My first engagement of the main 2018 wedding season came at the beautiful Highgate House, Creaton, on Friday, 6th April. It was my first wedding photography booking at the 17th century Northamptonshire venue, and I hope it won’t be my last.

The weather in the weeks leading up to Claire and Rob’s big day was best described as wet. Coming on the back of several waves of snowfall over the winter, everywhere was very wet indeed. Thankfully, though, the day before and the day of the wedding itself were rather lovely, albeit slightly cloudier than forecast.

I arrived, as requested, with bridal preparations in full swing. During the venue walkaround we’d been offered one of the venue’s beautiful conference rooms, and this was worth its weight in gold in terms of the extra space it provided.

Claire was a bride who had made it well known during our initial chats that she didn’t like having her picture taken. If you are a bride-to-be and can relate to that, I would always recommend that you have your bridal preparations photographed. It means that you’ve had the opportunity to get used to it before the meaningful part of the day begins (plus, of course, it is a stage of the day that often produces nice pictures!). As Claire said, once everybody else started wanting to photograph her, I suddenly didn’t seem so bad! 🙂

The ceremony itself was to be held in the stunning Baronial Hall. The wooden panelled walls, large open fire place and bay window looking out over the gardens, meant that this was a particularly easy-on-the-eye wedding ceremony. Further, a balcony overlooks one particular corner of the room, providing some very different perspectives of key parts of the day.

Claire and Rob have a big family, and their children took on many important roles during the day. They were all incredibly well behaved and genuinely did their parents proud. They’re a real credit.

With the formalities over, we headed out into the garden for drinks and canapes. Once everyone had had the opportunity to wish the happy couple well, the confetti was thrown and we made hay with the group shots in front of the house.

Parked just behind us was a bright red double-decker Routemaster bus. The story goes that the Chudley family, who own the Sundial Group, operators of Highgate House, bought a single-decker bus after the war and took it on holiday to America. Dubbed the “Chudbus”, it is rumoured that their story was the inspiration behind “Summer Holiday” of Cliff Richard fame. In 2005, the Sundial Group decided to purchase the double-decker version for use as a mobile meeting facility and showroom for its three hotels.

Having played around a little with the bus, Claire, Rob and I went for a little wander on our own. There’s all sorts of architecture to play with from gateways to steps in front of the house, as well as lovely gardens that were just coming into bloom. If Claire was nervous about having her picture taken at the start of the day, those nerves were nowhere to be seen now.

We headed back into the Baronial Hall, which had been transformed for the wedding breakfast. Again, the room looked amazing. The superb three-course dinner that was served to guests tasted as good as it looked.

Claire and Rob’s children wrote (and in some cases delivered) their own speeches, as did the very proud Mother-of-the-Bride.

The Baronial Hall was then turned around once more ahead of the evening reception and disco, provided by Big Bopper Entertainment.

I’d added a few new toys to the kit bag since my last wedding, and this was my first opportunity to try them out properly. After the cutting of the cake and the first dance, we headed outside to have a play. I’m rather pleased with what they add to the repertoire, and I look forward to making more use of them at other weddings.

With the happy couple content with everything we’d done, my work for the day was over.

These are just some of my favourite moments from the day:

Having delivered only a handful of pictures to them the next day, I received the most wonderful review on my Facebook page:

“My thoughts about Karl and his camera!

So… about a year ago we went to a wedding fair in the hope of finding some wedding stuff suppliers etc.. we wandered round a cold building on a cold day broken lifts + buggies etc left us thoroughly unimpressed for the most part … then we strolled past a photographer… liked the look of his work… and then we started talking… instantly knew this man was the photographer for us… we met up had a chat and spent hours laughing… yesterday he turned up on time well dressed and very prepared for a slightly sarcastic day and aside the large camera blended right in to our day.. the majority of our guests believed he was a family friend… he socialised… took time and patience with our children.. and my husband’s need to make me laugh… he calmed my worries… picked confetti from my hair and stopped people standing on my dress… all while making us feel at ease and taking incredible pictures… This man… made our wedding easy stress free and will help us remember it for the rest of our lives…

He arrived as our photographer and left as our friend.

Possibly one of the most heartfelt thankyou’s I have ever given… Thank you Karl.”

I say it often, but it’s true. I genuinely love doing what I do. It’s an honour and a privilege to be able to share in so many wonderful people’s special days. If I can help to make it that bit less stressful for you, I will.

Further Information

Looking for your own wedding photographer? You will find further information about my wedding photography services on the following pages:

My Wedding Photography Packages

How I Work – Wedding Photography by Karl Drage

A Typical Wedding Day – Documentary Wedding Photography by Karl Drage

Portfolio – Wedding Photography by Karl Drage

Why Can Wedding Photography seem so Expensive?

Questions you should ask a wedding photographer

Get in Contact

To enquire about my availability, to discuss other options or if you have any queries, please use one of the methods on the Contact Us page to get in touch.

I am based in Northamptonshire, but am willing to travel out of area.

If you’ve not already done so, please take a look at my Wedding Portfolio.

Karl Drage is a professional Northamptonshire-based wedding photographer who also covers surrounding counties such as Leicestershire, Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Rutland, Oxfordshire & Warwickshire. If you are looking for a wedding photographer in the towns of Northampton, Kettering, Wellingborough, Oundle, Corby, Peterborough, Leicester, Huntingdon, Towcester, Rugby, Daventry, Oakham or nearby, please use one of the methods on the Contact Us page to get in touch. He will be only too happy to go through your needs with you and will endeavour to put together a competitive solution that meets them.