Our last wedding in 2014 was in August, to record the wedding blessing of Ben and Lucy at Miskin Manor in South Wales, UK. The couple lived in Dubai so were already married, but wanted a wedding ceremony to celebrate their marriage with friends and family.

Miskin Manor was a fabulous venue, perfect for weddings and probably my favourite of all the venues we had the pleasure of working with.

Lucy and her party were getting ready at the Manor so we had no travelling between venues. That meant plenty of time for us to grab bride getting ready shots and gave time with the guys pre the blessing ceremony.

The blessing was conducted by a friend of Ben’s family and they had a harpist playing the ceremony music. To all intents and purpose, the blessing was very similar to a marriage ceremony and was followed by champagne and strawberries in the manor gardens.

We’d been blessed with good weather so we were able to grab plenty of pictures in the large gardens, prior to the wedding breakfast later in the afternoon. All went well with two lovely families and great guests.

The dining area was a large room with plenty of natural light, making my life easier for grabbing a few pics during the speeches; before taking Ben and Lucy off on their own for a few portraits.

I don’t have a great deal to write about this wedding. I could sum it up in one sentence. It was a fabulous wedding, with a fabulous couple and guests, in a fabulous venue. As a wedding photographer, I went home wondering if shooting a wedding could get any better than this.

In fact it did get better than that. Following the wedding, I had to return to Miskin Manor to collect a tripod I’d left behind. I took a few pictures along for them and the wedding co-ordinator agreed to add me to their list of recommended photographers. They would also allow me to have one of my wedding albums in the Manor to show prospective wedding couples visiting the venue. However, read on….

A sad footnote to this day was that a few weeks later I had a suspected TIA, or mini stroke, which brought my wedding photography to a shuddering halt. Subsequent medical investigations, over the next six months, were to show I hadn’t suffered a TIA. The diagnosis was that I’d probably suffered some form of one off migrainic attack. I didn’t suffer from migraines prior to the incident and, ten years on, I’ve had no further problems. I’ll cover the end of my wedding photography adventure in a future blog.

All images: ©Stephen Hyde 2007-2025 – All rights reserved.