Aynhoe Park Wedding Photographer – Danielle & Craig – UK Wedding

I’ve been sitting over a blog of this Aynhoe Park wedding for a couple of hours now trying to go through all the things I saw at the venue and the brilliant two days I spent there but it’s really hard to put it all into writing. I’m not a writer if you haven’t already guessed but I do like to try to get accross some sense of what the day was like before you look at the images.

First of all the couple.. back in 2014 I shot the amazing wedding of Chris and Carine in Donegal and this is where I first briefly bumped into Danielle & Craig. Danielle was the designer of Carine’s incredible dress.. see post here…and I remember seeing her in the morning and complimenting her on how unique and creative her work is.

Fast forward a couple of years and Danielle got in touch. I was really excited to be asked to shoot her wedding and the venue looked so different to anything I had come across before. I arrived in the UK 2 days before NYE to shoot the rehearsal evening and then the big day. Aynhoe Park is nothing short of a wonderland of the bizarre and the incredible. The house and rooms feel like a cross between Downton abbey and Jumanji. It’s really hard to explain but its a feast for the eyes.

I knew Danielle would have an amazing dress and she didn’t disappoint.. in fact rather than let me explain I asked Danielle to write a little about her dress(es). She has a wealth of experience in the fashion industry having worked for Viktor & Rolf, Zara and Matthew Williamson, designing dresses for the likes of Kate Middleton. It was only right that she designed her own wedding dress or…three. Danielle has been working with private clients over the past five years designing one of a kind bridal and occasion dresses.

Over to Danielle..

“Initially, I spent the day with my bridesmaid and sister in Knightsbridge and Bond Street trying on dresses from the likes of Vera Wang, Suzanne Neville and Carolina Herrera but nothing felt quite right although this was hugely inspirational. My fiancé, clients and friends ultimately knew I would end up designing and making my wedding dress alongside my incredible team.

A few months before my big day I spent a few hours sketching up design ideas and before I knew it I had three dresses, all of which catered for different stages of our wedding weekend. Our venue was opulent with a huge array of art, sculpted marble and taxidermy so I wanted the cut and fabrications of my dresses to fit within their surroundings.

I bought all my beautiful silk fabrications from ‘Broadwick Silks’ in Soho who I have been working with for years, my wedding dress was a heavy silk cotton twill, and my other two dresses were in a silk satin duchess. My patterncutter and I reviewed my sketches, I knew my figure and wanted to accentuate my petite frame. The initial toile’s were ready within a few weeks and before I knew it the patterns were tweaked and ready to handover to my marvellous seamstress. When I saw my wedding dress for the first time I was thrilled. The dress is timeless with a point of difference, it features an Obi style belt and a huge bow at the back. The refined straps were inspired by a vintage image of Claudia Schiffer.

At the other end of the spectrum was my embellished party dress which was hand embroidered with thousands of swarovski crystals. It took me over five hours to engineer the lattice artwork onto the pattern pieces ready for the embroiders to do their magic. When I received the panels I remember the look on my seamstresses face…we were both over the moon with the results.”

If anyone out there is looking for something unique and bespoke then I have no doubt Danielle is the person to contact… For all enquiries: djwindsor@hotmail.co.uk or follow Danielle’s studio on Instagram @daniellejadewindsorstudio

Thanks so much to the awesome Danielle & Craig for letting me be part of their amazing day…XXX

The Rehearsal party… 

The Wedding Day…

Credit goes to…

Venue: http://aynhoepark.co.uk/

Catering: https://www.stonesevents.co.uk/

Dress: @daniellejadewindsorstudio email djwindsor@hotmail.co.uk for all enquiries

Hair & Make Up: http://www.yeoweddings.com/

Shoes: Manolo Blahnik

Film: http://bloominglovelyfilms.co.uk/

Check out Leanne’s work from the day here… http://bloominglovelyfilms.co.uk/blog/post/danielle-craig-nye-aynhoe-park-wedding/

Florist: @rowan_blossom http://rowanblossom.co.uk/

Sound and lighting: http://www.themrbenagency.co.uk/

Balloons: https://bubblegumballoons.co.uk/