Powderham Castle, home to the Earl and Countess of Devon, sits nestled against the Exe estuary surrounded by 200 acres of captivating deer park. The 600 year old castle and grounds make up one of the most stunning and romantic wedding venues in the county.  The castle is still decorated in a lavish classic style with beautiful colours and furnishings and the grounds are huge, from the rose terrace in front of the castle with views across the deer park to the river, to the American Garden which is a ‘tractor and trailer’ ride away through the woodland. 

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This particular wedding day took place in the heatwave of summer 2018.  I arrived at the castle early in the morning to photograph the bride and her bridesmaids getting ready in the bridal suite.  The bedroom of the suite has beautiful large windows looking out to the river and fills the room with light, perfect for the bridal makeup and hair preparations.  Ironing of dresses and shirts took place in the suite’s living room.  The bouquets were delivered to the bridal suite and they were so beautiful containing pale and salmon pink colours, so stylish. To give the girls a break from the camera!, I sought out the guys in the Castle’s dark green dining room which was their getting-ready suite!  One groomsman had had a knee operation the day before the wedding but had made it down to Devon (a very committed groomsman!).  He could not move from the settee and the groom actually helped him get dressed rather than the other way round!  The men were all very calm and the room was lovely and masculine-looking for groom preparation photos.  Back up to the bridal suite where the bride’s mother and sister helped the designer bride get into her self-designed and created wedding outfit, a beautiful beaded little top and lovely stylish skirt. 

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After the registrar had been up to chat to the bride, the bridal party, including the bride’s father (who had been left speechless when he first saw the bride in her outfit) made their way from the bridal suite to the Castle’s amazingly grand staircase to make their way down to the ceremony room.  The couple had commissioned a wicker arch which was set against the glorious open windows.  The bride and her father beamed all the way up the aisle, being admired by the many guests.  There was a surprise for the bride and groom during their ceremony!  The bride and her sister were huge Harry Potter fans and so the bride’s father had arranged for a ‘Hedwig’ owl to fly the rings to the couple from the end of the aisle.  It caused much hilarity for the couple and their guests and the owl stayed around afterwards for portraits with his fans!

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After the ceremony, the couple greeted their guests out on the sun-drenched terrace.  There were a lot of sunglasses on!  The couple came out of the castle through the double doors and were showered with confetti.  We then did family photos on the lawn with the castle as a backdrop.  Canapes and fizz were served, and then the guests strolled through the castle, out of the gatehouse and climbed into the Castle’s tractor trailer to take the ride to the secluded American Garden with its own Gothic pavilion and tree-shaded lawn.  Posh Nosh’s cream tea and Pimms was served from the pavilion, guests sat on picnic rugs in the shade, and some of the more active guests played badminton and darts.  I coaxed the couple away for ten minutes of portrait photographs.  The bride looked like a Vogue model with her amazing poise and stunning outfit and bouquet. 

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Then back to the Castle for more refreshments and the bride sang to her guests in the library and was accompanied by her father on his guitar.  The couple did their romantic first dance, and afterwards the whole party was involved in the wedding Horah, where the couple were lifted up on chairs by their guests and bounced around quite a lot!   The wedding guests then wandered into the dining room where the tables were laden by amazing flower displays, and the couple joined them for a delicious wedding breakfast and hilarious speeches.  My day finished after the speeches and I left the wedding party enjoying their summer’s evening and drove home out of the castle gates and across the estuary.  It was a lovely day. 

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If you want to see more about Powderham Castle, browse the Devon wedding venues at fantasyweddingfinder.com.

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