Gallivant Hotel Wedding

Claire & Vince’s “Incredible” Gallivant Hotel Wedding in Camber Sands proved to be the perfect tonic following England’s disappointing defeat in their opening game of the World Cup in the early hours of this morning.

This was our Wedding Photography & DJ Package. It’s been a very successful package for us and our clients over the last two years which includes all the photography including the bridal preps, ceremony, wedding breakfast, first dance and great photos throughout the night until the last song of the night.

Click here to read the full breakdown of this package

We have worked at The Gallivant Beach Bistro Hotel in Camber Sands, East Sussex several times. What we love about a Gallivant Hotel Wedding are the little touches and the extra mile the venue go to to ensure you will have a great day, its the small things that make such a huge difference …and this wedding was certainly one with a difference.

Gallivant Hotel website

Claire and Vince first met working at Mcdonalds in Woolwich around 10 years ago, however it was on vacation in Egypt whilst enjoying a deep sea diving experience that Vince proposed at -12 metres. Claire told us during the bridal prep photography “Vince etched ‘Will You Marry Me’ into a rock on the sea bed, his mate was photographing the moment as Vince indicated for me to come over to him. When I read it I just kept pointing at him and me and he was there nodding his head, it was a special moment”. Thank you Claire for providing us with the images below

These days Vince plies his trade as a postman and Claire works for the Met Police, she has also lived in Charlton and attended matches at Charlton Athletic (one of my own loves) so we have a few things in common as I also come from South London and have worked alongside the Met in a previous role I had as a fraud investigator for TFL.

So the big day arrived on a warm overcast day that started for us in room 19 at The Gallivant Hotel around midday. With the ceremony due to take place at 2pm our first mission was to catch up with Claire and her two bridesmaids in the hotel room. With Kisstory tunes on the radio, easy conversation and a huge amount of energy amonst the bridal party we instantly bonded with the girls and as a wedding supplier you really couldn’t of wished to work with a more down to earth nice group of people.

As Claire danced her way through the bridal prep photos locked away securely in room 19, just next door in room 20 was Vince the groom …and Roxy ! …the couples spaniel !

Roxy was to play a big part in their big day too. Dressed in her own colour coordinated collar the 7 year old stole the show pre ceremony as guests arrived, however she was soon to be upstaged by the bride in waiting but still created choice dj history as being the first dog that I have seen at a wedding ceremony. If anyone has any other wedding animal stories please post a comment at the bottom of the page.

With all guests now inside, Claire emerged from room 19 just after 2pm with her two bridesmaids, dad and flower girl. There was even a small crowd of onlookers that had congregated outside the hotel to spur on the bride as she took her final few steps before joining Vincent again and completing the formalities to become the new Mrs Knust …

The ceremony takes place in what is usually the bar area, however the venue use some nice screens to isolate the bar for this part of the day.You would never have known Roxy the dog was present during the ceremony, however there was an amusing moment when Claire said ‘I do’ and the dog let out a small whine 😀

Following the ceremony there were some unique touches which helped create a fantastic and relaxed atmosphere which was to remain throughout the rest of the day, including the confetti shot which was great as Claire and Vince supplied guests with flippers to form an arch, this was to symbolise the couples love of deep sea diving.

Guests then enjoyed some lovely home made ice cream that the venue had been making since the previous day, everyone then made their way to the beach for the drinks reception and formal family group shots …complete with canapes, warm air, sand dunes, seagulls and a playlist of Ska on a portable stereo.

We spent about an hour on the sand dunes capturing all of Claire and Vince’s required photos using the sea as the backdrop, the weather was overcast but warm with spells of sun. I think this was perfect as not only was it a pleasant temperature for everyone the daylight was perfect for photography with the clouds which will add a dimension to the photos when edited. Roxy was there too to get in on the photos before everyone including the girls in high heels navigated their way back through the sand to the Gallivant Hotel for the meal and speeches.

Wedding breakfasts take place in the lovely marquee at the venue which is joined onto the main building. I have seen the venue change over the last couple of years as they have developed it beautifully to tie in with the local surroundings in a contemporary way. The marquee has a beach bar area and decorated with nautical style blue and white bunting so it has that beach hut feel. 10/10 on the food here too. Along with the videographer we enjoyed gorgeous cuts of sirloin steak and chicken accompanied by sweet potato.

Around 8pm with all the evening guests now arrived, it was the first dance that will live long in the memory of everyone inside the gallivant around 8pm.

Claire & Vincent’s first dance consisted of three songs mixed together. The first two mins of Anita Baker ‘Sweet Love’ before moving into the Electric Slide with ‘Candy’ by Cameo followed by M-Beat (featuring General Levy) classic jung track ‘Incredible’.

This is how the night started and exactly how it ended with Claire and Vince choosing Candy as the last song with everyone doing the Electric Slide to finish the night off. The time in between was epic with as good a set of music I’ve played all year including Garage, R&B, Latest Charts, 80s Soul, 90s Club Classics, Ska and Motown.

The evening was the perfect night , the 4 hours went so quickly and despite it being a Sunday night could of gone on longer, but with a 12 o clock license and a honeymoon to enjoy the following day Claire and Vince retired to room 20, but not before a late night dog walk with Roxy who I think enjoyed the day as much as everyone else.

Despite all the commercial venues throughout Sussex and Kent borders this is probably my favourite. The small touches, attention to detail and customer service stand out to me …a Gallivant Hotel Wedding has all that and more with weddings benefitting from its great location, rather than just being at a venue in Camber Sands, the venues styling, canapaes and drinks on the beach, home made ice cream really tie the whole theme together perfectly.

On Monday Claire and Vincent were straight off on their honeymoon to Sri Lanka and the Maldives for some more diving experiences and we wish them all the best for a great holiday and their future together.

A truly amazing Gallivant Hotel Wedding with the ultimate atmosphere ! 

Gallivant Hotel Wedding package 

Our Gallivant Hotel Wedding package includes Unlimited Photography, Mixture of Colour & Black & White Photos including Bridal Preps, Ceremony, Group Photo’s, Speeches, Cake Cutting, First Dance, Party Photography until midnight, Copyright FREE Photos, HD Download Link, Access To Online Event Planner, Set Up Before The Meal, Background Music, Microphone For Speeches, Announcements, Award Winning Professional DJ & Modern Disco Lighting, Disco Playing Time 1930-0000, Percussion Drop In / Drop Out Throughout The Night, Playlists Accepted, FREE Travel with 30 mile radius of Dartford Crossing / M25