Archbishop's Palace - Maidstone Kent

14th June 2008 - Mario and Ailsa - (short £345 wedding package)

Plenty of nice areas inside and outdoors for a photographer to get some great pictures, Maidstone in Kent has a beautiful wedding registry office on the River Medway known as the Archbishops Palace.

(page/scroll down to see pictures)

 This couple had been referred to A1Photoimaging from fellow wedding photographer Andy James from photo3 and unusually neither of us had met beforehand.  Mario and Ailsa had travelled from Folkestone, which is the other side of Kent, preferring the Archbishops Palace in Maidstone as the backdrop for their Kentish Wedding Photography

The photographers had a good 25 minutes before the ceremony started so it was a breath of fresh air to go on a walk around the grounds and take advantage of the photography this splendid venue offers.

The Archbishops Palace is situated overlooking the River Medway in the heart of Maidstone, so we started our walk in the direction of the river.  The photographer had provided some breakfast cereal in the hope that birds would be interested

Canadian Geese took advantage of the cereal

Beside the Archbishop's Palace is a church and beyond that there is a walkway from the millennium bridge to a carpark.  In the corner of the carpark is a collection of nice archways in a gate-house.  It's a nice scene for a photographer to take the couple for a wedding photo because of the stonework, ceiling detail, and the cobbles and is in keeping with this old part of Maidstone and with the Kent style architecture adding to the impact of the photography

It was time for Mario to have a quick chat with the registrars so here is a picture of the rings

Whilst the registrars were sorting out the wedding details.  Photographer took some candids of Mario's dad and a young relative assisting their daughter who was eager to explore the Palace grounds

We take candid photography during the ceremony, here Mario's dad looks on proudly to his son before Ailsa makes her entrance.  The marriage was held in the "undercroft" which is a perfect venue for a small wedding party.  The Archbishops Palace has many rooms to suit different amounts of guests, each giving a photographer a unique perspective.

the ring-bearer does her stint

when the main part of the ceremony is over, there are seats beside the fireplace to rest before signing the marriage register.  Most of the rooms within the palace have ornate fire places - a Registry Office with a difference!

Photography detail of the back of the bride's hair - we prefer to take these at the hairdressers or when the bride is getting ready for her special day, but if we find time we will take records of any details you want

there is a small garden area between the church and the archbishops palace with some trellis work and mature shrubs complementing the stone pathways and ornamental beds, again in keeping with this area of Maidstone and is a favourite area for a wedding photographer

it's a classic "wedding ring" picture with Ailsa giving the photographer that knowing look "he's all mine"

another variation of a "wedding ring shot" showing the back detail of the bridal dress

the photographer couldn't resist opening up the zoom to allow the trellis to frame the married couple

again, another lovely image with both rings being the focal point with Ailsa and Mario gazing in a forehead to forehead pose, these are often difficult for a photographer to explain because they actually cannot see each other properly but it works

time for a post wedding "walk in the park" pose

a romantic "gaze" wedding photo using a tree as a dark background, although the grounds are not by any means massive, there are plenty of photography opportunities to be found in the grounds of the Archbishops Palace

Mario and Ailsa's daughter being looked after by a young relative.  Ailsa tells me that her daughter's beautiful wedding dress came from Woolworths - so there's a tip, if you have some young bridesmaids then maybe a trip to Woolies could be worth a try

The photographer took the group shots outside the main palace and some of the couple with the palace as a backdrop - all in all I think the couple got over 200 copyright free wedding photos from around one and a half hours photography at the Archbishops Palace in Maidstone, Kent - and this photographer says "A lovely registry office in Kent"