Destination Wedding in the Algarve, Portugal
Wind and Rain turns to Sun and Blue Skies for Lee & Jordan's Same Sex Wedding in Albufeira, Portugal
I'm not sure where to begin with this one! So, I'll start at the beginning. I met Jordan a few years ago at another wedding, in 2015 he was hairdresser and friend to the bride. We got on really well and so, it was great to hear from him, in early 2017, when he asked me to be his wedding photographer! The initial plan had been to get married at Henham Park (of Latitude fame), a wedding venue in Suffolk but a change of plan saw us heading for the Algarve instead (no complaints here!) for this perfect destination wedding in Portugal, where Lee and Jordan got married not far from the beach that they got engaged on in 2016.
I arrived two days before their Portugal wedding which meant, I got to spend some time getting to know their family and friends. I get to meet some truly wonderful people in this line of work - Lee and Jordan are no exception. And in addition to having got to know Lee and Jordan, their friends and family that bit better, there were a few other familiar faces and friends from previous weddings too! So, on the day of the wedding itself, as much of a cliche as it sounds, I genuinely felt like a "guest with a camera"!
The weather forecast for the wedding day was less than promising. In fact, the weather in the UK was looking better! Armed with this knowledge, I made sure that I took the guys down to the beach, the night before, to capture some images of them enjoying the sun, sea and sand! You can go here to see their pre-wedding photos on the beach.
On the morning of the wedding, I awoke to a view, not dissimilar to that in the first image below and watched as the wind picked up a beach umbrella for a triple somersault into the pool! I checked no less than three weather apps and then prayed for all it was worth for the weather to change but it wasn't looking good! The hotel wanted to move the ceremony indoors and the wind threw another beach umbrella over my head! But I needn’t have worried, because, as I stood on the balcony, the guys getting ready, looking out to sea, the sun began to reflect it's light on the horizon and made a glorious appearance just in the nick of time!
Coming up the aisle together, Lee and Jordan were absolutely beaming, giving the sun a run for its money! There was so much laughter during this ceremony, everyone was having the best time. The biggest laughs came though, when one of the registrars mispronounced Jordan's middle name, "Guy". She explained that she had been practising her pronunciation so hard but Jordan alleviated any embarrassment she may have had, delivering the punch-line, "It's just like being back at school!" The registrar came back at him, saying that since she had said it out loud, he was now legally "Jordan 'Gay' Ayers-Terrell" - #touché ???
After signing their marriage certificate and being wonderfully serenaded by the one of their best friends, Polly, the boys made their way back down the aisle together as Mr & Mr! Hugs, kisses, congratulations, drinks and relaxing in the sun were next on the agenda before a series of fantastic speeches which took us into the evening. A few portraits as the sun got low in the sky we returned to watch a video that Lee and Jordan had put together to celebrate their nearest and dearest - truly making their day about everybody!
The drink and good times continued as Lee and Jordan took to the floor for their first dance before everyone joined them and lots more dancing ensued, sending them off on honeymoon in style!
It was an absolute pleasure and privilege to be a part of their day - thank you so much Lee and Jordan for taking me to Portugal with you, I hope these photos will bring happy memories back to you for many years to come - enjoy!
I'll be leaving on a jet plane again for a destination wedding in Mallorca later this year and so if you're looking for a destination wedding photographer and like what you see, then get in touch, I'd love to hear about your plans!