Portmeirion Weddings: Lexie and Greg’s Summer Wedding

May 26, 2023
4 min read

Updated: Aug 4

Portmeirion weddings are always a bit special. It is one of those venues that somehow manages to look completely different every time I photograph there, depending on the light, the season and the people filling it.

Lexie and Greg’s summer wedding at Portmeirion was chocka full of everything you would want from a wedding day. There was a shit ton of laughter, some properly emotional moments and a dance floor that became increasingly questionable as the evening went on.

Set on the coast of North Wales, Portmeirion is one of the most recognisable (and most beautiful) wedding venues in the country. Its colourful Italianate buildings, gardens, woodland paths and views across the estuary give you an insane amount of variety for photographs, all without disappearing away from the wedding for hours on end.

Having worked at Portmeirion for for 13 years between 2008 and 2021, as well as the weddings I've photographed over the years, It's safe to say I know the place quite well.

Lexie and Greg’s Portmeirion Wedding

Lexie and Greg began their wedding day with an intimate first look before the ceremony. It gave them a quiet moment together before the day properly started and before everybody else understandably began demanding their attention.

Their ceremony was relaxed, emotional and full of those small reactions that are easy to miss when you are caught up in everything happening around you. The looks between them, the nervous smiles and the reactions from their friends and family told far more of the story than anything I could have tried to manufacture for the camera.

That is always the focus of my wedding photography. Portmeirion provides a ridiculous backdrop, but the photographs still need to be about the couple, the people around them and what the day genuinely felt like.

After the ceremony, we headed out for a relaxed wander around the village. Portmeirion gives you everything from colourful architecture and grand staircases to quiet woodland paths and coastal views, so there is no shortage of options.

We kept the photographs natural and gave Lexie and Greg some time to breathe, talk to each other and take in the fact that they had just got married. There was no need for hours of posing or endlessly marching around the village. We simply made the most of the surroundings while keeping the photographs feeling like them.

Why Portmeirion Weddings Are So Good to Photograph

One of the reasons Portmeirion weddings are so enjoyable to photograph is the amount of variety available in such a small area.

You can move from colourful buildings to gardens, woodland and wide coastal views within a few minutes. It means couples can have a gallery filled with different scenery without spending a huge part of their wedding day away from their guests.

The village is obviously beautiful, but it is the people and moments happening within it that make every wedding different. Throughout the afternoon, I photographed the conversations, hugs, laughter and little interactions between Lexie and Greg’s friends and family.

These quieter, candid photographs often become more valuable over time. They show people exactly as they were on the day, including moments the couple may not have noticed happening at all.

Speeches and Evening Celebrations

As the evening began, everyone came together for the speeches. They were heartfelt, funny and occasionally wandered into the sort of territory that made a few people wonder whether handing somebody a microphone had been a sensible idea.

The stories shared by their friends and family painted a lovely picture of Lexie and Greg’s relationship and showed just how much they meant to everyone in the room.

Photographing the reactions during speeches is always one of my favourite parts of a wedding day. While everyone is listening to the person speaking, I can concentrate on the laughter, tears and slightly concerned facial expressions appearing around the tables.

Once the speeches and formalities were finished, the evening celebrations properly got going. The dance floor filled up quickly, and the rest of the night was full of laughter, questionable moves and the sort of uninhibited happiness that makes for brilliant photographs.

Looking Back at Their Summer Wedding

Every wedding at Portmeirion has its own personality. The venue may be familiar, but the people, atmosphere and little moments throughout the day are always completely different.

Lexie and Greg’s Portmeirion wedding was relaxed, emotional and genuinely lovely to photograph. Their gallery tells the full story of the day, from the quiet moments before the ceremony through to the chaos of the dance floor later that evening.

It was a privilege to be there to photograph it all, and I hope their photographs continue to bring back the people, feelings and memories of the day for many years to come.

Planning a Wedding at Portmeirion?

If you are looking at Portmeirion weddings and planning your own celebration at the village, I would love to hear what you have in mind.

My approach is relaxed, colourful and focused on capturing the day as it actually happens. You will still get plenty of brilliant photographs around Portmeirion, but you will also have time to enjoy your wedding and spend it with the people you invited.