Your Kent Wedding - Nov/Dec 2019 (Issue 87)

71 REGIONAL SHOOT Inspired by the hugely romantic figure Eleanor of Castile, this breathtaking shoot comes to you from the grounds of her one-time home, Leeds Castle Images courtesy of Lee and Lisa Photography L eeds Castle, which turned 900 this year, has been owned by no fewer than six Medieval queens during its long history. So if walls could talk, this historic building would regale us with some of the most romantic stories in British history. This stunning bridal shoot was inspired by the first of the Castle’s royal owners – Queen Eleanor of Castile, first wife of King Edward I – who purchased it in 1278. The Queen was responsible for seeing the beautiful rounded Gloriette built and for commissioning a bath house to be installed for her husband. The couple were said to be very much in love and inseparable right up until Eleanor’s death in 1290. In his grief, her husband commissioned a stone cross to be erected in her memory in every town her cortege stopped at on the journey to Westminster, where she was to be buried. These crosses are beautifully represented in the embroidery on the model bride’s veil here. Could it be the intrinsic romance of “the loveliest castle in the world” or mere coincidence that saw several of this royal residence’s children born nine months after the King and Queen had stayed there? Who can say for sure, but one thing’s for certain: Thanks to the team of talented Kent-based suppliers behind it, we’ve fallen in love with this gorgeous shoot.  Once upon a time