Royal Tunbridge Wells Spring Wedding with Ryan & Lydia

You know it's going to be a good day when the sun is shining, and it was just glorious for the late spring wedding of Ryan & Lydia back in May 2023. With their reception venue a short walk from the church they had the ceremony at (which as it turns out Lydia's mum was in charge of!) I opted to park at the venue and walk down with the essentials.

Ryan & Lydia had opted for my 8-hour Mont Blanc package, as they weren't too fussed with having morning prep covered, but whenever couples select this option, I always try to incorporate a bit of prep when possible. Ryan and his dad and groomsmen were planning to arrive a little early at the church, well before the guests, so I took this opportunity to get some 'staged' groom prep photos of the four of them in the beautiful natural light inside the United Emmanuel church.

With their guests arriving, it wasn't long before Lydia and her father turned up in a lovely vintage Rolls Royce, and the ceremony began. As with most church ceremonies, space can be a little limited, but I made sure to capture lots of angles of proceedings from the sides and down the aisle from the back.

After the ceremony there was a bit of a drinks reception in the church before everyone began heading up Mount Ephraim Hill towards the Royal Wells Hotel for the reception. But first, we stopped on a little patch of green for the group photos, and some pretty awesome confetti madness! Lydia even threw her bouquet, which was caught by one of the flower girls (with some help!) With the group photos over, I took Ryan & Lydia for a short walk onto the common for some photos of just the two of them, before we headed back to the reception.

While guests were checking into the hotel and chilling in the bar, I grabbed some quick photos of the reception room before the wedding breakfast. Ryan & Lydia had gone for a classic colour scheme, with golds and pale blues, but with a hint of superheros - each table was named for a different Marvel character, with their namesakes depicted by an action figure as part of the centrepiece! I wonder if that was Ryan's idea or not...

After the meal, the speeches were, again, a real highlight - with Lydia even giving a speech as part of the line-up. Then it was time to turn the room around for the evening. This took somewhat longer than is usual, and with their allotted coverage running out, I offered to stay a little longer for free to make sure their first dance was covered at the very least. Thankfully, we didn't have to wait much longer, and after cutting the cake it was time to hit the dancefloor.

Despite a few timing hiccups towards the end, this was a lovely day for Ryan & Lydia, and a great time for me to help document it for them. I wish them both all the best for the future!

Whether you're planning a big lavish wedding, or something much smaller, head over to my wedding photography page for prices and lots of information on how I can help make your day as memorable and as awesome as possible! You can also get in touch to enquire about your wedding date to see if I'm available.