There are some weddings where everything just seems to fit.
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The venue. The clothes. The flowers. The people. The whole feel of the day.
Clari and Tom’s wedding at Hotel Meudon was definitely one of those.
A boho beach wedding with dried flowers and pampas grass, sandy-coloured suits, an incredible vintage-style lace dress, a flower crown and a ceremony literally metres from the sea.
It all just worked.
And this wedding was a particularly lovely one for me because I already knew quite a few of the family.
I’d photographed Tom’s sister’s wedding a couple of years earlier. In fact, if you’ve ever met me at a wedding fair and seen the photograph of a groom swinging on the tyre swing on the beach, that’s Tom’s sister’s wedding!
So walking into the preparations at Meudon felt a little bit like being back with old friends.
A little trip to Meudon before the wedding
I’d also met Clari and Tom at Hotel Meudon before the wedding for their pre-wedding shoot.
We headed down through the gardens to the beach and spent some time wandering around, chatting and taking some photographs together.
And actually, this is one of the reasons I really like pre-wedding shoots.
They’re obviously a chance to get some lovely photographs, but they’re also just a really easy way for us to get to know each other before the wedding.
By the time the actual day arrives, we’ve already wandered around taking photographs together once. They know I’m not going to spend the wedding constantly arranging them into poses, and I know a little more about how they are together.
It just removes one more unknown from the day.
And when somewhere like Hotel Meudon gives you subtropical gardens and a secluded Cornish beach to play with, it’s not exactly a hardship finding somewhere to take photographs either. The venue’s gardens run down through the valley to Bream Cove, so you get two completely different environments without actually leaving the grounds.
A very relaxed wedding morning
The wedding morning itself was exactly what I like.
Lots of people around. Lots of laughing. Little moments happening everywhere.
Parents, friends, family, the dog…
At one point Tom’s dad was happily playing with the dog. Elsewhere his mum was out on the balcony doing a little cheers with another member of the family.
Nothing staged. Nothing particularly “wedding photograph”.
Just the people who matter enjoying being together.
Those are so often the photographs that end up meaning the most.
Especially when I already know the family, because rather than walking into a room full of strangers and working everything out from scratch, there’s already that bit of familiarity there.
A beach wedding at Bream Cove
Then everyone made their way down through the gardens for the ceremony.
And this is where Hotel Meudon becomes a really extraordinary wedding venue.
You leave the hotel, walk down through these huge subtropical gardens and eventually emerge at Bream Cove with the sea opening up in front of you.
Clari and Tom had a beautiful natural driftwood arch on the beach, covered with dried flowers and pampas grass.
Against the rocks, sand, blue sky and sea it looked incredible.
And everything else had been chosen to fit that setting rather than fight against it. Tom and the guys were in sand-coloured suits, Clari wore this gorgeous bohemian lace dress and flower crown, and the whole colour palette was soft, earthy and natural.
Nothing looked like it had simply been dropped onto a beach for a wedding.
It felt as though it belonged there.
The ceremony itself was really personal too. Their celebrant told their story and they included a sand ceremony representing Clari and Tom’s Cornish and South African roots.
With the sea behind them and everyone gathered around on this little secluded Cornish beach, it was pretty special.
Don’t necessarily leave your couple photographs until later
After the ceremony we took the opportunity to get some photographs of Clari and Tom together on the beach.
Including the dog, obviously.
And this wedding is actually quite a good example of why I don’t like being too rigid about when we’re going to do photographs.
You can create a timeline saying, “We’ll do couple photographs at 7pm”, but weddings involve real people and real life.
Clari and Tom had a baby.
And babies famously couldn’t care less about wedding timelines.
Later in the day they disappeared to get their little one bathed and settled into bed and, for reasons completely outside anyone’s control, it took rather longer than expected.
By the time they reappeared it was dark and we were heading towards the first dance.
Had we decided earlier that we absolutely had to wait for a particular point in the evening to take photographs, we’d have missed that gorgeous light and those pictures on the beach completely.
