Wellington College wedding – Sarah & James

 

Reportage wedding photography at Wellington College

Wellington College in Berkshire – “one of the great national boarding schools” – was the venue for Sarah & James’s wedding on a bitterly cold late October’s day.

Sarah’s old school, Wellington College was built in the 1850s by Queen Victoria to mark one of Britain’s greatest generals. The victor on the battlefield of Waterloo – ‘Old Nosey’ – The Duke of Wellington. A co-educational day and boarding school, originally, the school educated sons of deceased officers who had held commissions in the Army. Nowadays, most pupils are not from military families. Designed in a “French Grand Rococo” style, the chapel, only half the size originally intended was designed by that famous Victorian architect, Sir Gilbert Scott (Midland hotel, St Pancras, Albert Memorial, etc).

Famous alumni include Peter Snow, Sir Nicholas Grimshaw, Sir Christopher Lee, Rory Bremner, Will Young, Sebastian Faulks, James Hunt and the Right Reverend Richard Harries. Even, for just one term, the writer George Orwell.

(Did I mention it was bitterly cold?)

So after a few weeks ago shooting a wedding in the crypt of St Paul’s Cathedral, stood yards from the Duke’s tomb, this time it was in the rather grand school chapel, with stained glass windows showing the names of the Duke and his generals from the various campaigns. A stunning chapel that resonates with tradition and history but also has something rare – a chaplain with a sense of humour, as we awaited wedding guests that were stuck in the traffic on the M4. After the ceremony and some confetti outside, it was into the ‘Great School’ room for drinks and canapes. Paintings of the Duke on the wall surrounding the guests. Dinner, speeches and dancing in the Waterloo hall.

Coverage though began at Sarah’s family home, as she got ready surrounded by family and friends……here are a few images from this Wellington College wedding…