Kempinski Hotel Bahía, Estepona

Rachel and Kevin´s Special Day

Kempinski Hotel Bahia in Estepona was the perfect setting for the wedding of Rachel and Kevin and I was very happy to be photographing there as it was my first wedding shoot there. Before heading up to the room where Rachel was getting ready I took a look around the grounds and down to the beach where the ceremony was being set up. It looked beautiful, and the views looking over to the sea was the icing on the cake.

Below are just a few of my personal favourite images and the story of their day…

Preparation
I headed up to a lovely room to where Rachel was getting ready in, it was spacious, bright,and had a beautiful chandelier really finishing the room off nicely and great for my photography. The bridesmaids were all helping each other, and although Rachel already had her hair styled at the hairdressers earlier that morning there was still lots to do. I took a few photographs of the girls before popping downstairs where Champagne was flowing on the reception terrace where guests were already gathering and ordering drinks. A slightly nervous Kevin arrived in his kilt and Scottish attire looking very smart indeed. Button hole roses were handed out to the Grooms men and corsages of white flowers were given to the mothers of the Bride & Groom. a few photographs later and I returned to Rachel’s room to capture the finishing touches. With Rachel now ready and waiting, it was time for the ceremony and with the unfortunate absence of her dad there were some tears already as her lovely Uncle entered the room, the realisation that she was about to get married set in. I left them to compose their thoughts and prepare for day ahead and I ran to the bar allocated for pre ceremony drinks that the guests had by now all moved to.
Ceremony
The ceremony itself was taking place at a beautiful part of the hotel garden overlooking the beach, I noticed how perfect the light was as the sun beams shone through the trees that were partially shading the guest area. The altar was set up under a canopy to shade the Bride, Groom and Revd. Alan Maude during the the ceremony and I noticed that Rachel seemed very emotional while following her bridesmaids down the aisle and looked as if she was trying hard to hold back the tears by biting her lip. As she approached the altar and could see Kevin’s smiling and loving face, her tears started to flow more until they both looked at each other in a very sincere and loving way and the Revd. Alan Maude began the “rite of marriage”. The Mums came forward to light some candles that signify the joining of two families when they are later used by the bride and groom to light a further single candle. Quite often just the Bride & Groom light candles, but I feel it is much nicer and certainly more traditional when parents are involved in lighting the candles too. The first reading of the ceremony brought more tears and some smiles to everyone’s faces as words of love and compassion were spoken. As Rachel and Kevin exchanged vows and rings they were very emotional too and lit their candle just before signing their certificate of blessing. A close friend then sang a beautiful song to everyone and the Bride and Groom listened with interest, causing Rachel to cry some more, It was very emotional and it was a lovely song. Huge smiles soon returned from Rachel and Kevin as they walked back up the aisle as a married couple and to be congratulated with lots of hugs and kisses from everyone.
Reception
With the sun starting to go down, the happy couple and I took a slow walk through the gardens, stopping occasionally for some romantic and creative images on our way to the beach restaurant. A Spanish guitarist played to create a chilled and relaxed ambience but it was getting late already and the sun was setting fast so we swiftly moved on to some family portraits and informal groups shots. Once everyone was seated the speeches began and there were more tears as absent friends and family were remembered and toasts were made to the Rachel and Kevin. The Father of the bride and the best man’s speeches brought some laughs and smiles as funny stories were told. I noticed a sea mist starting to come in across the gardens, the guests were under cover and sheltered from the condensation as the drop in temperatures were welcomed as it had been a very hot day up until now. The food was served and I was offered a gorgeous garlic risotto dish and enjoyed it immensely, in fact it was one of the best I have ever had and the courses that followered were all just as impressive. This was a general consensus too, as I could plainly see that the guests were all enjoying this gourmet food just as much as I had.
Party
Once finished, the guests slowly moved into the function hall where the DJ was cranking things up a notch. The bar was open and Rachel and Kevin cut their 4 tier cake with a traditional sword. They then walked straight over to the centre of the dance floor for their first dance as husband and wife. They were quickly joined by the bridal party and an upbeat DJ set to get things rocking. Thanks to the Kempinski wedding coordinator Jeanette, the day had been a complete success and this lot sure knew how to celebrate that. They were all getting up to party and have fun as the dancing got wilder and wilder, it did I believe go on to include some tradition Scottish dancing and then carried on even further (past 5am in the morning I hear). Now that’s how to have a party…
Thank you Rachel and Kevin for allowing me to capture your story, I truly wish you both all the best for future together