
We were blessed with the most glorious weather. Brighton is always at it’s best when the sun is shining. We stopped for photographs in one of the beautiful Victoria bus stops. They are painted in a vibrant sea-foam and are an iconic sight in Brighton. We carried on walking along the promenade and stopped for photographs of the family and friends with The West Pier in the background. I have such a fondness for the West Pier and I am still sad that we lost so much of it, and it was left to become derelict. It still looks stunning sitting in the sea, and makes a wonderful addition to any photograph. I was very happy to be able to photograph one of my favourite landmarks combined with this lovely couples wedding photographs. After all the family and friends photographs were finished, the guests made their way to Hotel Pelirocco. The happy couple and I walked to the beautiful Victorian Bandstand for their couple photographs. I love this point of the day where it’s them and me. They decided to practise their first dance whilst we were there. It was a salsa to Despacito. I’m not sure if it was the Justin Bieber or Luis Fonsi version. It was such a joy to get this advance preview, and I loved taking photographs of them dance with the stunning Seaview, and the West Pier in the background.
After the couple photographs were finished we made a short journey to Hotel Pelirocco. It is a fantastical hotel full of colour and life. It is packed of interesting curiosities, including decorated mannequin doll lamps. I recognised them as being made by Tracy at Dolly Fixtures. She’s a lovely lady who I had previously photographed for Viva Lewes.
The reception was a happy affair with lots of dancing and partying, and the official debut of the first dance.
A delicious buffet was supplied by the lovely ladies at Connie and Cooper Catering. It’s never a bad day when you have a C&C sausage roll. The tasty wedding cake was beach themed with a dolphin cake topper, made by Cloud 9 in Brighton.
I had the most wonderful day documenting this fabulous wedding for two of the nicest people you could hope to meet. I have really enjoyed looking back at their photographs and being able to share them.
