thai water pouring ceremony close up of hands

Fort Henry Wedding with Thai twist

This Fort Henry Wedding Ceremony was one of my favourites from 2021, sadly I lost the blog post when I moved my websites over but it is too beautiful not to share again.
Kantarose and Dean were married in the Summer and chose Fort Henry (run by the incredible team over at Barnsdale Lodge) because of its breath-taking surroundings, it is wonderfully secluded and was the perfect size to host their 40 guests.

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Bride and groom stood in long grass at fort henry

Fort Henry

A gothic folly set on a large lake in Exton, Rutland

extonpark.co.uk

Pastel blue florals and Thai Ceremony set up

Talk about a wedding that could have been a styled wedding photoshoot. Kantarose and Dean had invested so much effort into choosing the right suppliers to beautifully style Fort Henry. Pastel blue florals and wedding stationery to match. Eden Flowers provided the simply stunning flower arrangements that were dotted around the tables and on the steps leading into the ceremony. There was a drinks cart adorned with the most wonderfully smelling blooms and a green flower wall to provide the backdrop for the traditional Thai water pouring ceremony.

  • Mirror sign at Fort Henry welcome to our wedding
  • A blue flower arrangement on the steps of Fort Henry
  • Drinks cart at fort henry in rutland
  • Table set up for a wedding at fort henry rutland
  • arriving at fort henry for wedding ceremony
  • Bowl with shells and beads for Thai water pouring ceremony
  • Wedding arrow sign at fort henry in rutland

The Civil Wedding Ceremony at Fort Henry

Fort Henry can seat up to 50 guests for a civil ceremony inside so this was perfect for Kantarose and Dean’s wedding. It was a warm summer day and still in the throws of various lockdowns, everyone was still required to wear masks indoors which did make for some very warm guests.

  • Bride walking down the aisle at fort henry with her dad
  • Civil wedding ceremony vows inside fort henry
  • First kiss at Fort Henry wedding ceremony Rutland

A Traditional Thai Water Pouring Ceremony

Following their civil ceremony, Kantarose and Dean had the traditional Thai Water Pouring ceremony. This is the most important part of a Thai wedding ceremony and traditionally this was the part that validated the marriage (although this now is accompanied by an official marriage certificate)

The couple sat at the Dtang Rot Naam and a ceremonial headdress made from one piece of cotton was placed on each of their heads. This signified the joining of them together as one.

Kantarose and Dean placed their hands, palms together overhanging the water pouring table, carefully positioned above flowers so that they could catch the water that ran off. Then, beginning with the elders, the wedding guests took turns pouring water from the traditional conch shell with each person giving a wish to the couple as they poured.

The reception that followed was so wonderfully relaxed. All of the wedding guests relaxed on garden furniture under big umbrellas whilst we headed off to take a few portraits in the grounds of Fort Henry, a place that if anything was destined to be the backdrop for the most beautiful wedding photos.

One of them even saw me trekking over to the other side of the lake to capture the couple in the full beauty of Fort henry, with the lake in the foreground, I may or may not have been stung a couple of times but it was well worth it.

  • Thai Water pouring ceremony at fort henry
  • guest pouring water on to grooms hands at fort henry rutland
  • thai water pouring ceremony close up of hands
  • bride and groom stood next to their vintage blue wedding car
  • Group photos under a tree at fort henry
  • the bride and her mum at fort henry rutland wedding
  • bride and groom walking down stairs at fort henry
  • Bride and groom stood in long grass at fort henry
  • bride and groom looking over lake at fort henry
  • cake table with the backdrop of fort henry
  • groom standing up for wedding speech at fort henry
  • brides happy reaction to wedding speeches at fort henry
  • grooms games a traditional thai wedding ceremony
  • f wedding couple accross the lake at fort henry exton

” Amanda was more than wonderful on our wedding day. She didn’t just capture perfect photos but she organised the guests for the photos without any confusion, made us laugh when launched herself in the bush to take a shot, and ran across the lake in the heat to take the most beautiful photo of the whole wedding. We had a Thai ceremony, which Amanda wouldn’t be familiar with but she effortlessly went with the flow and captured it so beautifully ”

— Kantarose and Dean

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