Brighton Town Hall & The Ivy Brighton Wedding Photography | Charlotte & Alex
After having to postpone their big summer Brighton wedding due to Covid and with no clue as to when there would be a let up of restrictions, Charlotte and Alex opted for an intimate Christmas wedding instead with the ceremony at Brighton Town Hall then private dining at The Ivy Brighton.
I think it’s fair to say that their wedding day didn’t exactly go without a hitch and I’ll fill you in as to why but regardless, it was bloody perfect…and I’ll fill you in on that too! Settle in with a cuppa on this one because it’s a bit of a ride!
Just days before the wedding, Charlotte had called me in tears as there was suspicion they might have had caught the dreaded bug and with restrictions as tight as a duck’s bottom, this wasn’t the greatest news but we all just had to sit tight for their tests results to be confirmed – the stress was palpable! Soon enough they were given the all clear and it was full steam ahead!
With relaxed bridal preparations in the penthouse suite at The Grand Hotel in Brighton, it was really lovely to spend time with Charlotte, her sisters, mum and granny too. Soon enough, we made our way to Brighton Town Hall a short hop away in a gorgeous green vintage Jaguar.
That was until Charlotte exclaimed, ‘My dress!!!’. My heart sunk.
Charlotte’s dress zip had split from hip to armpit. Stopping on a nearby road in December when it was blowing an absolute hooley outside wasn’t ideal but sat in a small vintage car wasn’t giving us much hope of fixing it. That zip was going nowhere despite our best efforts but a kind couple passing by let us know there was a bridal shop just a minute’s walk away and we dashed there to plead for help. The windy wedding gods must’ve been looking down on us because we were lucky enough to find that Hope & Harlequin‘s freelance seamstress just happened to be there and Charlotte was soon sewn back into her dress. Hope & Harlequin were absolute superstars for saving the day!
With Charlotte and Alex finally married, the stress was a distant memory and happiness was back in action. We had a little pootle around a windy Brighton for their wedding portraits and headed to The Ivy Brighton to meet their guests for dinner.
Just as we were approaching the restaurant, local buskers Brighton Vocal Collective were setting up, spotted our wedded pair and broke into the one immortal line of Stevie Wonder’s “Isn’t She Lovely”. It was a lovely moment that really made these two smile. Except I had an idea and wasn’t leaving it there!
Asking Charlotte and Alex to wait there, I spoke with the singers and between us hatched a plan. Knowing these two may never have a first dance (restrictions were so tight at the time), I called them over, asked them to trust me and go have their first dance. Brighton Vocal Collective sang Sam Smith’s Latch acoustically with Charlotte and Alex having their first dance on their wedding day in the middle of the street and socially distanced too!!! I mean yeah, not one of their guests saw it but an audience gathered nonetheless and it was perfect! After a little Facebook call, I even found footage from public who filmed it too!
That moment will be one I take me with through the rest of my days. I tried happy tears behind my camera as Charlotte and Alex just went with it and had the most fun. As I sit here writing this, I played that song and smile gleefully with fond memories of that day. *sigh*
So it just goes to show that not every wedding day will be the perfection you might have envisioned but if you just let go and trust, you might just make memories of a different kind that will last you a lifetime. This is why I love moment driven wedding photography so much.
I honestly couldn’t be happier to finally see these two married. They both absolutely rocked through all the stresses which shows just how solid these two are as a couple. And oh my, do they have cracking wedding memories to tell for the rest of their days!!!
Charlotte & Alex…thank you for taking me along with you on the ride!!!
