An Elegant Summer Wedding at Crondon Park
Crondon Park sits in the Essex countryside near Stock, and it does exactly what a wedding venue should — gives a couple somewhere beautiful to get married without needing much help from anyone. Elena and Mthabisi kept their morning apart and their whole ceremony and reception at the one venue, so the day still felt unhurried and connected from nine in the morning right through to the last dance.
Getting Ready — Crondon Park & Chelmsford
Elena was up first, getting ready at Crondon Park from nine with her two bridesmaids, while across in Chelmsford, Mthabisi and his four groomsmen started their own morning at home half an hour later. Ash, my second photographer for the day, arrived with the groom’s side to cover both rooms properly — details, suits from Suitsupply, and the kind of nervous energy that builds through a morning like that. No first look between the two of them — they were saving that for the aisle.
The Ceremony & Confetti Tunnel
Fifty-four guests gathered at Crondon Park for a two o’clock ceremony outside, with readings from Sotiris and from Elena herself. Straight after, the two of them disappeared for fifteen minutes on their own in the bridal suite for private vows — just the two of them, no cameras. a lovely personal touch — before rejoining everyone for confetti and a bouquet toss back at the reception space.
The Group Photos
With the formalities out of the way, it was straight into group photos — both families, the wedding party, friends — organised quickly so nobody lost the afternoon standing around in the hot sun, before everyone headed in for the wedding breakfast.
Speeches & The Wedding Breakfast
Four speeches ran through the afternoon — Sotiris, Irene (Elena’s sister), Curtis (Mthabisi’s brother), and Mthabisi himself closing things out — before the room settled into the wedding breakfast and a cocktail hour that carried the evening forward.
Golden Hour & The Evening
As the wedding breakfast gave way to cocktail hour, Elena and Mthabisi slipped away for their couple portraits while the light turned golden — exactly the kind of soft evening light an Essex summer wedding yearns for, if you wait for it. We even included a Land Rover ..as that is the company where both Elena and Mthabisi first met while working for the group. Cake was cut soon after with the whole room gathered round for one big group shot, followed by the first dance, then music from DJ Kellz, ots of Greek dancing and a dancefloor that didn’t empty until photography and videography wrapped at 9pm.
In Their Words (See Google Reviews)
“Pele was lovely to work with from start to finish, and having Carla (Videographer from Nozzy Films) and Ash Morton (2nd Photographer) as part of Pele’s team meant nothing was missed all day. The gallery captured all the big moments perfectly, but it was the candid ones — the ones no one even noticed on the day — that meant the most.” — Elena & Mthabisi
Getting married at Crondon Park, or looking for an Essex wedding photographer who’ll let your day tell its own story? I would love to hear from you.
Carla from Nozzy Films (nozzyfilms.com) and myself offer do offer combined Wedding Photography and Videography Packages.
Suppliers: Venue & Catering — Crondon Park · Videography — Nozzy Films (Carla Berzon-Lillie) · Second photographer — Ash Morton · Dress — The Wedding Studio Berkshire · Suit — Suitsupply · Hair & make-up — Maya Czarnecka · DJ — DJ Kellz (BPM Events) · Flowers — Stock Florist · Cake — Squidger & Watson Cakes · Bridal shoes — Emmy London
