Canada Lodge Wedding Photography Cardiff | Georgia & Mark

Georgia & Mark had their very fun Canada Lodge wedding last September and I’ve been busting to share it with you. If you’re a fan of the classic Mini car then you’re in for a treat here. Ohh the bands performance, featuring the groom!

I’ve photographed at Canada Lodge wedding venue many times in recent years and so I was excited as ever to return. It’s a lovely small venue, nestled in its own valley with the lodge sitting on the the edge of the large lake. Plenty of photography opportunities especially in the late summer when the day is still long and theres plenty of opportunity to take an evening stroll amongst the trees and wild grass. With each wedding adding their own personality and difference to it with each visit.

The day started out with the girls all getting ready at a salon in Pontypridd before heading back to the bride’s childhood home. The dresses hung-up on the wall, ready for them as they return. We didn’t get much time before needing to head to the venue but I managed to get a handful of pictures of the details, dress and accessories, and pictures of her mini. The beloved mini. Georgia has grown up with a heavy influence of cars including the family mini. We recreated a moment of her with their mini when she was very young in the same spot but this time with Georgia in her wedding dress and her red mini. It was time to head off to the venue!

Wedding ceremony at the lodge

I arrived at the venue well ahead of the bride to capture moments with the groom and his best men before the ceremony. Looking very sharp indeed with light nerves kicking in as to be expected. As they got themselves in place for the arrival I headed to the front entrance to capture the Mini, the yellow Camaro and the TVR Chimaera driving down the road; You can imagine the noise and smell of rich fuel, took me back to my days of driving around town slow and meeting up with others in local meet ups… I must admit, my car wasn’t worthy of a mention here.

When you meet a couple that have such an infectious persona and so much love for one another it really shows on camera! Having met at a local club where Mark was playing in his band and Georgia there to capture them on stage with her camera, I guess you could say the rest is history. A moment not too dissimilar from a scene from the movies. It was a pleasure having met this couple, photographing their pre-wedding session and onto their wedding. I get to call them both friends too which is cool and exactly how it should be. It’s always sad having so much involvement in someones lives for months and then to not see them again as the wedding bubble ends. So it’s nice to be keeping in touch!

We headed out after the ceremony to my favourite spots to capture their Canada Lodge wedding photography portraits. It’s also a perfect time to have a little catch-up and chat about each of their morning experiences and take it all in. We then headed back along the lake edge capturing several more little intimate moments before arriving back to their cheering guests for their wedding reception.

photography session

Saundersfoot pre-wedding

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Wedding Reception and that special moment

It’s always far easier to let the photos do the talking which I totally will allow for soon! Their ceremony was gorgeous and the reception was so fun, it was really chilled out, a time to celebrate with their guests and enjoy the scenery and the venues offering over the lake. But we have to talk about the speeches! The best man speeches were hilarious but step aside guys. I mean, being in a band, you can’t not pull out the guitar. Mark had wrote a song for Georgia and arranged with the best men and a select few to sing the chorus and melody with him. A complete surprise of course, it was just amazing and everyone else joined in too. What a moment, thankfully I was able to film most of it while photographing the moment too. Such a special surprise indeed and a great moment to photograph.

Mark and the guys were putting the band back together for one last time for the evening of the wedding – I wish they would reform as they are awesome (Come on guys!)! They put on one heck of a performance and even got some guests to come up to sing some songs too through the night. There’s something so mesmerising about watching a band play, well, I was obsessed and air drumming where I could (badly) in between photographing the excitement and dancing. Photographing such moments and the atmosphere like these is exactly why I do what I do. You’ll never see that again and I was there to document the euphoria all around.

Having sparklers at your wedding is becoming very popular. A way to book mark the end of the night and the days celebrations. It’s a bit of an art to set up especially conducting many semi drunk guests to behave well. The sparkler moment was fantastic, with the bride and groom in the middle and their guests crowing around it created great light and a scene that was on par for my favourite moment of the day.

Here are their Canada Lodge wedding photography highlights