Canterbury Cathedral & Mount Ephraim Gardens | Rachel & Michael

Rachel & Michael’s Fairytale Wedding at Canterbury Cathedral and Mount Ephraim Gardens

Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, dates back to it’s original founding by St. Augustine in 597AD – and as such is amongst the top five of historical buildings and monuments in the UK. Forming a major part of a World Heritage Site, Canterbury Cathedral is home to the Archbishop of Canterbury who is leader of the Church of England and symbolic leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion.

The cathedral was completely revamped and rebuilt in the 1070s AD, following another major enlargement and rebuild in the 12th Century after a fire in 1174. The Cathedral historically accommodates the legendary flow of pilgrims visiting the shrine of Thomas Becket, an archbishop who was murdered in the cathedral in 1170.

Today, the Cathedral is undergoing major conservation and building works in order to preserve this national treasure, whereby currently much of the exterior – as well as the naive and interior are covered in Scaffolding.  Nonetheless, we were able to capture some amazing and stunning imagery for Rachel & Michael.

Weddings at Canterbury Cathedral

Rachel & Michael first met us at the Kent County Cricket Ground Wedding Fair in Canterbury, and we were excited to hear about their wonderful wedding plans!  Rachel is in fact no stranger to the wedding industry, or Canterbury Cathedral, owing to her word with the Canterbury Cathedral Lodge. It is always humbling and an honour when someone in the wedding industry books us, as we know that they have great knowledge of many wedding photographers in Kent, and yet still to decide to trust only us with the memories of their most special day!

Very few people can actually get married in Canterbury Cathedral, with many restrictions owing the super popular demand (as you might imagine!), and indeed photography for couples not getting married directly at the Cathedral in Cathedral grounds is strictly prohibited.  This is something Rachel & Michael brought up with us as it’s exceedingly important to hire a capable and competent photographer who is able to take advantage of such wonderful grounds, with no prior practice possible!

The day started with Rachel and her lovely bridesmaids (all looking stunning!) at her parent’s house nearby in Canterbury.  It was an early start as they had so many wonderful ideas and locations to visit on their fairytale wedding day!  For this reason the timeline consultation and venue walkaround was invaluable for them as they were able to make the absolute most of their special day!

Michael got ready at the Canterbury Cathedral Lodge with his large phalanx of groomsmen and well wishers! We did some fun and some editorial style images of them getting read in the Library before heading into the Cathedral Crypt for the big “I dos”!

After some cocktails and escapades in the Cathedral gardens, Rachel & Michael’s wedding moved on to Mount Ephraim Gardens.