This quintessentially British Trinity College Wedding holds a special place in our hearts, being based in a city where we have spent some wonderful years. Our couple Sarah and Jon both studied in Cambridge, enabling them to hire part of the college for their wedding! So, it was no wonder that Sarah and Jon decided to venture up from London where they currently reside, back to the nostalgic streets of Cambridge, to gather their guests into the historic college halls filled with famous portraits, silver candlesticks and banqueting tables. We were quite excited!

The day began at Trinity College where the bride and her two bridesmaids sashayed about in some gorgeous silk kimonos waiting for their hair and make up to be perfected by Izzy Wild. From one delicate gown, to another, Sarah slipped into her sleeveless Anna Kara dress finishing the outfit with a lace trim veil and golden Jimmy Choo kitten-heels. Her bridesmaids were dressed in shimmering royal blue, fitting beautifully with the dark wooden furniture and panelled walls of the college. The bouquets by Heidi Appleyard were a vibrant mixture of hot pink, rich yellow, warm orange and purple sprigs which brought a beautiful contrast of colour to the dark wood throughout the college.

Our groom, Jon, made his wedding preparations at the Varsity hotel and spa, a very civilised gentleman’s morning of snappy suits, silver whiskey filled hipflasks and an early glass of bubbly on the rooftop terrace of the hotel.

The ceremony was held at the Cambridge Union Society, and unlike most of the weddings we have shot this year, here the guests were seated on red leather chesterfield pews bringing a very formal tone to the room. This was perfectly offset though, as the double height ceiling allowed for some pastel bunting to be strung from the upper balcony right across the room, which, along with bold pops of yellow from the groomsmen’s buttonhole posy’s, brought a breath of British summertime into the room. We captured some laughs, tear and the all time favourite airborne confetti snaps.

Our wedding party then had a short walk back through town to get back to the reception at Trinity college. These juxtapositions are always amusing. The wedding party all dressed up in their lace, silks and sharp cut suits amongst the casual crowds carrying plastic bags, pushing bikes, eating takeaway meals from paper bags. The looks of bewilderment on passers-by, but also joy. The joy of a wedding party is quite infections, we have seen it many times before! The laughing couple were spreading smiles with every stride as they walked through the stone streets and we even had a few rivals snapping photos in their wake!

Eventually, we arrived at the grand Trinity college, the colourful guests streaming through the arches into the courtyard of pale stone made for some beautiful photos. It was a little overcast for an August day, yet the dappled grey clouds produced some interesting photos.

There was so much space for everyone here, we were in our element. We got some great shots of the guests gathered on an enormous staircase, and some fabulous photos of the newlyweds strolling through the grounds and corridors as if this were their grand palatial home.

Inside, three long tables were set before the head table with crisp white tablecloths and deep burgundy chairs. The wedding stationery and beautiful name cards, with individual crests above each name, were designed by Jon’s brother, Matt Fraser. It certainly felt like a medieval banquet.

There were little card games, and wedding favours of bottled spirits. The speeches were some of the best we have heard bringing ripples of laughter and the odd tear dabbed on a napkin. Trinity College catering was incredible as was the cake made by Jon’s Mother, a stunning three-tier design with a lace trim, orange ribbon and a cascade of deepening orange flowers.

The evening ended with some toe-tapping tunes from the live band The Celebrations and whilst the guests cut their shapes on the dancefloor, captured on video by Adam Nicholas, we snuck outside with our happy couple to get a final few photos in the dimming light. The sky had deepened into a romantic pink-purple and we snapped the couple by the river, arm in arm, their first sunset as a married couple!

We had an absolute blast photographing Sarah and Jon’s Trinity College wedding, we hope you will too looking through the photos.