The Leas Cliff Hall Folkestone Autumn Wedding with Mark & Mandy

I returned to the Folkestone seafront (granted, it's only a 5 minute drive!) for Mandy and Mark's big day late in September. The girls were calm and collected as they got ready at The Clifton Hotel across the road from the venue, and Mandy looked stunning in her dress before joining Mark at the Channel Suite in the Leas Cliff Hall. We were blessed with sunshine and amazing late summer light for the ceremony and group/couples photos back up top, before heading down for the meal and to party!

They had a huge long list of guests attending in the evening, and they all wanted to jump in for a photo as the drinks flowed. Their first dance was a lovely slow number, and their smiles really lit up the dance floor as their friends and family came to join them.

At my first ever wedding fair in early 2018, I ran a competition for one lucky couple to get a massive 50% off their wedding photography. Mandy & Mark were the lucky winners on this occasion, and their wedding was happening in my own town, so I knew it was going to be a great day! It also happened to be the day before my birthday, so a double celebration was about to go down.

I headed down to The Leas and the Clifton Hotel for Mandy and the bridesmaids getting ready. They had a lovely room with nice big windows that let in all that late summer light. There was lots of giggles and smiles as I went about photographing in a natural way. I don't like to be too intrusive in the morning, and I much prefer letting everyone get used to me. Just before I left for the venue I got some lovely photos of Mandy all ready in her dress and her dad seeing her for the first time.

Across the road (literally!) is The Leas Cliff Hall, and part of that is The Channel Suite, where the wedding was to take place. I arrived not long before the ceremony to find Mark a little nervous, but that soon went away when Mandy and the bridal party arrived! It was a short ceremony and after a few drinks I gathered everyone upstairs into the sunshine for the group photos, before snapping a few more of the couple of their own before returning back down for the wedding breakfast.

The speeches are always great fun, and the guests were happily cheering and clapping as the guys took their turns with the mic, reeling off some cracking stories and anecdotes! It wasn't long before the sun had set and the evening guests arrived, ready to watch Mandy & Mark take to the dance floor for their first dance and begin the party properly - what a great night!

Kent has some cracking wedding venues that are full of atmosphere, and The Leas Cliff Hall is no exception. If you're planning a wedding in Kent, be it by the sea or in the countryside, I'd love to chat about your photography with you. Check out my collections and pricing, and get in touch for more information.