There are many times in my life I wished I’d taken some pictures when I wasn’t officially hired to do so. One such was a brisk morning late in 2007. With a winter chill still biting, I was wrapped in a ski jacket, hard hat perched atop my head, walking through the Castle Barn on the Wasing Estate with a brisk wind whistling through a space where doors were yet to be fitted, being described a romantic vision for this new West Berkshire venue by someone called Kate. It was raining and I’m reasonably sure there was a part of the roof being retiled.
There was a lot of work going on. Contractors barrowed building materials along narrow scaffold planks and we stepped gingerly alongside, as much of the floor below me was seemingly missing. I wish I’d captured some stills that day, because a lot has happened in this serene beautiful part of southern English countryside.
That was almost a decade ago, yet often when I enter this beautifully renovated barn, banquet tables laid for a hundred wedding guests, candles glowing, serving staff pouring a toast for people about to be seated, I think back to that scene, that day. The excitement laid bare by all I met when I was afforded that very early tour of this unique venue, was simply palpable.
And it still is. By the end of 2017, I’ll have photographed enough weddings at Wasing Park to celebrate my own sesquicentenary; 150 Wasing weddings and rising. Considering I’m not long from photographing my 800th wedding in total, that means almost twenty percent of my time behind a lens professionally has been at this extraordinary venue.
I’ve grown exceptionally attached to the place. Some of my fondest and certainly more amusing wedding memories have been formed from Wasing Park, such as a Victorian Summerhouse wedding, where a bird of prey supposed to be flying a wedding ring up the aisle for the ceremonial exchange decided to go sit in a tree with the ring and watch surprised seated guests from thirty feet up instead. There’s always a loyal friend with a stand in ring waiting by it seems.
People watching is a great sport, and I’m rewarded a tremendous joy and gift by being asked to photograph weddings in the style I do, particularly at a place which is lavished with incredible mature gardens and a stunning scenic backdrop. Hopefully you can understand that joy by the faces within these pictures for whom Wasing Park will always hold a special place in their heart.
By Neale James