Instead, we’d already got them.
That’s generally how I prefer to work. Have a rough plan, absolutely, but then look at what’s actually happening on the day.
If the light is beautiful, you’re both happy and we’ve got ten minutes, let’s use it.
From a Cornish beach to Hotel Meudon
One of my favourite things about this wedding was the contrast between the different parts of Meudon.
Outside you’ve got this incredibly natural landscape.
The sea. The rocks. The beach. Huge gardens and all that greenery.
Then you come back up to the hotel and suddenly there’s this stylish, slightly glamorous feel to everything inside.
It’s a brilliant contrast photographically because one wedding can look completely different from one part of the day to another without anybody having to travel anywhere.
And having everyone staying together meant Clari and Tom could make much more than just a few hours out of it. They actually took exclusive use of Hotel Meudon for the weekend, so friends and family who had travelled from different parts of the world were all there together.
I think there’s something really lovely about that.
Rather than everyone arriving shortly before a ceremony and disappearing again at midnight, it becomes a proper gathering.
Music, food and everyone together
After the ceremony it was back up through the gardens for drinks, food and speeches.
Holly Turton played guitar and sang during the afternoon, which fitted the whole laid-back feel of the day perfectly.
There was no feeling of rushing everybody from one scheduled wedding event to another. People could just spend time together.
Which is pretty much my favourite sort of wedding to photograph.
And later, once Clari and Tom had successfully re-emerged from bedtime duties, Stone Roots took over for the evening.
I’ve seen Stone Roots at weddings a few times now and they’re always brilliant.
They played Clari and Tom’s first dance live and then got everyone properly into the party.
A very good way to finish the day.
Overline
Why I love photographing weddings at Hotel Meudon
Meudon is a pretty special place for a wedding photographer.
And not simply because there’s a beach.
Although having your own secluded beach obviously helps!
It’s the variety you get without having to take your guests away from the wedding.
You’ve got the hotel itself, balconies, beautiful interiors, enormous subtropical gardens, pathways through the valley, Bream Cove and the coast all in one place. Hotel Meudon currently describes the venue as having light-filled spaces, subtropical gardens and its own secluded beach, with options ranging from intimate celebrations to exclusive-use weddings.
That means we don’t need to disappear for an hour to find somewhere pretty for photographs.
We can walk.
We can talk.
We can take ten minutes on the beach and then get you straight back to the people you’ve actually invited to spend your wedding day with.
And for a documentary photographer, the gardens and layout also give people room to spread out and actually enjoy themselves.
That’s where photographs happen.
Clari and Tom’s day had everything I love about weddings.
A family I’d already had the pleasure of photographing once before. A completely gorgeous setting. A ceremony by the sea. A dog. A baby completely ignoring the schedule. Loads of laughter, plenty of emotion and a group of people who were very obviously delighted to all be together.
Beautiful people in a beautiful place.
Pretty hard to ask for much more than that.
Clari & Tom’s wedding suppliers
Venue: Hotel Meudon
Dress: Rue De Seine
Earrings: Agapée
Hair: Wendy Owen Hair
Make-up: Lash n Glow
Suit: M&S
Wedding bands: Mirri Damer and Hannah Louise Lamb
Celebrant: Marry Us Libby
Flowers: Lowena Flowers
Doughnut towers: Sasparella
Stationery: Papier
Acoustic music: Holly Turton
Evening band: Stone Roots Band
Photography: Thomas Hare Photography
Planning a wedding at Hotel Meudon?
If you’re planning a wedding at Hotel Meudon, particularly if you’ve fallen in love with the idea of getting married down at Bream Cove, I’d love to hear what you’re planning.
My approach is relaxed and mostly documentary. I’ll help when you need me, find some beautiful light when it’s there and get you back to your guests rather than turning your wedding day into a photoshoot.
The rest of the time, you can forget about me and get on with having a wedding.
Feel it. Live it. Remember it.
